Got WordPress? Is your site safe? How do you know?

A client recently asked me if it’s worth subscribing to an expensive service that notifies her if her WordPress website has been hacked.

An easy answer would be, “Sure, go for it.” But first it was important to know her actual concerns. Turns out her boss was alarmed by reports of “WannaCry” ransomware attacks and other recent hacking incidents.

I asked her if she knew of other ways to protect her site without spending much – or sometimes no money at all. Then I set her site up with a tool called Wordfence. This tool comes highly recommended by professionals who make a living cleaning up viruses and protecting computers. Best part, Wordfence is free! After you have the free version you have the option to buy more features as needed.

This free tool functions like a hungry watchdog – the site owner can receive real time updates on anyone who logs into the site and any suspicious activity, like repeated login attempts. This watchdog even reports on any website software that might be out of date and thus may be vulnerable to hacking. My client now receives up-to-the-minute reports on any issues she decides are important.

What’s on your WordPress site?

Are you running the current version of WordPress and plugin software? Are you using the tools at your disposal to monitor malicious logins? Do you know how you can protect your WordPress site effectively? There are several things you can do today to protect your site, like only using reputable plugin tools and making sure your software stays up to date.

I’ve worked with WordPress for over 6 years. As a professional web designer I stay current on the latest updates and concerns about WordPress and the thousands of popular plugins that are used worldwide. Got a WordPress question? Send me a message.