by Sam McArthur on March 2, 2010
It’s been a while since I’ve posted to my blog the main reason being that my site was hacked just before Christmas.
The experience has been a real headache and an ongoing saga and not something I’d like to go through again. It has really opened my eyes to how prolific website hacking is becoming and how it could bring someone’s business down. Fortunately, I’m not too reliant on enquiries coming through my site, so although I may have missed out on some enquiries, it hasn’t really affected my business. However, this could really affect a small business, particularly those reliant on sales through the web and could quickly be the death knell for a business, made even worse in the current economic climate.
I don’t want to scaremonger, but web security is something all business owners need to be aware of, even if they’re not looking after the site themselves. Yes, it could happen to you! I’ve learnt a lot from Debbie Mahler of Mice Training who helped me sort out this mess and have learnt important lessons from the experience.
I had visions of the hacker working away in dark room randomly trying to access websites, but in fact it’s now all automated and hackers use ‘bots’ to find vulnerabilities in websites and an easy way in. They’re mostly amateurs, not the kind of hackers who spend months and years trying to hack in to Government and Corporate websites. Once in a site, they insert code into sites known as ‘malware’ which can affect computers, or insert links sending visitors to dodgy websites.
In my case code was injected into two files, one which was easy to find, the other much more difficult.
I’ve documented the experience in more detail on two posts on the Savvy Marketers website, which you can read here:
Has Your Website Been Hacked Yet?
WordPress Security – Ignore at Your Peril!
So what’s next?
Now that I’ve sorted this mess out, the next step is to re-optimise my site and gain back the rankings I’ve lost. Hopefully it won’t take too long before I start receiving new enquiries again but I’m going to be paranoid about web security now!
by Sam McArthur on December 14, 2009
This is the time of year for taking a break, thinking about what went well over the last year, and what perhaps didn’t go so well, but more importantly, planning ahead.
There’s loads of advice around the web at the moment on planning ahead, so I thought I’d share a few things I’m planning on doing.
Firstly, at Savvy Marketers, we’re going to be announcing a schedule of workshops for next year, hopefully by the end of January we’ll have some dates and topics for you. We’ve been listening to you and really want to deliver what you want, in the way you want it! From your perspective, are you going to deliver what your customers really want in 2010? If you’re not sure then go out and ask them! Perhaps call up some of your regular customers for feedback on what you currently provide them with and ask them if there’s anything they’d like which you’re not currently providing them or that you could do better for them. It’s really important to ensure you continue to deliver what your customers want.
Secondly, I’m going to be streamlining my Forty First business much more. I’ve got plans for something else that I’d like to do and to ensure that my new plans actually see the light of day, I need to cut back on a few things here and there to make sure I make the time for what’s important. Look at your business and if you’re neglecting things you really want to do, then make sure you find the time to do these things, as time has a habit of disappearing far too quickly! It may mean enlisting help e.g with a virtual assistant or hiring full or part time staff, but if it means you achieve what you really want, then it’s well worth making that time available.
Thirdly, I’m reviewing my current marketing activities and ditching those which aren’t really working and putting my efforts into the things I really want to get things moving forward. This means that those activities which aren’t generating any new business must go! It’s a good idea to review all of your marketing activities and make sure you spend more time on those which work and eliminate those which don’t.
So these are a few of the things I’m going to be doing next year. What are your plans to streamline your business or make sure those things you’ve put off come to fruition?
