WordPress is a widely used open-source software that has a large community of developers constantly working to discover and fix bugs and security risks. However, the downside is that hackers with bad intentions can easily access your website’s blueprint and exploit any weaknesses in the core, themes, or plugins. In this article, we will discuss five security threats that are present in any default installation of WordPress and how to fix them.
1. Your Site Shows You’re Using WordPress and the Version
The default version of WordPress has code lines that reveal your site is built using WordPress, including the version. This information can make your site a target for hackers looking to exploit any security weaknesses in WordPress core, themes, or plugins. To fix this, you can use the Hide My WP Plugin, which helps avoid unnecessary traffic on your server and protects your site from attacks that specifically target WordPress sites.
2. Everyone Knows Where Your Login Page/Admin Area Is Located
If you’re not actively hiding that your site is built on WordPress, hackers already know where to attempt a brute-force attack on your site. To fix this threat, you can change the physical location of your login page or limit access to your login page and admin area by IP addresses. You can do this with a plugin dedicated to this particular thing or with a security plugin like Sucuri, Wordfence, iThemes Security Pro, or All In One WP Security & Firewall.
3. WordPress Has A Default Table Prefix That Everybody Uses
The default table prefix in WordPress makes it easier for hackers to gain access to your site by exploiting possible SQL injection weaknesses. To fix this, you can easily change the prefix using a plugin like Sucuri or during the installation interface.
4. WordPress Theme & Plugin Files Are Editable Via The Dashboard
Hackers can do a lot of damage if they gain access to your website and edit theme and plugin files via the dashboard. To fix this, you can add a line of code to your wp-config.php file or use a security plugin to do it for you. You can also disable all plugin and theme updates/installation by adding a line of code to wp-config.php, but this would mean changing its value to false every time you wanted to update or install a plugin or theme.
5. WordPress Has Very Open Firewall Settings That Can Allow Even Known Malicious Bots To Attempt Attacks
The default firewall settings in WordPress are on the liberal side, which means that some unwanted visitors get a green light. To fix this, you can install the basic 5G blacklist firewall rules manually into your .htaccess file or use a security plugin to optimize the rules in your .htaccess.
In conclusion, cybercrime is rapidly growing, and website owners must protect themselves and their sites as best they can. While a default installation of WordPress has some weaknesses, you can significantly reduce the risk of your site getting hacked or infested with malware by installing a security plugin, editing some settings, and inserting a line of code or two. Have you taken any measures to improve the security of your WordPress site? Let us know in the comments.
