WordPress is known to be lacking when it comes to security. Over the course of its long life, so many vulnerabilities have been found; it’s not even possible to count them all. However, persists as one of the most popular and versatile web platforms out there and if not WP, then what? Thankfully, it has a thriving community of users dedicated to fixing the platform’s underlying issues. Here are three things you can do to secure your WordPress site.
Limit Login Attempts With a Plugin
WordPress does not limit the amount of login attempts from a single IP address by default, which leaves blogs vulnerable to brute force attempts. A brute force attack, for those not in the know, is a type of attack where a person (or more likely, a script they wrote) attempts to log in using a series of passwords: 11111, 11112, and so on, until they strike gold.
Limit Login Attempts security plugin can prevent that from happening. You can set a login limit of your choice, and the plugin will do the rest. It also has a number of options, like email alerts and white listing an IP (if you’ve got butterfingers and have trouble inputting passwords correctly).
Check How Vulnerable You Are With another Plugin
Do you use lots of plugins? Do you install new stuff willy-nilly? If so, you might be vulnerable. It’s not uncommon for even well-known and popular plugins to have vulnerabilities (in-built or accidental). This tool fixes the issue.
Here’s how it works: after being installed Plugin Vulnerabilities (works like any old plugin), its compares your installed plugins to its database of plugins with known security issues. These security issues are listed underneath the plugins’ names on the plugin page and on a dedicated page that lists vulnerabilities in the current plugin version, as well as others. What you do next is up to you — either uninstalls, move to a different version, or keep using and hope for the best.
Back Up Your Data With Vobla
Vobla is a simple-to-use intuitive cloud backup service for Linux users. If you’re hosting your own blog, you don’t need an explanation about how important backing up is. With a tiny error and in no time at all, all your years of hard work can be undone.
Hoping for the best isn’t the solution — the solution is preparing for the worst. Vobla is extremely easy to set up, even for total newbies. It’s installed using a specialized command that’s individual to each user. Just run it in your server’s console and it does all the work for you. After it’s installed, go to the web panel to set up the backup. The entire process takes less than five minutes, and if you’ve been putting of setting up a backup for your blog, there’s no excuse anymore.
Vobla’s best feature is encryption and security. All the files it backs up from your machine; it encrypts using AES-256. All files are then transferred using an SSL connection for maximum secureness. The encryption key is only available on the user’s machine, barring anyone from viewing it. Add to the list of great features is Vobla’s server monitoring, which lets users see what’s going on in their server even when they’re away. And the fact that the basic account with 5GB of cloud space is totally free.