Have A WordPress Blog? This Is What You Must Know About Security
Setup Secure WordPress Blog in 1 step
WordPress blog security is not something most bloggers even consider when they start blogging to make money and yet it could be one of the most significant factors that will impact your success down the road.
But lost productivity and income while your compromised or "hacked blog are not the only problems you are faced with. There are a few more serious impacts to your overall business that unfortunately become obvious way too late.
Expert Consulting Expense. If your blog is a primary site and income generator you simply have to have it properly restored and operational and for most people it mean finding a professional willing to do it for you. I can tell you first hand, as security consultant that it can get very expensive in a very short time. Expert consulting bill tend to increase fast and can end up being very expensive.
Ban by Search Engines. Unknown to most of the people – search engines do ban sites that have been identified as hacked. In many cases owner of the site is blissfully unaware of the fact until someone lets him know about it. It can directly hurt your cash flow as visitors who click on your link in search engine results are presented with a malware worning instead of being sent to your blog. You could have had new visitors but instead you got lost opportunities.
Damaged reputation. If you blog is also used to represent you on the web – your reputation can be damaged in the eyes of potential customers just because your blog was defaced or what is even worth exploited and has malware on it. When your potential customers get infected – you can be damn sure that will let others know about it!
Having a secure WordPress blog can be a simple 3 step process that properly implemented can mean a difference between blogging success and trashed reputation. Chose what fits your needs.
The need for strong passwords
With Internet fraud on the increase it is becoming increasingly important to protect yourself and your personal details. One slip up can cost you dearly. One thing you should do for a start is to protect your passwords.
Speak to anyone involved in the Internet security industry and they will tell you it is very important to have different passwords for every major account you log into. Obvious, right? Well yes, it is, and lots of online companies help you out by forcing you to have a complicated password, or even generating one for you. That’s good, right?
Well no, not really. Consider it it this way. You have an email account which you access every day, often from multiple locations. It stands to reason that you log into your email account more than all your other accounts. The more you use it the more vulnerable it is.
You may think that last statement is not accurate, that your password is strong and nobody can know it. You might be right, but the first time you need to use a public computer to access your email, can you be sure there isn’t a keylogger on the computer you are using? Can you be sure their systems are secure so there isn’t someone sniffing your password?
This all sounds a little far fetched, and indeed it is rare, but it does happen. Every day there are many people whose email accounts get compromised. It is by far the most targetted type of user account.
Email accounts are usually targetted primarily so they can be used for sending spam. The second reason they are hacked is because they contain user accounts and password information.
However, this is often not your fault. You sign up for a service, enter your secure password and wait for your confirmation email. You check your email and there is your username and password as a “helpful reminder” in plain text!
If a hacker manages to hack your email account they now have access to your email, as well as the other account you have signed up for. If you happen to use the same password for other accounts (Facebook, Twitter, Bank!) then they may try to gain access to those too.
This is a big problem, and as individuals we can try to stem it by deleting these emails (from the trash too!), but the real issue is companies sending them out in the first place.
As a final word of advice, try to keep to these following rules:
- Keep your email password as secure as possible (letters + numbers etc)
- Use different passwords for all accounts (not even similar)
- Change your main email password every now and then
- Delete emails with passwords in them (and empty the trash)
- Never trust a public computer. If you must use one, change your password asap
- Never use any common passwords
Apply These 5 Points and Enjoy Secure Computing
Do you find that you keep on getting compromised by virus, worms, or trojans although you have the best security tools installed? The following details is comprehensive and practical to the application to secure your system.
You can defend both the system and your computer from almost all threats to your privacy and security, if you have a similar policy or just implement these points.
1. Each and every patches to Windows security for your Windows OS must be updated. All you need is a working internet connection and you will have an always updated Windows OS without any cost.
2. Have the best antivirus software installed. Consult software review for the best antivirus ranking to date. Nowadays, antivirus software solutions are sold at very affordable price; some with limited capablities are even free. Provide internet connection to let the antivirus update itself anytime, and let it run automatically when the computer starts. This can be done automatically by default with most programs.
3. Have a firewall installed and configure it well. A software or hardware based firewall is ok, as long as it is working and set properly. A router, in case you are using it, usually have a firewall already built in it, so that you just need to set the rules to make it work properly and effectively. Software version of firewalls are widely available, even the free ones!
4. Don’t install or run any program, but test them in different system or computer first to be safe. A virtual machine or a virtual computer can do this tricky job with no cost at all and act as a free virus protection.
5. Backup your files regularly, just in case. A best plan includes a way out of the worst. The cost may just be a few DVD’s. If you have a big harddisk to store a backup, there will be no cost at all!
It’s clear that it cost very low and even free if you want to protect yourself from threats.