Free web site security test
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Assessing Website Security Concerns
An unfortunate fact is that there are many ways in which web site security can be imperilled. For example, security risks are ever present that can have an effect on Web servers and LANs (local area networks) on which Web sites reside, even by the customary use of a Web browser.
Web Masters bear the brunt when handling the gravest challenges. As soon as a Web server is installed at a site, a porthole materialises in the local area network through which anyone who is using the Internet can peek. Certainly, for the most part website visitors look at only what they're supposed to see, but a few attempt to discover areas of the site that aren't intended to be discernible by the rest of the world. Unscrupulous visitors aim to go further than only look; they endeavour to unlock the window and slither in. The harm intruders could cause might be mere vandalism, for example changing the website's home page with their own that might say or put on view anything at all, or it might be burglary, such as stealing a customers or orders list.
It is hard to escape the probability that intricate computer software contains bugs. Regardless of how carefully it's tested, there does exist as a rule a certain combination of events or user actions, though it may be infrequent, which brings about an error. Software bugs give rise to gaps in system security. A Web server is convoluted software that may very easily contain a security opening.
It's not only the intricacy of a Web server that can instigate a problem, but also its open architecture. Think about a CGI script as an example. A CGI script can be processed at the server in response to a remote request from a client. It could be a request from an application or even the click of a button in a browser. If the CGI script has a bug, there will be a possibility of a security violation.
Network Administrators also have to cope with problems from Web servers by reason of the risk they pose to the security of the local area network. Whereas there must be no unauthorized intrusions, admission has to be given to website visitors. This means that access to the network must be controlled. The Administrator therefore has to perform a delicate balancing act. Even the most robust firewall may be compromised if the Web server is configured poorly. Bearing that in mind, normal use of the web site can be not possible if the firewall is configured badly. Arriving at an ideal resolution is yet more complicated if an intranet is a constituent of the system. Normally, the Web server then needs to be configured to recognize and verify domains and user groups, which are likely to have varying permission levels and access rights.
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Nearly all people using a browser to surf the Internet believe that they are doing so secretly and securely. This is not the case. Web browsers can run autonomous software on the client computer which are hosted by a web site. Modern browsers show a notice and request authorisation to execute those programs. Identified generally as "active content", e.g., ActiveX controls or Java applets, these programs, if malicious, might easily leave a virus or other dangerous software on the browser user's PC. When it's in the system it can wreak all kinds of damage and can be extremely difficult to get rid of.
This is also a concern for Network Administrators. Web browsers make available a route for potentially malicious software to filter all the way through the local area network's firewall. When it is in the network, the damage it could inflict can go from covertly stealing sensitive data to wanton destruction.
Besides the concerns in re active content, just surfing the Internet records a trail of the user's activities in the browser's history. This may be utilised by web sites and installed programs to ascertain an exact profile of the user's behaviour and preferences. While this may be frowned upon as an invasion of privacy by some, it can be helpful by offering pertinent content directly, thus unburdening the user of the job of looking for it.
Confidentiality is an issue which worries not only browser users but also Web Masters and Network Administrators during the actual transmission of data by means of the Internet. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the basic language of communication for the Internet. When it was created, security wasn't the principal aspect of its design. Both network and Internet transmissions should therefore not be thought of as as necessarily private. Any time the browser on a local computer downloads a confidential file from the remote Web server, or the browser user completes a form with personal data and clicks the 'Submit' button, the transmitted information may be intercepted without authorisation.
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