How to Ensure Your WordPress Site is Secure

Most website owners realize only too late exactly how vulnerable their WordPress site is to hacker attacks. This CMS is undoubtedly the most popular one on the internet and spammers and hackers are always on the prowl, looking for site that can be infiltrated. As far as website security is concerned, it’s much better to be proactive, instead of reactive.

Just because your website has not been hacked anytime in the past, is not an indication that this will not happen in the future. Luckily, there are different methods in which you can secure your WordPress site and protect yourself as well as your Internet accounts from any malicious threats.

The Plugin Magic

The WordPress Plugin Directory has Plugins you can download onto your site. Most of these Plugins are pretty easy to install and once you have set them up, will not require any attention. They will effectively prevent unauthorized access. Here are 3 of them:

Stealth Login (Hide the Log-In Screen)

This is a very simple yet effective method of preventing unauthorised access to your WordPress Blog. Installing Stealth Login creates a specific URL/ Web address which you will use when you are logging-in to your blog/ performing admin via your account. Essentially, there will be no link or log-in from the blog’s public pages.

User Locker (Banning Selected Users)

This prevents a person from accessing your accounts by guessing the password via multiple attempts. WordPress does not limit the number of incorrect logins, which is a major security flaw. Installing the User Locker plugin limits the number of logins attempts. If the account gets locked, the Admin (you) is required to set up a new password.

SpiderSquash (Preventing Unauthorized Automated Access)

This Plugin prevents bots and spiders from gaining automated access to your site. SpiderSuqash has access to an international database and your account is protected against any spider/ bot that is listed in that database.

Beware of the Admin Password

If you currently use “admin” as your WordPress username, your Website can be a prime target for hackers. Even up until the 3.0 WordPress version, “admin” used to be the auto-generated password and hackers had a field day with accessing accounts. Though the later versions now don’t have this limitation, many users continue using “admin”, not realizing how vulnerable it makes them. It’s important for a website owner not to use this word as a password.

The Secure Password

Over the last few decades, password-cracking techniques have become very sophisticated and evolved significantly. In comparison, the way in which we create passwords has not really kept pace and most methods of creating passwords are pretty impractical and outdated.

So, is there a fool-proof method of setting-up a password? The one way to generate a very strong password is to choose a passphrase, which is simply a very random mix of words and not just a single word. Do not use quotes or song lyrics or anything that has been published or which has personal information.

Don’t Slip-Up on Back-Up

Your WordPress database holds all posts, links and comments on your blog. In case the database gets corrupted or erased, you risk losing all the information on your blog. The one way to be prepared is to ensure that you have proper backup for all your WordPress files and database, in 3 different mediums such as hard drives, CD’s/ DVD’s, your Email accounts or a Web Disc.

And so, keeping your WordPress site secure is a lot about ensuring that you are aware of the things that can go wrong and take appropriate preventive measures to keep all your information safe from hackers.

Thanks for reading,
Bizow Online