Securing your Joomla site

Last week, over two dozen US Government websites were defaced and many of them were powered by Joomla. Although the cause of the security breach is yet to be announced, there is every chance that Joomla itself is not to blame. But if government sites can be hacked - what hope have you got to secure your site? Here are some steps to take and some extensions to consider:

The Basics

• Keep Joomla current - new versions are announced on the Joomla website. Read blog post Update Manager for Joomla.
• Keep extensions current - if you use any sort of extension, see if the developer has a newsletter and subscribe to it to ensure you know when there is a new version
• Keep a backup - and learn how to use it. Of course it helps if your host keeps multiple backups too, but don't rely on them - IT'S YOUR DATA.
• Use a good password - for everything - your site FTP details, your Joomla Administrator, your email account. Change the default Administrator username from 'admin' to something more secure.
  Permissions
• Sometimes extension developers will tell you that you need to set certain file permissions to '777'. Or as part of your setup, you may have found it necessary to make this change and have forgotten to set it back. This is very bad as it can open your site to attacks. Joomla Tools Suite, available as stand-alone software or a component helps you find any permission problems on your site.
  
  Firewalls
• SecureLive for Joomla is a sophisticated firewall designed to block any attacks on your site and alert you when they occur. It seems expensive compared to other Joomla extensions. But if you compare it to other firewalls at this level it is good value and certainly cheaper than hiring someone to fix your site if it gets hacked.
• RSFirewall is another contender worth considering.
  Hackers are usually looking for easy targets (insecure sites) or at the top end, government and military sites. So take a few basic steps, invest in a firewall and you're far less likely to run into trouble.

Source - www.buildajoomlawebsite.com newsletter