When you first got into blogging, you likely didn’t think too hard about safety.
Yes, there are many different news stories these days about hackers infiltrating very high-level operations. However, if you’re a small-time blogger with a medium-sized subscription base, it’s likely that you never thought about WordPress security.
As many domain owners have unfortunately come to realise, that has changed.
Attacks on WordPress users are on the rise – both through brute force infiltration and DDoS attacks. During the last two months of 2016, an average of 500,000 sites were hacked using the brute force method alone.
In today’s WordPress landscape, it’s important to keep your site as safe as you can from threats. In this article, we’ll share with you 6 tips to ensure that your WordPress site security is strong.
Use E-Mail Addresses Instead of Usernames for User Login
You’ve had countless usernames as you have grown up.
These days, many people’s usernames are their actual names and – much worse – some variation on the word “admin”. In brute force attacks, the hackers will try usernames using generators, which try any and all combinations of usernames. They force many usernames onto your system until they find the right mix of letters and numbers.
Usernames are simple to predict, and there are many programs that are available to make it easier. So for your users, we encourage asking them for their email as login. Email addresses are more difficult to predict using brute force technology.
Brute Force Login Protection
A great plug-in to help bolster your WordPress security is the Brute Force Login Protection plug-in. With this plug-in, you are able to limit the number of login attempts while letting the user know how many attempts remain. You’re also able to block IP addresses that may be attempting to break into your site. This is a great way to stop brute force attacks right away.
Adjust Your Passwords
You have probably gotten an invitation to change your password from social media sites from time to time. Maybe your email provider has sent you similar messages. These are security measures to keep you protected against unwanted threats.
The same goes for your website.
An important step to WordPress security is changing your password regularly. Shift the letters, adjust the upper and lower cases – just play with your password. By constantly changing your password, hackers will be kept on their heels.
Change Admin Username
As mentioned before, “admin” is a bad choice for your website.
This is the simplest way for a hacker to barge into the administrative side of your WordPress site. By having a unique name set as your username (i.e. your email address) you are able to quell hackers that attempt to break into your site.
Back-Up Your Site
One type of hack we haven’t really touched on is the DDoS hack.
It’s a very malicious type of attack that WordPress has difficulty preventing on its own. DDoS attacks create so much traffic that your site will fail and shut down.
As bad as DDoS hacks are, a great preventative measure you can take is to constantly back your site up. By keeping your WordPress site backed up completely, you don’t have to worry about your content being washed away in a massive attack.
Update Your Plug-Ins Regularly
Your Plug-Ins keep your WordPress site running regularly.
That being said, they do require a lot of updates. Many people simply let the plug-in updates lapse for a while. This lapsing of updates means that you’re leaving the door open for a security issue. Hackers wait for lapsed plug-in updates on sites so they can sneak in. By keeping your plugins up to date, you’re keeping the hackers out.
Keep Your WordPress Site Safe
Attacks will happen, and it’s too bad that they do, but it’s always good to be prepared.
By taking the right precautions, you can rest easier knowing that your WordPress site is safe and sound. With your WordPress security in check, you can get back to what you do best – creating content and keeping your users happy.