Web Security – WordPress

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99% of computer users are vulnerable to software vulnerabilities. Hackers use out of date versions of software including WordPress and WordPress plugins to access your data.

What is at risk when your websites not secure? Through a compromised website thieves can access your personal information, your clients information and a hacked website also leads to a blacklisting from Google, meaning your site won’t come up on any Google search listing.
So if all this can happen because you are not maintaining your website whats the point of having one? You’re not selling anything, all you have is basic website, you don’t really need it, right?
 Wrong. As we talked about in our post ‘Why Your Brand Needs a Website‘ a website, even a basic one can make a huge difference for a small company.

 Websites will:

  • Lend your company credibility. This is particularly important if you area home based business with no physical store front.
  • Save you time and money. Having all of your businesses information available online means you can spend less time answering
    questions and more time doing your job.
  • Keep your customers up to date with your latest products and projects.
  • Allow your brand to be accessed 24/7 from anywhere in the world.

 Web Security 101

With all this in mind, we have put together some simple steps you can take to make your WordPress site more secure, whether you are a tech wizard or a self proclaimed luddite.
Strong passwords
.

I know it sounds simple but it’s the first step, and can make a big difference!
 Avoid phrases or words or important dates. A password generators a great help with this, just remember to save it somewhere secure!

Limit your logins.

By limiting your login in attempts to 3 or using a 2 step verification system you can prevent brute force attacks which spam your login in page with passwords.  Visit ‘Two Step Authentication‘ to find out how.



Keep track of dash board activity.
Keeping a log of all the users and what actions they take on your dashboard will allow you to retrace your steps to where the point of breakage occurred.

Keep your site and computer up to date.

Keep up to date with the newest versions of WordPress, your themes and plugins. This also applies to keeping your computer and internet security software updated.
 Updates will fix any vulnerabilities and bugs.

Download your themes and plugins from a secure source.

Sure a free version of your favourite theme may sound promising but unsecured themes and plugins can contain malicious code that will make your website vulnerable to attacks.
 
A website is a great asset for your business, but like any investment it needs constant maintenance and care.
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