WordPress Websites are a potential platform that is vulnerable to hacking and many webmasters are struggling to cope with the security issue. To prevent the possible chance of being hacked our intelligent team has identified some basic precautions that might be helpful in this regard. This article will not merely serve the needs of fixing any problem after the hacking is done rather it will be beneficial for the specific security concerns.
Why Secured WordPress Website Becomes Victim of Hacking?
The core elements of WordPress are extensively secure and hacker doesn’t get enough vulnerable pathways to access the heart. Therefore without targeting the default system which is known as a hard nut to crack, hackers usually go towards poorly-coded plugins, chosen passwords, lax file permissions, and system updates. It really isn’t that complicated to harden WordPress and keep it secure. Let’s learn how the operation can be done properly.
Step 1: Necessary Updates Don’t forget to update the core system of WordPress as soon as a new version arrived and appears on the dashboard. Moreover, you need to update the theme and associated plugins of your site as soon as possible. Usually, each of the new versions comes with significant vulnerability blocking codes. So you must keep an eye on the updates and need to be secured everything.
Step 2: Unique Username and Password By default user name of WordPress is ‘admin’ but you should not leave this one. The log-in page is the primary target of hackers and the practice of automated, brute-force, login-attempting bots happens here. The user name could be some nonsense letter like ‘s3r7as’ instead of “admin.” Easy-to-guess password is another security loophole of the WordPress system that needs considerable attention. By default, WordPress has a secure password generator you go for that.
Step 3: Disable Trackbacks and Pingbacks The option of Trackbacks and Pingbacks needs to be disabled due to prevent some issues like comment spam leading to DDoS attacks and brute force attacks. To disable the option of trackbacks and pingbacks if they are not in use. This option can be disabled using a plugin otherwise you can do it manually from Settings > Discussion and uncheck the boxes next to Attempt to notify any blogs linked to the article and Allow link notifications from other blogs. The option can be amended anytime and thus it is still in danger and the right decision is to lock down the option using the plugin.
Step 4: Hide PHP Errors You should be careful about showing PHP error reports on public sites even though the report is useful for developers as they are used to handle bugs. This is because the report bears vulnerable information of the core of the file and this could be utilized by hackers to find access to the heart of the site and get admin power. The simple solution is to set WP_DEBUG to false.
Step 5: Use a Unique Database Table Prefix If your site allows writing information to exist database then hackers may exploit the database prefix. So your need to change the default WordPress uses wp_ that prefix all database tables. For doing this you need to follow the manual path to modify that from the database. Or you can do it by using plugins without going through the complex process.
Step 6: Prevent PHP Execution Many websites allow the general user to upload files to the server, such sites can be hacked by using PHP files containing site-hijacking or defacing payload. As soon as WordPress executes the codes of the respective file the site is hacked. If your site is running on an Apache server using the WordPress platform then you can use a .htaccess file with the instructions denied from all to block PHP execution of the specific directory.
Step 7: Prevent Information Disclosure A site with a directory is in danger to some level since it allows the general user to gather a great deal of information which may include sensitive information for hackers. By default, WordPress is capable enough to deal with this issue. You can disable the following directory by using .htaccess, wp-config.php, and sensitive files in your site’s wp-content directory. This can be done both manually and with the help of a plugin.
8. Periodical Scan to Determine Vulnerabilities If you have already implemented the stated strategies mentioned in this article you have actually done the task of hardening effectively. But security is a changing issue and you always need to keep an eye on it. For checking security issues regularly you can take the help of a plugin or you can do it manually.
Conclusion If you have lots of passion for your current website and don’t want to lose it then you must be serious about the security issue and you should deal with all of the hassles of dealing with the fallout of a hacked site. Apart from this image of a business website mostly depend on clients’ security and you may lose your clients as soon as your image is down or being hacked. So literally you can’t ignore the issue. To map your strategy right now to protect your site and go for it.
