So You've Been Hacked...

We want the focus of out church websites to be on evangelization and reaching out to people, but there are some people we want to keep out of our sites: HACKERS!

Thousands of hackers are out there. Some are professionals whose job is to discover leaks in software, and then report them to companies so that the software can be made more secure. Others hack as a hobby to both show off their talents and to make the lives of others more difficult. This second group can really cause some troubles, as they may leave your website either tainted with some kind of virus or spyware, or modify your content.

Now, I'm no security expert myself, but there are precautions we can take to discourage or minimize the effects of hackers:

1. Make Backups Of Everything - This can be as simple as storing a ZIP file with all of you files in it on a seperate computer. When you have a copy of everything, if you do get hacked then you can restore your site to where it was before getting hacked.
2. Keep All Packages Up To Date - If you are using a Content Management System or your own dynamic content setup, make sure you (or that your hosting company) keep your server up to date with the latest versions. Often, updates are made to these packages for security reasons as often as they are for new features.
3. Watch Your File Permissions - If you're using a Linux host, make sure that all your files and directories are not set to CHMOD 777. That means that anyone can edit any of your files, add files or delete existing files; and even a new hacker can get in and modify your files. With other OSs, make sure that your files are not set for public or anonymous writing.
   

So those are a few pointers to get you started. Remember, if your site gets hacked, it's not the end of the world. Learn from the experience, and you'll help keep it from happening again.