AVOID A WEBSITE DISASTER!
– A reality check for one small business owner (me) with a website
Today I made a discovery that no business owner EVER wants to discover.
My website had a virus!!
Now just let me say that I have anti virus software on my Mac. But let me also say that this does not and will not protect your website. No sireee.
So, naturally, slight panic set in.
Exactly how did I make this discovery you might ask? I decided to Google my website just to see what came up.
And luckily I did because I never would’ve known it was there! Viruses on websites are horrible, nasty things. Not only can they compromise payment gateways, stealing credit card details (which luckily I don’t have on my website), but they also steal email addresses and send virus filled emails that, if opened, can hold a computer (and it’s operator) to Ransom (big $$$)!
Anyway back to panic stations. I called my husband. He knows people. He recommended a very nice bloke who ran some virus detecting software through my site and discovered that I DID NOT HAVE A VIRUS after all. Turns out that a variety of issues caused my antivirus software and my browser to red flag all the pages in my website! (Kind of glad I have antivirus software).
WHAT A RELIEF!
I don’t have to redo my website. The virus hasn’t infected any visitors and my Mac hasn’t been held to ransom. How lucky am I?
But the thing is, and this is why I am writing this blog, is that IT COULD HAVE. And if it could happen, then perhaps, one day it could happen to your website.
I have now purchased an SSL Certificate, which gives my website and my website visitors comfort in the knowledge that the site is secure. No malicious codes, no data stealing, no nasty viruses. And for $99 a year, plus set up fees, that’s peace of mind for me.
Just saying…
Do you need an SSL Certificate?
The short answer is YES – if you want to avoid a website disaster
For 2 reasons:
- To secure personal information collected on your website – like email addresses, credit card details etc.
- An SSL certificate is going to be mandatory by the end of 2017. Without one Google will flag your website as 2/3 unsecure. Which means when someone sees your website url in Google it will be marked as ‘NOT SECURE’.
So If you want to get your website security sorted – here’s the nice blokes details: Gary Wies https://www.smallbusinessinternetmarketing.com.au/ (and yes it’s secure!)