The Importance of Web Security in Digital Marketing
A proper digital marketing campaign requires a considerable investment of your time and effort. To obtain success, you need to conduct market research, identify your audience, develop content, plan customer retention versus prospect conversion, and think about how it all fits into your sales funnel.
Developing a good strategy is crucial for success in digital marketing. However, you also need to think about web security. Neglecting this aspect can involve risks for both you and your customers.
Here are some common forms of cyber-attacks and ways you can keep your company and your customers safe.
Malware of All Sorts
When doing any tasks on your computer, a primary concern is keeping your information safe. When you’re handling company and customer data, you need to give security even greater thought.
The internet has made our lives simpler, more interesting, and most of us love it. However, it is also filled with potential perils. If a site is malicious, sometimes it’s enough just to open it to get infected, without clicking on anything.
Malvertising is another way hackers can get into your system. They install malware in ads that appear on trusted websites. If you click on them you could unknowingly download and install malware on your computer.
There are numerous types of malware that can endanger your system. Viruses can spread through your network corrupting data and system files. Spyware can be installed on your computer to record keystrokes, emails, passwords, and other data that can be sent back to hackers.
Ransomware can take control of your system and the cyber criminals demand money before they’ll release the hijacked resources back to you.
Emails can also contain harmful attachments or links. You don’t even have to click on the attachment, sometimes it’s enough just to open an email and get infected.
Hackers could install malicious software on your server as well. This means that they could also infect the computers of your customers who click on ads on your website or links in your newsletters. If this happens, your customers aren’t likely to come back.
All of this sounds scary – and it can be – but it is not that difficult to stay safe. It is important to know how our systems get infected and how to avoid risky situations.
The first line of defense is to get the best firewall and anti-malware software possible. At any price, it will likely save you from far more costly cyber-attacks. Update it regularly and be vigilant.
Don’t click on anything in emails from unknown senders and if your friends send you something unexpected, contact them before opening it.
Be careful when browsing the internet; don’t open sites that seem suspicious. Installing an antivirus browser plug-in or extension can help you decide whether to click or not.
WordPress Security
WordPress is the most popular content management system used today – so hackers know it well. This platform is a favorite target because more than 70 percent of WordPress sites are not optimized for security. If you use WordPress, it’s a good idea to get familiar with its security features and install updates as they become available.
The majority of hackers aren’t interested in stealing your data or deleting files, but taking over your email accounts. Unscrupulous spammers want to use your server to send spam email. Spamming is a common practice and most ISPs and software filters will block an IP address identified as a source of spam. By using your email servers hackers avoid this; but your own email campaigns can be severely limited if you start getting blacklisted.
Newer versions of WordPress and security plugins specifically address system fixes and new security threats. WordPress has a wide support community where you can find help on the right configurations and best plugins for your protection. Be sure your site is hosted by a company that focuses on customer security, including system isolation and daily file backups. Regular backups ensure you can replace any information that may be lost.
If your website is targeted by hackers, the best response is to stay calm, reset your passwords, and run a scan to detect any malware. You should also contact your web host if you need help with any issues.