(Ping! Zine Web Hosting Magazine) – WordPress has quickly caught on as the top choice for people all over the Internet world to host their blogging sites on and also serves as a quick, cost-effective fix for getting your business name out there with its own website. Unfortunately, its popularity and easy-to-use attribute doesn’t make it insusceptible to the preying hackers of cyberspace, and that is why a WordPress security service is more important than people think. For reasons unknown to the average user of the Internet, everyday informational blogs and business websites are attacked and infected by malicious links and spam whether they contain financial information and other sensitive data or not. It doesn’t just happen to those handling delicate information. You never know when your site is going to be a victim of security breach, but if you are aware of a few simple things to look out for and take preventive measures, then you will lessen the chances of being at risk.
Unauthorized Login Attempts
Brute force login attempts are commonly tried by experienced hackers. These unauthorized users will try to gain access to your WordPress website with repeated login efforts using a series of username and password combinations until they get it right. You can obstruct their attempts by installing the Limit Login Attempts plugin, which determines the number of times someone will be able to try and login unsuccessfully before being locked out for a period of time. Hopefully, this will be enough to frustrate a hacker and deter them from coming back to your site.
Login Verification
With WordPress being so easy to use, sometimes it can unintentionally be a little too user-friendly. The default settings allow for people to see which part of the login information, username or password, they’ve gotten wrong when they attempt to enter into the site. If hackers even have just one of these verified, they’re usually smart enough to figure out the rest. Customizing your functions.php file with a code specifically meant to prevent this issue should take care of the problem.
Unsecure Themes
Numerous people have already taken advantage of all the free features WordPress has to offer, but many don’t realize that they could be unknowingly downloading theme files that have been infected with inconspicuous spam links or malware. This doesn’t mean your site can’t have the same great look you were going for, but you should be sure to scan free themes first using your anti-virus program before any installations or you can go with a paid theme, which would pose less of a risk.
Older WordPress Versions
An older version of WordPress means vulnerability with previous security issues that a newer version would have repaired. It’s too easy for a hacker to scope out which version your site is running without a proper WordPress security service. Removing the version information from the site or changing it to something indecipherable will help with this security threat, and making certain your site is updated whenever new versions are available is important for thwarting a hacker’s bad intentions.
If you’re looking to have a really well-defended site, these steps are a good start, but you will probably want to check into WordPress security services like a plugin or firewall for further protection. Hiring a company trained in WordPress security may also be a good idea, as it would give you peace of mind that your site is being maintained and updated regularly and will receive a fast recovery in the event that it gets hacked.
My name is Tiffany Olson and I work as Communications Manager at Optimize Worldwide. We are a small web development company that believes strongly in WordPress security.
