This guide will briefly explain all the security threats and possible measures to avoid any security issue by spammers, hackers and malware.
WordPress is the most popular and commonly CMS system and needs considerable efforts and investment to keep it ongoing. No matter if you are an expert or a common user, you might be looking for some serious security measures to keep your website risk free. WordPress websites come with some built-in security measures, but, of course, these are not enough and reliable as that of any professional and up to date WordPress security plugins.
Unfortunately, most of us think that these spammers and hackers only attack renowned and well-liked websites, which is not valid. The reality is that these spammers do not think like us, and it doesn’t guarantee that if you own a small business website, then you might not fall into a prey of these malicious attackers. These spammers steal personal data to create backlinks and sometimes just for enjoyment.
So, if you are relying on all those orthodox security measures, then I must say that it’s just like ‘walking on the ice.’ WordPress websites are probably the safest CMS on earth, but surprisingly, these are easily compromised unless you use some serious WordPress security plugins to protect it from malware and spammers.
Related Post: WordPress Security – 15 Tips To Prevent A WordPress Hack
So, what are the possible threats and vulnerabilities which your WordPress website may face?
Infographic from webbymonks.com
Let’s jot down these security threats, and later on, we’ll find out how the best-in-class WordPress security plugins will protect it from them.
Security threat #1: Zero-day Vulnerabilities
Vulnerabilities that are not publicly known or alerted by the security community are known as Zero-day vulnerabilities. Hackers can compromise your website either by individual access, or they can use bots or bots networks.
Security plugin protection: How will a WordPress malware removal plugin give you protection?
- The best WordPress security plugins will match a generic pattern to recognize zero-day exploit and use them to stop the attack which is not publicly known until now.
- Or they can use a built-in rules-set to find and figure out an attack and respond to stop it right away.
→ Sample plugin that you can use for Zero-day is Sucuri.net.
Security threat #2: Firewall Malware
Once the hackers get access to your WordPress site, their primary task is to compromise your websites and infect it with malicious malware.
Security plugin protection: The plugin should ensure your WordPress security by implicating these methods. A security plugin should be able to scrutinize your website posts, comments database, and data files for:
- Malicious files
- Spammers websites enlisted by Google security alerts
- Must be able to Scan source files for any embedded code in a website
- DNS changes and any backdoor changes
- It should be able to scan your website periodically and send instant alerts for necessary updates.
- The WordPress security plugins must have a built-in function to detect infectious files and change or repair them remotely.
→ Sample plugin that you can use is malCure Malware Removal & Firewall.
Security Threat #3: Brute-force, DoS / DDoS attacks and other attacks
The hackers can decode your encrypted data or login passwords by using the Brute-force method. This method is a blend of using trial and error technique by applying random passwords to find out the admin password either by using automated scripts or a group of automated scripts.
Related Post: Brute-force, DoS, and DDoS attacks – what’s the difference?
Security plugin protection: The security plans implemented by the security plugins can be:
- The easiest and the foremost plan to protect your site is by implementing a strong password strategy that must have at least 8 digits with a combination of upper and lowercase letters, and also special characters.
- Failed Login attempts should be limited to fix numbers.
- The users should create unique login URLs to avoid these malicious attacks.
- By enforcing two-factor Authentication.
- Use of Captcha.
- To avoid DDoS attack, you can add a 5-second delay as a page rule to the login form; the reason behind this delay is that these bots work speedily, and this slow time duration will cause them slowdown and eventually on time-out they will crash.
→ Sample plugins that you can use for Brute Force.
Security Threat #4: Spammers attack from specific countries
You may face this security threat when Bots from different countries using different IP address attack on your site. These spammers do not attempt to login through your wp-login; in fact, they try to access through wp-login.php or XML-RPC method. The hackers use scripts that will not allow Google search engine crawlers and your site readers to reach your site.
Security plugin protection: Choose a security plugins that will allow you to:
- The security plugin will monitor and allow these Google search engine crawlers as friendly crawlers and let them do their work.
- It will create a threshold that will limit the possible access requests from the same IP address per minute, and if they exceed the limit mentioned, it will block them promptly.
→ Sample plugins that you can use for Spammers attack.
Security threat #5: Redirecting towards spamvertising
The hackers will create a link to your website by an email campaign and use it for spamvertising by redirecting the traffic towards the malicious site. These websites can be for pornography, drug abuse or anything that comes under abandoned websites’ names.
Security plugin protection: The security plugin will protect your website from these spammers by regularly scanning and detecting if any malicious activity is done and clean the WordPress site from these spamvertisments.
→ Sample plugins that you can use for spamvertising is Wordfence Security.
Security threat #6: Phishing technique
Mostly the hackers use this phishing technique to get information about your login username and password. For this method, they will send you a link to sign in to your website, which would be similar to that of your own webpage sign-in service. Once you try to login using that link, they will steal your username and password and hack your site.
Security plugin protection: How to protect your website from phishing?
You have to choose a secure website address which should be starting with HTTPS:// – and on many websites, this HTTPS will be in green color, and a lock sign will appear to ensure it is safe.
→ Sample plugins that you can use for Phishing.
Related Post: How to Remove WordPress Malware [Complete Guide 2019]
Infographic from yourescapefrom9to5.com
Security measures on Administrative level:
Here we will mention some security measures which should be taken on an administrative level to avoid malware and vulnerabilities.
How to ensure the security of your new posts and pages?
If you want to ensure the security of your new posts and pages, you must take into account a few settings to avoid vulnerabilities.
Embedded codes of videos and JavaScript
Make sure before adding any JavaScript or video code, which your source is authentic, and it does not belong to any unsecured company. As far as YouTube or Vimeo is concerned, these two are the most trustworthy sources; therefore, any other website offering video or JavaScript codes must be verified before creating any links.
How to monitor guest posts on your website?
You’ll receive guest post requests once your website starts getting traffic. So, when you allow guest posts on your site, make sure that you use the Google Doc platform for post share from the guest poster, and later on, you can copy and paste it on your website. Another way to allow guest post is by giving them direct access to your site where they can draft their post, and you can check the draft for any embed codes or links of websites which are not allowed by you.
How to filter comment spam and Malware?
Once your website starts functioning, the first thing that will surprise you will be a load of comments piling up in your junk section. These comments would be filled with links leading to websites filled with junk. This “comment spam” can easily be filtered out using WordPress malware removal plugins.
The best in the class plugin will do automatic spam filtration, and your site will run smoothly.
Other than this automatic spam filtration setup still some comment spam will sweep into your website, and you will have to create manual filtering set up as well. So, in the settings area, don’t allow comments with embedded codes or with URL. Moreover, don’t allow comments from different languages as they can be filled with spam links.
How to find and install new themes without questioning your site security?
Nulled themes:
When you install your new WordPress theme from any unauthorized source, your WordPress site may be compromised with these ‘Nulled themes.’ These nulled themes are infected with pre-installed malicious codes. So only install the theme from trusted sources, and the most trustworthy source is the official WordPress theme repository.
How to find and install plugins without a security threat?
Nulled plugins:
Likewise, nulled themes your website may face nulled plugins vulnerabilities. The most secure way to install new plugins is to use only the WordPress plugin repository which is open-source, and you can find thousands of new plugins according to your needs. Therefore avoid installing plugins form unauthorized sources containing malicious codes designed to infect your site. Always use well–maintained plugins, and once you find any newer version, update it accordingly.
Related Post: 11 Web Hosting Security Best Practices (2019)
Bottom Line
In this article, we have discussed all the WordPress security issues and threats in detail and tried to find out a solution to recover WordPress site if they get infected with the possible malware and vulnerabilities.
We also discussed security measures that you can take to scrutinize malware as the administrator of the website.
Summing up, if I wrap up all the above-mentioned security measures and try to figure out which WordPress plugin is best and cheap, having all the above abilities to cure your website, you can check out our professional virus and malware removal service here at AirFlour. Contact us now!
