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WordPress Security: How To Master It!

Whether you are a wordpress guru who has multiple WordPress sites set up, you’re are a novice that has recently set up your WordPress website, or you’re somewhere in between the two, WordPress security is essential for you to know. In having this knowledge you protect website from being hacked and tampered with. Not being aware of the security precautions to take can not only be detrimental to the safety of your website but it also has the potential to destroy the hard work you put into making your WordPress site a success. Below are 8 quick steps to help ensure that your WordPress website is safe and secure.

1. Generate Strong Passwords

This is first thing that you can do that is the easiest way to protect your site. Having strong passwords on each of your WordPress sites is very important and should be taken seriously. Your password is your first form of defense against hackers so you should take the time to make sure they are strong and are different on each of your WordPress sites. Below are some guidelines to follow when creating your passwords:

Make sure all passwords are at least 15 characters long
Passwords should be a mixture uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters.
Try to avoid using words. Words make passwords easier to guess.

After you’ve created your passwords, you should keep up with them using a password manager.

*Warning: Do not write them down!

What is the point of working hard to generate a strong and secure password and then writing it on a piece of paper that can be lost and can end up anywhere? There is none!

So please, have your passwords secure in your head and in a password manager that has its own secure master password. If you are looking for a reliable password manager to use a few good ones are LastPass or KeePass. LastPass has a free version and a premium version that they offer. KeePass is open-source and completely free.

2. Keep WordPress Updated

When keeping WordPress sites secure it is important that you keep things updated. Things to keep updated include:
Versions of WordPress
Plug-ins & Themes
All things associated to any VPS server you may have

These updates are important because they fix bugs, patch security holes, and introduce new features.

Those of you who have multiple WordPress sites to update there are tools out there for just that. Infinite WP and Manage WP allow you to update and manage your sites all in one dashboard.

3. Do Monthly Housekeeping

Just like any house not only does WordPress need to be updated and kept fresh, it needs to be kept tidy. To keep your WordPress install from becoming cluttered be sure to get rid of any old plugins or themes that you no longer use. By eliminating these things you will keep your WordPress site from becoming out of date and being vulnerable to hackers.

3. Don’t Look Fresh Out The Box

When you first download WordPress you want to delete all default posts and comments to make sure your site doesn’t look brand new. If hackers find these default posts or comments it indicates to them that the site is brand new and new sites with default settings are usually easier to hack into.

Next you want to hide the version of WordPress that you have installed because if hackers can detect the version of WordPress you are running that makes your site easier to hack as well. This can be done in two places. The first place is in your header.php (wp-content/{name of your WordPress theme}/header.php) file. Look for a line that has “” and remove it.

The second place is in your general-template.php file (wp-includes/general-template.php).
Find the following line::

function the_generator( $type ) {
echo apply_filters(‘the_generator’, get_the_generator($type), $type) . “\n”;
}

Add a hash in front of the echo command as shown below:
function the_generator( $type ) {
#echo apply_filters(‘the_generator’, get_the_generator($type), $type) . “\n”;
}

Also, be sure to change the default “admin” username that is provided when you first set up WordPress. Most hackers are going to try to hack into sites that use the default “admin” or “administrator” username or even the sites domain name as a username because they are easier to crack.

4. Prevent Multiple Login Attempts
There are many unauthorized login attempts that occur on websites daily. To protect your WordPress sites from these unwanted visitors you can install a plug-in called Limit Login Attempts that will lock out hackers after a certain number of unsuccessful login attempts.
Make sure you have taken the previous steps listed above first and then use the plug-in as an extra layer of security.

5. Monitoring & Fixing Malware
It’s just as important to the security of your WordPress site to have a tool to monitor your site for malware. A reliable tool to use to do this is Wordfence. Wordfence scans your WordPress core, plug-ins, and themes for changes against the files in the WordPress archives. If there are changes you will be notified through email about the changes.

Another solution for monitoring the presence of malware is called Sucuri. Sucuri offers Website Integrity Monitoring and Manual Website Scanning to stay on top of the presence of malware on your site.

Not only is preventing malware from infecting your WordPress site important but cleaning up your site if it is ever is infected is just as important. Sucuri is also a great solution for removing malware from your site. They offer malware clean up and in the event that you have already been hacked you can sign up for their service and they will remove the malware even if you were hacked before signing up.

6. Choosing a Hosting Provider
Many choose a shared hosting provider to host their WordPress site but it isn’t necessarily the best solution when trying to maintain a secure WordPress site. With shared hosting your WordPress site is just one of many that they are hosting and it puts your site at a greater risk of being hacked into. The risk is so great with shared hosting because if just one of the other sites being hosted on the same server as your site is hacked into, your site could possibly be hacked as well.

Having your own VPS server may not be the best choice for you either considering the knowledge to manage it and the cost. However, a managed WordPress hosting maybe a great alternative for you. Many steer clear of managed WordPress hosting because it tends to be more expensive but it is well worth it considering the risks that come with generic shared hosting.

With managed WordPress hosting you get improved security, a faster site, support, & automated backups done for you. A few of the widely known managed WordPress hosting available are: WP Engine, Synthesis, & Pagely. Start by checking those out and seeing which one is the best solution for you.

7. Always Backup Your WordPress Site!
It is always a great idea to keep a backup of your WordPress site just in case your site does happen to get hacked or you make a mistake and need your original files. Two reliable tools to use when backing up your WordPress site are BackupBuddy and VaultPress. Also when backing up your site you want to make sure that your backups actually work just in case you need to refer to them.

8. Stay Current
Staying current is essential not only for WordPress security but in all areas concerning your WordPress site. There is always a new version, plug-in, method, or feature being developed and if you don’t keep up with it your site will be out of date. As we said above an out-of-date WordPress site is susceptible to being hacked. So while following the above steps will definitely help keep your site safe and secure you must stay up to date on how WordPress security changes over time.

Preventing your site from being hacked is a lot easier than fixing the damage done once your site has been compromised. So stay on top of it!

IT Project Manager

Roles

Being Project Manager in IT at Li and Fung is one of the biggest roles that I’ve played every day and it has truly helped me grow and involve in the IT and project management fields.

For starters, Li and Fung is the leading consumer design, development, and logistics company for major retailers and brands around the world. I originally started working at Li and Fung as an project management intern in June 2014 and then was hired and transitioned to the role of IT Project Manager.

During my years at Li and Fung, I obtained my ITIL and Project Management Professional (PMP) certifications and I’ve worked on a variety of IT projects from simple infrastructure projects to complex ERP implementations. The management of these projects has required traveling to work with teams in the New York, Hong Kong, North Carolina, California, and Georgia offices.

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My experience as IT Project Manager has allowed me to apply my PMP knowledge, gain global experience, and to continue to grow as a project manager and a well rounded IT professional.

College Student

Roles

As roles go, I think being a college student taught me the most about life and the foundations of what it takes to be successful.

I graduated from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro as a Computer Science major in 2015. As a student there I spent the majority of my time in class or in the lab diligently coding and studying for hours with those who started as just Comp Sci counter parts but quickly became my family. We stuck together and supported each other as we watched the program eliminate a huge chunk of our class leaving only a hand full of us standing.

In my spare time I was a member of the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) chapter on campus and attended bi- weekly meetings and participated in ACM programs and on-campus activities.

I also was a part of the Student and Technology in Academia, Research & Service (STARS) organization and I collaborated with other members to develop on-campus training programs and activities to introduce technology to middle school students from the community. Also as a STARS member, I produced and delivered an “Introduction to HTML and Web Design” workshop at the STARS Computing Day event and represented UNCG at the 2013 Annual STARS conference in Atlanta, GA.

During my college career I learned so many new things and met a plethora of new people that prepared me for the workforce. Even though my college days were years ago, I continue to remember and apply the things I’ve learned as I actively work to continue my education and hone my skills.

Instructor

Roles

As an instructor I learned more than I could’ve imagined when I started my journey. At the age of 10 I became an instructor at a non-profit company called NC Connected. The mission of NC Connected was to reach kids in rural areas and teach them web design.

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I started at NC Connected as a Junior Instructor. As Junior Instructor my responsibilities consisted of the following:

Support the senior instructor teaching Web Design, HTML and CSS.
Together we trained at-risk students at technology camps held in collaboration with schools, businesses, and other community partners.
Assisting with setting up and breaking down temporary computer labs.
Producing student registration forms, course evaluations, and student certificates.
Assisting students and helping them understand concepts, complete projects and deliver a limited number of training modules under the supervision of the senior instructor.

After working as a Junior Instructor for 2 years, I became a Senior Instructor. As a Senior Instructor my responsibilities included:

Delivering instructor-led training to 15 to 30 students in week-long camps held in rural areas of NC.
Collaborating with site coordinators, registering students, communicating with parents, recruiting and training junior instructors, producing curriculum, tracking student performance, managing classroom dynamics, and arranging the set up and breakdown of the mobile computer lab.

I taught at NC Connected for a total of 7 years. While there, I delivered a 3-hour HTML workshop to girls attending IBM’s summer E.X.I.T.E camp for 2 consecutive years and I taught web design at several nonprofit partner sites and business locations including Cisco and NC State University.

Even though I no longer do web design training and these days I have very little time for web design work due to working full time, I still try to keep up with my web design skills. I will always value my season being a teacher because it taught me how to teach people things. Back then I didn’t know how valuable this knowledge would be but now, I’ve started to realize that teaching is a valuable skill that is needed in pretty much every field. For example, I’ve utilized my training skills at work to offer training to management on our capital request system to ensure that they are able to submit capital requests as needed. Who knew I’d end up providing training later down the line!? Through this experience and others I see that many times your experiences are preparing you for later opportunities where those skills may be needed.

In The Community

Roles

Being a volunteer in the community is another role of mine. I have always had a heart for people and I think that it is extremely important to give back to the community.

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The following are just a few ways I have been involved in the community:

Tiny Houses Greensboro – Helped build tiny houses in Greensboro to support those experiencing homelessness.
Triangle United Way Teaming for Technology – Refurbished computers for donation to local nonprofits.
Chavis Heights Fall Tech Festival – Offered technology support for participants at the Fall Tech Festival.
NC Connected at the T4T La Familia Tech Event – Demonstrated for families how to used their new computers.
Avalon Community Development Center – Provided academic tutoring to students from immigrant and refugee communities.
Meals on Wheels of Wake County – Delivered weekly meals and provided human interaction to elderly and home-bound clients.
American Red Cross – Volunteered at the shelter set up to temporarily house hurricane Katrina victims. Worked in the computer lab helping those victims search for displaced family members.

Also, I got the chance to meet some very influential people while representing NC Connected at SNCC’s 50th Anniversary conference and running the cyber cafe that we provided at the conference.

Avid Learner

Roles

Being an avid learner is a role that I intend to hold forever. As I continue to gain more knowledge, I strive to always be teachable and I am eager to learn from the experiences of others. I’ve learned that knowledge is power and there’s always more to learn, especially in IT as it is an ever changing field.

Through my job at Li and Fung I have learned a great deal about IT and project management. My work at Li and Fung initially sparked my interest in project management as an intern and since then I’ve worked vigorously to further my project management knowledge. All of my dedication and hard work paid off as I’ve obtained my PMP and ITIL certifications.

Most recently I acquired my Professional Scrum Master (PSM I) certification. Moving forward, I plan to obtain many more certifications so that I may continue to be a valuable asset in the Project Management and IT fields. I have found that I enjoy working in IT because it is constantly changing and improving. There’s always something new to learn but, that being the case, it’s very easy to get left behind. My goal is to keep up in this fast-paced field, continue to learn, and to enjoy it along the way.