Phishing attacks are all around us. Fake emails, calls, and even fake websites – are all designed to gain access to your confidential information. As a website owner, you need to protect your site from phishing attacks to protect the sensitive information stored on your site. Today, we will talk about how phishing attacks work and three ways to avoid them.
Website Phishing Attacks
Hackers usually create a copy of a website and send the link to its users. They try to trick the users into believing that it is the original site and gain access to their login id and password along with other critical information. If the website allows financial transactions, then the hackers can also gain access to the user’s financial information.
Usually, you can spot a fake site if you pay close attention. However, as a site owner, you can’t expect all your users to be extremely vigilant at all times. Hence, it is important that you take some steps to ensure that your users don’t suffer if your site experiences a phishing attack and offers them a secure site experience.
Protect your site from phishing attacks using these three tips
The three techniques mentioned below can help you prevent phishing attacks and also limit their damage if your users fall prey to one.
Install an SSL Certificate
Nowadays, every website, big or small, needs an SSL or Secure Sockets Layer certificate. This certificate allows users to differentiate between the original and fake sites easily. These certificates also allow you to use HTTPS, which helps in encrypting the users’ data.
Installing an SSL certificate to your website is the best way to let your users identify a fake website created by a hacker. You must also inform your users to check the SSL certificate in case they are not sure if the site that they are visiting is original or fake.
Most web hosting providers offer SSL certificates, and the process of adding them to your website is very simple.
Change Passwords Regularly
Let’s say that a hacker has gained access to your login credentials or the login id and password of your users through a phishing attack. The chances are that you are not even aware of it yet. How can you avoid any damage?
The answer is simple – change your password.
The next obvious question is: How will I know when to change my password?
The answer is simple, too – create a habit of changing your password regularly. Therefore, even if the attacker gains access to your account, once your password is changed, he won’t be able to cause any damage.
Set Up a Two-Factor Authentication
In two-factor authentication, you can access your account only after entering the right username and password along with a one-time password (OTP). The OTP is generated for every login attempt and shared with you via phone message, email or an app. Therefore, even if the hacker gets to your login credentials, he will not be able to gain access to your account (or your site’s users’ accounts).
Summing Up
Remember, there are various ways in which you can protect your website from a phishing attack. Users expect the website to keep their information safe. Finally, use a web hosting service that offers high levels of security and account isolation. One such hosting service is VPS Server Hosting which reduces the chances of your site getting affected by a phishing attack. Choose the hosting plan carefully and follow the three tips mentioned above and protect your site from such attacks.
Muhammad Aqib