Thanks for the information. Had never really thought about it myself, but have implemented the suggestions. Looks like you've got a few more interesting posts here as well. Will check them out.
Brian Purkiss
· 2 years ago
I have thought about WP Security... But I didn't think of all those - lol I'm going to have work on those! Thanks for the heads up!
P.S. - Because of your comment, I'm back!
Simon
· 2 years ago
That's great Brian, I am happy to have you back as a reader. You wouldn't believe what a hit my feed count took in the days following that ProBlogger article. Maybe I need to place more focus on topics that aren't blogging...i.e. more web design stuff to ensure I am not labled as a blogger that blogs about blogging. Cheers for coming back though Brian :)
Website Design
· 2 years ago
Nice post. I noticed the version string was killing me for a while. Once removed, a lot of spam actually ceased. It's been a few months and I'm pleased with the results. Nice that you posted it as well.
Simon
· 2 years ago
Ironically Akismet thought your comment was spam :)
Simon
· 2 years ago
I have entered this article into a group writing project contest at: http://www.bluejar.com/how-to-group-writing-pro... - Check it out, there is still a few days left before the deadline, so there is plenty of time to write an article an enter.
GnomeyNewt
· 2 years ago
Thanks for entering my project. Good advice you have shared here, I guess I should probably go update my WP :c). Also thanks for mentioning my group writing project, everybody has until next week on the 18th to enter.
TenthOfMarch
· 2 years ago
This is a good list and thanks for the idea ;-)
Madhur Kapoor
· 2 years ago
Great article Simon , this reminds me to update my WP and create a backup
jayhan
· 2 years ago
Thanks for the useful tips!
One point above that i always did is "Backup Your Posts and Comments". I export my content after I submit a new post.
I shall try that Login Lockdown Plugin :)
JoLynn Braley
· 2 years ago
Thanks for these tips! I use a plugin to backup and I update WP as soon as there is a new version, and I am implementing your other tips. Thanks again, this is a great addition to the writing project.
Oscar
· 2 years ago
Nice tips.
Another useful thing is to create a good robots.txt file to avoid spiders indexing all directories.
Steve Belt
· 2 years ago
Good check list of security vulnerabilities. I was particularly worried about my plug-ins directory, not having considered it before.
Doug Steele
· 1 year ago
Interesting. There are some good ideass presented here. I need to do spend some time reading more about these topics.
Dwayne Charrington
· 1 year ago
Thanks for the tips, I will surely put these to use on my blog. I've been getting a lot of traffic lately and would hate to compromise my website because of a few simple mistakes.
Dan (future gadgets blog)
· 1 year ago
I like your blog theme. I want to use it on my blog. Can you please tell me from where I can download these theme?
Many thanks
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dan owner of the future gadgets blog future gadgets and inventions
does anyone knows if there is any other information about this subject in other languages?
Some guy
· 1 year ago
this is a great read! i've been doing a little research on how to make my WP blog more secured and this is certainly a big help!
Anchor text spammer
· 1 year ago
Great post. I noticed the version string was killing me for a while. Once removed, a lot of spam actually ceased. It’s been a few months and I’m pleased with the results. Nice that you posted it as well. Thanks for that.
Gaf
· 1 year ago
thanks very good.
Make Money Online Blogging
· 1 year ago
You should use a secure password as well. I suggest changing your password every month, and the password should not be anything contained in the english dictionary. A blank index file should be located in every folder, whether it has valuable information in it or not. Also it is important that your PHP and MYSQL stay updated and secure. Check with your hosting company as many of them handle the upgrades for those. Also check your logs and look for repeated attempts. A repeated IP could mean an attacker, but they can use proxies so it will be a different IP ever time. Look for attempts on weird port numbers against your server. Also look for attempts at weird directories or commands/files. Most sites get port scanned and scanned for vulnerabilities often. But if it is something that it occuring often (multiple days) then it may be a direct attack against you. If you feel it is a direct attack targeting you soley, then contact your web host. They should be able to check out your logs and they will evaluate. If they are nice, they may give you the IPs to add to your blacklist. If they don't do that due to policy, then they may block them on their end. If the attempts continue, then notify them and you can pursue an investigation.
I don't recommend blacklisting and IPs yourself unless you are 100% positive it is an attack. You may end up banning one of your frequent viewers.
I used to be at the opposit end of the computer. I wont go into techno babble though.
Thanks for the in depth input - Make Money Online Blogging - I will even leave your anchor text for your effort.
SEO Marketing
· 1 year ago
I had alot of changed done to blogs. I definately figured out how to rid of all spam. Great post
Gary Olson
· 1 year ago
Great Job Here...I enjoyed it..! Gary
Free Wordpress Hosting
· 1 year ago
The problem is, i get lazy with the backups. I always say...It won't happen to me. But the truth is, It's very likely.
jason@custom blinds
· 1 year ago
Once again this is an excellent tip. Its really important to secure wordpress or upgrade to the new version.
Daniel Lew Internet Marketing
· 1 year ago
I would never of known, Very good security and backup information and something I didn't prepare myself for, Thanks for putting this together.
David@WP Themes
· 1 year ago
I need to change my password. Im going to use more symbols and numbers.
justin @ brett favre saga
· 1 year ago
Thanks for the great tips. I just went and did some of them now. I wasn't aware of the Export feature until now. It is much easier than backing up the MySQL DB.
aamir@debt management
· 1 year ago
That really bugs me...Thanks for the great tips. good for my WP blog but i am still worried about a blogger blog. Unfortunately i hosted on blogger server, worked hard for its marketing and now when i want to take a backup of posts and comments there are no options except template backup.
Kathy Mead
· 1 year ago
yeah, backup my posts and comments asap!
James
· 1 year ago
I try to keep my wordpress folder updated as much as possible. This makes it easier to make sure that my blog is protected. Unfortunately it is difficult to do this sometimes and time consuming.
Kevin@Web hosting Ireland.
· 1 year ago
The blank index and version string are 2 great ideas anyone should do to make thier blog safer. Some great ways to protect your wordptress blog i bookmarked post.
Nick@Work Accident Compensatio
· 1 year ago
I must admit i am one of those lazy people that tends to keep putting off backups and updating wordpress but this article has given me a well needed kick up the backside. I have just downloaded the automatic upgrade plugin so will no longer have any excuses.
Frank@fioricet
· 1 year ago
Backing up using MySQL DB is much harder than using the export feature.
lifting
· 1 year ago
it´s true, i never had thought that, but obviusly is necesary take precaution, because there is a lot of people in the internet with bad intentions
tony@Cheap web hosting package
· 1 year ago
I think the first thing everyone should do no matter what site they have is have back up of all thier work. I can not tell you how many times people wish they did this.
Great post some good tips on making wordpress safer.
Nick@whiplash compensation cla
· 1 year ago
Just a quick note to say thanks for the link to the automatic wordpres upgrade plugin. I have used it across all my wordpress sites and its a real time saver. Would highly recommend it to everyone.
Cathy@ mattress reviews
· 1 year ago
I didnt even know something like this exists. I usually have to spend entire day to upgrade all my sites, and WP has gone through last few versions in such a short time.
Thx for the link, I will definitely have more time with using this.
tom@Cheap dsl service.
· 11 months ago
I never even thought about backing up comments. That is a good point i forgot about. I also like to make sure i have images and anything else saved in case i have any problems.
Brian@clean room wall panels
· 11 months ago
I wish we had login lockdown feature for basic website server accounts. I have had a couple of my websites hacked. I know, I should have a stronger password, where they can't get in.
I also like the idea of loading a index.html file into your plugins directory. This can keep the nosey ones out.
Ashire@Lift Chairs
· 11 months ago
Keeping things current and backing up your data is always a good idea no matter what you're trying to do. Good information there, thanks!
Mathew@Best high yield certifi
· 11 months ago
Great tips. I did not know you could do some of the things you said to protect your wordpress blog. I never heard of the blank index and will try it.
Jerry
· 11 months ago
My account has been hacked a few times. I have tried all of these, unfortunately it is not helping very much.
tom@Residential phone service
· 11 months ago
I just did the version string one on one site. Never thought about that one before thanks.
tom@Cheap dsl
· 10 months ago
One more thing make sure to change password if someone ever gets into your email. They will send password to email and take over blog.
andy@freeloans
· 9 months ago
I think the backup is one of the most imortant ways to keep blog safe. if you do not have backup and something happens you have to start all over again.
Mexabet@Quality web directory
· 9 months ago
Helpful tips. I wasn't much worried about security until lately. My sites were recently attacked and that made me to pay more attention to security.
marry@datingservices
· 7 months ago
Good post. Some great tips on keeping wordpress blog safe. Maybe do one for blogger blogs also i know thier are alot of them around too.
Shailendra@The Agra Indian
· 7 months ago
Thanks for the great post again.
I agree with you that frequent updated are actually big pain for every one. But as far as the security is concern it should not be take lightly. If one day you will loose your all post and data it can not be recovered it you don’t have the backup of it.
jack@realestate reits
· 6 months ago
Thanks i just started making new blog and it is my first wordpress blog. I Never knew some of the tips and how to make sure it is safe. Some very good ideas i will try them myself.
Bekleidung
· 6 months ago
i just knew about putting index page in plugins directory , these are some really useful tricks, and Login Lockdown plugin is really good for security.
Amy @Free Xbox 360
· 6 months ago
I'm so bad at not backing up my blog. I really should do it. Does the lockdown thing work with all blogs? Or is it just Wordpress? I presume it's all... But I'm not brilliant with technology!
rick@32 lcd tv
· 6 months ago
Good post i did not know that the blog could be taken over or have problems like this. I have to try some of your ideas i just started making my first wordpress blog and have not finished it yet.
Thad@OPSEC
· 6 months ago
I actually had this happen- had my blog up and leave me. Turned out to be hard drive failure on the part of my provider (backups? hah!), so I lost a lot of work. That's why I now back up religiously. And, of course, I changed providers!
AskTheCoders@Coding Help
· 6 months ago
Hmm. I didn't realize that security was a problem for bloggers. Uh oh. I just started blogging fairly recently, so I'm hoping it isn't something I need to worry about.
Exactly what sort of security problems do bloggers normally have?
carrol@digital photography sit
· 5 months ago
thanks those are some great ideas to make a wordpress blog safe. some of them i did not knowand will make sure to use when i make a new blog with wordpress.
roger@router bits
· 5 months ago
Some very good tips. I have both a wordpres and blogger blog. Had one problem with blogger but tech worked it out. Did not know wordpress had some problems like this i have to try the techniques you listed on it to make it safer.
mike@future gadgets
· 5 months ago
with so many hacks and viruses out there, especially in the blogosphere, this stuff becomes quite useful, so thanks.
All Comments
But I didn't think of all those - lol
I'm going to have work on those!
Thanks for the heads up!
P.S. - Because of your comment, I'm back!
One point above that i always did is "Backup Your Posts and Comments". I export my content after I submit a new post.
I shall try that Login Lockdown Plugin :)
Another useful thing is to create a good robots.txt file to avoid spiders indexing all directories.
Can you please tell me from where I can download these theme?
Many thanks
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dan owner of the future gadgets blog future gadgets and inventions
I don't recommend blacklisting and IPs yourself unless you are 100% positive it is an attack. You may end up banning one of your frequent viewers.
I used to be at the opposit end of the computer. I wont go into techno babble though.
Shudogg Dot Com - Make Money Online Blogging
Great post some good tips on making wordpress safer.
Thx for the link, I will definitely have more time with using this.
I also like the idea of loading a index.html file into your plugins directory. This can keep the nosey ones out.
I agree with you that frequent updated are actually big pain for every one. But as far as the security is concern it should not be take lightly. If one day you will loose your all post and data it can not be recovered it you don’t have the backup of it.
these are some really useful tricks,
and Login Lockdown plugin is really good for security.
That's why I now back up religiously. And, of course, I changed providers!
Exactly what sort of security problems do bloggers normally have?