How to Check if a Website is Safe?
Modern customers are probably more aware of the fact that they need to know how to detect safe and unsafe websites. They are, however, unlikely to have the technical skills (or time or inclination) to analyze websites in great detail. This means that if you want to win their trust quickly, you need to understand what they want to see and be sure to deliver it to them.
What customers know about how to identify and protect from unsafe websites
When an average customer thinks about how to detect safe and unsafe websites, they generally think about well-publicized indicators (such as the padlock sign) and evidence that the website passes basic “common-sense checks”. Here is what you need to deliver to them.
Brand recognition
Even SMBs can have brand recognition within their niche. The more of it you have, the less reliant you are on search engine optimization (although it’s still recommended to pay close attention to this). If you reach out to your customers where they are online, then you can develop a level of trust with them, which will encourage them to see your website as safe.
If you have limited resources, then pick one (or maybe two) platforms that give you the most return on your time there. Be prepared to think outside the box a little and consider places like Quora as well as the mainstream social media sites.
The thumbs up from the search engines (and security software)
Assuming you are being found through search, then you want the search engine to mark your site as being healthy. Likewise, you want to make sure that security companies (e.g. people who make internet-safety products) also see your website as safe. If either of these so much as question your site, then the average consumer is very likely to go elsewhere.
The padlock
It’s debatable how many customers even notice the difference between HTTP and HTTPS let alone have any real understanding of what it means. The padlock symbol, however, is being pushed as a sign of safety by all kinds of internet authorities including the search engines, the browsers, and the security companies, as well as the likes of ISPs and consumer organizations.
Be aware that if you go down the free route to qualifying for HTTPs, then you may not be rewarded with the padlock. This is because there is a growing issue with criminals using the free certification service to create websites that look safe but are actually malicious. As a result, some browsers are reserving the padlock sign for sites that go through the paid process. This involves more in-depth verification of your identity and is therefore safer.
The overall standard of the website
If you want to be taken seriously then you need to present yourself seriously. That means you need to have a website that is at least well-designed, meaning easy to navigate. The spelling and grammar should be perfect and all expected pages should be there. As a minimum, that means a page with your privacy policy and a contact us page.
Your contact us page doesn’t have to include a contact us form. These are convenient, but they can also be a security threat as hackers can use the form to inject malicious code into your website. If you do choose to include a contact us form, you need to ensure that all fields are carefully validated to prevent it from being abused.
Your contact us page does, however, have to include some way for customers to contact you. It’s fine to include your social media handles and email, but you will have more credibility, for which read more trust if you can supply real-world contact details.
Even a cell phone number is better than nothing, but a landline is even better. If you don’t have a landline, you could get a VoIP number with an appropriate local dialing code and forward it to your cell. Being able to give a real-world address is even better. If you work from home, try getting a PO Box and giving that address instead.
The verification seal
At present, it's debatable how many customers actually understand verification seals. It can, however, still be useful to be verified as the process essentially acts as a security audit on your site and may bring up issues you would not have thought to consider on your own.
It's also very likely that third-party verification is going to become more important in the future. This means that getting verified now could put you a bit ahead of the game.
Please click here now to have your website scanned, for free, by cWatch from Comodo
Removal
Security stack layer 1
Malware Detect & Removal
Our malware detection scanning, preventive methods and removal enables you to take a proactive approach to protect the business and brand reputation from malware attacks and infections.
- Unsuspecting websites get infected with malicious code.
- Continuous website monitoring to detect any incidents.
- Identify and remediate the cause to hardening your websites.
Comodo cWatch Web can identify malware, provide the tools and methods to remove it, and help to prevent future malware attacks at the edge before it hits the network, included as a paid member.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Response
Security stack layer 5
Cyber Security Operations Center
Our exclusive C.S.O.C. is staffed with certified security analysts to monitor, assess and defend websites, applications, databases, data centers, servers, networks, desktops and other endpoints.
- 24 / 7 / 365 security monitoring using state-of-the-art tech.
- Engage clients of complex threats to resolve the issue.
- Real-time web traffic monitoring and proactive incident fixes.
C.S.O.C. checks for threats, identifies and analysis then performs the necessary actions to resolve the issue while offloading costs of in-house experts by using stack layer 3 to handle the heavy lifting.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Intelligence
Security stack layer 3
Security Information • Event Management
S.I.E.M. collects logs and events the network traffic and web assets, security devices, operating systems, applications, databases, and reviews the vulnerabilities using artificial intelligence to process.
- Reduces billions of events into prioritized threats real-time.
- Identifies changes in network behavior with activity baselines.
- Flows data searches in real-time streaming or historical mode.
S.I.E.M. senses and tracks significant threats to links to all online supporting data and context for easier investigation. While anomaly detection to identify changes associated with the network safety.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Prevention
Security stack layer 4
Web Application Firewall
W.A.F. by Comodo eliminates application vulnerabilities to protect websites and web applications against advanced attacks including Denial-of-Service (DDoS), SQL Injection and Cross-Site Scripting.
- Destroys malicious requests and thwart hack attempts.
- Protection to account registration forms and login pages.
- Malicious bots and brute force attacks are block and patched.
Combined with malware scanning, vulnerability scanning and automatic virtual patching and hardening engines provides robust security is fully managed for Comodo cWatch Web customers.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Performance
Security stack layer 2
Add a network of globally distributed servers designed to boost the speed for websites and web applications by transferring content to your user based on their proximity to the nearest CDN web server.
- Proven to increase search engine rankings and site scores.
- 29 worldwide CDN node locations to reach your users.
- Save your bandwidth by leveraging CDN browser caching.
CDN serves your users your website content with virtually unlimited capacity. Giving you the freedom to focus less on site maintenance, more on scaling the uptime of your traffic and target audience.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Compliance
Security stack layer 6
Payment Card Industry • Data Security Standard
PCI • DSS ensures that your customers' cardholder info is kept secure from security breaches through a meticulous scan of your network and applications to identify and fix security vulnerabilities.
- Simple and automated way to stay compliant with PCI • DSS.
- Pass the requirements for the 12 points PCI • DSS standard.
- Schedule on-demand PCI scans to report quarterly results.
Establishes and implements a firewall, hardens your environment, disables unnecessary services & configures system parameters to prevent misuse, ensures system audit components are protected.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
© 2024 Comodo Security Solutions, Inc