2 Reasons why you should use Cloudflare
Cloudflare is an important partner to Computer Clinic. We utilise their services & tools extensively internally and for our clients alike.
This is mainly for two reasons: Protecting your internet connection and protecting your domain name/website. Read on for more detail.
REASON NUMBER 1: CLOUDFLARE FOR TEAMS
Not to be confused with Microsoft Teams
Think of it as Anti-Virus for your Internet Connection. When setup it can filter and scan all network requests from your internet connection/router - and block accordingly.
This amplifies Cyber Security for your business and is an overall game-changer. For example, if a staff member was to click on a link that is known to Cloudflare to be malicious then it can block this connection before anything is downloaded to the device. Whereas normally, it could be downloaded and it is up to your Anti-Virus to block this. Enabling Teams gives you an additional layer of much-needed security in today’s ransomware-filled internet.
In this following image where Cloudflare for Teams has been set up, over the last week from one of our client’s site, there have been up to 9000 requests to the internet, and of that 36% or over 1/3rd of them were blocked!
In this example, this client has opted for the following categories to be blocked - all sorts of content can be preselected to filtered off or blocked if required.
Cloudflare Teams can mitigate multiple security breaches if set up for your business.
This service is not free but is well worth it. A small monthly or annual charge could be peanuts compared to be taken out with hours or even days of downtime for you and your staff. Computer Clinic can work with you to provide pricing & compatibility!
REASON NUMBER 2: CLOUDFLARE DOMAIN SERVICES
We use Cloudflare in combination with Domains and Websites. It is the biggest and best platform available. The diagram below explains this.
Like Cloudflare Teams, it sits in between users & the website to mitigate security threats & attacks. Keeping your Website safe and less exposed.
In addition to this, we can put in ‘Connection Rules’ such as
- Redirection of your Domain to other services such as your Facebook page, and even speeding up access to your Website.
- Geography Blocking (Not allowing connection from specified countries - such as China, Russia, and North Korea), DDoS Protection (to prevent against Denial of Service attack which is what normally happens). - See below.
- Analytical data to show where the traffic is coming from to your domain & website (see below)
The below shows data analytics from locations that are accessing your website. This kind of protection is only available from Cloudflare.
Chances are if you already have your domain (businessname.co.nz / .nz / .com) with Computer Clinic you are already utilising Cloudflare’s technologies. There are both free and paid plans for Cloudflare that provide even more functionality (separate from Teams). Talk to us today about how we can setup and configure Cloudflare to take your security protections to the next level!