27 Sep 10 Tips for Preventing WordPress Hacking
Serving as a host to more than 16 million website designs, WordPress is definitely one of the more preferred web hosting sites of the online community. But the popularity of WordPress also makes it an ideal and constant target for hackers. The base security features of WordPress still have a long way to go so it is essential for you to keep your site secured. In order to assist you in keeping your WordPress site safe, we have listed ten critical tips that will help prevent hacking.
10 Essential Tips for Preventing WordPress Hacking
- Create a Backup- This is one of the first things that you should consider when trying to prevent an unwanted breach in your network. See to it that you create a full backup of your database and files for website design. This can be accomplished manually by copying files and SQL information or by using a WordPress Plug-in. A good plug-in will have the ability to export the database of your image, videos, files and other type of content into a single folder with the ability to restore the site from that back-up.
- Updating the Version of Your WordPress Installation- The older a WordPress installation gets, the more vulnerable it becomes to hacking attacks so make sure to update your WordPress to the latest version soon after they become available. The WordPress updates come with additional security features that fixes any found security flaws from the last version. The list of the security flaws will be used by the hackers as a cheat sheet that exposes those who are running the older versions to hacking of their sites. Be sure to have a back-up before updating your version, to avoid your site ending up in a mess and not being able to get it back up quickly. Also make sure to check for more updates after the website maintenance or web server maintenance to expose the latest updates.
- Secure Your Hosting Server- According to the numbers; at least 41% of the websites hosted using WordPress have been hacked due to vulnerabilities of the Hosting Server. This is quite alarming since most of them are on a shared hosting environment. In the event that one of the sites gets infected, the other sites on the shared hosting server are also at risk. This is why it is necessary for you to find a secured and reliable hosting site for your website design. Managed or cloud hosting and VPS are perfect solutions to avoid the shared server pitfalls without a ton of extra cost.
- Network Security- Focus on a secured network with encryption of data. At a minimum, install a SSL (Secure Socket Layer) Certificate. It only costs $10 a year, and gives your visitors some peace of mind, as well as, complicating the process of hacking your site by securing your data in transit.
If you have a website design with a lot of valuable information or the need to secure your customer information, consider moving to a server with the database encryoted ‘At Rest’. The cost is a bit more, usually in the $150-250 a month to start out but it adds a lot of security.
- Use Complex Passwords- Refrain from using passwords that are cliché such as ‘admins’ or ‘123456’. Out of a recent dataset of 3.3 million passwords, over 20,000 were ‘123456’. This is just lazy, and is inexcusable when it comes to the security of your web design. Consider using a Password Manager System to make remembering them easier, such as LastPass.com.
Also, update your passwords on a regular schedule.
- Change the Default Table Prefix- The default prefix for the database table of WordPress would be wp_ and hackers are normally aware of that. This can make the injection on the SQL simpler. Immediately alter the wp_ to something else to avoid any issues.
- File Permission- Be sure to secure your file and folder permissions. When a hacker can update your index.php, they can change it and redirect your audience to their site.
- Update Your Computer Workstation’s Security- It is essential for you to keep your personal and business workstation secured against possible attack. Update your virus and your smart security to prevent any malware or virus injection in your website server.
If you don’t secure your computer, it will be easy for hackers to use those systems to keylog and track everything that you do – including passwords. At the worst case, your computer resources will become a part of a zombie network and will be used to attack other companies and websites.
- Have a Pro Look- By having a website design that looks like a Pro, some hackers will get discouraged easily on hacking your network. You should change the default look of everything to avoid looking like a newbie.
It also has the added benefit of giving your image a good polish in the eyes of your visitors and will improve their bounce and conversion rates overall.
- Use only reliable sources for downloads-In the event that you have a pretty tight resources, it is so easy for you to opt for a pirated product rather than on a paid theme or plug-in. It is impossible for you to keep your WordPress secure if you are downloading premium features from an unreliable download site.