It’s always a good time to talk about website security, but the Ashley Madison debacle has made it newsworthy and the just-released new version of WordPress includes many updates to improve wordpress website security. Read on for tips on keeping your website secure, including updating to the latest version of WordPress and taking advantage of its updated security features.
Features to Improve Website Security
6 Items for Your Website Security Checklist. Small Business Trends: “Back in August of last year, Google actually announced that websites who used HTTPS, or a secure website, would get a boost in rankings. In the past, using the HTTPS was really only necessary for companies that housed confidential information (banks, lawyers, schools, etc.), but this quickly changed. It has now become a way to really keep all sites secure and not something that is optional for some sites (technically it is still optional, but it shouldn’t be!). Google wanted the Web to be safer which is why they offered a boost in rankings for secure sites, so it’s clear that this move makes a difference. In short, if a website is using HTTP it means that the data is not encrypted, meaning there is information being sent across the Web in plain text. This makes the information much easier to find and read. If you have an HTTPS connected with your site, you’re making it much more difficult for hackers to attack.”
8 Steps for Protecting Your Company’s Domain Name. The Business Journals: “Establish a procedure to monitor the expiration date of your domain name’s registration to ensure you do not unintentionally forget to renew its registration. Domain owners with multiple domains should consider consolidating the expiration dates of all of their domain names to make renewal more methodical and easier to remember. One option is to renew your domain name for multiple years rather than annually….Domain name holders should consider registering similar domain names as well as domain names with alternative top-level domain names such as .biz, .net and .org and domain name variations based on misspellings and the plural version of the domain name.”
WordPress 4.3 Brings Improved Password Security, Easier Text Formatting. MarketingLand: “WordPress 4.3 brings a completely new approach to passwords. When new users are added, or when the password of an existing user profile is edited, WordPress will automatically generate a strong password for that user. Users are given the choice to keep the recommended strong password or choose their own. In addition, the WordPress software will no longer send passwords via email; instead, users will get a password reset link via email, and that link will be good for 24 hours.”
Keeping Your WordPress Site Safe From Hackers. MovieTechGeeks: “…nothing beats a good backup whether it be files on a computer or an entire website. If a hacker does succeed in messing up the website, it needs to get up and running immediately. A good regular backup should keep the downtime to a minimum. After restoration, or even before, website owners should beef up security….Try not to give contributors or contractors full control – aside from the owner, contributors themselves can be hacked and their passwords used to hack into your website. Both disgruntled contributors and contractors with full control can completely mess with your website from the time they were wronged or years after that or if there’s profit to be made. Remove the contractor’s account once their job is finished.”
What’s New in WordPress 4.3. SitePoint: “As with all core WordPress updates, in my experience they work flawlessly. The issues that I personally come across are always related to third party themes and plugins, particularly those of lower quality, those that are unmaintained or have been incorrectly modified. This is another good reminder to stick to using only reputable themes and plugins, and most importantly, using a testing/staging site for any high-value websites.”
