How do I secure my WordPress website?
Do your site's security need to be upgraded? The Wordfence Security plugin is one of the most popular security plugins with more than 4 million active installs, which is really impressive considering how many great security plugins are available. It has 4.7 out of 5 rating on WordPress.org.
Why it is the Best WordPress Protection?
There are many ways to keep your WordPress website protected and they all require a plugin such as Wordfence Security. It's no accident Wordfence is so popular, it can protect your site from a range of cyberattacks tightly integrated into the code.
For example, web application firewalls protect against malware, hackers and DDoS attacks. This is mainly achieved through the use of a firewall which can track suspicious traffic. The database it contains affords protection against all the common malware that enters websites these days.
Wordfence come with lots of features and customization, it also makes things better for any site on the internet.
What is Wordfence and Why Should I use it?
Wordfence Security is one of the most popular WordPress plugins available. Packed with security features and analyzing the latest security updates, Wordfence will keep your webpage safe.
With this plugin, you will not have to worry about your WordPress website being compromised. It includes all sorts of security features that can tackle any sort of problem and on a wide range of levels. Here are top 10 Reasons you need to install WordFence for WordPress security in 2023
Login Security and Two-Factor Authentication
Malware Scan
File Change Scan
Monitor Outdated Themes & Plugins
Wordfence Firewall
Real Time Blocking
Whois Lookup
IP and Geo-Location Blocking
Vulnerability Scan
Monitor Content Safety
Login Security and Two-Factor Authentication
Wordfence enables two-factor authentication (2FA) which is a way to make your remote access more secure. 2FA secures your account with both something you know and something you have, making it much harder to compromise. It also provides Login Page CAPTCHA to stops bots from logging in and Brute-Force attack protection. Another feature to enable login security is to disable or add 2FA to XML-RPC. Wordfence also blocks logins for administrators using known compromised passwords. Admins need to use a strong passwords to continue accessing the dashboard.
Malware Scan
Malware is a piece of code specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access. It is one of the most significant reasons that websites face downtime and data breaches. Hence the need of malware scanner is essential. Wordfence Malware scanner checks core files, themes and plugins for malware, bad URLs, backdoors, SEO spam and more. If any file has been compromised, Wordfence flags it and informs us to fix it. Premium users can benefit from the Real-time Malware Signature updates via the Threat Defense Feed.
File Change Scan
It's important to make sure that your core files are up to date. That way, you can avoid the potential cost & damage of a security breach by an outsider or from malware found in your WordPress installation. Compares your core files, themes and plugins with what is in the WordPress.org repository, checking their integrity. Whenever Wordfence detects any changes to your site, it will give you the option to review those changes.
Monitor Outdated Themes & Plugins
Wordfence compare themes & plugins on your site with the ones available in the WordPress theme repository. This will detect any mismatches and provide you with information about how to resolve them. This scan applies to all plugins & themes installed on your WordPress installation, not just the active theme. Commercially-purchased themes are scanned for malware, but in this case File Change Scan is not applicable.
Wordfence Firewall
A web application firewall (WAF) can protect your site from a number of attacks- like cross-site scripting (XSS), SQL injection, and cookie poisoning. Attacks to apps are the leading cause of breaches and we can help you keep your site safe. Wordfence WAF identifies and blocks malicious traffic. Premium users can set Real-time firewall rules and malware signature updates. Wordfence WAF provides a Real-time IP Blocklist for all premium users that blocks all requests from the most malicious IPs thus protecting the website while reducing load.
Real Time Blocking
This is a premium feature provided by Wordfence that enables users to set Real-time firewall rule and malware signature updates via the Threat Defense Feed. It also provides a Real-time IP Blocklist to block all requests from the most malicious IPs, protecting the website. This feature reduces the overall load on your webserver thus improving its performance. Real-time blocking feature is also available for Free users for a trial period of 30 days.
Also Read: How to set up two-factor authentication in Wordfence?
Whois Lookup
WHOIS Lookup Service is provides you the owner information of a domain name or IP address. Wordfence makes this really easy by giving you a way to find out which network an IP address is on. It provides you the range of addresses in the network, Wordfence provides helpful instructions on blocking or to take necessary actions.
IP and Geo-Location Blocking
IP and Country Blocking allows you to block access to your website from certain IP or countries. This is a Wordfence premium feature. Wordfence uses a geolocation database, bundled with the plugin, for the country blocking feature. This database is 99% accurate.
Here’s a tutorial video that will help you with the configurations.
Vulnerability Scan
Similar to Malware scanning, Vulnerability scan checks for any malicious code, backdoors, and shells for hackers that can be exploited. It depends on the depth of the scan but Wordfence highlights the known vulnerability and notifies if an attack has already happened. It is important to perform a routine check in order to avoid any vulnerabilites. There are potential security issues if a theme or plugin has been closed or abandoned.
Monitor Content Safety
This scan checks for any mistrustful content present in the Wordpress setup. It scans for scanning file contents, posts and comments for dangerous URLs and suspicious content. If Wordfence encounters such a content, it notifies the admin in the scan results.
Conclusion
With a strong focus on security, this plugin is great for all websites in remaining safe and sound. The weekly scans, detailed scan results, website security insight, WAF, 2FA and the ability for the site to block a blacklist of malicious actors makes it a must install plugin on all WordPress websites.