Protect your WordPress powered blog from hackers

You can be in deep trouble if you are creating a WordPress blog or planning to run a Blog on any other CMS for that matter and you’re ignorant of both the vulnerabilities of these CMS and your enemy (the hackers) who might exploit these vulnerabilities to create havoc on your Blog. The bad news is, for an average blogger, it is difficult, almost impossible to master the techniques used by these hackers, and devise a counter strategy. But that doesn’t mean you should do nothing and hope that you will be safe.

Thinking that hackers tend to target the popular websites, and they won’t target your ordinary blog is flawed. There are many wannabe hackers who’d hack just about any website they can get their hands on, just for the sake of bragging. You can never eliminate the danger (i.e. hackers) but you can always try and secure your castle to keep the invaders at bay, as much as possible.

Remember that hackers keep on devising new ways to hack, so you need to beware and stay a step ahead of at least the amateur ones. You wouldn’t want to start from scratch, reinstall and rewrite everything, post apologies and promises that the blog will be back to its normal self, which it never will be, and what not. You can minimize the chances of your blog getting hacked with a few simple procedures and protect your own information and more importantly that of your visitors or subscribers.

1. Keep your software updated.

If the hackers can get creative and discover new loopholes, you need to stay one step ahead by updating your WordPress version to take care of all the known threats. Even though the old version don’t stop working when the new ones are released, and the new versions don’t always have something new at the frontend, you need to update because there’s ought to be a reason for releasing the new version.

1. Plug-ins help:

Many plug-ins exist to assist you with the safety of your blog. Some monitor files, while others use private SSL, not to mention different plug-in to back up your blog (note that backup plug in won’t secure your blog but at least it will offer a restore-able backup in case of some hiccup.

1. Choose your themes carefully:

You can use third party free themes all you want but beware of the added risks, especially from amateur coders with impressive graphics but no attention to safety side. WordPress itself is somewhat secure, but you invite vulnerabilities with third party themes, plug-ins, and other installs.

1. Protect your admin territory:

Most owners on wordpress go by the default username i.e. “admin”, making it a little too easy for hackers to guess. It is advisable that you create a new account with all rights and delete the default one. In addition to that, make sure that the script you use is set on no write permission (unless absolutely necessary otherwise), enabling security against java script bugs and web injections.

1. Try to hide the fact that you are using WordPress:

Easier said than done, you can’t really conceal the fact, but still you can put the fact out of first sight. It’s not that wordpress works like an open invitation, but still amateur hacker might skip your website.

1. Be careful about the selection of plug-ins:

There are some Plug-ins that you can’t help but use, and not all plug-ins are risky, but once in a while there is a rogue plug-in that may contain malicious code or some vulnerability. Scan the plug-in you download for viruses, and use only trusted and popular plug-ins.

1. Read & Learn:

WordPress security and hacking is a hot topic, many experts often come up with different advice for the people who are not as tech savvy, hence more susceptible. You must keep an eye on all of this advice and tips to save yourself from the shock of your life (opening your website and watching some colorful text declaring that your website has been hacked).