Best Practices to keep Your Domain Safe and Secure

In the modern online world, data protection is of the utmost importance. As more and more businesses venture into the online realm, and as corporate websites keep popping up all around the web, there is no denying that the threat of cyber-attacks will only continue to rise in the near and far future. Why? Simply because hackers and scammers have a lot to gain by stealing sensitive business information and selling it to your competitors, or anyone willing to pay top dollar to put your brand in jeopardy. To combat this threat, companies need to prioritize cybersecurity and integrate preventative solutions to deter cyber-attacks altogether.

From phishing and social engineering to targeted firewall attacks and potential data breaches, all the way to domain cyber-attacks, there is no way of telling where the next strike might come from. Domain security is an important topic in particular nowadays, because business leaders will focus so much on protecting their company’s data stores that they will neglect the security of their domains, which could lead to data loss down the road. With that in mind, here are the best domain security practices you need to employ.
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Choose a reputable registrar

First things first, you have to make sure that the registrar is reputable and trustworthy, and that the company has been in business long enough to know the industry inside and out so that it can employ all of the security measures your company needs. This means that you shouldn’t choose the first registrar that pops up, instead, you should tend to some meticulous research, compare costs and features, and ask around with previous customers.

There is no better source of credible information on the web than a company’s past customer base, which is why it’s important to track down the registrar’s previous clients (and current ones, for that matter) to inquire about its data and domain security policies and solutions, and check what made their previous customers switch to other providers. You should also ask current customers what inspires them to stay, so that you can draw a direct comparison and weigh the pros against the cons.

Get domain privacy protection from your registrar

When you buy a domain and sign up for a hosting service, your company’s information will be set to public by default. Sometimes, this can be a good thing if you’re looking to get discovered by potential clients and customers, as nowadays clients will research your company’s information and try to connect with you on social media such as LinkedIn, in order to establish a more personal connection and reach you easily. Other times, though, having your company’s information on the public can be a potential security risk.

Online hackers and scammers can use this information to try and breach your security measures and steal valuable company data. This is why you might want to add privacy protection to your hosting plan, which is provided by your registrar for an additional fee. While you might not need this feature when you’re just starting out, you might want to add it to your plan as your company starts to grow and gain traction and exposure online.

Find top-level-domains that offer stellar security

Domain security is not just about choosing privacy protection, or using strong passwords (although that does matter), it’s also about finding TLDs and registrars that provide top-level domain name security to their clients through various solutions. These should include spam monitoring, phishing and malware monitoring, registry lock tools, DNSSEC (domain name system security extensions), and using advanced “sinkholing” solutions to redirect compromised domains to law enforcement servers, and more.

These and other proactive and reactive solutions should be the foundation of your registrar’s domain name security policy. The registrar shouldn’t just employ automated software to achieve this, rather, the company should have a dedicated team of professionals who will monitor domain activity for all types of online threats, and act quickly at the first sign of a potential cyber-attack.

Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication

It should go without saying that you shouldn’t share your account information with anyone. Provided that only you know the password to your hosting account, you can go ahead and enhance your security measures by improving password strength. Don’t rely on your own imagination, instead, use a password management tool to create a truly randomized string of letters and special characters that will make it impossible for hackers to crack.

While you’re at it, go ahead and enable two-factor authentication. This is one of those security measures that companies are using to reinvent their cybersecurity policies, and so should you. With two-factor authentication, if your account is accessed from an unregistered device, you will instantly receive a notification along with an option to lock up your account in the case that someone managed to hack in.

Put your domain under a registrar lock

And finally, you can put your domain name under a registrar lock to add another layer of security to your account. A registrar lock will make it impossible to change any account information and DNS configuration without your explicit consent. This means that you will first have to unlock the domain and then make any changes, but the added hassle might be worth it in the long run.
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Wrapping up

Domain security should be one of your top priorities if protecting sensitive business data is your goal. By complementing these tips with your other cybersecurity measures, you will have closed the loop on data protection and ensured the safety of your company as a whole.

Jolene Rutherford

Jolene Rutherford is a marketing specialist - turned blogger, currently writing for technivorz.com. Interested in digital marketing and new technology trends. Love sharing content that can help and mean to people.