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WordPress Firewall has detected and blocked a potential attack!

by AnniePot
11 replies
When I first checked my emails this morning, I had automated emails from each of my Wordpress blogs (hosted on Hostgator,) indicating that WP Firewall had detected and blocked a succession of Executable File Upload Attacks, all from the same IP address: 78.85.53.190 which, when I checked with IP Lookup, is located in the Russian Federation.

Over the years, WP Firewall has blocked hundreds of potential threats to my blogs, but this is the first time I've been notified of repeated attacks, within a short space of time to all of them.

Anyone who doesn't yet protect their WP blogs with WP Firewall may want to consider using it. Better safe than sorry..
#attack #blocked #detected #firewall #potential #wordpress
  • Profile picture of the author MichaelNech
    That's definitely a good advice right there. In your particular case, that was most likely a mass spammer trying to gain access to your cpanel details with all the nasty implications following this action.

    When this happens a good idea is to change the passwords, just to be on the safe side.

    Mike.
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    • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
      I always change my passwords regularly Mike. Worth remembering though..
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  • Profile picture of the author MovingAround
    Have you encountered any problems with WP firewall? I have read that a few of the plugins for protecting one's blogs tend to cause issues and even fatal errors so I'm always wary of installing any plugins that can potentially lock me out or cause login problems.
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    • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
      Originally Posted by MovingAround View Post

      Have you encountered any problems with WP firewall? I have read that a few of the plugins for protecting one's blogs tend to cause issues and even fatal errors so I'm always wary of installing any plugins that can potentially lock me out or cause login problems.
      Well, all I can tell you is I've used it for years on many, many blogs, and a variety of themes, and various combinations of additional plugins and never encountered any issues or problems.

      It's always the first plugin I install on a new WP blog, but I will say, I'm always very judicious with the plugins I use; I never add any unless it's absolutely necessary.

      Far too many slap on a bunch of plugins and often, the majority are completely unnecessary.
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      • Profile picture of the author rhinocl
        Changing passwords is equivalent to a business that fires a key employee changing all their door locks. If you never share your passwords with anyone then there is no advantage to changing them. That changes the minute you share them even if you trust the person--e.g. your web designer stores all her customer's passwords in an FTP program and someone steals her laptop.
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        • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
          Originally Posted by rhinocl View Post

          Changing passwords is equivalent to a business that fires a key employee changing all their door locks. If you never share your passwords with anyone then there is no advantage to changing them. That changes the minute you share them even if you trust the person--e.g. your web designer stores all her customer's passwords in an FTP program and someone steals her laptop.
          I share my passwords with no-one. Nevertheless, on top of the security already in place, it certainly doesn't hurt to charge the passwords from time to time.
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          • Profile picture of the author andersvinther
            Originally Posted by AnniePot View Post

            I share my passwords with no-one. Nevertheless, on top of the security already in place, it certainly doesn't hurt to charge the passwords from time to time.
            Agree... and if you use a password manager (which you should) there is no problem remembering new passwords...

            You need to use a password manager so you can use really hard to crack passwords and use different passwords and user names for every account you have online...

            Read more here: Password Management - The WordPress Security Checklist
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    • Profile picture of the author andersvinther
      Originally Posted by MovingAround View Post

      Have you encountered any problems with WP firewall? I have read that a few of the plugins for protecting one's blogs tend to cause issues and even fatal errors so I'm always wary of installing any plugins that can potentially lock me out or cause login problems.
      It's best if you understand what a plugin does and how you can uninstall it again before you install it on your blog.

      Checking the support forum for the plugin usually gives you a good idea if there are any problems...
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  • Profile picture of the author mosthost
    Disable and delete any unused plugins. There are tons of WP malware hacks going on, most of them use old plugins to get in. Make sure everything is up to date.
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  • Profile picture of the author DWaters
    I had a major "malicious attack" earlier this year so unfortunately I know something about it. It knocked all my WP sites for a loop.

    I definately agree with keeping everything up to date, plugins and themes, Do not have any unsed plugins or themes in place. Have only what you need and use. Update plugins when prompted.

    Changing paswords may help in some cases so it is worth doing. Regulary check your user list. I found a few unknown users on there once.
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    • Profile picture of the author Mena Jo
      I did a double take when I saw this post because I was hit by the exact same IP address around the same sort of time. I use WP Defender, so thankfully I received email notification alerting me to what had gone on. Scary stuff.
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