Hackers – they are everywhere – so when you hear about them out on the web looking to wreak havoc on your WordPress website, it’s not at an exaggeration by any strength of the imagination. Your WordPress blog and every other website on the internet are at risk if some safety precautions are not put into place.
Malicious hackers have taken down big corporations like PayPal, banks, the US Government, and the list goes on. If they can be hacked, you are probably thinking you don’t have a chance at stopping them. You’d be wrong. With a few things that you can do yourself to help protect your site.
Of course, by no means are these tips fool proof, but they will certainly help to increase your site’s security and every little bit of help can go a long way towards decreasing your risk. After all, there will be easier targets out there.
If you protect your site and other WordPress users do not, then you are still at risk. If they protect their site and you choose not to then they will still be at risk. This needs to be an undertaking by all users of the WordPress site.
All websites are at risk, but some are at a higher risk than others. If you believe your site is at higher risk, then you need to put stronger measures into place. You might want to hire the pros.
For most of us, there isn’t a need for extreme measures. Just the implementation of a couple of simple security steps could save you plenty of hassle. These include a different user name than the default ‘admin,’ strong passwords, protected files, current backups, installed updates, limited login attempts, and more. Take the time to do the tasks that will protect your website from hackers or at least reduce the likelihood that you will be targeted and your website hacked.
But why are hackers so intent on hacking your WordPress website? There are numerous reasons, but these are some of the most common:
- To hijack your website’s traffic
- To access paid items
- To create links back to their website
- To collect your users email addresses
- To create links to another site (paid for links)
- To place content on your site
Being aware of these dangerous hackers is the start to making your website safe and less of a target.