WordPress Security
Make Your WordPress Website Secure, Before It is Hacked.
Incompatible plugins and themes
Based on our experience with hundreds of thousands of hacked websites, the outdated themes and plugins are the culprit for many of them.
Themes and plugins for WordPress, like any other software, can develop security vulnerabilities. A patch is quickly released by the developers to fix the issue. A website owner who delays or fails to update their site leaves the site vulnerable to an attack.
Consider Contact Form 7, which is among the top three forms plugins in the world. Hackers were able to access your website due to a security vulnerability they developed. Although a patch was released very quickly, many sites suffered a breach because they delayed the update or simply ignored it.
Poor WordPress Login Security
Because it allows hackers to access your WordPress site, your login page is a common target.
A hacker can use bots to try hundreds of username and password combinations in minutes to crack your credentials. This is a brute force attack.
It goes without saying that weak credentials like admin, user, password123 and p@ssw0rd are easy to crack.
It will slow down your server when hundreds of login attempts are made on your website, even if brute force is unsuccessful. WP-config.php preloads the entire website when loading the WordPress login page.
You will surely experience a slowdown from it. A 503 error can occur when the system is overloaded.
Nulled WordPress Plugins & Themes
It’s very tempting to use themes and plugins that are no longer valid. After all, the premium features are available to you free of charge. However, these plugins and themes are not free.
Despite what you may think, null themes and plugins are not distributed to help you. Rather, it is an exploitative motive.
Pirated plugins and themes contain backdoors. You unknowingly create a window that hackers can open on your website if you install it.
As long as the pirated theme or plugin remains on your site, your site remains vulnerable.
Also, pirated plugins and themes are not updated by their developers. This also makes your website vulnerable.
There are thousands of wp-feed.php infections caused by pirated WordPress themes and plugins.
A backdoor is a means of accessing a computer system or encrypted data that bypasses the system’s usual security mechanisms.
A developer can create a backdoor to allow access to an application or operating system for troubleshooting or other purposes. However, attackers often use backdoors that they discover as part of an exploit or install themselves. In some cases, a worm or virus is designed to exploit a backdoor created by a previous attack.
Whether installed as a management tool, a means of attack, or a mechanism that allows the government to access encrypted data, a backdoor poses a security risk as there are always threat actors looking for a vulnerability to exploit.
Wrong practices regarding user roles in WordPress
There are six different WordPress user roles to choose from. For each role, the following permissions are granted:
- the manager
- Editor
- the writer
- Participant
- Common
Administrators have unlimited access to the site and are the most powerful among them. It is not possible for anyone to have this kind of power.
If a user decides to use the power granted to them, they can crash your site. If you ever delete their accounts, they can also install a backdoor on your site and set up ghost admins.
Or they can quietly make quick money using your data and site. Hackers change the bank account associated with the WooCommerce payment gateway and drain the store’s cash.
Also, if some users use weak credentials, you may lose complete control of your site.
Poor Hosting Environment
Hosting your website is also very important for its stability. If the host is damaged, you will not be able to maintain your website.
It is especially common for unknown hosting companies that have poor hosting terms. If you don’t choose the best hosting company, you may put your website at risk of being hacked or crashed.
However, even if you use a popular hosting provider, your website can still be vulnerable. Hosts are prone to security issues with their services. In a shared environment, if one site is hacked, it affects other sites as well.
How to fix the most common WordPress security problems?
We looked at the types of hacks that WordPress websites can experience, as well as the common vulnerabilities that WordPress websites face.
By doing this, hackers are much less likely to succeed.
Install a WordPress Security Plugin
Updating your security is vital. mentions that most hacks are caused by outdated themes and plugins.
This occurs when the website is not updated as soon as possible.
Websites with this vulnerability are vulnerable to hacking.
Keep Your Website Updated
Backdoors are proliferated by pirated themes and plugins. Websites can be accessed without your knowledge.
Some of these sites share resources and offer support. Plugins and themes can be pirated uploaded. Uploads of plugins and themes containing malware are not checked by WordPress and hackers take advantage of this.
It is important not to use pirated themes or plugins.
It is important to keep your website up to date.
Implement Login Security Measures | Implement Two Factor Authentication
Before you can access your WordPress admin dashboard, you will be asked to enter a code that will be sent to your registered phone number.
A two-factor authentication method is used by services like Facebook and Gmail to ensure the correct user is logging in.
Implement Proper User Roles
Each user should not have administrator rights. Few people should be entrusted to those with such power.
Stop Using Pirated Plugins & Themes
Your login page is constantly being attacked by hackers using brute force attacks.
Make a note of any usernames or passwords you use on your website and enforce strong credentials. Passwords and usernames must be unique.
You may want to implement a CAPTCHA protection system to limit users’ failed login attempts.
