2022's Top Ways To Secure Your Website Or Web Application

If you’re concerned about becoming a victim of cybercrime activity while conducting day-to-day work, financial transactions, or higher education online, you have a right to be.

Between viruses and malware that might find their way onto a website or web application, the risk of falling prey to cybercriminals has increased exponentially over the past decade. Specifically, according to statistica.com, there were 5.6 billion malware attacks from 2015 to 2020, making it one of the most typical cyberattacks criminals use.

However, there’s good news to report: Effective solutions can offer protection for your computer, website, and personal or company data. Here are a few top ways to help get you started.

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Are My Concerns About The Dangers Of Malware Legitimate?

Before you let anyone convince you that you’re simply being paranoid about malware and viruses, you’re not alone in your concerns. In fact, a new poll by the Pearson Institute and Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research reveals that 9 in 10 Americans are concerned about becoming a victim of cybercrime.

This is especially true for those who work or go to school online since the sensitive company or personal information like Social Security numbers and financial data could be easily stolen by hackers if websites lack sufficient cybersecurity.

However, there are ways to ensure this doesn’t happen, and one of the most effective means of protection is investing in a web application firewall. These types of firewalls protect business and personal websites, including web applications, from cybercriminal traffic.

What Is Web Application Scanning?

Web application security scanning is one of the most important features of web application firewall (WAF) solutions. During this process, the software will crawl a website to find vulnerabilities that might be present and could be taken advantage of by hackers.

The scanner will also look to find and analyze any discoverable web pages or files that are present on the website or web application being used. It will then create a software structure and perform simulated attacks to determine specific vulnerabilities. This type of ongoing and consistent analysis is important to ensure a website is secure against the thousands of new malware attacks happening daily.

Why Do I Need To Remove Malware?

To first answer this question, it’s important to clarify the difference between antivirus software and malware removal software. When installing antivirus protection, you’re preventing files containing viruses to be downloaded onto your computer. However, antivirus protection might not catch all malware or viruses, especially after a user has clicked on a bad URL link or attachment. This is where the need to remove malware arises.

While antivirus software has simple — and sometimes ineffective — tools to remove viruses, a firewall-based malware remover is as sophisticated as the malware itself. A malware remover will hunt down all the viruses or other malicious code that are on an infected computer and remove it entirely.

Why is this so important? Malware can be programmed to hide, allowing it to repropagate or reinfect a computer, even after being identified by antivirus software.

It’s Better To Be Safe Than Sorry

Ultimately, finding the right firewall protection that includes malware removal and website scanning solutions will be your safest bet to keep your website or web applications secure when sensitive data is involved. As the treasured Ben Franklin saying goes, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”