Top Tips To Secure Your WordPress Site From Attack

WordPress is one of the top-rated CMS which is used for designing millions of websites around the world. Owing to its wide popularity amongst businesses, WordPress is often susceptible to cyber attacks or malicious attempts which affect its overall functionality. The damage done by WordPress attackers can be enormous in certain instances. Security of WordPress websites has always been a vital issue, therefore, businesses prefer hiring WordPress developers who take proper care of website support and maintenance to keep website secure for a longer duration.

This blog mentions the different measures of protection which must be applied to keep WordPress site secure from attacks.

Use of WordPress Security Plugins

The use of WordPress security plugins adds an extra layer of protection to WordPress sites by reducing security risk and checking for vulnerabilities. So, if you wish to keep your WordPress site 100% secure, use of a few important plugins will definitely solve the problem.

1. All in One WPSecurity and FireWall- This plugin is known to provide the latest recommended WordPress security practices as easy to use features. Designed keeping the end user in mind, this plugin utilizes an unprecedented security system to measure the overall performance of your site based on the different security features activated.
2. Brute Protect- Another interesting solution to protect WordPress sites, Brute Protect secures websites from malicious attacks. It also protects websites from botnets by connecting with its users and track every failed login attempt. Being multisite compatible, Brute Protect secures as many sites as possible. It also blocks the IP with multiple failed login attempts.
3. BulletProof Security- A complete suite to protect WordPress Site from spammers and hackers, BulletProof security blocks the access to WordPress directory and thus provides bulletproof security. The plugin protects WordPress sites against CRLF, CSRF, XSS, Code Injection and SQL Injection Hacking Attempts.

Using 2 Step Authentication

2 Factor authentication method requires a code from phone to complete the login process. This type of authentication process requires two type of information from the user to login, username as the identifier, password and another piece of information which is retrieved from a device as user’s smartphone. WordPress two-factor authentication saves you from the hassle of trying to convince WordPress users to use strong passwords. The best part is that there are numerous of plugins and services you can use to implement 2-factor authentication on WordPress.

Using the latest version of WordPress

Every version of WordPress addresses security holes identified in previous versions. Therefore, using an older version makes your website more persuadable to attacks. This is what calls for the need of an updated version. The latest released version introduces new features to the platform and addresses important security bugs.

Password Protecting WordPress Admin Folder

Secure /wp-admin/ directory by using .htaccess file which allows accessing websites from specific IP address only. For doing so, a new .htaccess file can be created and can be placed directly in /wp-admin/.htaccess.

Backing Up Website Data

Having an up to date WordPress backup protects your site against unexpected server hacks and failures. A WordPress backup solution allows you to keep content safe and restore website after an incident. Backup can be implemented manually as well as with the use of plugins which are simple to install, use and flexible enough to backup database. Some of these plugins can be downloaded from third-party service while others can be installed directly from WordPress.org.

1. Backup Scheduler- This plugin allows you to schedule the entire backup of your website including folders, files and another database. It allows you to choose the folders you want to save, the frequency of backup process and so on. Backups created by Backup Scheduler can be saved on the local site, email or uploaded via FTP.
2. Complete Central Backup- This module allows backups in a very quick way right from the dashboard. Once installed with a single click you get access to a downloadable restore and backup of your WordPress database. Complete Central Backup features the abilities to set up weekly database backups as well as sending automatic emails to site admin.

Limit Login Attempts

One of the most common approaches that spammers use to acquire unauthorized access to WordPress site is brute force attacks. Brute force attacks rely on a different combinations of credentials until any one of them works. Therefore, limiting the number of login attempts is an effective way to slow down or stop spammy activities. There are 2 common plugins which are used for limiting the number of login attempts, namely, Limit Login Attempt and Login Lockdown. The plugins work as they say by blocking an IP address from making additional login attempts.

Changing Prefixes of Database Tables

Changing your table prefix from “wp_” to “wp1_” or even “Wordpress” will bring WordPress site security to an advanced level.

Final Thoughts

The aforementioned tricks will definitely help you to monitor and protect your site in a reliable way. In order to maintain websites, one should always look for long-term solutions and following the ones given above will definitely keep your website secure.