What dangers lurk for your new business’s website?

by Startacus Admin

If you’re considering setting up a new business, there’s going to be plenty of things on your checklist, from finding a new office space to marketing your business.

As far as the latter is concerned, you’ll almost certainly need a new website, but when going online, there are a few things you need to be wary of, especially when it comes to security.

One of them is malware, which can infect your website and, when visited by customers, infect their devices too. If you have a web server, it could be prone to infection if not secured properly, be it via malicious pop-up ads, known as ‘Malvertising’ or something else such as keylogging.

On the blacklist

Search engine blacklisting could be harmful to your website too. If you appear on the blacklist of Google, Bing or any other search engine, then it could be because your website is infected. Making sure your site is clean is a good start.

Another thing you need to be wary of is an expired security certificate. This could see access to your site blocked by browsers because your SSL certificate for accepting payments by debit card, credit card or something like PayPal isn’t up to date.

Phishing for clues

As alluded to by Symantec Norton’s recent white paper on website security, phishing is another thing website owners need to be alert to. Known as ‘brand impersonation’, you want to ensure that no-one is trying to pose as your business in order to defraud you.

Trying to do your best to keep your site safe can make your customers feel better. It could involve having a secure payment gateway, a verification tick or perhaps vetting any advertisers on your site, but however it’s achieved, it’s absolutely necessary.

Check out the handy infographic (helpfully put into a gallery of pics) that will help you get your head around the above:

 

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Published on: 15th January 2014