Hacking can also be termed as cracking. These two terms have almost the same meaning and that is; unauthorised access to the information stored in a computer system. It is important to keep our systems secure so unethical hackers (crackers) do not exploit it by whatever means.

Below are easy ways that could help you protect your website from hackers;

1. Email address protection
Spammer programs sometimes find your email from your website or from someone else’s email. This is how you at times get strange emails that test your form. You could also wonder how at other times you send yourself emails; it’s usually not you who send yourself such email, but these spammer programs.

Spammer programs are usually in script form and are meant to break up your email thus making spammer software programs not able to read them. To protect your email address, keep it listed in an image form on your website.

2. Check the Permissions on your files and folders
This is a biggy, and would be probably the number 1 way hackers get in. For every file and folder in your web hosting account, it has a CHMOD value. This value determines if it is read only, executable, etc … and who has the permission to access them. Files/folders should be set to CHMOD 644 to make them read only. If they do need to be writable, the CHMOD should be no more than 755.

Files and Folders with CHMOD 777 is the most dangerous. If you are not sure if they have proper permissions, consult your web hosting provider.

3. Get rid of unnecessary files
As the website changes, the old files are basically ignored. These files should just be removed. It is important that copies are kept offline if you would wish to have them added again, but do not forget to update the scripts. When you do not link the same pages, they are listed by the search engines so internet users can find and visit them. These files are sought by automated programs, which then exploit them. Remove them, and make sure what you do have is up to date.

Swish Connect is a leading Web Hosting provider with a range of services including Domain Names, Web Hosting plans, Business Web Hosting, Reseller Web Hosting, VPS Plans and Dedicated Servers.