Web site security scanner
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An Overview of Website Security Considerations
An unfortunate fact is that there are various ways in which web site security can be jeopardised. Security dangers lurk insidiously which impinge 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 most dangerous challenges. As soon as a Web server is set up at a site, a porthole is created in the local area network through which anyone who's on the Internet can peer. Of course, nearly all web site visitors see no more than what they are supposed to look at, but a few make an effort to uncover parts of the site that aren't designed to be discernible by all and sundry. Iniquitous visitors would like to do more than simply look; they make an effort to unbolt the window and slip through. The damage they could cause might be sheer vandalism, like substituting the web site's home page with one of their own which might say or show anything at all, or else it might be burglary, such as appropriating a customers or orders list.
It is difficult to avoid the probability that complex software includes bugs. No matter how comprehensively it is tested, there is more often than not a certain order of events or user actions, although it may happen on the odd occasion, that brings about a failure. Software bugs create holes in system security. A Web server is involved software that may quite possibly contain a security weakness.
It's not only the intricacy of a Web server which can create a problem, but also its open architecture. Think about a CGI script as an illustration. A CGI script can be processed at the server in response to a remote request from a client. This could be a request from an application or even the click of a button in a browser. If the CGI script includes a bug, there may be a possibility of a security violation.
Network Administrators also have to tackle problems from Web servers due to the danger they pose to the security of the local area network. Though there ought to be no unauthorized intrusions, right of entry must 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 can be breached if the Web server is configured badly. By the same token, normal use of the web site may be unattainable if the firewall is configured poorly. Attaining an ideal resolution is yet more tricky if an intranet exists as part of the system. Typically, the Web server then must be configured to distinguish and validate domains and user groups, which are apt to have varying permission levels and access rights.
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Almost anyone using a browser to surf the Net believe that they are doing so in secret and safely. It is not so. Web browsers may process self-contained software on the user's machine which are resident on a web site. Modern browsers display a caution and ask permission to execute such programs. Known commonly as "active content", e.g., ActiveX controls or Java applets, these programs, if malicious, may easily inject a virus or other hazardous software on the browser user's PC. After it is in the system it can cause all kinds of catastrophe and can be exceedingly stubborn to delete.
This is also a concern for Network Administrators. Web browsers present a route for possibly malicious software to permeate through the local area network's firewall. As soon as it is in the system, the damage it may cause can extend from secretly stealing sensitive data to motiveless spoliation.
Besides the issues surrounding active content, simply surfing the Net records a trail of the user's activities in the browser's history. This may be used by web sites and installed programs to determine a precise report of the user's behavior and interests. Whereas this may be unacceptable as an invasion of privacy by some people, it can be beneficial by offering pertinent content instantly, thus unburdening the user of the task of searching for it.
Privacy is an issue which concerns not just browser users but also Web Masters and Network Administrators for the duration of the actual transmission of information by means of the Web. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) is the fundamental language of communication for the Internet. When it was formed, security was not the most important feature of its blueprint. Both network and Internet transmissions should therefore not be considered as essentially private. Every time the browser on a local computer downloads a sensitive file from the remote Web server, or the browser user fills in a form with personal data and clicks the 'Submit' button, the transmitted information could be intercepted without authorisation.
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