Given all the attacks on some of the biggest names involved in the internet lately, (Google and Network Solutions, to name two) more attention than ever is being given to just what can be done to increase the security for web hosting accounts.
Google’s recent admission that password data from Gmail may have been compromised lets us know that where there’s a will, there’s a way. Conversely, additional layers of protection can be added to help make things all the more secure and that seems to be the direction that cutting edge web hosting companies are heading.
Rather than find themselves in the uncomfortable position of being subject to angry consumers, livid that their data and sites have been hacked up, web hosts are finding ways to deliver more security, and at the same time make that a value-added proposition; in other words, getting the customer to pay for it!
This is taking the form of a security monitoring service, and can be sold as an add-on service for web hosting services. Typically a customer would have had to go outside the host to find this type of hands on security scanning, and pay a heftier price as well. Now, hosts are earnestly marketing these add-ons as a way to ensure that malware doesn’t wreak havoc with your sensitive data and passwords.
A startling statistic that bears notice is the fact that virus infections from web pages have increased some 600% over the last two years. That shows that this has become a new field for hackers to harvest, and won’t be weeded without some direct action. You may have run across a browser warning you off of a particular site, as it has been known to host spyware and malware. Not a situation any site owner would relish being in.
Prices now range from around $30 to $200 for this type of service. Though as it is becoming more and more prevalent we are starting to see bundling of services including these added layers of security at much more reasonable prices. Also, the advent of more and more cloud hosting providers will drive down the prices even further.
Many website owners, who usually don’t have the necessary skills to ferret out anything suspicious, count on their web hosting providers to give them a safe, secure environment in which to host their sites. They don’t want to be bothered with boring details like this. Which is all the more reason why they need added security, and hosts are offering it.
Stories abound of website owners who leave pages open for entry, have their FTP logins insecurely held, and otherwise leave doors wide open for even the most inept hacker. Once those conditions are set, it’s too late for security to make a difference.
It’s in the hosting company’s best interests to make sure that as many of their customers as possible are availing themselves of these services, particularly on shared servers. Since this has become the newest target for malware mavens, web hosts that don’t become proactive and at least offer some protection may find themselves eclipsed by those who do.
