Information security means a lot to me on many different levels. Unfortunately, nothing is completely hack-proof. First and foremost, I like any other internet user do not want any of my private information to get in the hands of anyone it is not supposed to. I do all the normalcy of running an antivirus on my PC’s and my Mac, I have up a decent firewall, and watch what sites I visit. Also for personal internet security, I do not use any duplicate passwords. The best thing to do is use a password keeper apps like KeePass, LastPass or OnePassword.
With what I do in my professional life, privacy and security are big business. Internet security, more importantly WordPress site security is a very passionate subject for me. When there is a WordPress site that has been hacked, I come in and clean the site up. It is cheaper to take the necessary steps to keep your site secure than to have someone come in and clean it. Weather using WordPress to aid in the design of your website or building it straight from code, the developer must add security to their site or information can get out and the uglies can get in. Now adding too many security plugins can be an issue as well. Too many plugins will not play well with each other and then you will be locked out of your site.
Privacy and security need to be important and on the top of the list because no one wants to deal with the aftermath. In personal issues it involves changing all your financial information, login information, and anything else you put on the web. Professionally, it can be the biggest headache one has ever had. It can take hours and dollars to fix a broken site. One of the best things to do is have a backup. Backup your files, your information, your computer. Backup everything. I have my photos and music in 3 separate locations so I never have to worry about losing any of them. Here is where a cloud based service like Bitcasa or Dropbox work for you. Also, keep your information hidden. Use a service to keep your passwords. Writing them in a file is much more easier to retrieve. When using a public network be more aware of what sites you are visiting and what information you are putting out. Update your services, passwords, plugins, and everything else on a regular basis. It is good to change you password every 3 months.
What do you do if your desktop or laptop gets hacked?
This happens all the time. Viruses and worms find their way into your desktop or laptop. First and foremost, always keep some sort of antivirus up to date on your unit. If your box does get something on it, typical virus removal is not the cheapest service in the world, but it is easily done. Find a company you can trust, and get the viruses off your PC.
What do you do if your site gets hacked?
Finally if you are hacked, it is not the end of the world. While it does take time and sometimes money to get back to normal, you will get there. If ever in that situation, take a deep breath and tackle it. If you have a website that you feel has been hacked, come see me over at WP Security Lock and we can get you taken care of.
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