In this day and age, you need to take your website security seriously. While WordPress is a generally secure and safe content management system, it’s not foolproof. Google blacklists around 20,000 websites for malware and over 50,000 for phishing every week. With stats like that, you need to take your WordPress security into your own hands. Is your website as secure as you think?
A hacked website does a lot of damage. Not only do you compromise your own information, but also your user’s information is at risk. You don’t want to expose passwords, user information, or your own content to malware. In this guide, we’ll discuss why it’s essential to fight WordPress malware on your website as well as the best plugin for doing just that.
What is a WordPress Malware Scanner?
Web malware is on the rise. Because WordPress is such a popular CMS, it’s becoming the top target for malware attacks. It doesn’t matter how large or small your website is, you’re still at risk of attack.
So what exactly is WordPress malware? Technically speaking, malware is any software designed to damage or gain unauthorized access to a system. There are a few different types of malware attacks that focus on WordPress in particular.
- Trojans – Also known as a “Trojan horse,” this is a type of malware that disguises itself as legitimate software. It can enable spying, theft of sensative data, and backdoor access to your website.
- Worms – A type of standalone software that doesn’t require any host program or attacker to propagate. They spread through social engineering or through a malicious download, and they steal senative data.
- Viruses – Viruses spread from one computer to the next and damage software and hardware. They can spread through email, downloads, and even your WordPress website.
- Shells – Web shells are usually installed into web applications or injected into WordPress websites as a means to steal data, infect website visitors, and modify website files.
- Spyware – Any software that enables a hacker to obtain secure information about a user’s computer activities.
- Auto-Generated Content – Also known as malvertising, this usually involves injecting content into reputable websites to spread malicious software.
- Backdoor – With a backdoor attack, the malware lets hackers access your website through backend elements like FTP or wp-admin. These are the most dangerous attacks since they can disrupt your server and even infect other websites.
- Drive-by Downloads – Another type of attack is when a script is injected into your website, sometimes through a link. These are often from something you’ve installed on your local machine.
- Pharma Hack – This technically is a type of spam that uses conditional malware to make your website unsecure.
- Redirects – A malicious redirect is when your users are sent directly to a malicious website instead of your own domain.
- Google Blacklists – Google often blacklists websites it suspects are involved with malicious activities or which are suseptable to malware attacks.
As you can see above, there’s an endless list of ways hackers gain access to your website. It’s up to you to use the best WordPress security plugins to monitor your own security. Malware attackers are looking for websites that are perfect targets for attack. If you’re taking steps to secure your website, you’re already on your way to protecting yourself.
WordPress Security Tips
The good news is you don’t have to wait around for a malware attack. You can take steps today to protect your WordPress website from hackers and malicious software. While some security measures are common sense and should be a regular part of site maintenance, others might surprise you.
First, increase your security by changing your usernames and password. Many WordPress admin accounts use the default admin as their username for access to wp-admin, and this is easy for hackers to guess. Use a strong password to protect your content, and change this password frequently.
Next, always automatically update your version of WordPress. With each update comes increased security measures. Otherwise, hackers will know exactly which areas are weakest, and this is where they’ll attack first. This applies to your plugins and themes too which should also be regularly updated with the latest version.
Create regular backups of your WordPress website. In the best-case scenario, you’ll never need them. If you are attacked, you’ll be glad you have a backup to easily restore. Using a WordPress website management company will help increase your security through backups and other measures. Finally, be sure to limit access to your WordPress and FTP admin. If you have several users managing your website, not everyone needs an admin account.
Best WordPress Security Plugin
While the above steps are important, they shouldn’t be the only thing you do to protect your website. Using Astra Security Plugin for WordPress will boost your protection against malware and other malicious attacks. This is the complete security suite with firewall protection, malware cleanup, and protection against Bad Bots and other threats.
The best part about Astra is how easy it is to use. You don’t need to be a cybersecurity expert to manage your own web security. Just install Astra as a plugin on your website and you’ll stop malware attacks in real-time, no advanced setup is necessary.
Is your WordPress website protected? If not, you need to take action today. You can’t risk your reputation and your data with an outdated security strategy. Follow these tips above today to get some peace of mind.
