WordPress designers and programmers will cooperate to come up with security tools and patches, but the user will bear the responsibility of putting them into practice. This involves updating the WordPress engine and activating the security features that are meant to secure the site. To some extent, WordPress has sealed most of the loopholes that can expose your site. Hackers will however count on the following user mistakes when launching different kinds of attacks.
1. Weak User Passwords
Many WordPress users make the mistake of using simple passwords for their admin panels. While this may help you to remember your passwords without a fuss, it also means that the attacker will find it easy to either guess it or carry out a brute force attack. You should consider the fact that many attackers use software tools to guess user passwords – usually using different dictionaries. You should therefore combine different characters and letters to make strong passwords for any user account.
2. Using the Admin Account Where Others Can do
Many WordPress users have the tendency to use the admin account to post content. This makes it quite easy for a hacker to pick out the admin’s username from the published posts. There will also be greater damage if a hacker manages to steal the login session of an admin user. You should therefore create an account with fewer privileges and use it to carry out small tasks on your site.
3. Using the Same Login Details across Many Sites
This magnifies the extent of damage when an attacker manages to obtain your password in a brute force attack. If he succeeds to break into one of your sites, he will be able to use the same login details to access all the other sites. The username should also be anonymous – a name that an attacker cannot guess. This will minimize the chances of obtaining both the username and the password.
4. Failure to set up a Backup Plan
This mistake has frustrated many people who end up losing all their work after an attack. Having a recent copy of your site means that you can always bring it back when something goes amiss. This will save you from the pain of losing all your posts, comments, images, videos, user data etc. You should therefore schedule a backup plan depending on how active your WordPress blog is.
5. Failure to Update your WordPress Engine and Plugins
The WordPress team, with the help of the extensive community of users and developers, is always working to improve the strength of the CMS. Patches and version releases are all aimed at locking down WordPress sites from security attacks. Attackers will on the other hand study the source code to identify security loopholes that they can use in their attacks. Using a new version of both the engine and the extensions will lower the risk of being attacked.
The adverse effects of these mistakes imply that the process of eliminating security breaches on the web is a continuous responsibility that is shared by every web user. You cannot blame WordPress when one of these mistakes leads to an attack as they have provided the right fixes and tools to secure your site.
