WordPress security Tips
We have all heard horror stories about sites being hacked and like all bad things we hear your first thought is generally “it will never happen to me.” Oh really? Never underestimate the determination of hackers to access your site. So what can you do to increase your WordPress security.
Password
This is the first and most important of your “gatekeepers.” Do not have a password with your name and 123 after it. A strong password should not be something attributed to you personally. It should contain lower and uppercase letters,numbers and symbols. If you have a program like Roboform you can automatically generate a strong password from this. Your browser may also have a function for doing this. Just remember to keep it safe so that you can access it when required.
WordPress Updates
WordPress are aware of the constant threat of hackers and are always trying to keep ahead of them. They produce updates that will help maintain your WordPress security and you should take advantage of these when prompted to do so. It really does not take long to update to the latest release and this should be done at the earliest opportunity. Update your plugins as well. These steps will give you added protection. Don’t have a blog yet? Discover more,-
Admin
The steps about the strength of your password should also refer to your admin details. The user name should be changed from “admin” to give an extra layer of WordPress security,but your password must be strong and in no way relevant to you or the content of the site.
Brute Force Attempts
These are something that should be monitored by your Web host to increase your WordPress security,but you can do your bit as well. If you check your stats in c panel you will probably notice that the login page is one of the most frequently visited pages. This indicates that someone has attempted to login to your site. If you have made sure that the aforementioned steps have been done then you should be OK. Ask your web host about this if you suspect that they are not doing what they should. If you see the same IP address popping up on this page,ask them to block it. You can also get software that automatically locks your site after a certain number of failed login attempts.
Beware of Malware
Malware can cause all sorts of problems with your site and also your computer. The best financial investment that you can make is getting software to monitor for Malware. All the WordPress security in the world is useless if you leave your site open to this. You not only want something to detect Malware,but also to remove it once it has been discovered. Prevention is better that a cure but in this case it is best to have both.
Choose your Web host wisely
A shared server is deemed to be cost effective by many site owners but there are inherent risks attached to a server shared by hundreds of different sites. Make sure that you maximize your WordPress security by having no more that 10 sites sharing each server. Your Webhost will be able to answer any security concerns that you have. If they are reluctant to answer your questions,it may be time to move your business elsewhere.
Clean out unused files
How many times have you changed the Theme on your site or stopped using a certain plugin? If so have you deleted them from your site. Old themes and plugins are a welcome entry point for would be hackers and can allow them access to your site. Take some time to clean up your files and get rid of any unused ones to increase your WordPress security.
Personal Details
This is something that you may need an expert to do if you are unable to do it yourself. Certain files contain information that seems relatively unimportant to you,but they are like a welcome mat to a hacker.Files like readme.html indicate the version of WordPress being used by you.Some older versions have security defects that can compromise your WordPress security and need to be removed. There are other files that hackers love to find because they provide an opening to your site. Get someone to do this for you if you are unsure.
Be on Guard
If you implement all of the steps above then you should be OK. However,you should always be aware that WordPress security is constantly evolving and you need to listen to your webhost and WordPress.org for any measures that you need to take to maintain a secure site. More about blogging-