While dealing with development of any application it is the responsibility of the software developer to keep the security features at the top level in order to get success for the application or product. It becomes even more essential when we deal with web applications like ASP web development projects; because there is a threat of unethical access of your website which may lead to lose the reputation of your application. To avoid this, as a web developer (ASP .net developer), you must take some necessary security measures to avoid all types of threads related to security.
SQL injection: This is the most common way of hackers to take the access of your database. They use to try to fetch the data from your database using various SQL queries. They usually insert these vulnerable queries into the database through different commands from the browser itself and try to get sensitive data of your application or of your user’s from the database. Though asp .net provides many security features to prevent SQL injection but it’s better to learn what SQL injection is and how it works; before you start programming your application.
Cross Site Scripting: This is yet another way of hacking your website using java script. A hacker can hack you user’s data using this technology. Moreover he can get all your cookies values from your browsers which will enable him to login using your credentials that he had hacked from your cookie and can perform any type of unethical work on behalf of you. You must take care of this issue very seriously because this is a sensitive topic from the developer’s point of view.
Proper Cookie implementation: While you are dealing with modern era web application development, as a asp .net developer you must ensure that you are using the users cookie in a very efficient and sensitive manner; because if these cookie value will be accessed by a hacker then that will definitely create a trouble for your users and hence it will impart a bad user experience for your user. So be careful while dealing with cookie in your application.
Use Session: It is a common development feature that every asp .net developer should take care of. Session is something that enables the user of your application to be in contact with your application through a continuous support from the database. It also enables him to feel like a privileged member of your application. It also isolates your user from others with session in the browser. The best part is it enables the user to access only his private data and hence it keeps other’s data invisible for him.
Server side validation: This is yet another way to prevent unnecessary unethical access of your application. A good ASP .Net web developer must validate all the form data in both front end as well as backend programming. This is because, if someone disables JavaScript on the browser, he can enter any value in the form to your database. So, to avoid this you must ensure your application to be quite secure with two tire security from both frontend and backend. To get maximum benefits of .Net, you may consider hiring services of a custom .net development company.
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The Dot Net framework leads to the creation of an environment which enables programs to run in a language and platform independent manner. It incorporates a vast library and renders support to a number of programming languages that make adequate room for interoperability, since each language is capable of making use of code composed in some other language. The main languages running across this platform are J#.NET, VB.NET and C#.NET. ASP.NET application development constitutes of the technology for development of the web while ADO.NET comprises a group of classes leveraged for database connectivity.
In order to cater to the ever increasing demand in the domain of technologies and programming, Microsoft initiated development across the Dot Net framework during the late 90’s bearing the name NGWS or Next Generation Windows Services. By the end of the year 2000, the initial beta versions of .Net 1.0 were launched. The release of .NET Framework 4 and Visual Studio 2010 took place almost simultaneously.
Instead of compelling developers to make use of any specific programming language, this platform enables developers to create application in any language. The aim is to pave way for globally distributed systems, leveraging XML as the common connector. This facilitates the running of functions across an array of computers within a company or around the globe while operating within a single operation.
This framework renders a common environment for developing, deploying as well as running web applications and services. This architecture can operate across manifold platforms, further rendering portability to the .Net programs. Again the software environment includes a new process for program development which has the capability of changing the manner in which programs are written and executed. This results in improved productivity. The most important constituent of this framework is web services, which indicates the applications which can be utilized across the internet.
Universal data access constitutes another vital concept regarding this technology. Users are capable of accessing the data irrespective of the place where they are located. In case there are two copies of a file, for instance a company computer as well as a personal computer, the version that is less recent is required to be regularly updated. Microsoft has come up with innovative technologies like DCOM, COM+ and COM that ensure reuse of the software. Although these technologies are quite powerful, there are certain issues that often crop up. Because of this, Microsoft felt the need to develop a new technology or framework that would allow easy accomplishment of all the programming tasks.
The technology is in great demand so far as the IT market of 2013 is concerned, because of the plethora of productive and unique applications and features. Let us discuss two of the major benefits in a nutshell:
1. Simultaneous Code Execution: Since this architecture supports side by side code execution, versioning problems can be resolved. Overwriting of any shared component can be avoided by facilitating the installation of multiple versions and running them concurrently across the same computer. In such a case, .Net developers do not need to maintain any kind of backward compatibility since diverse applications can make use of diverse editions of a shared component.
2. Decentralized Component Registration: Issues that crop up due to centralized registration are done away with Dot Net. For component registration, the Registry is not used, but this framework stores information regarding the components and the same is retrieved at runtime straight from the files. When a new component is instantiated by an application, scanning of predefined locations including the application directory takes place. To make available for future use, the information regarding the components is subjected to caching once the component is traced. Such decentralized registration almost does away with chances of application interference.
Thus, by leveraging the .Net platform, developers can make use of integrated tools in order to build web services cost-effectively and quickly. Scalable solutions can be created that are functional across a range of computing devices.
We provide .NET application development services. If you would like to hire our certified developers for your .NET development projects, please reach out to us at Mindfire Solutions.
With hackers using fresh and innovative ideas for causing damage to web applications, it has becomes essential for the developers to keep their project secure and inaccessible. But many developers overlook security while developing websites using Microsoft .Net platform. As many internet security experts have highlighted, each organization must implement a comprehensive security measures right from the starting of the project. Microsoft also frequently releases security bulletins to make it easier for programmers to pick and use the most effective security measures. However, each .Net developer also needs to understand some of the security measures used commonly by web application developers residing in application development various parts of the world.
6 Effective Measures to Secure Development in Microsoft .Net
1. Secure Your Development Environment: When you are preparing a strategy to secure your project, it is important to start by making your environment up to date. In addition to the server software, operating service, and anti-virus, you also need to ensure that you have updated the security patches. The updates will make it easier for you to protect your project against latest vulnerability. At the same time, you also need to remove all types of live user data from the development environment. It is a good idea to use customized artificial data generation tools to generate fake data that can be used realistically for testing purposed.
2. Disable the Unnecessary Services: While making the web application live, many programmers forget to disable or uninstall the services that will not be required by the end-users. You can enhance the security of your web application by leavening only HTTP or HTTPS open to the public. Also, you must try to encrypt sensitive user data by enforcing SSL. However, the SSL can be enforced for specific parts of the application to ensure that only encrypted data are exchanged between the web server and client’s web browser.
3. Encrypt All Types of User Data: The way you retrieve and store data will also have a huge impact on securing your .Net development project. It is advisable to run SQL queries outside the code base to eliminate the chances of the query being manipulated. Instead of generating SQL queries dynamically, you can consider using stored procedures to avoid SQL injection and Cross-Site scripting (XSS). At the same time, you also need to store the sensitive data received from users safely by using customized functions like Server.HTMLEncode or Server.HTMLDecode. Similarly, you must store the data backups and checked-in codes in an encrypted format and in a secure location. The sanitization of data will further contribute towards preventing readable script injection.
4. Validate All Types of User Input: No web application can differentiate between the malicious and genuine data submitted by the user. If the user input fields are not validated properly, these can be easily used as a medium to access or hack your web server. So you must treat all types of user data as malicious, and validate each field to keep your project secure. Often developers are required to use third-party applications from within .Net web applications. If your app needs to use third-party applications, it is important to use application domains. As the application domain allows several applications to run simultaneously within a single process, each application will have access to its own memory. Also, the application domain will boost the performance of third-party applications, while keeping your .Net development project secure.
5. Discourage the Use of Unsecured and Public Networks: Nowadays, most companies allow the members of their .Net application development team to access the project data on their laptops and mobile devices. While access the information over external networks, developers often forget to check if the public network is secure. So you must restrict access to the development server for certain IPs that is 100% secure. It is also important to use public or private key authentication, along with locking down ports. You can even ask your development team not to access the project data over public and unsecured networks.
6. Avoid Revealing Specific Information about Errors: Despite testing the web application thoroughly, there are always chances that some exceptions will occur. A .Net developer has options to handle the error in an efficient way in the website code. You can use the Global.asax file, generated by the .Net framework for each project, to capture these exceptions using the Application_Error function. However, you need to ensure that these exceptions are being captured internally, without the viewer seeing the exact nature of the exception. You must design a user-friendly error page that will keep the users engaged without conveying the details of the exception. The hiding of specific error information will also contribute towards keeping your web application secure.
Each .Net developer also needs to implement several .Net development best practices to keep the web applications secure and inaccessible. At the same time, the programmer also need to security guidelines issued by Microsoft at frequent intervals to enhance the safety and security of his .Net applications.
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