There are many ways to make a WordPress site insecure, and the best way to protect yourself is by understanding every vulnerability and installing the appropriate security measures. By doing this, you can reduce your risk of being hacked and protect your site from potential damage.
To better secure your WordPress site, you’ll need to take a few steps. First, you’ll need to secure your domain. Next, you’ll need to login and protect your WordPress site with a password. Finally, make sure to use available security tools and plugins to protect your site. ..
Create a Private Domain
Domain privacy protection is an important add-on to consider when purchasing a domain. It can help protect your domain from being stolen or cloned. ..
- General privacy protection: This level includes things like protecting your personal information, such as your name, address, and credit card information.
- Custom privacy protection: This level includes things like controlling who can see your contact information and how it is used, and protecting your online activities from being tracked.
- Security privacy protection: This level includes measures to protect your data from being accessed by unauthorized individuals or organizations.
If you want to keep your contact information hidden from the WHOIS directory, you can do so by replacing your own information with an alternative email address and contact info. This will help to cloak your actual identity, and also blocks malicious domain scanning. In addition, website security monitoring will be performed in order to ensure that your site is safe. ..
Domain security levels are usually upgraded by choosing a dropdown on your domain listing page. ..
There are a few things you can do to protect your website from unauthorized access. Basic domain protection is relatively cheap (usually around $9.99/yr), and higher levels of security aren’t much more expensive.
This is a great way to stop spammers from scraping your contact information off of the WHOIS database, or others with malicious intent who want to get access to your contact information.
Hide wp-config.php and .htaccess Files
When you first install WordPress, you’ll need to include the administrative ID and password for your WordPress database in the wp-config.php file. ..
Block hackers from editing your website’s .htaccess file
order deny,allow Deny from all Allow from 127.0.0.1 ..
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.mydomain.com/$1
This will prevent any changes to the .htaccess file on the server from being made without first asking the user for permission.
Save the file and close the file editor.
Right-clicking each file and changing the permissions to remove Write access entirely for everyone would help protect your data from unauthorized access.
If you’re running any security WordPress plugins that may need to edit the .htaccess file for you, it’s important to do so on a separate line in your wp-config.php file.
If you experience any errors when using WordPress, you can always update the permissions on the .htaccess file to allow write access again. ..
Change Your WordPress Login URL
Since the default login page for every WordPress site is yourdomain/wp-admin.php, hackers will use this URL to try and gain access to your site. ..
They will use brute force attacks to try and guess passwords, username combinations, and other information that people commonly use. Hackers hope that they’ll get lucky and land the right combination.
You can stop these attacks by changing your WordPress login URL to something other than the standard “wp.com”.
This plugin hides the login button on your WordPress site so that people can’t sign in without having to enter their username and password.
This plugin adds a new section to the General tab in WordPress. This section is called “Settings.” You can find this section under Settings in the WordPress main menu.
If you want to change your login URL for your WordPress site, you can do so by saving your changes and then activating them the next time you want to log in.
If you try to access your old WordPress admin URL, you’ll be redirected to the site’s 404 page. ..
The site is down, but we’re working on getting it back up. Please try again later.
Install a WordPress Security Plugin
Wordfence is a popular WordPress security plugin that has been found to be effective at protecting websites from various types of attacks. ..
Wordfence is a powerful security software that includes a scan engine that looks for backdoor threats, malicious code in your plugins or on your site, MySQL injection threats, and more. It also includes a firewall to block active threats like DDOS attacks.
The new security feature will also let you limit login attempts and lock out users who make too many incorrect login attempts. This will help to prevent brute force attacks, which are when someone tries to login multiple times with the same password.
The free version of the WordPress platform offers a lot of settings to protect your website from most attacks.
There is a dashboard page you can review that monitors recent threats and attacks that have been blocked.
Use the WordPress Password Generator and 2FA
To help protect your password, make sure you use a complex, unique password that is difficult to guess. Some examples of good passwords include:
- Your name
- A website name or user name
- A special character
If you’re using WordPress, you can use powerful password security tools to protect your site.
To improve your password security, go to each user for your site and select the Generate Password button. ..
To create a very secure password, you will need to use letters, numbers, and special characters. Make sure to save this password somewhere safe so you can easily access it if you need to change your login information. ..
Select Log Out Everywhere Else to close all active sessions and prevent any future connections.
If you have installed the Wordfence security plugin, you will see an Activate 2FA button. Select this to enable two-factor authentication for your user logins. ..
Wordfence is a popular security software company that offers a 2FA plugin. If you don’t have Wordfence, you’ll need to install any of these popular 2FA plugins.
Google Authenticator is a two-factor authentication app that uses a code sent to your phone as well as a one-time password generated by the app. Rublon Two-Factor Authentication uses a physical security key and a one-time password generated by the app. Duo Two-Factor Authentication uses an app on your phone and a second security key. ..
Other Important Security Considerations
- Use a strong password and keep it updated.
- Use two-factor authentication to add an extra layer of security.
- Install the latest security updates from WordPress.org and make sure your site is running the latest version of WordPress. ..
WordPress plugins and the WordPress version are both important to keep up to date. If you don’t update them, you’re leaving your site at risk.
- If a new version of a plugin is available, update it to the latest version.
- If you find any issues with a plugin, please report them to the plugin’s author or the WordPress development team.
When you see a plugin that is out of date, select “update now.” You may also consider selecting “Enable auto-updates for your plugins.” ..
Some people are hesitant to update their WordPress plugins because they may not be sure that the updates will work correctly and break their site or theme. So it’s always a good idea to test plugin updates on a local WordPress test site before enabling them on your live site.
If you’re running an older version of WordPress, you may see a notification that WordPress is out of date. To fix this, update your WordPress to the latest version.
Before you update your WordPress site, make sure to back up the site and test it on a local test site. ..
Most web hosts offer a variety of free security services for the sites you host there. They do this because it not only protects your site, but it keeps the entire server safe. This is especially important when you’re on a shared hosting account where other clients have websites on the same server. 4. Use a secure password and keep it updated. A secure password is one that is unique, has at least 8 characters, and is not easily guessed by someone who knows you well. Make sure to change your password every few months, and make sure to keep it confidential. If you ever need help creating a secure password, there are many resources available online. A secure password is one that is unique, has at least 8 characters, and is not easily guessed by someone who knows you well. Make sure to change your password every few months, and make sure to keep it confidential. If you ever need help creating a secure password, there are many resources available online. 5. Install antivirus software on your computer and keep up with the latest updates. Antivirus software helps protect your computer from viruses and other malware that can damage your files or steal your personal information. Make sure to install the latest updates so that the software can detect new threats quickly and protect your computer against them ..
These free security services can help keep your site safe from malicious attacks, backups, and site scanning.
Running a website is never just as simple as installing WordPress and just posting content. It’s important to make your WordPress website as secure as possible. All of the following tips can help you do so without too much effort. ..