Magento Security: Tips to Make your Online Store Secure

If you have ever owned a physical store or know someone who has, then probably you are aware of the biggest threat that gives every shop owner some goosebumps- shop lifting. Yes! Theft, frogery or shop lifting are the biggest nightmares of any store owner. But sadly enough, these threats are not restricted to the brick and mortar shops only. Online shopping portals are equally vulnerable to security threats and malware attacks. If you own a Magento e-commerce site, you can relate with this fact well.

Fear of hack attacks, malware attacks and online frogery, gives online business owners sleepless nights. But you can't guard your online venture physically and in-built security features are not enough. So, what do you do in a such a situation? How do you safeguard your Magento store against security threats? Well, the process isn't as gruesome as you think. Follow the simple five-point security policy listed below and give your site 100% protection against security breaches and hack attacks.

1. Opt for an Impregnable Password: Be wise while choosing a password for you Magento store's administrator panel. Depending upon the permissions and configuration level, this password can act as a key to highly confidential information, such as credit card data and customer information. You might feel at school again, but here are some guidelines to create a highly secure password:
   Length matters. Keep your password at least 10 characters long.
   Use a mix of upper and lower case letters, special characters and numbers.

If you opt for a phonetic password, it will be easier to remember and hard to crack.

2. Maintain the Exclusiveness Of Your Password: If you have set up a password for using it in your Magento store, keep it for that purpose only. Don't use it on any other site or web service. In case, any of these third-party sites are hacked, your password will be revealed and will become vulnerable. Maintain the exclusiveness of your password. This will keep security threats at bay.

3. Use Secure FTP: Interpretation of easy FTP passwords is the most common way the sites get hacked. You need to be any outside access to your online store's FTP. An easy way to do so is to use highly encrypted and secure passwords and make use of FTP-SSL and SFTP. SFTP allows you to use Public Key Authentication feature to enhance the security of your Magento portal. This feature asks the user for a DE-encryption password and a private key file to allow access to the FTP.

4. Keep Unauthorized FTP Access Circumscribed: If there are certain FTP accounts that you don't use often, it is best to limit the access to such accounts using a set of directories. In order to prevent scripts from running these directories, you can use httpd.conf and .htaccess files. These files will modify other files on the server, denying them an access to the FTP.

5. Keep Your Anti-Virus Up-to-Date: Trojans and computer viruses are the biggest foe of any online store owner. These malware elements can log your key strokes and steal your consumer data, thus posing a big threat to your Magento portal. To keep these baleful elements at bay, it is best to invest in a reputed anti-virus software that can shield your shopping site. Freeware like AVG are great security options for personal use, but you are looking for warranty, commercial anti-virus software is the way to go.

Security is the priority for every online entrepreneur. If you are worrisome about the security of your Magento portal, worry no more. Follow the aforementioned security tips and protect your portal against any possible threats.

Author Bio – John pitt is a freelance blogger associated with Custom magento development company at full-time basis. He has been blogging for company for past 5 years and currently heads the editorial team of various magento web technology blogs.

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