Eight Security Tips to Keep Your Magento Store Safe From Hackers
Magento is the platform of choice for the e-commerce website development companies. The reason for its popularity is that it gives you a lot of room to personalise the website according to your taste and liking. Magento gives you flexibility when it comes to managing your content, its functionality and the layout of your e-store.
Another reason for its popularity is that it is considered a very safe platform. Even though it is considered safe by Magento website development companies, there are always steps you can take to make your security even more robust. You can take the following steps to beef up the security of a Magento website.
Always keep the latest version of Magento An updated version of Magento will have big fixes and security enhancements that the previous version did not have. Magento continuously works to stay one step ahead of the hackers. If they feel certain features have the potential for a possible leak, they immediately fix it. Thus, if you have an updated version, it will anyway add an extra layer of protection without doing much. Also, if you feel updating a software comes with more problems than solutions, Magento always provides patch notes so that you can take note of the changes made. So, you can decide for yourself if the latest version will be of help to you or not.
Have a strong password is a must One of the most common ways hackers attack the system is by cracking the password. If have a weak password you will just be making a hacker’s life easier. The tougher the password is to guess, the safer it is. According to Magento development companies in India, you can take the following measures to strengthen your password. Start by including both upper case and lower case alphabets and add numbers and special characters like #, $ and @ to your password. Also, avoid using the same password everywhere. Yes, it is a convenient practice as you don’t have to remember different passwords for different logins. But the drawback is that if your password is somehow breached, all your personal accounts and information will also be at risk. Another thing to remember is never save the password on your device. If your system gets infected by a malware, your stored passwords can be easily accessed. And lastly, keep changing the password at regular intervals.
Double the protection with two-factor authentication Two-factor authentication basically means that you add another layer of protection with things like pin numbers or security questions. It is like when you log into Gmail from a new device, it flashes digits on your mobile and you have to
match it with the digits on the computer screen to log in. But since, there is money involved the verification process is slightly more sophisticated. There are essentially four types of two-factor authentication provider options: Google Authenticator, Duo Security, Authy, U2F. If you hire Magento web developer India, they will guide you through the entire process and tell you what suits your needs the best.
Always use an encrypted SSL connection If a prospective buyer does not feel safe while shopping on your website, the chances of your site being a success are very slim. To ensure your data is protected you must use an encrypted SSL connection. SSL or Secure Sockets Layer is a global standard security technology that supports encrypted communication between a web browser and a server. An e-store using an encrypted connection will use “https” instead of “http” in its URL. It is very simple to add SSL to your website with Magento’s URL settings in the admin panel. Once you have applied SSL, your website will show a green padlock on your browser to notify the users that your connection is secure and encrypted. A Magento Development Company will always insist on buying a SSL certificate from a verified certification authority.
Use a firewall to safeguard against SQL injection SQL stand for Standard Query Language. It is the language used to communicate with the database. It performs tasks like updating the database, add, delete or modify data. SQL injections are attempts by hackers to enter your database and retrieve information. If the hackers are able to successfully inject a SQL, they gain access to your data and can be easily tampered with. The developers of Magento do take several steps to stop such attacks, but a firewall acts as another layer of defence against possible attacks. Also Read:- Advantages
of Using Magento for E-commerce Website Development
Create your own unique admin name It becomes very easy for hackers to enter your admin panel login page if you do not have a unique admin name. Once they have access to your admin panel, it is only a matter of time before they figure out your password using brute force. The standard URL format of a Magento store is Http.domain Name /admin. You can change the /admin part to something that is unique and thereby making it much more difficult to find your store.
Keep taking regular backups Taking all the necessary steps still does not guarantee a 100 percent protection against attacks. However, having a backup in case the security has been compromised becomes very beneficial. If you have a backup you can just restore your website to the previous version, essentially going back to the point of your last backup. To be doubly safe, store
backups both on cloud and hard disk. Backups also come in handy in case of accidental deletion of important files or if you face configuration problems with newly installed extensions.
Use only renowned Magento Extensions There are a number of extensions available to improve the experience, but if you if the extension has not been developed using the safest security practices, your store can become liable to threats of hacks. Before deciding to use a third-party extension make sure you do a through research by checking the customer reviews, reputation and track record of the developer. It is important that your extensions are well maintained and are updated on a regular basis.