Tips To Improving Your cPanel Security

While one of cPanel’s greatest strengths is that it can work with very little initial setup and it’s easy to get a basic installation up and running, this can also occasionally prove to be one of its most fatal flaws too. When it comes to security, you must make no compromises and always ensure that you’re on top of current trends.

This is valid no matter if you’re running a large site or a relatively small one – any kind of data breach can compromise you and those involved in the website to a potentially large degree, and it’s irresponsible to ignore the various opportunities you have to plug security holes in the system.

Don’t Postpone Updates

A very common mistake that we can see not only among cPanel users, but those who have a computer or smartphone in general, is to keep avoiding the regular notifications for new updates that pop up on the screen every now and then. Sure, it might be annoying to have to take a few minutes of your time waiting for an update to complete, but in the long run, it’s a much better option compared to being exposed to a security breach and losing a valuable asset. When it comes to cPanel, keeping things up to date is relatively simple and it keeps getting more and more straightforward with new versions of the platform too, so you have no excuse for not keeping your own installation properly secured in that aspect. If you’re ever confused about a certain aspect of how the application works, you can always get an answer online too, as the community behind it is quite friendly and reliable.

Keep Related Applications Secure

If you’re using any third-party plugins, make sure that you follow their developers for any updates and security-related announcements. Likewise, if you have access to some back-end applications on the server, you should also do your duty in keeping them up to date and informing yourself of any recent developments in their relevant circles. Maintaining a proper grip on security can be a difficult challenge, especially in today’s world when trends are moving so fast and in such an unpredictable manner, but you have to invest the time and effort into that if you want to avoid huge headaches down the road. Databases and the methods you use to connect to them and insert user input into them tend to be a common attack vector, and you should familiarize yourself with how they work on a good level, for example. As long as you follow some approved common practices, you shouldn’t find it too hard to keep things in order though.

Follow Good Password Practices

This brings us to another important point – be careful with how you’re setting your passwords. This might sound like useless advice, as pretty much everyone is aware of the importance of maintaining a good password these days, but there are some other rules that people forget to follow. Don’t reuse passwords, for example, especially on the same platform/domain. Also, never implement your own cryptography-related functions if you’re doing any of the security-related programming of your sites, and make sure to rely on publicly available code that has been tried and proven to be secure. You’d be surprised how many people decide to ignore this piece of advice and go for the “security through obscurity” route, but as we all know, this pretty much never works these days and can only lead to disaster.

Work with Reliable Partners

It’s important to know who’s providing you with the various services that you’re using as well. From cPanel hosting to the people you hire to oversee your networks, there are many sides that have to be evaluated carefully. This is not a simple task when the security of your site is on the table, so make sure that you take the time to analyze the situation properly and figure out who you can trust and who may have a bad reputation on the market. The Internet can make it very simple to keep this in check and get a good overview of your current – or potential – business partners’ situations, so make good use of that and explore your options as much as your schedule allows you to before making a decision.

Your host will probably be one of the most important deals you strike, so make sure you take your time and analyze everything on that front as best as you can. It can often be very worthwhile to spend a little extra money if it means getting a better service, and when you’re dealing with a site where aspects like security are of critical value, then it’s pretty much mandatory to go for the higher-end deals.

You don’t want to compromise the security of your clients and partners, as this kind of bad reputation will stick with you basically forever.

Hope you found this post helpful. Do let me know other points you think I missed in this article.