Nobody likes a site with security issues – neither Google nor your visitors. (Hackers do but you probably don’t want to make their life easier at your expense, do you?) Making sure your site is secure can save you a lot of headache. Luckily, you don’t have to be an InfoSec whiz to do it – find out about some simple checks you could incorporate into your regular onsite audits to help make your site more secure.

1. #SearchLeeds2018

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WHY SECURITY MATTERS?

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NOT JUST BECAUSE OF GDPR

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SEO NIGHTMARES

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HACKED SITES,
NO WARNINGS

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BY THE TIME YOU SEE
A WARNING HERE,
IT MIGHT BE TOO LATE

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GOOGLE WEBMASTER
GUIDELINES:

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YOU ARE THE ONLY PERSON
RESPONSIBLE
FOR YOUR SITE’S SECURITY

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MYTH:
SSL = SECURE SITE

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WHY SITES GET HACKED

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PARASITE PAGES

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CRYPTO MINING

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Data source:

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TWO SCENARIOS
OF A SECURITY AUDIT

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PLANNED HEALTH CHECK

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…OR FIRE ALARM

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PLANNED HEALTH CHECK SCENARIO:
SHOULD BE PART OF SITE AUDITS

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CHECK WHAT GETS INDEXED

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CHECK FOR KNOWN
VULNERABILITIES

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REMOVE UNUSED PLUGINS

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REVOKE UNNEEDED ACCESS

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CHECK IF EVERYTHING
IS LATEST VERSION
(AND IF THE LATEST
VERSION IS SECURE)

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A WORD OF WARNING
ABOUT SUCURI:
IT’S AN EXCELLENT FIREWALL
BUT CAN ONLY SEE SO MUCH
FROM THE OUTSIDE

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CHECK YOUR SSL CERTIFICATE

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YOUR SSL IMPLEMENTATION
IS ONLY SECURE
IF YOU CONSISTENTLY LINK
TO SECURE RESOURCES

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FIRE ALARM SCENARIO:
WHEN YOU ARE HACKED/
SUSPECT A HACK

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HOW DO YOU KNOW
YOU’RE HACKED?

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STUFF IN YOUR
SITE: SERPS
THAT SHOULDN’T
BE THERE

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SITE SUDDENLY GETS
MUCH SLOWER

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 Check your server logs to see any unusual
URLs being requested
 Check Majestic for your indexed/linked to
pages
 Check Google Search Console for unusual
queries, URLs and crawl errors

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ACT QUICK
(BUT DON’T PANIC)

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HAVE A CLEAN BACKUP

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DO NOT DELETE ANYTHING
UNTIL YOU KNOW
WHAT HAPPENED

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UPDATE ALL PASSWORDS

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REMOVE VULNERABLE ELEMENTS
(IF THERE IS NO FIX CURRENTLY)

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UPDATE VULNERABLE ELEMENTS
(IF THERE IS A FIX)

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CHECK IF YOUR MAIL SERVER
IS AFFECTED

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CLEAN UP YOUR SERPS

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