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Better WordPress Security In 5 Easy Steps

WordPress is amongst the most common targets for cybersecurity threats, as it powers more than 40% of the internet. Furthermore, because it is open-source software, any developer may contribute to it, and there may be certain weaknesses in the code. Cyber thieves use WordPress security flaws and other difficulties that may be easily prevented, such as popular usernames, weak passwords, obsolete plugins, and so on.

The Most Common WordPress Security Vulnerabilities And Issues

  • Core software that is out of date

One of the factors that hackers seek in a website is out-of-date core software. That’s why you should be aware whenever an application or library receives an update.

  • Themes and plugins that are no longer supported

Ensure that all of your plugins and themes are up to date so that any current problems are addressed in the most recent release.

  • Attackers using brute force

Using a security plugin or establishing brute force mitigation with your hosting services provider are two approaches to prevent brute force assaults.

  • Malware

On a regular basis, use malware detectors and cleaning services to prevent the insertion of harmful software into your website.

Here Are Five Simple Steps For Increasing WordPress Security

1. Enforce the use of strong passwords

Yes, the majority of individuals choose to use their birthdate as their password. Do you realize who enjoys it the most? Attackers.

So, what is it that works? Passwords that are difficult to guess. It’s fantastic to have long, random sequences of letters and symbols. The difficulty is that we tend to write things down since they are difficult to recall. If you lose the book in which you recorded them, an assailant will have the keys to the house. (It doesn’t matter if the book is physical or electronic.)

If you have normal users as well as admins, writers, and other higher-level accounts, you may want to just impose strong passwords on the higher-level accounts to limit the amount of friction your users experience when registering and login into your site. 

Invest in a passcode if you want to deal with passcodes without writing them down. The majority of new ones function on both mobile and desktop devices and synchronize your data across all of them.

2. Admin Username should be changed

It’s a no-brainer on this one. STOP using admin, administrator, or any other username that is simple to guess as to your administrator’s identity! An attacker only needs two things to get access to your site: a username and a password. You’ve already given them 50% of what they really want if you use the default admin account. Let’s make it a bit more difficult.

To manually modify the admin name, follow these steps:

  • Use your current Admin account to log in.
  • Click “Add New” under “Users.”
  • Make a new user account and give it the role of Admin. Except for Admin, Administrator, or your name, you can choose whatever username you like.
  • Sign out of WordPress and sign back in with your new Admin username and password.
  • Click Users to see a list of users, then click “Delete” under your original administrator account. To avoid losing any material, make sure you choose “Attribute content to” and your new admin account.

3. HTTPS must be enforced

You really should be doing this one. If you’ve been sleeping under a rock, Google came out and announced a number of years ago that if your website isn’t using HTTPS, it would be ranked lower than other HTTPS sites. Apart from SEO, HTTPS encrypts all of your traffic and keeps it safe from prying eyes. If you’re not using HTTPS, any user at a cafe is broadcasting anything to anyone who chooses to look. (To put it another way, “sniff the Wi-Fi”)

You’ll need to acquire and install a security certificate through your hosting provider. You must then instruct WordPress to update its URL to HTTPS.

4. Two-factor authentication should be implemented

‘Two-factor Authentication,’ or 2FA, is a security idea that has been around for a while. Financial institutions have used “Fobs” (small devices that may be attached to your keychain and display an ever-altering number) as an extra component in logging in for decades.

“Something you know, something that you have, something you are” is the overall security notion. Two of them are chosen in 2FA. You only use the “something you know” – the username and password – when you sign in to a site without 2FA. There is a potential that they’ll be compromised, no matter how solid you believe they are. On top of it, 2FA adds a layer called “something you have.”

5. Make sure your plugins are up to date

I don’t just mean the important ones; I’m talking about every plugin you’ve put on your site, and every time it gets updated. What are the benefits of keeping your plugins up to date? 

Of course, the biggest reason is WordPress security. When security WordPress vulnerabilities are reported, good plugin writers respond quickly and provide patches. You won’t need to do anything if you already have auto-update enabled; you’ll automatically receive the latest code. If you don’t, go to Plugins, press the update button, watch things all update, and then attempt to recall why you signed in in the first place as soon as you go in and observe that there are updates.

Conclusion

The trick to site safety is that it’s not about performing one huge thing, but rather a number of small things. These simple actions can help you strengthen the security of your WordPress website. Each additional layer of protection you put on your website makes it more difficult for hackers to get access. To be safe, you don’t have to have a secure site; all you have to do is make the attacker work harder than it’s worth to get in. Attackers ultimately tire of easier targets, such as those whose owners haven’t seen this blog article.

How To Upload And Manage Files On Your Web Server

One of the most efficient ways to upload and manage files on the web server is using FTP client. The full form of FTP is File Transfer Protocol. It is built on client-server model architecture which uses separate control and data connections between client and server. The FTP or file transfer protocol works in the same way as HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) which also transfers web pages from server to user’s browser and SMTP (simple mail transfer protocol) for transferring electronic mail to the computer.

The FTP Software

We can transfer FTP between two computers using software called FTP software. Here the user’s computer is the local host which is connected to the internet. The other machine which is called the remote host is running FTP software which is also connected to the internet.

The local host machine is connected to the IP address of the remote host. Here the user would give username or password. The FTP software may have a GUI; the full form of it is GRAPHICAL USER INTERFACE, which allows the user to drag and drop files between remote and local host. Otherwise, a series of FTP commands are used to login to the remote host which transfers the files between the two machines. The main work of FTP is used to download a file from the server and also upload a file to the server.

About FileZilla

filezilla-ui

There are many FTP clients available in the market. One of the most popular options for Mac, Windows, and Linux is FileZilla. In FileZilla, you need an FTP hostname, FTP username, and FTP password.

  • In FileZilla, after connecting to it, they will show you 2 panes.
  • There is a list of directories with files in it on the left side. You have to select the folder which you are interested in to show the contents of the folder below.
  • Whereas, on the right, you have a web hosting account, which by default is connected to the root of the website.
  • A folder contains the website by the name www. We have to select that folder to see its contents.

How to upload a file using Notepad++?

Another way to edit the file and upload it on the server is by using Notepad ++, which is a program that allows you to edit your site and upload and create files on the server.

To connect to Notepad++ through FTP we have to do the following steps:-

  • At first, you have to open notepad+ +.
  • Then you will go to the option Plugins followed by NPP FTP which will show NppFTP Window.
  • You have to select the “gear” option in the configuration window.
  • After this, you have to click on the button – Add New which prompts the configuration screen of NotePad ++  and FTP.
  • After that, you have to enter your user name and click ok.
  • Here we have to put the FTP detailed information which is located in the Connection tab.
  • Then go to the Transfers tab to configure the below values.
  • Active for Connection Type  
  • ASCII for Transfer Mode
  • These settings are important. It makes sure that the permission remains similar even after any change is made to it.
  • To finish you have to click on the close button and save the configuration.

After the profile has been created, you have to connect to it. For that, you have to press the disconnect button. After a few minutes, you will see your website’s content.

For uploading files, you have to –

Connect the server with Notepad ++. On the right side of Notepad ++, you have to choose the folder you want to upload the file to. After right-clicking on that folder, you have to select “Upload other files here”.

After this, you have to browse the server for the files you want to upload, for selecting and opening the file. Now the files will be seen in the folder section of the server. Also in notepad++, the user can download and then modify various files at once.

How to upload files using file manager?

If you don’t want to use either Notepad ++ or FileZilla, you can simply use File Manager. It is good to use as when you are away from the computer, you can still access the browser. The file manager can be accessed from any location.

To upload files to the server using file manager the following steps has to be taken:

  • You can log in to CPanel and here under files option, you have to select file manager.
  • Select Web Root and show hidden files and then click go.
  • Click to open the folder to which you want to upload the files.
  • Click Upload option from the toolbar and select browse or choose files.
  • Select the file on your computer that you wish to upload.
  • Once the files have been selected, it automatically gets uploaded.
  • Additional files may be selected by the user once the upload is in progress.

The above methods are some of the ways you can use to upload and manage files in the web server. The files mentioned can be any type of files such as images, videos, music files, documents, books, pdf etc. The images can also be of any type such as JPG, PNG, GIF, etc. The music files can have any extensions such as MP3, WAV etc. FileZilla does not have any limitation on the amount or size of the file you want to upload to its server. However, your internet speed will determine whether it can upload large files or not.

However, opening large files can be a hindrance in Notepad++, so for that other editors can be used such as EditPad Lite or EM Editor which can manage large files. Super Byte Hosting is the leading Domain and Hosting selling company in India. It is one of the best web hosting, reseller hosting and domain provider in India. For good and affordable rates use Super Bytes Hosting. Their performance is top-notch and is good value for money.