Is Shared Hosting Safe & Secure? Everything You Need to Know
We get a lot of user queries from users who are not technically proficient in web hosting. Recently we got one user query where the troubled users wrote & we quote “is shared hosting safe?”. Now to answer this question, we could have directly said yes or no. However, this isn’t that easy.
“Is shared hosting reliable or not”, we’re going to find out by the end. This article is going to be a complete encyclopedia for you if you are trying to find a safe & reliable hosting plan for yourself. Read the article till the end to be aware of all the details about this topic.
Is Shared Web Hosting Reliable & What Exactly is Shared Hosting?
Now before we move on & learn if it’s worth it or not, we need to go through every detail. This is why we are going to first understand what actually this is.
In this type of hosting, a hosting provider hosts multiple websites on an individual server. Now you must be thinking that who uses this Shared Hosting. So, small to mid-size businesses, bloggers, and websites for testing & learning purposes find this hosting a perfect solution for them. The thing about this is that it is affordable. All the websites on a particular server share the hardware. However, the hosting provider restricts their usage to limited resources as per their plans. Is shared hosting secure? Yes, it is depending upon the type of your server.
Now, even in shared web hosting, there are two types:
- Windows Shared Hosting
- Linux Shared Hosting
Users can select any of the operating systems for their shared web hosting as per their requirements. The Windows shared hosting is easy to operate due to the interactive UI. However, the Linux shared hosting is quite secure. Hence, both the hostings have different advantages & purposes. Linux Vs Windows Servers is another topic that you guys can cover to know this in detail.
To understand Shared web hosting, the perfect example can be cabs. Shared Hosting is like a sharing cab, dedicated hosting is like an unshared cab & bare metal server is like your own car, that’s it.
Is Shared Hosting Safe & Secure? Know All Issues Associated
Let’s learn about the risks or issues present in shared hosting in the below point.
Shared Directory with Rest of the Site Owners
We know that the directory stores all the data files on the server. Now here, this directory is in sharing with other site owners. If an attack succeeds to get control over the primary directory, all of your files, as well as other sites’ files, will be at risk.
Shared IP Addresses With Other Users
On a shared server, all the sites get the same IP address which can be very risky for the site owners. This means that any false activity by any other website will affect search engine ranking or viruses to the other sites hosted on that server.
Issues With the Website Loading Time
Loading time & site performance are crucial aspects of the ranking on search engines. Having multiple websites on a single server causes a slow loading time if the hardware is not powerful enough.
Minor Possibility of Data Loss
Users should not keep their backups on the server itself. They should keep multiple copies of their backups. On the server, offline storage & on the system. Otherwise, you may lose your crucial data files in case of a server attack.
DDoS & Other Cyber Attacks
Cyber attacks are very common these days as hackers are becoming advanced day by day. This is why ransomware attacks, malware attacks, and DDoS attacks are the reason users question that is shared web hosting reliable.
Lack of Security Measures
Site owners here, only have limited permissions in comparison with VPS & dedicated hosting site owners. That’s why several loopholes are present on the site that acts as getaways for the hackers. Just be aware of that.
Yes, Shared hosting has several drawbacks but these will affect you only if your requirements are different. Having large-scale businesses or confidential work processes does not suit shared hosting plans. However, if you are looking for it to learn & do experiments, for education purposes, small businesses, it is indeed perfect for you. Let’s understand this in the next section in detail.
Know – Is Shared Web Hosting Reliable & Should You Go for It?
To know if the Shared Hosting is reliable & should you go for it or not depends on your requirements. If you’re an expert trying to host some high-traffic sites, then shared hosting is not at all for you. You can see below, if this hosting suits your purpose or not.
Small to Mid-Scale Business
Now, if you are trying to take your business online & want to start from scratch, this is perfect for you. As per surveys, most small to mid-scale business websites are hosted on shared servers & are completely running fine. Without proper security measures, you can easily run your business without having external threats.
For Projects & Education
If you’re a student of higher education, there are chances that you just need to make a website as a project or for learning. In such cases, shared servers are an affordable option for you without a doubt. Moreover, keeping in mind your requirements, there are no security issues for you as well. If you have a query, “is shared hosting safe”, then the answer is Yes. For your purpose it is safe.
Blogging Purposes
If you’re a freelancer or blogger, you can rely on this type of hosting without having any issues. In fact, this is the perfect solution for your needs. If you will need dedicated or VPS hosting in the future, you can shift anytime.
All Risk Mitigation Steps We Need to Take
After reading the above section, do you feel that shared hosting is perfect for your workload? If yes, then you must be thinking about all the risks present in it. This is why we are going to have a look at the ways to counter all the risks & use Shared Hosting in the safest way possible.
We all know that Cloud Computing is the future & today or tomorrow, you will upgrade to a dedicated server. Till then these precautions can be really helpful for users with questions like is shared web hosting reliable.
Select A Trusted Hosting Provider
The first thing to keep in mind is that users should always select a trusted hosting provider. Therefore, Server Uncle is one of the leading providers of Shared Server Hosting in India so far.
Control & Monitor the PHP Execution
Users should not allow anyone randomly to upload scripts on the server as this can be a leading gateway for hackers to your site. Monitor & control your PHP execution to avoid these issues.
Choose Your Operating System Wisely
As we mentioned above, users should wisely select their operating system. If you’re having the server for education, projects, etc, Window is good. However, for businesses demanding higher security, Linux is the solution.
Always be Ready with a Security Solution
ServerUncle provides DDoS protection to users. However, users should install several other security applications to maintain a few layers of security. This will make it difficult for hackers to go through it.
Configure Directory Permissions Carefully
Users should set their directory permissions without any issues. This will avoid the incomplete layout of your website from your customers. Configuring directory permissions adequately also helps users to keep malware & other risks far away.
Paying attention to these factors can help you guys in avoiding all the potential threats. Moreover, it’ll be easier for you to bring out the maximum output from your shared hosting server.
Bringing It All Together
Alright now, we can say that we successfully encountered the user query is shared hosting secure & this is the time for our final verdict. We’ll say that if you are a new user & do not have anything sensitive on the server, Shared hosting is perfect for you.
However, if you are looking for hosting your website for crucial usage or sensitive information, you should consider VPS & dedicated. With a limited budget, you can go for a shared server. Now you can say that you know about shared server and its types Just be aware of the precautions we discussed above.
F.A.Q
Q- Do we get customer support if we get any issues with the shared server?
A- We don’t know about others. However, we do offer 24×7 Live Customer Support to all our customers. We are there for solving all kinds of issues without any problem.
Q- Is shared hosting safe if we do not have DDoS protection?
A- This question is like saying that is bike riding safe without having a helmet. Only until you met an accident. Any hacker can easily attack your site without having DDoS protection. This is why we offer free DDoS protection with our shared server without any extra cost.
Q- What is the downtime percentage of your Shared server?
A- Well, we aren’t sure about that. But it is surprising to know that our server uptime is 99.995%. This is why we never get downtime complaints from our users.
Also Read: Is Public Cloud Safe? Should You Consider A Private Cloud?
