Have you ever visited what you thought was a "safe" website, only to discover some pretty overt spam attempting to lure you to the far darker corners of the internet, where you KNOW your computer would NOT be safe?  

Have you ever been stopped DEAD COLD in your tracks by Google, warned that the website you are about to visit may contain malware (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 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.  

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 server systems.  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 find them! 

I can help keep your website safe by:

I'm a business owner, too, and I understand how little time you have to worry about your website. You have more pressing matters to focus your attention on.  The last thing you need is another course in how to fix and manage your own website security.  Nor do you want to babysit the backup systems or tackle resolving each potential hole in your server that a vulnerability report reveals.  These can be extremely time draining tasks.

Managing websites and website security is what I have been doing for almost two decades now.  More importantly, it's what I enjoy doing.  Let me handle your website worries, while you focus on your core business.

Are you ready to take the hassle out of managing your website's security?  Let me stay vigilant for you, like an army of virtual armed guards surrounding your website. Join the Malware Website Protection & Managed Backups Program, starting at just $99/month.   

Have peace of mind knowing that, once setup, no additional action will be required on your part.  In the event vulnerabilities are discovered, or an actual breach occurs, all counter measures and corrections will be handled for you.   

Prefer a one time assessment of your website, to discover and fix any vulnerabilities found?  Then signup for the Website Vulnerability Assessment & Patching Service.  Just $350.  

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 email series titled "Internet Security & Personal Privacy".  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.


As a subscriber to Internet Security & Personal Privacy, you will learn: 

• why & how hackers attack your home & small business computers
• ways hackers 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