Business Data Solutions Carbondale IL

Provided by Verio, StartupNation’s Web hosting service .

Stories about new viruses circulating through e-mail have become common. Reports of hackers stealing a company's data or crashing its Web site are less common, but the danger of it happening is ubiquitous and real. As you prepare to Web-enable your business, it is vital that you take the necessary steps to secure your server and business data.

As discussed in previous articles, you have two primary options for hosting your Web site: you can either hire a Web hosting company, or you can host the site yourself on your own server.

If you hire a Web hosting company such as Verio, they will configure your server's operating system, configure the basic services (Web, FTP, and e-mail), and manage the server's security. Make sure the hosting company offers comprehensive virus protection, spam protection and e-mail filtering, power backups, and 24/7/365 network monitoring. If you plan on building an e-commerce site, check that the company also offers an SSL secure server. Working with a Web hosting company that offers these services will relieve you of 95% of the work involved in securing your business. The additional issues to be aware of involve collecting and managing customer data, which are discussed in our two articles "E-Commerce: What You Need to Know" and "Creating a Customer Database for Your Site."

The remainder of this article discusses the most important security issues and procedures when hosting your online business.

Author: Verio, StartupNation's Web hosting service

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