What can you do to protect your own Web site? Now that we know how serious a problem this can be, let’s look at some ways you can protect your Web site.

1. Contact a security expert like Dave Barry and have him run a security audit on your Web site. Visit Computer Concierge and complete FREE Website security report. Find out what your Web site security vulnerabilities are, and learn what needs to be done to fix them. http://security-report.computer-concierge.com

2. If security audit on your Web site proves that you have security issues, and if your host provider can’t give you a logical explanation, move your site to a different hosting company. I’m going to move my personal site to Combustion Hosting, where security is a #1 priority, and where I can get personal attention and support. http://combustionwebhosting.com/products/secureplans/

3. Ask your current hosting company about their security policies. Then, point them to this URL, which lists The Top 20 Most Critical Internet Security Vulnerabilities. This list was compiled by a list of security experts from FBI and SANS Institute. Though you may not be able to understand much of report, your hosting company will. Not only does report list security risks, but it also gives solutions to problems. http://www.sans.org/top20/

4. If you’re a “do it yourselfer,” visit U.S. Department of Energy’s site which offers a listing of tools for security analysis. http://ciac.llnl.gov/ciac/SecurityTools.html

5. Or, consider Retina, which provides excellent security software. http://www.eeye.com/html/index.html

6. SecureNet Solutions also offers products that will run vulnerability reports for you. http://www.securenetsol.com/

The main thing is to learn from my “mistakes” and don’t be caught off guard. If you’re using a hosting company to host your Web site, make darn sure that server and your Web site are secure. Visit Computer Concierge for a free security audit. Then, go with a reputable hosting company who places utmost importance on security, like Combustion Hosting.

Remember: Your Web site is your online business. Don’t you lock door and secure windows of your “brick and mortar” business? Do you have an alarm system? Don’t you think it’s important to do same with your online business?

Now that you have this great information, you want to see it implemented. This is best part. I recommend a visit to SEO Partner. SEO Partner (www.SEOPartner.com) really lives up to its slogan “search engine optimization on your terms”.

They have assembled an enormous talent pool of SEO developers, who actually compete to work on your project. It does not cost you anything to post your optimization projects. To operate service, they accept a small commission from SEO developers (which is only a fraction of what developers would normally spend on marketing efforts alone).

Finally, there’s one of my favorite features. SEO Partner protects you from those less scrupulous SEO ‘experts’ you read about more and more with their protective escrow payment system.

Step Four – Track Your Progress:

Finally, once you have your campaign underway, you really need to track your progress. There are some great tools available for that purpose. Here are links to some of better products that I have worked with:

www.webposition.com www.axandra.com www.searchenginecommando.com

There are a lot of products out there - all at varying costs. I recommend you visit your favorite search engine and look for ‘seo tools’ and see what you get for a response. Then I would definitely test each one’s demo version thoroughly before investing in any one of them. A good tool is worth investment but there are so many great options out there that it’s best to shop around and try before you buy.

I wish you best of luck in your campaign!