Although many WordPress users may not know it, brute force attacks are on top of the list of the most persistent security threats on WordPress sites. If we disregard the success rate of security threats, brute force is the most common threat on the web.
As the name suggests, these attacks involve guessing and trying out many username–password combinations until a successful login is achieved.
Although the WordPress backend is equipped pretty well to deal with this danger, many website owners fail to apply some of the simple tools and practices that are recommended. Therefore, hackers will often succeed when they use a botnet, also known as a zombie army, to generate large numbers of attack passwords. The fact that they use multiple computers at the same time means that they can carry out these attacks in large scale.
Let us take a look at some of the recommended precautions that you should take against this:
1. Use Strong Passwords and Unpredictable Usernames:
For a brute force attack to be successful, an attacker uses a massive number of username-password pairs that are often generated from the alphabet. This means that a simple password or username will be easily guessed by the bots. WordPress offers a password strength meter that you can use to gauge how strong your password will stand against a brute force attack. You should also avoid using the default ‘admin’ username as an attacker will always start with it.
2. Change the default WordPress settings immediately after set up. This makes your website a little unpredictable.
3. Make use of available security plugins to limit user login attempts. Limit Login Attempts (it hasn’t be updated soon, but still it’s one of the most useful plugins available out there) is a good example of such plugins.
4. Maintain just the smallest possible number of WordPress users. This minimizes the attack points for the hacker and also makes it easier for you to enforce security rules on every user account.
5. Always remember to keep your plugins, themes and WordPress core up to date by installing updates as soon as they are made available.
Share with us what are your tips and tricks to stay safe and secure!
