Introduction
As cyberattackers devise ever-more sophisticated schemes, especially as the cost of a data breach skyrockets, securing your website is becoming a necessity rather than a nicety. There are so many threats to all kinds of sites that the landscape of exploits is always changing, from malware, DDoS attacks, phishing and ransomware. Cybercriminals make threats to your site in many different formats everyday that can impact the integrity of your data as well as the uptime of your site. While many factors influence your website security, however, one main pillar of security will include your hosting infrastructure.
For many new websites the weak security on shared hosting is a necessary evil, however, growing your brand digitally means growing how you define the word security in terms of risk. That’s where VPS hosting becomes crucial. VPS is low cost, but gives you just enough control over your server to increase security.
In this blog post the 8 reasons for VPS will make your website more secure than just using shared hosting will be dissected.
What Is VPS Hosting?
A Virtual Private Server (VPS) is a hosting solution that mimics a dedicated server inside a physical server that is shared. VPS uses virtualization software to allocate specific resources of the server to each client, and offer you more flexibility, control, and isolation compared to a shared hosting solution.
Unlike a shared hosting solution, where a number of sites are sharing the same operating system, resources, and security settings, with VPS, you are operating in a sandboxed environment. This separation is what provides most of the security improvement.
Isolation from Other Users
The security of shared hosting is sadly questionable as it remains a shared server. When a single website on a shared server is infected with malware or is targeted in an attack, the rest of the shared server can often be caught in “practice” collateral damage.
Virtual private hosting or VPS will give you the satisfaction of knowing that when you host your website on a VPS, you are entirely isolated to that virtual server, including the virtual file system and operating system from the physical server. Consequently, anything done to other virtual servers on the same physical server does not matter to yours at all. VPS is like a space; you get your own space and locks, and what happens next door won’t happen to you.
Dedicated Resources Prevent Overload Attacks
Resource exhaustion is a frequent attack vector. If you share hosting and one of the neighboring sites experiences an unplanned spike in traffic either organic or malignant this will slow down and potentially crash the entire server, and affect all of its users.
VPS gives you a dedicated portion of server resources. The CPU, RAM, and bandwidth dedicated to the site you are operating is solely allocated to you, so you are assured a reliable performing website no matter what happens elsewhere. Plus, attackers wouldn’t simply be able to take your site down by overwhelming someone else’s.
Providing consistent performance under pressure makes VPS a generally safer option.
Root Access and Custom Security Configurations
In most shared hosting environments there are limits to administrator access for the purposes of protecting the integrity of the server. While this simplifies management, it will also eliminate the ability to change security settings you might not be happy with. You are stuck with the web host’s default security settings which could be inadequate or improper for your situation.
VPS hosting gives you root or administrative access, allowing you the ability to set up the server how you want to. You can now install a custom firewall, encrypt files, or configure fail2ban for brute force protection. You also can be sure all updates and security patches are applied on time, mitigating many of the vulnerabilities silly enough to leave open on a managed shared platform.
This kind of control gives you the ability to mitigate your risks that fit your needs.
Enhanced Firewall and Intrusion Detection Options
Proactive defense mechanisms, such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems (IDS), are essential to the effective use of cybersecurity. Proactive mechanisms such as firewalls and intrusion detection systems regulate and monitor traffic while detecting anomalies in the traffic flow and blocking connections that may pose a threat.
When you utilize VPS hosting, you will have the ability to create sophisticated firewall rules, install IDS services like Snort or OSSEC, and monitor traffic in real time. You can block geo-locations of IP addresses, disable access to certain ports, or create protocols specific to you based on past traffic analysis and your security policy.
These capabilities enable you to build a layered security defense that you simply cannot do with shared hosting.
Improved Data Backup and Disaster Recovery
All computer systems, even those that are secure, must still have a contingency plan for certain failures. These failures could be the result of human error, hardware failure, or attacks from malicious actors. Most shared hosting plans include some form of backups for content; however, it is usually a limited or not reliable option. Some shared hosting plans offer limited options on backup frequency, such as daily, weekly, or monthly options, and when there is a way to retrieve files, those options are either non-existent or limited.
With a virtual private server (VPS) the customer has complete control over backups! You can create and back up automatic backups as often as you want, you can store your backups in remote locations or encrypted locations, and you can restore an individual file or restore the complete server as you dictate. If your website is ever hacked or you accidentally delete something you can recover using their backups quickly, and often much more comprehensively.
Companies who use VPS systems enjoy the peace of mind that abounds knowing they can recover quickly, and often in its entirety, with minimal disruption in service.
Better DDoS Mitigation and Monitoring Capabilities
Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks or “denial of service” attacks can overload your server and therefore make the website unusable for legitimate users. It can be disruptive and harmful to your reputation and customer trust.
While some shared hosts have some protection against DDoS attacks, VPS environments will have better tools for mitigating DDoS attacks. Additionally, you could use a third party for even better filtering and traffic analysis as offered through various services such as Cloudflare or Sucuri.
Since you have access to server logs and real-time monitoring, you can stop or mitigate an attack before it does lasting damage. Also, hardware and VPS environments provide you with the ability to set up and customize rate limits or other access controls to lessen the possibility of utilizing your infrastructure as an attack vector.
Reduced Risk of IP Blacklisting
Shared hosting can often have multiple websites using the same shared IP address. If one of those websites is spamming, distributing malware, or engaging in suspicious activities, that IP address may end up flagged or blacklisted by search engines, email providers or firewalls.
The implications for your business can be substantial. You may not get email campaigns delivered to inboxes, your search engine rankings may drop, or users may be blocked from accessing your website.
With VPS hosting, you’d normally receive a dedicated IP address and your website’s reputation would be isolated compared to others. You’d have full control over your domain and would not face penalties for someone else’s mistakes.
Conclusion
Security isn’t just a feature, it’s a requirement. The constant change in the level and sophistication of online threats makes it essential for your hosting infrastructure to be secure, respond accordingly, and allow the customizations you need to manage risk.
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting significantly enhances any website’s security by offering isolated resources, complete control of your environment, advanced monitoring, and security features beyond what is available in shared hosting. If you are an eCommerce site accepting customer payments, a blogger working to protect personal data, or a business with aspirations to grow into the long-term, VPS hosting provides a safe space to build upon.
As the one constant is that we all need to maintain trust and secure data, investing in a VPS hosting solution that provides a level of security can be a value-added service – it is simply a given.
