Most of you are just concerned about creating and promoting your blogs. You are worried about the frequency of blog posts and engagement with your audience. Nonetheless, the job does not end there. Ensuring that your WordPress blog is spam free is a crucial part of your blogging success. Presently, there has been a tremendous increase on attacks to WordPress due to the easy accessibility of hacking tools on the internet. Hackers and intruders often take advantage of websites that possess outdated plugins and themes. The following are essential eight tips you should consider to keep away viruses and spam on your WordPress blog site.
1. Regularly Update your Website’s Themes and Plugins
Plugin and theme updates possess critical security patches required to fix any vulnerabilities and bugs on your website. It is common for hackers to attack sites that have out-of-date plugins and themes. Also, ensure that your blog is migrated to the latest version of WordPress. You should make sure that the existing plugins are compatible with the new version of WordPress before migrating. It is also advisable to download and buy antivirus for your WordPress page as it keeps it free from virus and spam attack.
2. Encrypt your Data by use of SSL
SSL stands for Secure Socket Layer, and it is a certificate that safeguards the transfer of data between user browsers and the server. With SSL certificate in place, it will be impossible for unauthorized users or attackers to steal your data or breach your website. You can acquire SSL certificate for free from your web hosting company or purchase one from a third-party agent.
3. Secure the Wp-Admin Directory with a strong password
The crucial files of your WordPress blog page are typically stored in the Wp-admin directory. It offers access to your website’s login page, plugins, and themes. It is vital to set a strong password to protect this directory against intruders and hackers. You can consider relying on a plugin such as the Ask Apache Password Protect to safeguard your website’s admin area.
4. Log Out ‘ghost users’ from your Site
Since you are the web administrator of your WordPress page, you should ascertain that the page does not possess any ‘ghost users’ or idle logins. You can utilize plugins such as bulletproof security as it automatically logouts the idle logins. This plugin can let you outline a custom time limit for allowing the inactive users. Additionally, you can appeal to the users to remember ending their active sessions.
5. Change your Passwords often
It is essential to change your passwords frequently. It is common for passwords to become outdated and vulnerable to the present password hacking tools. Luckily, you can safeguard your WordPress site by frequently changing your password. Always set a strong password, a password that is impossible for the intruders to guess. For instance, consider mixing uppercase letters, lowercase letters, special characters, and numbers when developing the passwords. Also, you can utilize the browser add-ons that enable you to generate safe passwords and store them in your favorite browser.
6. Utilize the Two-Factor Authentication
When using the two-factor authentication (2FA), your WordPress website users will be needed to provide login info to two different components. As the website owner, you will be tasked with determining what these components will be. For instance, you can opt to set a standard password for the first component and a secret code for the second component. It is an uphill battle for the intruders to gain access to a site that contains the two-factor authentication.
7. Eliminate Numerous Login Attempts
In most times, hackers succeed to penetrate a site by logging into the webpage numerous times. You can prevent this scenario by setting up a web lockdown tool for numerous failed login attempts. If you set up this tool, you will be receiving notifications from the administrator dashboard once your website records the login attempts. One of the plugins that you can use to implement this feature is the iThemes.
8. Limit Blog Registration Access
If your blog site accepts registration, make sure that a user is not allowed to register and then acquire administrative access straight away. Access the WordPress admin dashboard and change the roles accordingly. For instance, the user privileges can be allocated using the Role-Manager plugin.
The steps you take to secure your WordPress site define whether it will remain reliable to the targeted audience. Irrespective of the type of website you are operating, you should stick to the eight tips outlined above. You should eliminate any questionable activity you notice on the site to avoid possible hacking attempts. If you are not doing what it takes to protect and safeguard your presence online, now is the time to do so.
