WordPress security cracks are not new. And they have been occurring since WordPress came into presence. Thankfully, WordPress is an open-source platform. We have tons of useful plugins that will keep your site secure.
By default, WordPress has some features. It’s nothing compared to what a prominent security plugin provides. For example, WordPress security plugins give the following:
A firewall stays between your site’s server and all incoming traffic for the site. Therefore, malicious actors are inspected and filtered out before they even reach your server.
Malware scanning is just like scanning your own computer for viruses and malware. Above all, many of the tools can scan the WordPress site’s server for malware.
1. Wordfence Security
Wordfence is the best widespread WordPress security plugin available. The free version of the plugin is available at WordPress.org. In addition, in the free version of that plugin, some of the important features are likewise a web application firewall and malware scanner.
Wordfence prevents brute force attacks. Also, it locks out any attempts after too many login attempts. Further, it has the power to lock out anyone who uses an invalid username and password. You can even enable 2-factor authentication for better security.
In conclusion, you can stop any attacks and content theft from a particular geographic region, with its country-blocking features. Also, you can block complete malicious networks and suspicious human activity. It is based on pattern matching and IP ranges.
2. Sucuri
Sucuri is a full pack of website security. It protects websites from malware, brute-force attacks, and other potential vulnerabilities.
Once you have done all things like installing and activating Sucuri. After that, all website traffic goes through their CloudProxy servers. There, every request is scanned to filter out malicious requests. This way, Sucuri reduces server load and improves the site’s performance by banning malicious traffic from reaching the server.
Moreover, it protects against SQL injection, XSS, and all known attacks. In addition to that, proactively report potential security threats to the WordPress core team. To further improve the security of WordPress, it is important to implement a threat intelligence solution.
In short, Sucuri has an antivirus package. It monitors the website every 4 hours to ensure the website is free from potential vulnerabilities and malware. Further, it allows you to conduct server-side scanning to protect your website from compromised and server-level infections.
3. Solid Security
Solid Security, formally known as iThemes Security is one of the most known WordPress plugins. It protects the website against brute force attacks by reducing the number of failed login attempts. You can also get email alerts for any file uploads. So you would know whether your site has been hacked.
Solid Security bars any suspicious IP that is harmful to the site. All the process is done by limiting the number of IPs. In addition, you can schedule database backup to preferred off-site storage destinations.
Some other useful features are:
- Check user security to review individual user activity.
- 2-factor authentication gives extra security to the website.
- Report you for any outdated themes or plugins, and for any critical issues.
4. Login Security Captcha
Having the Login Security Captcha plugin is a must for any WordPress site. This lightweight plugin comes with a security captcha feature to protect commonly targeted WordPress standard forms which includes:
- WordPress Login Form
- Registration Form
- Lost Password Form
- Comment Form
It supports placing Cloudflare Turnstile as well as reCAPTCHA on these forms. Cloudflare Turnstile is a CAPTCHA-free service to protect against bots and detect real visitors without the need for interaction. So, it can significantly improve WordPress security.
5. MalCare
MalCare is a WordPress security plugin that centers on malware exposure and removal.
It is generally built to catch malware that other plugins don’t. It offers one-click malware removal to get rid of the malicious file.
The advanced features include geo-blocking to restrict access from specific regions, uptime monitoring to ensure your site is always available, and real-time scanning. These features work together to provide a robust security solution for your WordPress site.
Beyond that, it also offers some basic security hardening like:
- CAPTCHA for your login page
- Limit login attempts
- Disable file editing
- Disable file execution in the uploads folder
6. Cloudflare
Cloudflare is commonly known as a performance-boosting tool because of its CDN functionality. It is a stellar option to speed up a WordPress site.
It acts as a reverse proxy and is a great tool to secure WordPress sites. Essentially, a reverse proxy is an interface between visitors’ browsers and the website’s server. And directs traffic, which lets it filter out malicious doers.
Cloudflare also offers basic security in the form of DDoS protection and reputation-based threat protection in the free plan. In addition, Cloudflare’s paid plans include a web application firewall as well as IP whitelisting rules.
