When commencing with an ecommerce store using Magento, the main issue you would face is how to secure it. To be precise, Magento security is bolstered by the presence of some built-in security features provided by the platform itself. However, relying on these built-in features would not suffice in the wake of a sophisticated malware attack. There is no denying the fact that Magento is one of the most powerful ecommerce platforms with over 250,000 active sites. But like all other ecommerce platforms, Magento has its fair share of security risks. Due to its immense popularity, Magento is also one of the hacked CMS after WordPress. What’s more, card skimming and credit card hacks are the other recent examples of how data is compromised on Magento-based sites.
So let’s take a glance at some of the steps with the help of which you can secure your Magento store.
1. Install SSL Certificate in your Magento Store
There exists an array of reasons why you urgently need to SSL Certificate on your Magento website. SSL Certificate not only helps in facilitating a secure web browsing experience to your clients. It also plays a crucial role in boosting your Google rankings and confidence of customers. If your Magento store doesn’t have an SSL Certificate installed, Google would flag the store as unsafe. This implies that your visitors would refrain from visiting a website that is unsafe. Secure Socket Layer or an SSL Certificate encrypts all the data shared on a website. Similarly , if you install it in your Magento store, it can encrypt all the confidential data like your customer’s payment history and credit card data. Thus a great way to boost Magento security is to install an SSL Certificate.
2. Use Strong Passwords
Most often we tend to downplay the significance of using strong passwords. Even though Magento comes with varied sorts of robust security measures, you should never underestimate the power of using strong passwords. In other words, to boost Magento security, you need a strong combination of various alphanumeric characters that can fend off attackers. At any cost, you wouldn’t want your user data to be stolen and used nefariously. Magento security experts usually suggest the use of tools for storing your passwords if they are too complex to remember. But refrain from saving the passwords in your system. Specially programmed malware can steal these passwords which would compromise your user data.
3. Change Admin URL in your Magento Store
A majority of websites have admin as the default URL for the admin pages. If you don’t change the default admin login URL, it can seriously endanger your store. What’s more, altering the default URL would hide the admin page of the website which in turn would bolster Magento security. To change the default admin URL, you have to first visit the system then configuration. You can also refer to Magneto’s official site to know more about changing admin URLs.
4. Emphasize using Magento reCAPTCHA
It is worth mentioning here that using Magento reCAPTCHA is a great way to block spam and safeguard your store from malicious attackers. Magento reCAPTCHA is often your first line of defense against various types of bots. ‘It works by identifying the access session initiated on your site is done by a bad bot or human being. What’s more interesting is the fact that a majority of Magento site owners use reCAPTCHA to successfully defend against dictionary attacks. The use of reCAPTCHA also makes sure that search engine spiders assess essential pages of your store.
5. Opt for Regular Site Backups
Taking periodic backups of your sites isa great way to restore your site in case of any Magento security threats. Although you can connect with your clients anytime you like, it is never safe. One of the basics of online security is to opt for site backups. In case something goes seriously wrong with your site, a backup would help restore its normalcy. You can back up your site by downloading its data through an FTP client and then backing it up in your account. On the other hand, you can use PHPMyAdmin to export the database you have stored. After this process is completed, you can access the data from the database area under the Pixie Control Panel. 6. Limit Attempts from the Admin side in Magento This is also one of the best ways to beef up Magento security. You can decrease the number of failed login attempts to fend off malicious attackers. Magento also lets you limit the maximum number of password reset requests. By doing that your website would stay safe and cyber attackers cannot access your Magento store. Note that these login attempts vary from version to version. Hence, it would be great if you refer to the official Magento site and check your store’s version number.
7. Use Magento Scanners to identify Potential Security Threats
If you are not from a security background, it’s never easy to spot complex security risks in your sites. Magento developers are fully aware of this issue and hence they have introduced the Magento free scanning tool for users. This tool comes equipped with a lot of useful features that can save your store from varied sorts of attacks. In other words, with this tool, you can automate the scan of your Magento store. What’s more, this tool also comes with real-time alerts and an interactive dashboard that makes beefing up Magento security simple. Some of the core features of this tool are saving security scan sessions in merchant accounts and automated security scans. And if you want to maintain your Magento store in top-notch condition with zero user complaints, opting for security audits is quite imperative. With custom security audit, you can fix critical security loopholes. Maintaining a Magento store is quite a time-taking process. But with a dedicated customized security solution, you can now concentrate on the important things of your business.
