Protecting Your WordPress Website from Common Security Threats
For those in the dark, WordPress is a software designed for anyone looking to create any form of a website in a simple and elegant format without the need for coding or other computerized functions.
It is a creation tool for websites written in PHP and is considered one of the most straightforward and most potent management systems. These websites can be used for various reasons, such as showcasing personal blogs or for business-oriented purposes with profits involved. Whichever the case may be, one must put in place measures that will aid in protecting the websites from any form of cyberattacks and online threats.
Here are helpful tips on how you can protect your WordPress website:
Step 1. Utilizing robust passwords for security
Passwords are technically the first step for any security measure and especially when dealing with various cyberattacks from unknown online sources. Using a password alone may not be an active line of defense against these threats since there are possibilities of hackers manipulating your system and getting full access to the credentials.
One should, therefore, make use of strong passwords that comprise many different characters hence making them harder to crack. Using special symbols, digits and both uppercase and lowercase letters in a password are highly recommended as it makes it more cryptic.
In case one has doubts in their passwords, they can seek the help of a password manager that not only helps them generate many unique passwords, but also stores them in a secure vault.
However, one should be cautious when choosing an ideal password manager for their security, as some might be more of a threat containing malware that could harm your WordPress website. A good password manager should be capable of providing unlimited storage for passwords and instill robust encryption software. It should also have secure cloud backup for easier access to the passwords in case of sudden short-term memory loss by the user and even fill forms automatically.
Step 2. Setting up security plugins for WordPress
There are many WordPress plugins designed for security purposes that can help protect your website from all kinds of threats. These plugins may include:
WordFence
WordFence is a collection of security tools, such as a security scanner or firewall, compiled into a plugin. This plugin defends your website from harmful code by hackers or dangerous content using a malware scanner and blocks out all spiteful IP requests using a blacklist. Furthermore, it can repair damaged core on the websites as well as theme files and even gives you reports of the various changes made.
WordFence offers a broad of protection services and tools which enhance the security of your website in general.
6Scan Security
This plugin provides its implementors with a broad and regulated protection tool for their websites and automatically repairs many security malware detected. The plugin is updated consistently updated enabling it to deal with significant threats such as SQL injection, brute force attacks, remote file inclusion, and even CSRF. Your website will be provided with a broad range of security protection tools using this plugin.
Sucuri Security
This is a famous WordPress plugin developed by Sucuri, a reputable company that deals in security for websites and auditing. It offers firewall protection for websites as well as malware scans and blacklist monitoring. This allows it to defend the intended site from threats such as brute force attacks, DOS threats, and even zero-day exploits online. The plugin goes ahead to keep a record of all your website activities and safely keep them on the cloud for your easy access.
Step 3. Keeping things updated
Using outdated software puts your WordPress website at risk of cyberattacks that can lead to loss of great content and files. It is recommended that you keep the software, themes, and plugins always up to date to avoid these malicious infiltrations.
Outdated versions of WordPress allow any hacker or malware to quickly find its way through the system due to the absence of new security measures for evolved threats. It does not take much effort at all to keep them updated rather than losing everything due to ignorance.
Step 4. Familiarizing and installing file permissions
Any WordPress website is made up of a variety f files such as media files, design files, and even plugin files. Granting a file, the wrong permission or rather specific permission to the wrong file could expose it to risks of threats and especially the execute permission. It is therefore recommended that one gets to know all about the permissions and how they function to implement them in their correct files.
Different files require different permissions and to accurately allocate these permissions to users; a coding system is regularly put in place.
A variety of FTP clients provide users with interfaces that allows them to change the permission modes easily. A better alternative that comes in place with the absence of this feature is using the chmod command only if you can access the terminal of your server.
Take Away
Constructing a quality and efficient WordPress website requires patience and resilience as it is a long process. The user is required to use all the tools provided to create the site, and as much as it may be simple, it takes much time to get the perfect output. Efforts also have to be made to direct enough traffic to the websites to make it a significant success. This is achieved through advertising and other methods of creating public awareness.
With all this effort, it would be heart-breaking to have a hacker or other harmful malware destroying what you had struggled to build, for days and weeks, in a matter of minutes. The information above is, therefore, a good insurance policy for anyone looking to protect their reputation and hard work from crumbling.
Cybercriminals are getting stronger, and various malicious malware is evolving thus making them more resistant to outdated methods of protection. One should, therefore, follow the guidelines provided in the article and also keep themselves in the know whenever regular updates are available.
