How to avoid Wordpress site from being hacked

10 years ago

here is a good list of WP security plugins 6 Best WordPress Security Plugins .

changing your admin login URL and adding a pincode to login helps too!

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spearce000

10 years ago

Sending you a PM.

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Rob Whisonant

10 years ago

Learn a little html and quit using wordpress.

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Rob Whisonant

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3 replies

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vikash_kumar

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Rob Whisonant

Learn a little html and quit using wordpress.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

I completely disagree with this idea... Its like..."If there is cold in a city...so don't ever go there... even if that city is beautiful and everybody is already enjoying and going there..."

I think, your question is correctly framed... you just need to know the elements which are required to be secured to make any software secure..Be it WordPress or even if a HTML site...

There are plenty of content available on internet to learn to make a WordPress site more secure... However, There are no website in the world which is totally safe and secure... and will never be... You should always be prepared for worse and my tip will be to always take a regular and frequent backup of your website...Preferably an off-site backup (Not on the same server where the site is...)

Best Regards,
Vikash

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Rob Whisonant

10 years ago

Originally Posted by vikash_kumar

I completely disagree with this idea... Its like..."If there is cold in a city...so don't ever go there... even if that city is beautiful and everybody is already enjoying and going there..."

I think, your question is correctly framed... you just need to know the elements which are required to be secured to make any software secure..Be it WordPress or even if a HTML site...

There are plenty of content available on internet to learn to make a WordPress site more secure... However, There are no website in the world which is totally safe and secure... and will never be... You should always be prepared for worse and my tip will be to always take a regular and frequent backup of your website...Preferably an off-site backup (Not on the same server where the site is...)

Best Regards,
Vikash

No problem. We will agree to disagree on this. Personally I think Wordpress is a total piece of [fill in the blank]. Learning html gives you better control over what you want to do and what you want your site to look like. Plus learning html is easy.

99% of the time when you hear.... MY SITE GOT HACKED.... It is Wordpress. So yes, I stay out of the bad dangerous parts of town and spend my time on the pretty and safe side of town. Why take chances when you don't have to?

But, yes, let's agree to disagree on this issue.

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Rob Whisonant

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jay761 10 years ago

I would visit Strong Random Password Generator to generate a strong password. I would tick numbers and symbols I heard WordPress gets hacked using the dictionary method meaning that if you use real words a program guesses it? I'm not really an expert on security it is just what I have heard.
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Jw0847

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Rob Whisonant

No problem. We will agree to disagree on this. Personally I think Wordpress is a total piece of [fill in the blank]. Learning html gives you better control over what you want to do and what you want your site to look like. Plus learning html is easy.

99% of the time when you hear.... MY SITE GOT HACKED.... It is Wordpress. So yes, I stay out of the bad dangerous parts of town and spend my time on the pretty and safe side of town. Why take chances when you don't have to?

But, yes, let's agree to disagree on this issue.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

I had many HTML sites hacked even when using complex passwords for FTP and cpanel. They injected redirect code into the HTML files. I added HTACCESS code providing security. This hack can effect Wordpress too. It happens and is a pain. Just ask Sony.

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1 reply

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Rob Whisonant

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Jw0847

I had many HTML sites hacked even when using complex passwords for FTP and cpanel. They injected redirect code into the HTML files. I added HTACCESS code providing security. This hack can effect Wordpress too. It happens and is a pain. Just ask Sony.

Completely different hacking method. The vast majority of hacking is through wordpress and it's plugins.

I agree that all sites can be hacked. So by not using Wordpress you eliminate the vast majority of your vulnerability. To me that is a good thing.

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Rob Whisonant

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Peter Lessard

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Rob Whisonant

Learn a little html and quit using wordpress.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

LOL a little bit of html?

For the average person WordPress is a god send, they can add all kinds of functionality by simply installing a plugin and there is absolutely no way the average person could ever build such functions in with "a little bit of html".

I am saying this as a coder so I get what you're saying but this is not a path for the average person on here that is pumping out sites daily and needs to constantly add features etc... It's like telling someone don't bring your car to a mechanic just learn a little bit about engines. You and me are those kinds of guys, hell I can fix a car, built a site and do the plumbing in my house but it's simply wrong to assume people are like you.

Sites are being hacked because they are not up to date.
If people can't even update their plugins imagine the likely hood of them learning and programming in html ;-)

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Winning34

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Peter Lessard

LOL a little bit of html?

For the average person WordPress is a god send, they can add all kinds of functionality by simply installing a plugin and there is absolutely no way the average person could ever build such functions in with "a little bit of html".

I am saying this as a coder so I get what you're saying but this is not a path for the average person on here that is pumping out sites daily and needs to constantly add features etc... It's like telling someone don't bring your car to a mechanic just learn a little bit about engines. You and me are those kinds of guys, hell I can fix a car, built a site and do the plumbing in my house but it's simply wrong to assume people are like you.

Sites are being hacked because they are not up to date.
If people can't even update their plugins imagine the likely hood of them learning and programming in html ;-)

I agree. I have a degree in computing and quite a bit of experience but even with that, I don't want to spend 12 months reinventing the wheel to make a responsive site that looks nice and can be updated easily from anywhere in the world.

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1 reply

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Rob Whisonant

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Winning34

I agree. I have a degree in computing and quite a bit of experience but even with that, I don't want to spend 12 months reinventing the wheel to make a responsive site that looks nice and can be updated easily from anywhere in the world.

Look into twitter bootstrap. Really easy to pick a template you like and edit it. Can be done very fast and is fully responsive. And no wordpress hackers paradise needed.

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Rob Whisonant

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Rob Whisonant

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Peter Lessard

LOL a little bit of html?

For the average person WordPress is a god send, they can add all kinds of functionality by simply installing a plugin and there is absolutely no way the average person could ever build such functions in with "a little bit of html".

I am saying this as a coder so I get what you're saying but this is not a path for the average person on here that is pumping out sites daily and needs to constantly add features etc... It's like telling someone don't bring your car to a mechanic just learn a little bit about engines. You and me are those kinds of guys, hell I can fix a car, built a site and do the plumbing in my house but it's simply wrong to assume people are like you.

Sites are being hacked because they are not up to date.
If people can't even update their plugins imagine the likely hood of them learning and programming in html ;-)

And that is the problem. The average... the majority... of wordpress users never update anything. Most don't even know that you have to constantly update wordpress and it's plugins. So they constantly get hacked.

Many of these wordpress sites getting hacked are simple squeeze pages and sales pages. Wordpress is overkill where learning a little html could save them tons of headaches.

Also several WYSIWYG html editors are available that make html coding even easier.

I guess you can tell I am not a fan of using wordpress except when it's really the best solution. aka... Searchable blogs etc.

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Rob Whisonant

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itunesguy

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Rob Whisonant

Learn a little html and quit using wordpress.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

One of the worst pieces of advice that I have ever read here. After years of using html for one site, Wordpress has been a real godsend for me and allowed me to create many more far superior sites in 1/100th the time of my first extensive html site.

No hackings so far, but I will look into these security plugins now.

I do backup my posts and pages once a month.

Thanks
1 reply

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Rob Whisonant

10 years ago

Originally Posted by itunesguy

One of the worst pieces of advice that I have ever read here. After years of using html for one site, Wordpress has been a real godsend for me and allowed me to create many more far superior sites in 1/100th the time of my first extensive html site.

No hackings so far, but I will look into these security plugins now.

I do backup my posts and pages once a month.

Now that was funny. Thank you.

Re's
Rob Whisonant

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jfalxr

10 years ago

There's a WP security plugin develop by Leo BCBiz called WP Shieldmate Plugin
-> WP ShieldMate - WPThemePlugin Customers

It puts a password to your WP login page and you can use as many passwords as you like..

You can check live demo in my website here -> http://privatebonusclub.com/wp-admin

Hope it helps,
Jeffry

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nizamkhan

10 years ago

Originally Posted by Azlan.MY

Hi, All of my websites which were hosted on Hostgator were hacked recently. I want to know, what software should I use to avoid them from being hacked. I'm using Cloudflare but it made my website down. Can anyone suggest alternatives to Cloudflare or Sitelock?

I use and recommend iThemes Security wordpress plugin. It's an excellent plugin with advance security features.

If you need a premium security service, you can check out Sucuri.

- Nizam

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Peter Lessard

10 years ago

You likely had an outdated plugin, theme or version of wordpress.

1. Install the free version of the sucuri wordpress security plugin.

2. Update everything. (theme, wp, plugins)

3. Go to the Sucuri dashboard and check under files to see if it is showing some files as modified or added. If yes use the Sucuri tool to remove them. For example if they hack is placing index.html files or anything that does not belong Sucuri will find it.

4. Go to hardening in the Sucuri dashboard and harden your install.

5. In the future keep everything up to date.

P.S If your waiting for Hostgator to fix this good luck, expect about 2 weeks!

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MrFume

10 years ago

Look, you just need one plugin and to configure it a little-it is called 'wordFence' it has a paid level but the free plugin works like a beauty - may sound simplistic but I run dozens of WP sites, have done for years and no hacking not even once with this measure. Just do it.

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xlfutur1

10 years ago

Originally Posted by MrFume

Look, you just need one plugin and to configure it a little-it is called 'wordFence' it has a paid level but the free plugin works like a beauty - may sound simplistic but I run dozens of WP sites, have done for years and no hacking not even once with this measure. Just do it.

I agree. Wordfence is one of the the best free plugins for security. I've been using it for awhile now and its amazing how many hackers it thwarts.

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mrdeflation

10 years ago

why not use a dedicated wordpress host like wpengine, pagely, etc??

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brotherZ

10 years ago

To prevent your Wordpress site or any sites that run a popular script from being hacked, you have to keep up with the security updates. If you are running outdated scripts, you're more likely to be hacked.
So, it's simple. Make sure your script is always up to date.

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vishwa

10 years ago

I am using "Wordfence" Security plugin for my WordPress plugin. It is one of the best security plugin and provides full proof security.

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rotface

10 years ago

If you have to use Wordpress.

1. Install security plugin.
2. Set up cloudflare.
3. DO NOT USE "admin" as the username.
4. https://identitysafe.norton.com/password-generator/

Wordpress is bloated and slow. Only use it if you have to.

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DJL

10 years ago

Probably no site can be made 100% secure against hacking.
Here's what I do:
1. Use strong user names and passwords.
2. Define .htaccess rules that permit only my IP address access to the wp-admin folder.
3. Install Wordfence plugin.
4. Backup database and files immediately after deployment.
5. Check every site every day for any needed updates.
6. Backup after every update.
7. Store backups offline on secure media.
None of my sites has ever been hacked, but I feel sure that I could undo the damage in a matter of minutes if it were.

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usmantech

10 years ago

Here is a little checklist that is very effective:

Always keep your wordpress core and plugins updated. Install Wordfence security plugin and Wordpress Firewall 2 plugin. Choose good and reliable hosting. Do not use admin as username and the password should be hard to guess.

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sukritinfotech

10 years ago

Backup this is the first and most important step. If u plan any change make sure your backup entire in DB.
Update WordPress Version after backing up your blog is to update it to the latest version.
Change your Login/Password the default wordpress login is “admin” and most hackers know that.

Install WP Security Scan this plugin is the real deal. It’s simple and automates stuff.

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turborunner

10 years ago

check out my videos, there's one specifically on how to keep your site safe from hackers

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jkruger

10 years ago

Always update everything!

Install Wordfence.

Seems simple, but our clients forget....often...

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kpmedia

10 years ago

Were these all addon domains? That's always a security risk.

Although Hostgator is a terrible host, that can happen anywhere. One site gets hacked, they all get hacked. By using "reseller" (multi-account) hosting, where every site has a dedicated cPanel account, you reduce the risk. If one site gets hacked, ONLY that one site gets hacked -- not all of them.

WordPress plugins often DO NOT help with security. I can put "security" in a name, but it doesn't mean anything. You can't truly secure an ecosystem from within the ecosystem itself. It needs external (not plugin!) methods for security to exist.

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joshzyerburg

10 years ago

I'd start by getting my website out of Hostgator, shared webhosting is terrible, it's enough for a hacker get his website on the same server to have a chance at doing some terrible things (especially stealing PHP sessions).

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nuggetsol

10 years ago

There are several things I have done to keep my site safe and secure.

1. Change your admin username. People tend to be lazy and keep the admin username as "admin". Instead delete/move this admin account to another admin username account.

2. Install and activate - Akismet plugin -
Akismet is quite possibly the best way in the world to protect your blog from comment and trackback spam

3. Install Ban Hammer plugin, Stop Spammer Registrations Plugin - prevents spammers from mail.ru are registering to your blog while allowing your blog to keep registration open.

4. BulletProof Security Plugin - BulletProof Security protects your website against 100,000's of different hacking attempts/attacks

5. Vaultpress plugin - Protect your content, themes, plugins, and settings with realtime backup and automated security scanning.

6. Sucuri plugin - The Sucuri WordPress Security plugin is a security toolset for security integrity monitoring, malware detection and security hardening.

7. Make sure your forms have some kind of captcha OR something to prevent automated form submissions.

8. Lastly, have forms and senstitive info on your site delivered via https.

The above should help you to get started. Hope this helps.

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Noel2010

10 years ago

This is a very serious issue and I appreciate the different view points and suggestions.

I want to keep using Wordpress.

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How to avoid Wordpress site from being hacked

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