Malware lurks on 17.6 million of the world’s websites—and many users have no idea their site is infected.
Among the most obvious signs of malware infections are hosting suspensions, website blacklisting, and redirects to malicious websites. While these examples are simple to spot, other attacks go largely unnoticed—because it’s easy for malware to hide among lines of legitimate code.
Most people know what malware means. Fewer people know what it really is—or how it gets onto their sites.
“How does malware work?” and “Why is malware used?” are all-too-common questions. If we know one thing, it is that a lack of knowledge on the topic causes major problems. According to recent data, it is estimated that 17.6 million of the world’s websites are infected with malware.
Understanding where it comes from and how it works are the first steps to securing your site. So, how does malware work? Here are a few ways it can infect your site:
Cybercrime continues to grow at an alarming rate, and is predicted to cost the world $6 trillion annually by 2021. As a hosting provider, you are not only indirectly responsible for websites targeted by cybercriminals, but your business can also suffer as a result of cyberattacks. If left unchecked, these attacks on websites can drain your internal resources, degrade customer experiences, and ultimately cost you money.
According to recent data, a whopping 17.6 million of the world’s websites are infected with malware. You may be wondering: How can you tell if you have malware? And once your site is infected, how can malware be removed?
Here, we’ll answer both questions—showing you how to delete malware from your site and defend your digital presence.
Malware is a type of malicious software designed to gain unauthorized access to your website—and attacks are more common than you might think. Malware attacks stem from bots scanning websites for exploitable vulnerabilities. Websites endure an estimated 94 attacks per day averaging out to one attack per 15 minutes. About 12.8 million sites worldwide are infected at any given time.
How to prevent malware from infecting websites built with CMS
Wondering how to prevent malware attacks? The answer depends on how your site is built.
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), powering over 38% of the internet’s websites. Given how easy it is to use, it’s no wonder people love WordPress. Before committing to the CMS to power your own site, you may be asking yourself: “Is WordPress secure?”
Put simply, WordPress is secure right out of the box, but becomes vulnerable to attacks if features like plugins and themes aren’t kept up to date. When determining how to improve WordPress security, here are three factors to consider:
If you’ve landed on this page, you’re likely asking yourself, “Is my WordPress site not secure?” Luckily, we have some tips. When maximizing your WordPress site’s security, updating its themes and plugins is paramount. It shouldn’t be a question of if or when, but how frequently. A regular update schedule can save you from WordPress security issues that may include:
The benefits of a secure website are clear and critical: data breach prevention, business continuity, protection from financial fraud and legal penalties, and the freedom to focus on your core business goals instead of dealing with security headaches.
However, comprehensive business website security solutions also delivers some benefits you might not expect—including some that can help generate substantial business impact.
When securing your WordPress site, prevention is better than a cure. It’s better to build a strong defense against bad actors than undo the damage they cause.
Here are some best practices when determining how to make your WordPress site secure.
Out-of-date plugins are one of the biggest threats to a WordPress site’s security. Even disabled plugins pose a threat if they aren’t updated. When deciding how to secure a WordPress site, update the plugins you’re using and completely remove plugins you aren’t. If you change your mind, plugins can be reinstalled with minimal effort.
WordPress powers 38.8% of the world’s websites. That’s a total of 455 million websites as of 2020—and the number has only continued to grow year-over-year. The statistics may be staggering, but they’re not all that surprising.
WordPress provides a free, open-source platform for website owners and builders alike, offering a range of themes and plugins that make it easy to use and simple to maintain. However, these perks don’t come without weaknesses. The open-source nature of the platform and its many plugin options pose some security risks, ones that many owners fail to account for.
From the top preventative measures, you can take to the best WordPress security plugins you can install, here’s everything you need to know about optimizing the security of your site.
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