WordPress Security Optimization

WordPress Security Optimizationis among the very important issues that all website owners should pay attention to. Search engines blacklist thousands of websites every day due to malware or phishing. If you care about your website and you care about having a high number of visitors, WordPress is the best option for your website.WordPress Security OptimizationYou should definitely consider doing this.

In our article you will read below, we will explain how to protect your WordPress-based website from malicious attackers. In shortWordPress Security OptimizationWhat you need to do and tips on this are given within the scope.

WordPressis a much more secure content management system compared to other CMSs. WordPress, which is always kept up to date and constantly developed thanks to a large R&D team, meets the needs of the user. However, it should not be forgotten that there is a security vulnerability in every system. In this contextWordPress Security Optimizationcomes to the fore. When you read our article below, you will take more careful and conscious security steps regarding your website.

Why is Website Security Important?

WordPress Security OptimizationBefore moving on to how the process should be done, we need to briefly touch upon why website security is important. You may have set up your WordPress website to realize a project. The website you have established can be a personal blog page, e-commerce platform or a corporate company site. A hacked website suffers significant reputation and user loss. ThereforeWordPress Security OptimizationIt is one of the most important issues in WordPress.

WordPress Security Optimization

Our articleWordPress Security OptimizationWe came to the suggestions section. In the following headings and paragraphsWordPress Security OptimizationWe will explain in detail what you need to do during the process.

Always Use an Up-to-Date Version of WordPress, Your Theme, and Plugins

WordPress Security OptimizationThe first thing you need to do within this scope is to always use the up-to-date version of WordPress, your theme and plugins. The software closes security vulnerabilities as a result of these updates and R&D studies. Therefore, keeping the software constantly updatedWordPress Security OptimizationIt is a very important factor in terms of

Choose Your Passwords from Strong Characters

WordPress usageThe most common hacking attempt is the capture of simple user passwords by brute force. For this reason, it is necessary to take precautions against this attempt by choosing strong characters for the passwords chosen. Instead of using weak passwords that can be easily guessed, strong passwords that contain uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and punctuation marks should be used.

Be Careful with Shared Hosting

Using shared hostingWordPress Security OptimizationIt is a risky procedure. In this context, Imunify360 etc. for sites. You should choose shared hosting companies that have a new generation firewall. Make sure that the hosting company you choose is successful and reliable in terms of server security.

Use CDN Based Firewall

CDN (Content Delivery Network), consists of several distributed servers. The content distribution system in question delivers web content according to the user's geographical coordinates.

You can take CDN-based firewall and other security measures within the scope of your CDN service. Companies offering CDN services offer some precautions against frequently encountered DDoS attacks.

Provide Regular Backups

Your WordPress site should be backed up regularly in case of data loss. The backup process in question WordPress backup plugins You can do this using the hosting control panel as well.

Use WordPress Security Optimization Plugins

WordPress Security OptimizationYou can easily do most of the steps without requiring coding. You can support the optimization process both by using security plug-ins and without using any plug-ins. We still recommend using security plugins. The plugin that we recommend, one of the most powerful and popular security plugins, is the Wordfence Security plugin.

Set a Bad Entry Limit

WordPress Security OptimizationOne of the important precautions you will take is to set a limit for incorrect entries into the system. Malicious people may try to hijack your website by trying to guess your username and password on the login screen that appears when logging into WordPress. You can set an incorrect entry limit to the site against this infiltration attempt. If incorrect username and password entries occur within the limit you set, you can prevent malicious people from accessing the site for a certain period of time.

WordPress Security Optimization You can choose the Wordfence Security plugin to use this feature.

Use Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

WordPress Security OptimizationWith the Wordfence Security plug-in, you can enable users with admin authority on the site to use the two-step verification method for login transactions. In this way, you can prevent malicious people from infiltrating the site. With two-step verification, you will need to enter a one-time temporary code generated from the mobile application (Google Authenticator) during administrator login.

Two-step verification is a mechanism that generates a code every 30 seconds as well as the username and password from the user whenever the user enters the system. The user receives the generated code from the relevant two-step verification application and enters this code to log in. Using this method, only username and password information will not be sufficient for someone who wants to enter the system.WordPress Security OptimizationWithin this scope, an extra precaution is taken with two-step verification.

Restrict Unauthorized Access to .htaccess and wp-config.php Files

wp-config.php file is the section where special files related to your site are stored. It is important for the security of your website to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the critically important files in this section. For this reason, unauthorized access to the wp-config.php file must be disabled. To do this, simply add the following code to the bottom of the .htaccess file in the root directory of your site:

# protect wp-config.php
<files wp-config.php>
order allow,deny
deny from all
</files>

To prevent access to the .htaccess file, you can write the following code at the bottom of the .htaccess file in the root directory of your site:

# protect .htaccess
<files>
order allow,deny
deny from all
satisfy all
</files>

To prevent unauthorized access and code execution to other important folders and files, you can add the following codes to the appropriate place in your .htaccess file:

# protect error_log
<files error_log>
order allow,deny
deny from all
</files>

# protect readme.html
<files readme.html>
 order Allow,Deny
 deny from all
</files>

# Block wp-includes folder and files
<ifmodule mod_rewrite.c>
RewriteEngine On
RewriteBase /
RewriteRule ^wp-admin/includes/ - [F,L]
RewriteRule !^wp-includes/ - [S=3]
RewriteRule ^wp-includes/[^/]+\.php$ - [F,L]
RewriteRule ^wp-includes/js/tinymce/langs/.+\.php - [F,L]
RewriteRule ^wp-includes/theme-compat/ - [F,L]
</ifmodule>

# Block directories and files
Options All -Indexes

<files>
    Order Deny,Allow
    Deny from all
</files>
<files wp-config-sample.php>
       order allow,deny
       deny from all
</files>
<files license.txt>
       order allow,deny
       deny from all
</files>
<files readme.html>
       order allow,deny
       deny from all
</files>

Prevent PHP Running in Uploads Directory

Preventing PHP codes from running in some directories of WordPress is an important step for WordPress Security Optimization. Open any text editor, add the following code and edit the file as .htaccess:

<files>
deny from all
<files></files></files>

Make sure that the file has no name and its extension is .htaccess. Then add this file to the uploads folder under wp-content of your website. In this way, PHP codes will be prevented from running in the uploads folder.

Disable xmlrpc if you are not using it

Although WordPress' xmlrpc feature works with a highly advanced algorithm, it has potential security vulnerabilities. To disable the xmlrpc feature, you can add the following code to the bottom of the .htaccess file in the root directory of your website

# Block WordPress xmlrpc.php requests
<files xmlrpc.php>
order deny,allow
 deny from all
allow from 123.123.123.123
</files>

Prevent Directory Browsing

Contents in directories without index files, such as index.html, index.php, are listed publicly. By blocking directory listing, you also prevent cyber hackers from passively collecting information. To prevent directory listing, you can add the following code to the bottom of your .htaccess file in the root of your site:

# dizin listelemeyi engelle
Options -Indexes

Disable File Editing Feature

When a malicious person infiltrates your website, the first point they will visit in the panel is the theme editing section under the appearance tab. The person who exploits the vulnerability can change the content of your website or add malicious code. In addition, people who access this feature can add harmful link exits to your site that will disturb you.

Information: Backlinks added through unauthorized site access are considered hacklinks.

It is very easy to turn off the file editing feature in the admin panel. For this, you can take the necessary precautions within the scope of WordPress Security Optimization at the top of the wp-config.php file in the root directory of your website.

define( 'DISALLOW_FILE_EDIT', true );

Taking WordPress Security Precautions with Plugins

described aboveWordPress Security OptimizationYou need to know coding methods, at least partially, in each stage. In the following part of our article, we will talk about 3 important plugin suggestions that are necessary to ensure the security of your WordPress-based website.

WordFence Security

It is one of the most used and known security plugins to make the WordPress content management system more secure.WordFence Securityplugin. The plugin in question meets almost all the requirements that the user needs. You can find the features, pros and cons of the plugin in question in the rest of our article.

Features of WordFence Security

The features of the security plugin in question are presented below:

• It allows the user to reveal the security vulnerabilities of the website.
• Slider Revolution closes common vulnerabilities in well-known Contact Form-style plugins.
• Threats and brute force attack attempts on the system are notified to the user via e-mail.
• Increases WordPress security with two-factor authentication and reCAPTCHA support
• Detects and blocks suspicious PHP files.
• It has an Advanced Firewall.

Advantages of WordFence Plugin

The advantages of the WordFence plugin to the user are as follows:

• The plugin provides all the security measures you need on your WordPress website with its free version.
• It automatically sends security-related alerts to your email address.
• WordFence plugin is completely open source.
• The Virus Scan feature is very comprehensive and provides great benefit in most cases.
• Slider Revolution closes common vulnerabilities in well-known Contact Form-style plugins.

Disadvantages of WordFence Plugin

• In order to use the advanced country blocking feature, it is necessary to purchase the Premium version of the plugin. How much of a disadvantage this article will be considered is open to debate.
• If the memory (RAM) limit allocated for your site in your hosting is below 1024 MB (1 GB), the amount of resources consumed by the plugin may slow down the site. However, popular themes and plugins in WordPress  commonly require a minimum memory limit of 2048 MB (2 GB).

iThemes Security

Developed by iThemes companyiThemes SecurityThe plugin is used by nearly 1 million websites in the world. The plugin is offered in two different versions: paid and free. Among security plugins in WordPress, the user score of the iThemes Security plugin is 4.7 out of 5.WordPress Security OptimizationWe can list the features of this plugin that you will use as follows.

• Basic Security Settings
• 404 Detection
• Remote Mode
• IP Blocking
• Automatic Database Backup
• File Change Detection
• Local Brute Force Attack Prevention
• Network-Based Brute Force Attack Prevention
• System Tweaks
• Changing WordPress Salts Values
• WordPress Tweaks

Sucuri Security

Sucuri Security pluginWordPress Security OptimizationThis is another plugin you can use for: This plugin has a paid and free version. The plugin in questionWordPress Security OptimizationWithin this scope, you can both protect your site and take precautions against an attack from outside. globallyWordPress Security OptimizationThe number of websites using this plugin is around 300 thousand. The plugin has been rated 4.6 out of 5 by the WordPress user community.WordPress Security OptimizationWe can list the features of this plugin used for:

• Unauthorized access to wp-content and wp-includes files can be prevented with this plugin.
• It prevents PHP from running in the Uploads directory.
• Sucuri SecurityThe plugin scans the website for malware. In this way, against possible threatsWordPress Security OptimizationYou will be protected under this scope.
• It provides prefix editing in the database.
• Allows the Theme and Plugin editor to be deactivated.
• Sucuri Security uses the data it obtains when improving the security of the site.
• WordPress Security OptimizationBy using this plugin, you can ensure that incorrect password entries are recorded. In this way, you can test how secure your password is. You will receive a warning message when more incorrect password attempts occur than a certain limit.

WordPress Virus Removal

Stop and think for a moment. You spend days and weeks creating your website, you care about every possibility that can make your site better, but suddenly you realize that your site has been attacked. You are trying to solve this problem and you cannot solve it. Because after your site is attacked, attackers place malicious PHP or Javascript codes in some files on your site. In some cases, they may make changes to both the files and the database that could harm your site. Advanced knowledge of PHP, Javascript and WordPress is required to solve this problem. We are ready to support you at this point.

You can reach us through the following communication channels

Whatsapp: 0 850 241 90 38

Email: info@onurozden.com.tr

WordPress Security Optimization

WordPress Security Optimizationis an issue that should not be taken lightly. No content management system on the internet, including WordPress, is 100% secure. However, the security of the WordPress website can be significantly increased by using one of the security plugins such as WordFence Security, iThemes Security, Sucuri Security.