Best Practices to Secure Joomla Website
With the increasing popularity of e-commerce companies, which provide clients with a convenient purchasing experience, comes the requirement for a more appropriate website to connect with your target audience. Joomla is a content management system (CMS) platform that you may want to consider using to create your online retail website. Aside from that, it includes a large number of e-Commerce extensions that make it easier to design your website.
Is Joomla a haven from cybercriminals?
Since the rise of POS (point of sale) malware and cyberattacks on small businesses, the subject of whether or not Joomla is safe for e-commerce stores has been a source of debate.
Joomla is not completely impenetrable by hackers. However, when it comes to security, Joomla is still a sophisticated system with numerous vulnerabilities such as cross-site scripting, which you may need to grasp to completely safeguard your Joomla website.
Because owners do not publish this information upfront in their terms and conditions, Joomla websites are frequently hacked, and the audiences have no means of knowing about it. However, when we investigate the causes for this, only two possibilities emerge as plausible explanations.
For starters, many Joomla website owners ignore the best practices for Joomla website security, such as not keeping them up to date, and some are even unaware of how to secure their Joomla websites. The second reason could be that they do upgrade, but they still leave vulnerabilities for hackers to exploit and gain access to.
The way you keep data can make your website more exposed to internet attacks or more resistant to them. In this article, we will look at some of the most frequent Joomla vulnerabilities and provide you with some practical advice on how to best secure your Joomla website.
Joomla plugins, versions, and extensions that are no longer supported
Update your Joomla components as soon as possible after creating a Joomla website to ensure its security. Click on the Check for Updates button on the component’s page to perform this action.
Whether there are any available updates or not will be shown by this message. If you answered yes, it is recommended that you proceed by clicking on Install Updates, which will remove all of the old and obsolete components from your Joomla website.
When installing the updates, it is also important to uninstall any extensions that you no longer use because they may still be vulnerable or include a security flaw that hackers could exploit for their gain. This can only be accomplished by going through each extension and unchecking the ones that are no longer necessary for your situation.
Access to the Joomla Admin Backend can be restricted.
As a Joomla store owner, this is a necessary step because it will prevent hackers from gaining access to the backend of your website. Change the default Joomla administrator URL, which is typically http://www.yoursite.com/administrator, to something more appropriate for your needs.
There are several free Joomla extensions available that allow you to customize the default administration URL. The AdminExile plugin is a relatively widespread solution that you may want to consider using. When restricting access to your Joomla website to guarantee that it is secure, it is also a good idea to modify the default Username/Password combination.
Joomla’s database should be updated.
It is also necessary to keep the database up to date and to ensure that it is protected with a strong password. Changes to the MySQL database’s username and password can be made by selecting Components > Secure MySQL Access from the bottom right-hand corner of the screen. Select your username and password from the Secure MySQL Access window options and then click on Secure Connection to complete the process.
With a strong password, you can protect the data in your Joomla database, making it more difficult for hackers to steal any information about your website. On the same note, if you need to change the MySQL database’s username and password, return to the Components page and select Secure MySQL Access from the drop-down menu in the bottom right-hand corner of your browser.
Select Secure MySQL Access from the drop-down menu and then click on the Secure Connection button. As a result, hackers will have a difficult time stealing information about your website because the Joomla database will be encrypted with a strong password.
Install a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) Certificate.
An SSL certificate for your website is also mandatory. While in transit between a web browser and a server, Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encrypts the data, which helps secure sensitive information such as credit card details when doing online transactions.
Because this will encrypt all of your data transported across networks, hackers will have a far more difficult time stealing any information about your website. An inexpensive positive SSL certificate will suffice if you only have one domain or subdomain to secure, and it will complete the task.
Owners of Joomla e-commerce websites, on the other hand, frequently have many first-level subdomains, such as product pages, blogs, and payment pages, all under a single core domain. As a result, it is not necessary to invest in a separate single-domain SSL certificate for each new subdomain that they create.
When it comes to SSL certificates, we highly advise against using a wildcard certificate in this situation. Are you looking for low-cost but high-quality wildcard options? You may, however, get Rapidssl Wildcard and afford premium encryption for your selected primary domain as well as an infinite number of first-level subdomains for a very low price!
Make Use of Strong Passwords
For your Joomla administrator account, you must create a strong password that you will remember. Although this is not directly related to the security of the Joomla website, it will assist in preventing hackers from breaking into your admin interface and then causing damage. So make sure you don’t use the same password as before or something simple like 123456 when creating your password.
To make your Joomla website more secure, follow these best practices for Joomla two-factor authentication.
If you want to restrict access to your Joomla administration dashboard and reduce the likelihood of a hacker breaking into it, you should install Two Factor Authentication (2FA) for optimal security on your website. This will ensure that all users must enter two pieces of information to log in, either their username and password or a 2FA token.
This provides an additional layer of protection against hackers who may have gained access to authentication credentials. They would also require an additional piece of information, such as an SMS text message or an app notification on their phone, with a one-time code, before being permitted access to the backend of your website’s administration area.
Two-factor authentication (Joomla 2FA) is supported for Joomla versions 3.2.0 and higher. Select Two Factor Authentication from the Post-Installation Messages drop-down menu in your Joomla Administrator Panel to enable the Joomla Two Factor Authentication. You will be redirected to the user profile page after completing the form.
Install the Google Authenticator Client by following the on-screen instructions.
Scan the QR code with your phone, then key in the 6-digit code that is created, then click on ‘Save & Close.’
Utilize a Joomla Web Application Firewall to protect your website.
Installing a Joomla Web Program Firewall (WAF), an application that protects web servers from harmful behavior such as SQL injections and cross-site scripting, is the best way to ensure maximum security for your website. Configure your web application firewall to monitor incoming traffic to detect any strange requests or even attacks on your site.
Make regular backups of your data.
An excellent idea is to make regular backups of your Joomla website as a safety precaution. This can assist you in recovering from any disaster or hacking attack if something goes wrong with your website by ensuring that you have an up-to-date copy of your site that can be restored.
Select a dependable hosting service provider.
Keep in mind that the security of your Joomla website is also influenced by your web hosting provider’s policies. As a result, you must select a reputable web hosting company for your website needs. A secure Joomla website should be housed on web servers that have been designed with security in mind, as well as on servers that will take care of all the technical elements to ensure that your site functions smoothly and efficiently.
Conclusion: A safe Joomla website could mean the difference between having a successful and profitable eCommerce store and having one that is subjected to a high-profile data breach. So take action right away to protect your Joomla website and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your data is safe and secure.
