WordPress How To: 6 Steps to Avoid Hacker Headaches

Regardless of how your site is structured or coded, you need to be aware of and do certain things to ensure your site remains secure and is not a target of hackers. For WordPress, these steps are pretty simple and can, for the most part, be handled automatically or with little effort. The key is to get a system in place and follow it.

Today I’ll share with you the basics that anyone who is not a techie can easily integrate to help protect their WordPress site/Blog.

1. Once your WordPress site is setup, delete your default Admin account and setup a new account. Hackers look for that account to exploit.
2. Make sure your WordPress Username is not your name. That’s the first guess those trying to access your system will make.
3. Change your password to something wacky. Not your pet’s name, not your husband’s nickname, not your birthdate. Include at least 8 characters, both upper and lower case and throw in some other characters for good measure. Examples of a great password: ^43dU~La2 . Do the same for your server/FTP password by creating a different password than what you use for your WordPress login.
4. Better yet, encrypt your login with the Chap Secure Login and LoginLockdown plugins.
5. Install WP Security Plugin to cover all the bases. This plugin will scan your WordPress installation for security vulnerabilities and suggests corrective actions.
6. Backup and Update! When you see that yellow nag bar at the top of your screen update WordPress and your plugins right then and there. Now sure how? I’ve got a post to help you backup and update WordPress as easy as 1,2,3!

Every week I get panicked WordPressers e-mailing me after their sites have been hacked — no backups, no precautions taken. If you find yourself in this position, crying like a baby — you’ll have no one to blame but yourself because now you know better! You can avoid this unpleasant experience by taking the 6 steps above. What are you waiting for?

At your service,
Judith

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3 Responses to “WordPress How To: 6 Steps to Avoid Hacker Headaches”

1. maureen says:

   April 22, 2010 at 3:22 am

   Hi Judith]

   Thanks for the great advice. Just one thing how do I delete your default Admin account and setup a new account?

   Any help/pointers would be appreciated!

   Maureen
2. Judith says:

   April 22, 2010 at 10:30 am

   Hey, Maureen:

   What you do is setup another Admin: Users > Add New with administrative permission. Then, log out and re-login using your new account informaiton. At that point you can then delete the default Admin account. HTH! ;-)
3. maureen says:

   April 22, 2010 at 11:08 am

   Thanks for the advice and I have to say the wp security scan was a great plugin recommendation!