What’s the Best WordPress Security Plugins?
WordPress powers well over 25% of the modern web. It’s popularity and wide spread usage is also why hackers like to target websites powered by WordPress. That being said, WordPress is actually very secure and since it is actively maintained by a talented group of developers, whenever an issue is noticed, a security patch is quickly made.
If it’s so secure, why do hackers continue to target websites powered by WordPress? The simple answer is while websites that keep their core files, themes and plugins updated are really secure, there are always those that don’t take security as seriously. Some website owners might be very lax when it comes to updating there website. So hackers are typically targeting those websites that aren’t updated to the latest versions.
Hackers scan websites to fingerprint it and see if it’s running an out dated version of WordPress or out dated themes or out dated plugins. If it’s found to be running older versions and a known vulnerability exists, then that’s how they get it.
Since WordPress powers over 25% of the modern web, that means that even if 90% of WordPress websites are updated, that leaves 10% that aren’t and that amounts to millions of websites that might be vulnerable to attack.
The key to securing your website is keep it up to date. Now let’s talk about which WordPress Security Plugins I recommend.
Recommended Security Plugins for WordPress
- WordFence – Secure your WordPress website with Wordfence. Powered by the constantly updated Threat Defense Feed, our Web Application Firewall stops you from getting hacked. Wordfence Scan leverages the same proprietary feed, alerting you quickly in the event your site is compromised. Live Traffic view gives you real-time visibility into traffic and hack attempts on your WordPress website. A deep set of additional tools round out the most complete WordPress security solution available.
- iThemes Security – iThemes Security (formerly Better WP Security) gives you over 30+ ways to secure and protect your WordPress site. On average, 30,000 new websites are hacked each day. WordPress sites can be an easy target for attacks because of plugin vulnerabilities, weak passwords and obsolete software.
- GOTMLS – This Anti-Malware scanner searches for Malware, Viruses, and other security threats and vulnerabilities on your server and it helps you fix them.
- BBQ – Install, activate, and done! Powerful protection from WP’s fastest firewall plugin.
- Blackhole – Protect your site against bad bots by trapping them in a virtual blackhole.
Two-Factor Authentication
On top of using security plugins to protect and scan your website, you should also use two-factor authentication which adds an additional layer of security for your website. This means that besides needing your username and password to access your site, you will also need a third form of authentication which is typically a randomly generated number from an app like Google Authenticator. Both WordFence and iThemes Security Pro have support for two-factor authentication.
The Takeaway
Keep your website, themes and plugins up to date and then use either of the plugins mentioned above to enhance the security of your website. You may want to try out a combination of the plugins since they should play nicely together. Also, don’t forget to use two-factor authentication to make it even more difficult for hackers to access your admin area of your website.
WordPress is Secure, WordPress is actively maintained, that means it’s up to you to do your part.
As always, thanks for reading and feel free to share.