Website Security

Posted On: April 04, 2019 by

Raise your page rank, increase your traffic, and make sure that people want to reach out to you with HTTPS

An unsecure website can have negative consequences for your page rank, website traffic and the amount of data a user is willing to share on your website. HTTPS is a security protocol that uses SSL 2048-bit encryption to protect a user’s connection to the website. This ensures that any data transmitted to a HTTPS secured website cannot be tracked or stolen, and that the data is not corrupted as it is transferred.

Building a Trusted Brand

Google takes website security very seriously. In January 2017, Google Chrome started marking pages that receive sensitive user input, such as passwords or credit card information, as “Not Secure,” if they are not running on HTTPS. In October, Google expanded this practice to ALL pages that receive user input, including pages that contain Contact Us and Request for Quote forms. Pictured below is how a URL will be displayed after the changes are rolled out.

Savvy users will immediately realize that they are putting their personal information at risk by submitting information to an unsecure website, and 84% of regular users said they would abandon a purchase if data was sent over an unsecure connection. As security becomes more of a concern for Google, these “Not Secure” markings may become more visible

Protecting Your Users

You then have the question of security itself, which is a huge benefit, both for you and your users. Transmitting data over an unsecure connection puts your customers’ information at risk, leaving them open to identity theft and financial damage.

Furthermore, if the loss of personal information can be traced back to your website, you can be found liable in a court of law, fined and ordered to pay damages. Needless to say, data breaches are disastrous for a company’s image.

How do I find out if Google has indicated that my website is not secure?

The first step you should take is making sure your Chrome browser is up-to-date. To do this, open the Chrome Settings Menu by clicking on the icon with three vertical dots in the upper-right hand corner of the browser’s toolbar. If your browser is out of date, an option to update will be given in the menu options. If you do not see the option to update Chrome, you have the latest version. While most users will not have to manually update their browsers, it is important to double check to make sure you have the latest version. Staying up-to-date will keep your browsing information private and personal data secure.

You might not have even noticed it but when you use Google’s Chrome browser, there is an icon with a warning in the URL bar. When you click on the icon next to your URL in the address bar, you see the warning. Please see the example below.

These options are available in Chrome browsers that have been updated to at least v.62. Since the browser auto-updates, most users will be updated to the most current version. Any version after v.62 will still include all the security updates and features needed to ensure you are browsing safely and able to check the security of every site you are on.

How Do I Secure My Website?

Install a secure certificate

A secure certificate encrypts information between a web browser and a web server, so unauthorized people cannot view what is being displayed or submitted. If you are a current customer of ours, the good news is that your website is already running in https://. Secure certificates are installed on our customers’ sites, free of charge. Do you need a certificate? We can help. Contact us to learn more.

Secure your DNS

DNS tells the world where your digital assets, such as website or email server, are located. Marketing Metrics Corp uses Cloudflare as our primary DNS provider. Cloudflare handles the DNS for 38% of the internet’s websites and provides exceptional security and DDoS protection.

Install a Web Application Firewall

A Web Application Firewall (WAF) protects a website from malicious activity such as Cross Site Scripting (XSS) and malicious file uploads. Marketing Metrics Corp installs, tailors and maintains the security policies for our client’s WAFs, making sure their websites are safe and secure.

Need help from a website security company?

Keeping your website secure is good for your online reputation, future revenue growth, and your customers’ privacy. If you have any questions about the process and costs of securing a website, contact us today and take advantage of our FREE website review process.