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Free Security and Malware Protection for Wordpress?

by dangordon
12 replies
Last year I had a big problem with malware on 3 sites hosted by HostGator. I ended up cleaning everything and also signed up for SiteLock. At the same time, I installed "All In One WP Security" on my sites and I've been malware free ever since. I guess the malware was mainly my fault since my sites weren't exactly secure in the first place. Live and learn.


My concern/question is that SiteLock isn't exactly cheap and I'm wondering if using a free malware plugin combined with "All in One WP Security" is a good enough solution? Do most of you use a paid malware service similar to SiteLock or do you use a combination of free plugins to stay secure? (And if so, which ones do you recommend?)


I searched this forum and a lot of people recommend Sucuri, WordFence, etc. however no one was very specific as to whether they just used the free plugin or the paid monthly service.


Thanks in advance.
#free #malware #protection #security #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author JC Web
    I use the free versions of Wordfence and Sucuri on all my WP sites. I also take manual measures to protect my sites, however. I check my logs daily (most people won't do this of course), block access from several high risk countries, rename default WP files, have ridiculous admin usernames and passwords that cannot be guessed, set restrictive permissions, and many other things. The less you are willing to do yourself, the more you will need to be willing to pay someone else to protect you.
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  • Profile picture of the author Everblue
    Hello Dangordon,

    For your average wordpress website , Wordfence will prove more than enough.
    Just configure the kind of alerts you wish to receive, change the login attempts to 5 and the block duration to 30 minutes.
    Always be sure you have everything updated.

    The next level of security would be a 2 step verification for your logins and occasional malware scanning for your website.

    Cheers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mattdawg841
    I found that Wordfence and Sucuri work the best for keeping my sites protected and would definitely recommend them both!

    I hope that helps and good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author JC Web
    The forum's not letting me edit my post right now for some reason. I just wanted to add, that besides good passwords, one of the most important things is to be very careful of the plugins and themes you use. Any free ones should be in the WP repository and should be updated regularly and recently (or formally tested with the latest version of WP) and they should have a strong history. Paid ones should be from trusted sources, with ongoing updates, and very good reputation. The fewer plugins/themes (even if not activated) on your site the better and always keep WP, plugins and themes up to date.
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  • Profile picture of the author vishwa
    You may also use CDN services like Cloudflare, MaxCDN etc to protect your account.
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    Techbizmasters.com- Blogging, Technology, and Digital Marketing
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  • Profile picture of the author dangordon
    Thanks for all the replies guys. Great info. Very much appreciated!
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  • Profile picture of the author begjorina
    I dislike to use the Free anything. Here I would like to suggest you to use the cheap one. You can search the cheap one. No problem, but you should not use the free one. Thanks for your advance.
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    • Profile picture of the author rritz
      I use the free Anti-Malware/Bruteforce plugin from GOTMLS.NET and it works good for me.

      Also from time to time change the password salts.

      Cloudflare is great also, it's integrated in cPanel (also great if your server is down sometimes)


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  • Profile picture of the author vic1
    Jetpack, Limit log in attempts and Really Simple CAPTCHA do the trick for me.
    I also use WP-CopyProtect so people can't use right click to copy. This is cool. I see tons of people everyday trying to right click and copy my stuff.
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  • Profile picture of the author Popche
    There are many services friend, but keep in mind that not just your Word Press is in danger. You should also have a good password for other networks and services you are using, email also.
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    Stoner Academy "Academy for Lazy People" / Affiliates ($3000 - Contest)
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  • Profile picture of the author brucemesnekoff
    JetPack and wordfence are best for those. Wordfence free plugin is awesome to sort out bruceforce Security issues.
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