Even if you run the latest anti-virus software on your computer.  Even if you apply the latest operating system patches and updates. Even if you are careful not to visit those red light district websites and file sharing sites, you might still be at risk for getting infected with a virus or having your computer hacked. 

One of the most common myths about avoiding virus infection is to never open file attachments from strangers. And only frequent trusted website destinations.  While those are good tips to practice, they are numerous other ways to compromise the security of your computer.

In many of the same ways your home or office computer can be compromised, so can your website. It's important to implement industry Best Practices and counter measures to minimize your risk of compromise.  

The last thing you want to discover is your website visitors being discouraged from visiting your website due to the presence of a virus!  

Has YOUR website ever suffered such a fate?  Would you know what to do if it did?  Would you be able to quickly clean up the mess and recover?  Or would you be scrambling to find someone who knew where to look and how to rid the vile and nasty content from your web pages?

Would your customers trust you and continue to do business with you if it happened again the very next day? Or would they run for the exits and never look back?

I know what you're thinking.  Sure the big websites and brand name companies need to worry about this stuff, but who would care about my little website?  No one is going to bother hacking my website.  I have no customer credit card data or anything any thief would care about. 


Oh how wrong you are.  If that is what you naively believe, you have no business conducting business online.  

The truth is that the seedy dark alleys of the physical world, the black markets, are THRIVING online.  And yes, the bad guys care about your little tiny website probably MORE so than the big dogs.  Why?  To be honest, the first reason is simply because you don't think they are a threat.  You don't know what you don't know.  You have no defenses.  You're probably not even watching who is accessing your website, and wouldn't even know if you're site had been breached  (unless, of course, the bad guys made it blatantly obvious like purposely changing or erasing all of your files).  

But that's not the only reason the bad guys are interesting in hacking YOUR website....

I guarantee to you that the bad guys are interested in infiltrating your website.   Your site's clean and upstanding reputation has more value to them than you think.

Don't think for a minute that only the larger fish... the Target's and JP Morgan Chase's of the world are targets for cybercrime.  The reality is you should be MORE concerned than them.  After all, the recent theft of millions of Target customers credit card numbers did not occur simply by attacking Target's computer systems directly.

Google does a pretty good job keeping the bad guys out of the search results.  Which is one reason they are so popular as a search engine.  You can rely on them to give you relevant results and not junk. 

But what happens when the bad guys take control of YOUR website?  You're not a bad guy, you're one of the good guys.  There is no reason why your site should be blocked from curious visitors.  UNLESS, your site is compromised!  Imagine if the bad guys use your site to redirect visitors to their site.  Or they rewrite the web code inside your website files to secretly plant malware or spyware inside the computers of unsuspecting legitimate visitors to your side.  

Now your customers are at risk of identify theft and numerous other scams, and it's all because your seemingly safe website was compromised.  

What will happen to your online reputation when it is discovered that you haven't been watching the store?  How many of your clients will stick with you if they don't feel they can trust that you are doing all you can to keep them and their personal information safe?

To combat the bad guys, and help protect your client's private information, you need to be aware of what the bad guys are capable of.  You need to know the state of your website, and you need to stay abreast of the ever changing field of internet and computer security.  

And IF a breach does occur, you need to be able to react quickly to minimize the damage, regain control of your website, and get re-listed in the Google search results.

NO!!   Don't think you are covered simply by the security measures of your website or dedicated server hosting provider.  Fancy firewalls and anti-intrusion devices can only do so much to protect you.   In reality, breaches in security can occur in any of the following areas:

• vulnerabilities at the Operating System (OS) level of your web or database server
• vulnerabilities in your web server software
• vulnerabilities in your web site files (code) itself 

Yes, it is true, that your web hosting company should be doing all it can to secure the server hardware, and hosting platform that your websites reside on.  But that is only one piece of the puzzle.  The other very important part is YOUR OWN CODE.  (The files on your website itself.) 

Your hosting provider could have their systems locked down tighter than Fort Knox, but if your website was built back in 2005, and hasn't been updated since, a flaw or oversight in the code itself might be offering the bad guys a way in.  It's like leaving the back door wide open, while you have only the front doors heavily guarded. 

If you use WordPress as your website hosting platform, for example, you need to be constantly updating and checking all of the code pieces that is part of your entire website.  This includes not only the core wordpress files, but each and every plugin, theme, and widget that was added over time, whether active or not!   A single flaw in any of these code pieces could allow the bad guys to get in. 

The best way to prevent a breach in security is to stay vigilant.  You need to stay abreast of what vulnerabilites exist and how to secure your systems against them.  You also need to stick to Best Practices when writing code.  And updating that code as new vulnerabilites are discovered.  You should also be running periodic vulnerability and malware scans of your website to find and seal up those wide open back doors BEFORE the bad guys do!  And most importantly, you need to maintain good backups of all your data.  You never know when you might need it!

If you are interested in learning more about how to protect not only your online business from hackers and the internet underworld, but also how to safeguard yourself and your family from scammers and other online predators, sign up for my upcoming FREE Hangout titled "Internet Security & Personal Privacy".  You will also be enrolled in my ongoing email education series of the same name, which will provide you with periodic updates on this very important topic. 

There is no cost or obligation to purchase anything to receive my valuable tips and advice for how to keep both your family as well as your business safe from hackers.


Join my FREE Internet Security & Personal Privacy Hangout to learn: 

• why & how hackers attack your home & small business computers
• ways hackers break into your website
• how hackers are able to break into your website
• what needs to be backed up on your website and why
• how to create strong passwords for your online accounts that are easy to remember
• why your child's identity is more at risk from hackers than your own
• what to do if your computer or website has been hacked
• Why WordPress might be the WRONG choice for your website

Wednesday, November 5th, 2014
10:30 AM Pacific Time  (6:30PM GMT)