Keep An Eye On Third-Party Apps On Your Site

Third-party apps and other content can enhance your business Web site. But they can also expose your business to unacceptable risks.Apps, gadgets, ads and widgets let you lively-up your business's Web presence on the cheap -- but picking the wrong one can cost you dearly.

The Network Solutions malware widget fiasco from earlier this month was a pretty good reminder that the sources of your apps and other external content are no guarantee that the apps are problem-free,

In other words, don't trust an app source just because you know its name. The source may not be scanning the apps for malware or other malicious behavior. The source may not have any sorts of approval process, reviews or controls in place at all.

It's a good idea, in fact, to review potential content sources' policies for posting the material you're thinking of adding to your company's Web presence. And even if the policy seems strong and thorough, you should review the content in question before embedding it among your own material.

The consequences, should you put the wrong item on your site and begin spouting malware along with your marketing message, could include your disappearance from search engines that now recognize your business as a malicious site.

Which puts the burden on you.

As Dark Reading pointed out recently, scan every app and every bit of content before you put it on your site. And continue to monitor your site for any changes, unexpected or inexplicable upticks in outbound traffic, anything at all out of the ordinary.

It's your business's Web site -- make sure you know every detail of item that you put on it.

The same goes for apps your employees may be putting on their desktops or mobile devices.

When it comes to third-party material, you're the first line of defense.