Why Would My Website be Blacklisted? 

There are several reasons a website might get blacklisted. Here are the most common reasons a website is get put on this the list:

• SEO Spam

Hackers gain access to a website and fill it with spammy content to pages with the highest rankings and traffic. They will also tempt sell illicit, illegal, or counterfeit products using spammy keywords, injections, and pop-ups. 

• Phishing Schemes 

Host links that lead users to sketchy websites or duplications of popular websites are categorized as phishing schemes. Visitors of these unethical websites end up sharing their private info, often credit card numbers, usernames, passwords, social security numbers, and more. Which in turn is used to access their bank account and get scammed out of money. 

• Malware Code

This is the most common reason a website is blacklisted. Trojan horses are types of malicious software or code that looks harmless but deceives visitors into installing or loading the malware onto their computer. Once in place, the hacker can potentially take control of a device and perform various harmful actions.

How do I Prevent My Website from Being Blacklisted? 

You can prevent your company’s website from being a target for blacklisting by doing the following:

• Use a Reputable Web Hosting Provider

Use hosting services that provides safety monitoring, security features, and strong firewalls that can help detect potential attacks and security breaches while also helping you detect certain site vulnerabilities. These providers should also alert you when they detect suspicious activity on your site and help you get rid of any online infections. 

• Use Cybersecurity Services 

You want your website to be frequently scanned for different threats or infections. This dramatically decreases the chances of getting blacklisted. Acting as fast as possible is key in avoiding traffic and revenue loss. Implementing automated cybersecurity protocols can be highly effective, especially if your current hosting provider does not offer monitoring services.

• Keep Apps, Plugins, and Site Software Updated

The most common problem a company has is maintaining their website’s apps, plugins, and site software, especially if you use a CMS such as WordPress. Hackers usually attack insecure points of entry and insert malicious code, spammy content, trojan horses, suspicious links, and more. The backdoors are usually old, outdated apps, plugins, and software. It is imperative that you keep everything up-to-date and secure, from your third-party apps to the site’s core software. If you or your internal team are too busy, look for a digital marketing agency that provides web maintenance services. 

• Fix Broken Links 

Broken links occur when the website or page they have previously linked to has gone through reconstruction, and the redirect needs to be set up again. These links usually send both crawlers and users to 404 pages. This can have a negative effect both on site rankings and user experience. Also, broken links can be due to domain name changes. The new domain owner can redirect the visitors to phishing and/or malware sites, so make sure you own your domain name, or you will have to send a large amount of money to make sure you marketing material contains a new domain name. Regularly audit your site for link errors and replace broken ones. There are automated tools and digital marketing agencies that can do the job perfectly if you have a huge website that requires a thorough eye.

• Limit Login Attempts 

Hackers will attempt to enter your website using aggressive tactics called brute-force attacks. They use bots that run through billions of potential password and username combos and might enter the correct credentials. When website owners limit login attempts, they can safely avoid these problems by kicking out a user if they misuse a username or password more than three times. Hacker prefer to go after easy targets and this is one easy barrier to implement. 

• Use Strong Passwords 

This may seem like a commonsense answer, but many users use an easy password when starting off and forget to change the password later. Hackers try to access a site through logins as mentioned in the previous point, but they can also use dictionary attacks, where they list out common phrases and words to guess passwords to take over an account. Require your users to use strong passwords with a variety of lowercase and uppercase letters and symbols. You want to create a unique password that makes it difficult for malicious actors to enter your website through the administrator section of your website. 

• Delegate User Permissions & Roles

When you have several users who help you run your website, you should consider assigning different permissions and roles to help secure your platform from attacks. When a hacker manages to steal or guess the credentials of your site admin, they can do tremendous damage to your website. However, if you limit permissions, you can also limit the hacker’s opportunities if they do manage to gain access. This will also create a more organized workflow. For example, your social media manger can manage the blog section and your sales team can manage your sales pages. Make sure your company has a password manager so if an employee leaves, they can submit their username and password for the website or marketing manager. 

• Use an SSL Certificate 

An SSL certificate is a digital certificate that authenticates a website’s identity and enables an encrypted connection. Having SSL certificate means there is a security protocol that creates an encrypted link between a web server and a web browser. These help websites make secure online transactions and keep customer information private and secure. Most domain and hosting providers automatically include SSL certs, but if unsure you can check if you have an SSL certificate by checking if your browser has a lock icon. Click on it and a message should pop up telling you if you have an encrypted connection. If you do not see a lock icon there is a high chance your website isn’t secure.

Need help preventing your website URL from being blacklisted? Call 248.528.3600.

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Always Install Updates

When vendors release updates, it is usually to fix vulnerabilities that they have discovered. The race against the clock makes it critical to regularly check for updates for your operating systems, especially if your website is built in a CMS such as WordPress. Additionally, check for updates for themes, templates, and plugins. Cybercriminals like to target free plugins and templates to plant a virus or steal sensitive user data. 

Safeguard Passwords & Use Multi-Factor Authentication

Hackers like to use a tactic called brute-forcing, where they attempt to gain access to your accounts by rapidly trying thousands of possible passwords. Create a strong password for your backend and anywhere that has important or confidential information (such as credit card numbers, client info, etc.). Password managers are great tools that encrypt and store each of your passwords, allowing you to easily access them across all your devices. They also usually notify you when you need to change a password and will help you generate a strong password to replace it. Add an extra layer of protection by using a multi-factor authentication (MFA). It will require two or more factors of authentication to access a system, this might include, passwords, PINs, facial or voice recognition, fingerprints, or phone notifications.

Use Trusted Antivirus Software

Antivirus software will protect your website against a variety of threats. They are created to proactively block, detect, and remove cyberthreats like viruses, malware, and ransomware before they can cause any harm. A comprehensive package should also include anti-spam and anti-phishing protection, a firewall, and browsing protection. There are many software packages available in the app store. If you are having trouble determining which software is compatible with your website, consider consulting a professional agency that regularly maintains websites. 

Invest in Professional Services 

Maintaining a website is a full-time job. It can be overwhelming making sure your website is running smoothly and that it well-protected, especially if you’re busy running your business. Make sure to create a budget that you can use to hire a professional web agency. Look for agencies that offer web maintenance. If your website is not built yet or you have one that is outdated, look for an agency that offers design and development services. The professionals know how to keep your website updated and safe as well as can monitor your website, so you don’t have to. This leaves you to focus on other areas of your business without stressing over your website. 

Need help improving the security of your website? Call 248.528.3600.

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The Attack:

The attack mostly came from data centers during a change from residential network Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to cloud compute ISPs. It was launched from a botnet with approximately 6,00 unique bots. It originated from 112 countries with almost 15% of the attack traffic originated from Indonesia, followed by Russia, Brazil, India, Colombia, and the United States. Within these countries, over 1,300 different networks including the German provider Hetzner Online GmbH (Autonomous System Number 24940), Azteca Comunicaciones Colombia (ASN 262186), OVH in France (ASN 16276), and more were used. 

 How this attack was automatically detected and mitigated: 

Cloudflare built and operates software-defined systems that run autonomously to detect and mitigate DDoS attacks across your entire network without human intervention. The system starts off by sampling traffic, analyzes the samples, and applies mitigations when needed. During sampling, traffic is routed through the Internet via BGP Anycast to the nearest Cloudflare data centers located in over 270 cities around the world. Once the traffic reaches the data center, the DDoS systems sample it asynchronously allowing for out-of-path analysis of traffic without introducing latency penalties. Then, once analysis is done using data streaming algorithms, HTTP request samples are compared to conditional fingerprints. Multiple real-time signatures are created based on dynamic masking of various request fields and metadata. Each time another request matches one of the signatures, a counter is increased. When the activation threshold is reached for a given signature, a mitigation rule is compiled and pushed inline. The mitigation rule includes the real-time signature and the mitigation action, e.g. block.

Protect your HTTPS today. Call 248.528.3600

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How did the scammers get your postal address? They got your address from public records, or a “contact” form you put in on your website. We absolutely DO NOT share your address with them. We have also received fake notices and are taking the time to alert everyone now. 

What should you do if you did receive this fake invoice? First and most important DO NOT pay this fake company or any company that sends you an unsolicited invoice for search engine services. Secondly, pass the warning on to your accounting department or person in charge of your invoices to sure they are aware that it is fake. Finally, if you are in the United States, file a complaint with the FTC and/or your state’s Attorney’s General. 

Question? Call 248.528.3600

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Here are some SSL Certificates that can help boost your website’s SEO ranking:

1. RapidSSL
2. GeoTrust True BusinessID
3. GeoTrust True BusinessID with EV
4. Sectigo PositiveSSL Certificate 
5. InstantSSL (OV)

Build a website that includes an SSL certificate! Call 248.528.3600

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In fact, Google endorses SSL for better SEO and online presence. Back in 2016, Google announced, “we’ll mark HTTP pages that collect passwords or credit cards as non-secure, as part of a long-term plan to mark all HTTP sites as non-secure”. In addition, Google also said, “A substantial portion of web traffic has transitioned to HTTPS so far, and HTTPS usage is consistently increasing. We hit a milestone with more than half of Chrome desktop page loads now served over HTTPS.” Then updated with “since the time we released our HTTPS report on February, 12 more of the top 100 websites have changed their serving default from HTTP to HTTPS.” This can be validated from 2017-2022 statistics. 

Improve your website’s SEO with HTTPS encryption today! Call 248.528.3600

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