Why Was My Website Compromised?
Having your website compromised is never a fun experience, and resolving the issue can get even more annoying.
To avoid having to go through that painful process more times than necessary, you’ll want to know what could have caused it. That way, you’ll be able to avoid such problems in the future.
Here are the 7 most common causes for website security issues.
1. Outdated Web Application or Theme
If your website runs on a web application or a website theme that is outdated, you’re putting yourself at risk.
The majority of apps and themes have vulnerabilities that newer versions gradually fix. To give hackers a hard time penetrating your website’s security, always update your apps and themes to the latest version.
2. Outdated Web Application Extensions
Even an up-to-date web app can be vulnerable with outdated extensions. Don’t forget to periodically check the version of each extension you use, then update the outdated ones.
3. Risky Plugins, Modules, and Other Components
Only the official source can guarantee that a plugin, module, or another component is safe to install and use.
Cracked, nulled, or jailbroken software typically contains backdoors or other vulnerabilities. If you’re using it, you’re doing so at your own risk — we suggest that you don’t..
4. Weak Passwords
If your passwords are weak, an external party could possibly guess one or more of them after a good look at your publicly-available social media.
Examples of weak passwords include the name of a partner, parent, or pet, your hometown, favorite movie or video game, terms such as admin123, or anything else that’d be easy to deduce. By keeping your passwords strong, you will prevent that from happening.
5. Infected Local Computer
If your machine has malware or adware, the infection could easily pass over to your website. If you’ve got spyware, someone could grab hold of your passwords.
An antivirus like Norton will keep you safe from such problems.
6. Clicking on Suspicious Links
Suspicious links could be anywhere — you can even receive them via email. While modern browsers and operating systems aren’t as vulnerable to these as their older versions, one such click could create problems for both your machine and website.
7. Sheer Bad Luck
Sometimes, all the precautions in the world aren’t enough to save you from bad actors. A skilled enough hacker can get into anything, even the Pentagon.
Such cases are rare, but if it happens to you, all that’s left is to let it pass. After all, the chances of it happening to you more than once are close to zero.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, no security measure is infallible. However, if you take the necessary precautions, you’ll greatly minimize the odds of your website getting compromised.
