How to Protect Your WordPress Security in 5 Easy Steps
Posted 6th July 2013 at 01:59 PM by Robert Plank
The recent mega-attacks on WordPress installs have many of us scrambling to see if we are in jeopardy of losing data, or worse, our sites entirely. The infiltration of more than 90,000 sites has people all of a sudden very cognizant of WordPress security, and for good reason.
Your site may become a slave for hackers, sending spam and hosting unwanted content. You may also experience significant data mining, especially of sensitive information. Not pretty.
I realize that you probably don't want to think about what would happen if you were hacked, how much money it would cost you, how much it would damage your reputation or how much it would set back the progress of your business. That's why it's so important to take these preventative measures right now.
Having your site hacked in this fashion is no picnic, and you need to take steps to ensure that a proper level of WordPress security is in place.
Here are 5 easy steps to do exactly that!
1. Make regular WordPress backups of your site – This is your lifesaver; if you can manage to use a simple WordPress plugin that backs up your site on a regular basis, you'll very likely be spared any number of painful problems, such as server outages, attacks on your host, and more. For a terrific solution that I use, read on to the bottom.
2. Make sure your WordPress install is current – One of the ways hackers are able to get into WordPress installs is through various "exploits" that are targeting vulnerabilities in sites that haven't updated their WordPress. This is drop dead easy to do (usually one click), and is not to be overlooked!
3. Secure your site login credentials – Make sure you not only have hard-to-guess usernames and passwords, but that you are securing them somehow, such as by using a tool like Roboform. Do not store them in a file on your site.
4. Use good anti-malware – Try as you might, there are still WordPress security issues sometimes. Make sure your install and particularly your web host has the latest anti-malware and anti-spyware installed.
5. Don't install via Fantastico – Installing using the cpanel utility Fantastico, while very easy, is also very insecure. Numerous exploits have succeeded through Fantastico installs. Take the extra few minutes and install correctly. The famous WordPress 5-Minute install works fine, and is far more secure.
Understanding just a few elements of WordPress security can go a long way toward helping you avoid problems.
Another great way is to go to www.backupcreator.com to back up, clone, and secure your WordPress site right now before anything happens to it!
Your site may become a slave for hackers, sending spam and hosting unwanted content. You may also experience significant data mining, especially of sensitive information. Not pretty.
I realize that you probably don't want to think about what would happen if you were hacked, how much money it would cost you, how much it would damage your reputation or how much it would set back the progress of your business. That's why it's so important to take these preventative measures right now.
Having your site hacked in this fashion is no picnic, and you need to take steps to ensure that a proper level of WordPress security is in place.
Here are 5 easy steps to do exactly that!
1. Make regular WordPress backups of your site – This is your lifesaver; if you can manage to use a simple WordPress plugin that backs up your site on a regular basis, you'll very likely be spared any number of painful problems, such as server outages, attacks on your host, and more. For a terrific solution that I use, read on to the bottom.
2. Make sure your WordPress install is current – One of the ways hackers are able to get into WordPress installs is through various "exploits" that are targeting vulnerabilities in sites that haven't updated their WordPress. This is drop dead easy to do (usually one click), and is not to be overlooked!
3. Secure your site login credentials – Make sure you not only have hard-to-guess usernames and passwords, but that you are securing them somehow, such as by using a tool like Roboform. Do not store them in a file on your site.
4. Use good anti-malware – Try as you might, there are still WordPress security issues sometimes. Make sure your install and particularly your web host has the latest anti-malware and anti-spyware installed.
5. Don't install via Fantastico – Installing using the cpanel utility Fantastico, while very easy, is also very insecure. Numerous exploits have succeeded through Fantastico installs. Take the extra few minutes and install correctly. The famous WordPress 5-Minute install works fine, and is far more secure.
Understanding just a few elements of WordPress security can go a long way toward helping you avoid problems.
Another great way is to go to www.backupcreator.com to back up, clone, and secure your WordPress site right now before anything happens to it!
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