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How to Secure Your PHP Website from Hackers

Securing your website is very important, especially if it deals with sensitive information.
To effectively protect your site, you should follow these tips:

1. Use Strong Passwords

-Avoid easy passwords.

-Use uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.

-Store passwords securely using:
password_hash() // to hash the password
password_verify() // to verify the password

2. Validate and Sanitize User Input

-Always make sure the data coming from users is clean and safe.

-Use:
filter_var() // to validate or sanitize input
htmlspecialchars() // to protect against XSS when displaying data

-And always use Prepared Statements when working with databases to protect against SQL Injection.

3. Use HTTPS

-Use:
session_start()
session_regenerate_id(true) // after user login

-Set secure cookie parameters:
session_set_cookie_params([
'httponly' => true,
'secure' => true,
'samesite' => 'Strict'
]);

-Also, log users out after a period of inactivity.

5. Keep PHP and Libraries Updated

-Always update your PHP version and any libraries or frameworks you are using.

6. Secure File Uploads

-Before allowing users to upload files:

-Restrict allowed file types (e.g., jpg, png, pdf).

-Randomly rename uploaded files using:
hash() // to generate a secure random file name
-Ideally, store uploaded files outside the public directory.

Conclusion

Security is an ongoing effort, not a one-time task.
By following these steps and using methods like password_hash, password_verify, filter_var, htmlspecialchars, hash, session_start, session_regenerate_id, and more, you can greatly protect your site against hacking attacks.

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adam_elhoudji_acfd729ee8c profile image
Adam Elhoudji

nice i like this article