Wondering why you should always update to the latest version WordPress?
Let’s face it, the last thing you need is to get up one morning and discover your site has been attacked and is left in ruins. There are hacking approaches you should be aware of and know how to prevent this from happening to you.
WordPress Security is an excellent platform for protecting your site to prevent hackers from turning everything into a mess if you know what you are doing. Here are some tips to make sure you use this platform the right way. WordPress has been known for making sites vulnerable to hackers, but nine times out of ten, it’s because the application is not being utilized correctly or you are running on an old version of WordPress. In many cases, it’s due to weak administration, the lack of knowledge in proper security, and not using the best practices. Any business can be hacked if you don’t utilize the best tools or are running on outdated versions of WordPress.
Why Latest Version WordPress?
WordPress has been given a bad name from time to time, but it’s usually caused by a lack of knowledge by those using this platform, not the product. WordPress is running over 30% of websites and offers thousands of themes. Due to its popularity, it has always been a target for hackers, but that doesn’t have to be if you know how to set it up correctly. The security people at WordPress are leading experts that range from developers to security researchers. So, let’s look at some of the security issues and how to prevent it happening.
The Backdoor:
The backdoor can become vulnerable to hackers who know how to get around security encryption and gain access to your website. Once in, hackers can wreck servers and compromise many sites that happen to be on the same server. Over 70% of infected sites have some form of backdoor entrance.
In many cases, a backdoor appears as a legitimate WordPress system file but is not. They get into databases by finding weaknesses in outdated versions of the platform. That said, there are ways to prevent these actions. You can prevent this from happening by using various tools that will detect intrusions. Having a two-factor authentication, blocking IPs, preventing administrative access, and preventing unauthorized execution of PHP will usually avoid threats of the backdoor.
Some Malware To Be Aware Of:
Pharma Hacks inserts code into old WordPress sites and plugins. It’s more of spam than your traditional malware. It can cause search engines to block sites believing the site is distributing spam. It includes backdoors in plugins and databases by injecting encrypted variants that must be cleaned up quickly once detected. You can prevent this from happening by using a WordPress Hosting provider and using only updated WordPress installations, themes, and plugins.
Brute-Force Login uses automated scripts to exploit weak passwords to gain entrance into sites. Using a two-step authentication, limiting the number of attempts to log in, monitoring unauthorized logins, blocking IPs, and by only using strong passwords will prevent brute-force attempts.
Malicious Redirects creates a backdoor in WordPress installation by using FTP, wp-admin, and other rules of conduct and injects redirection codes. It is typically placed in WP files in an encoded form directing traffic to a malicious site. You can use a free scanner that efficiently detects these malicious directs such as SiteCheck, Bots vs. Browsers and by paying attention to user comments.
DDoS Attacks
Denial of Service (DoS) is the most vicious of all of them. It exploits errors and bugs in code to inundates the memory of the site’s operating system. Hackers have done this to millions of sites that are using outdated versions of WordPress software with this DoS attack. In some cases, even the latest version of WordPress can be put in harm’s way, but you can help avoid getting caught up in these actions. There are thousands of sites being attacked each day. Using some excellent recommendations can make it a little more difficult for hackers to harm your site. In general, hackers are financially motivated and therefore less likely to hit small companies. They lean toward larger enterprises by creating a botnet chain to attack.
Keep in mind; there is no such thing as a perfect security system. One, it’s entirely impractical and is relatively impossible to find. What security will do, is reduce the level of risk by using the appropriate controls that are available. This will improve your chances of keeping the risks down and preventing you from becoming a target and being hacked.
Above and beyond all else, always update your WordPress to the latest version. It will protect you more than any software and will prevent you from the enormous headaches you will face if your site is breached.
Conclusion
We will continue this post with relevant information as software is continuously changing with WordPress and keep you updated on newer threats that will arise.
Visit WordPress.Org for the latest update information.