Categories
Technology

3 Practical Techniques to help you Ensure Database Security

As the world moves towards digitalization, many businesses get connected with the internet to manage and record everything effectively. Many entrepreneurs and business owners started running their online businesses to grow the audience and generate leads more efficiently. However, one of the primary concerns of the 21st century’s business owner becomes database security & privacy. The internet and digital technology indeed make the world easy to live, but on the other side, it also makes it convenient for the third-party to access and leak data.

This is where many security features like SSL certificates, blockchain technology comes into action. From small to big enterprises started adopting security plugins, cloud networks, and best VPS hosting in Pakistan, UAE, and worldwide to ensure database security. However, many still lack in protecting the data due to a lack of practical techniques.

But in 2020, this article brings the most effective techniques that will help you to ensure database security effectively. So let’s explore to know further.

Top threats to Your Database Security

In this modern world, almost all organizations are using a database in one way or another. From collecting & tracking customers, financial, transaction records, and human resource records, much of the database’s information is sensitive. The data can be sold against the cash, which becomes the real threat to your database security. This is the reason hackers, and even some employees, can ruin your whole reputation by selling data.

Therefore, you need to be aware of your database security threats to cope with the issues more effectively. The top risks for database security are

  • Unencrypted Data
  • Default or Weak Passwords
  • SQL Injections
  • Broken Configuration Management
  • Denial of Service
  • Insecure hosting package

Apart from these threats, there are many more threats that can only be eliminated through practical techniques. Let’s follow the top methods to eliminate the risk of a data breach and enhance database security.

1. Choose The Reliable Hosting

The first step to ensure database security is to choose the reliable hosting that connects you with additional security features. The virtual private servers are currently the best option to get rid of any data breach. Therefore, before connecting with a hosting provider, ensure that it provides complete database security, apart from bandwidth and uptime guarantee.

2. Use Web Applications & Firewall

The traffic that accesses your data can sometimes become a real threat to your data security. Therefore, by using web applications and database firewalls, you can only allow traffic through the specific application or web server. The firewall enables you to protect the database from initiating the outbound connection unless there is any specific reason.

Therefore, you need to deploy web application firewalls to prevent SQL injection attacks that direct web applications to delete data present in the database. This is one of the best techniques to ensure database security.

3. Encrypt Data

Encrypting data is one of the standard practices in significant organizations to secure databases. However, many lack encrypting backup data that becomes the reason for a data breach. Therefore, you need to ensure that your backup data is encrypted and stored separately from the decryption key.  Also, to ensure database security, you need to encrypt confidential data and also ensure it is encrypted while in motion too.

Categories
Software

What’s the difference between wireframes, mock-ups, and prototypes?

Mobile or web application is always a tricky deal, whether you are a “freshman” or a true “pro” in UI/UX design. It becomes especially hazardous when business participants start confusing the subtle design development stages, expecting the UI/UX designers to deliver a ready visual prototype at the end of the first stage once they’ve heard the word “wireframes”. In our UX design company, this is a necessity – to recognize such terms as “wireframes”, “mock-ups” and “prototype” from one another. Let’s delve into it.

Wireframes

In a nutshell, wireframes are all about seeing the structure of a future technological product. In this, all that really matters is a general idea and the structure. No details are presented at this point. It’s like a blueprint, where you have the main perceptions organized in a logical way. A wireframe in the world of Web and Mobile app design can be compared to a sketch made by some painter on a real paper.

There is a range of famous tools used to create wireframes, where you can have all the basic elements and instruments needed to create a set of interconnected wireframes in a blink of an eye. Some of the most useful and component-rich are:

  • Balsamiq;
  • Omnigraffle;
  • Axure.

Also, you can check the latest UI-UX trends to be aware of everything or you can use paper, pencil and as much imagination as you can.

Mock-ups

This is an intermediary step between a draft and an interactive visual prototype. The main difference with a prototype is that a mock-up is a static representation of what the app will be. It’s like a gallery of pictures, that demonstrate what the final UI design will look like. While wireframes are about structure and general logic – a skeleton, in one word, mock-ups add “skin and flesh” – all the visual aesthetics, buttons, colorful illustrations, and other graphic elements.

On this step, UI/UX designers take advantage of such specialized software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator and, for example, JustInMind.

One more important thing: make sure that your client also has a clear understanding of the inequality of Mock-ups and a Prototype. In order to avoid failing to meet unrealistic expectations, you should set the things up before the delivery.

Prototype

Now we can talk about real experience and interaction. The prototype is the final step to the border, where software engineering and code writing begins. You may ask “Why not start programming right after the delivery of mock-ups?”. Well, your client will be much happier to see a clickable prototype to test the future app’s usability and responsiveness BEFORE multiple hours of programming will take place and thousands of dollars will be spent. It’s easier to apply some fixes to a prototype, than to a ready-made product.

The greatest value is that a prototype is something that can be shown to the stakeholders, investors, and some end users. You can’t use real data within a prototype, however, it’s enough to see the pros and cons of the UI/UX. This is the closest thing to a real product.

Among the most outstanding solutions for creating interactive prototypes are:

  • InVision;
  • UXPin;
  • Proto.io.

Conclusion

Wireframes, mock-ups, prototypes…to most of the people, not acquainted closely with IT, these words will seem to have identical meanings. However, it’s essential to keep in mind that the three fundamental UI/UX concepts are not equal – your clients should be aware of what to expect. Everyone should have a single vision of the process: wireframes first, then mock-ups and finally – a prototype! Remember this simple flow and you will always be able to make the best presentation of your product or service!