Prevention they say is better than cure. Nobody in the world would ever want his/her hard work to go down the drain because of a small mistake they failed to do.
In the web world, there are lots of hackers who are ready to do all it takes to snatch all you have invested your time and money into. Having your password and username all to yourself isn’t enough to protect your website or blog. and that is why these days we need extra protection to secure our site from these hacker.
So come with me as I list out those Top 10 WordPress Security Plugins You Can Rely On Today to give you that extra protection
1. WordFence
Well this is my Favourite. WordFence is one of the most popular WordPress security plugins. It keeps on checking your website for malware infection. If scans all the files of your WordPress core, theme and plugins. If it finds any kind of infection, it will notify you. It claims to make your WordPress website 50 times faster and secure. For making your website faster, it uses Falcom caching engine. This plugin is free, but a few advanced features are available for premium users. If you can afford it, do it.
If you are facing a malware infection, this plugin enables you:
- Scan your files to identify malware, malicious code, Back-doors, code injections, URL redirects, etc.
- Identify files that don’t belong in WordPress and give you the option to delete them.
- Replace all infected WordPress files with original versions from WordPress.org.
- Check your content (pictures, videos, etc.) to ensure none is infected with malware.
- Provide a suite of features to harden your security going forward, such as real-time scanning, anti-brute force attack, etc.
WordFence Plugin Effectiveness
WordFence malware definitions update daily (on the paid version, and monthly on free). With these regular updates, you can be sure it will scan your site for the latest threats and clean it.
They also use other proven methods to guarantee a good scan. For example, each file is compared against a pristine copy from WordPress.org, meaning all variations are identified and flagged.
With WordFence security, rest assured you get a good scan each time.
Support
Most plugins give good support only on Premium versions, but Wordfence makes an exception in this case. Whether you are a free or premium user, the WordFence team gives ear to your request and tries to help the best they can. Of course, premium users get better support than free users.
Also see: Five (5) Best Author Box Plugins On a Website: Very Effective for Building Brand
2. BulletProof Security
Just as the name suggests, the plugin defends and protects your website like a bulletproof jacket. Bulletproof security is a single-click solution for all your WordPress security needs. It protects your website against RFI, XSS, CRLF, SQL injection, and code injection hackings. It is also extremely easy to use and is perfect for beginner WordPress users.
The plugin adds a powerful firewall to your website giving it protection against brute force login attacks while backing up your data. BulletProof security comes with a ton of features. Some of them are:
- One-Click Setup Wizard
- .htaccess Website Security Protection (Firewalls)
- Hidden Plugin Folders|Files Cron (HPF)
- Login Security & Monitoring
- Idle Session Logout (ISL)
- Auth Cookie Expiration (ACE)
It also has a pro version with added features as well. With the pro feature, you can secure your ‘wp-admin’ folder and Root website folder with a single click. The pro version also lets the developers create a “503 under maintenance” page while the website is under construction. All the amazing features Bulletproof Security means that it goes in my list of best WordPress security plugins.
3. Sucuri Security
Sucuri is another great plugin for malware cleanup.
This plugin provides effective scanning and cleaning tools. These can help you rid your site of malware and malicious code. Used by over 400k site owners, Sucuri has a record of helping to keep WordPress clean and secure.
If you are facing a malware infection, this plugin enables you:
- Run an effective scan of your website for malware and malicious code (on the free version, only a remote scan is available).
- Run a file integrity check. All WordPress files will be checked against original copies from WordPress.org and any variations flagged. This helps you easily identify and delete malware and malicious code.
- Check if your site is blacklisted by search engines or antivirus programs.
- Harden your site to prevent infections and attacks in the future.
- Get dashboard notifications when anything malicious is observed.
Sucuri Plugin Effectiveness
Sucuri WordPress plugin uses a mix of malware definition and file integrity scanning. Together, these features enable the plugin to detect malware and malicious programs with good accuracy. With Sucuri, you can be fairly certain any malware in your site will be detected.
Note however that the remote scanner available to free users is less powerful than the server side scanner available in premium.
Support
Sucuri offers great support to premium users. If there’s an issue, their team is always on hand to help you out. Free users, however, do not get support.
Also See: MUST HAVE PLUGINS FOR A WORDPRESS USER
4. iThemes Security (formerly Better WP Security)
iThemes Security is also a nice WordPress security plugin which claims to offer 30+ ways to secure and protect your WordPress website. Although there is a premium version of this plugin available, I think the standard iThemes Security is a good place to start so you can get a sense for power this plugin packs into it.
As the developer describes it, this plugin’s job is to protect, detect, and obscure. If you want to round out your process with the “recover” portion. iThemes offers a WordPress security plugin as well, which was formerly known as Better WP Security plugin, and taken over by the plugin developers.
iThemes Security gives you over 30+ ways to secure and protect your WordPress site. On average, 30,000 new websites are hacked each day. WordPress sites can be an easy target for attacks because of plugin vulnerabilities, weak passwords and obsolete software.
5. Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall
This WordPress malware protection & removal plugin was designed with one goal, which is to get you out of a messy malware situation.
Unlike most other plugins that identify threats and ask you what to do, Anti-malware security and brute force firewall plugin automatically deletes confirmed malware. It only requires your input for those that are potentially malware but not confirmed, and you can decide to delete or keep the identified codes.
If you are facing a malware infection, this plugin enables you to:
- Run a thorough scan of your site to identify malware and malicious code
- Auto delete all confirmed malware, thus restoring site health with little user input
- Firewall block attackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities
- Update anti-malware definitions and provide ongoing protection
Plugin Effectiveness
Many users of this plugin report that it was able to thoroughly clean their site of malware.
Since this plugin is primarily for malware identification and deletion (it doesn’t come with a lot more features), the developers have been able to focus their efforts on this aspect. It has thus turned out to be one of the best for malware removal.
Functionally, this WordPress antivirus plugin works very similarly to the antivirus you install on your computer. It uses a set of updated definitions to identify and delete malware. It also puts up a firewall against further attacks.
Support
On both the free and premium versions, you have access to support through the forum, or by adding comments on the gotmls.net homepage.
The developer is very helpful and responsive to user requests and questions.
Download Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall
6. Acunetix WP SecurityScan
Acunetix WP Security Scan is the WordPress security plugin by Acunetix. Also, Acunetix is a well known company in web application security. It offers a security scanning tool to find vulnerabilities in web applications. This plugin helps you to secure your WordPress website and suggests measures to improve the security. It offers file permission security, version hiding, admin protection, removing WP generator tag from source, and database security.
It removes various information from the source code of the page which can be used in the information gathering process before attack. This includes theme update information, plugin update information, really simple discover meta tag, WordPress version, Windows live write meta tag, error information from login page, versions from scripts, versions from stylesheets, database and php error reporting.
It also offers a database backup tool to take a backup of your website. With its live traffic monitor tool, you can check traffic in real time. It also scans your website to notify known web application vulnerabilities.
Download Acunetix WP SecurityScan
7. All In One WP Security & Firewall
All In One WP Security & Firewall is also among the most popular WordPress security plugins. It has a user-friendly interface for those who are not familiar with advanced security settings. This plugin protects your website by checking vulnerabilities and implementing the latest techniques and security measures.
One useful feature of All in One WP Security & Firewall is a meter on your dashboard that gives your site a score of how secure it is. By adding additional security options, you can increase your score.
It also has a security scanner that keeps track of files and notifies you about each change in your WordPress system. It can also detect malicious code in your WordPress website.
- Standard security scanning
- User account (and password) security
- IP address blacklisting/whitelisting
- Automated database backups
- One-click restore
- File security
- Firewall enabling
- Brute-force attack security
- Spam-blocker
- And more
Download All In One WP Security & Firewall
8. 6Scan Security
6Scan Security is a popular auto-fix protection for your WordPress site. It can protect your website from hackers. Also, it offers rule-based protection for your website and tries to keep the security of your website up to date.
It is also one of the rare plugins that takes SQL, XSS and CRSF vulnerabilities into serious consideration. They’re the sneaky types of web vulnerabilities, and it’s important we don’t underestimate them. 6Scan Security is the most comprehensive auto-fix protection your WordPress site can get against hackers.
When it finds any vulnerable code, it applies auto-fix by using its auto-fix server-side agent solution. It also has an automatic malware fix for malware related issues on your website. Like other plugins, it also sends email notifications if there is anything serious in your website.
9. Shield Security
One of the best malware scanning solutions for WordPress is the Anti-Malware Security plugin by ELI.
Features of the plugin include:
- Run a complete scan to automatically remove known security threats and backdoor scripts.
- Firewall block SoakSoak and other malware from exploiting known plugin vulnerabilities.
- Download definition updates to protect against the latest known security threats.
Premium features (requires a donation) include:
- Patch wp-login and XMLRPC to block brute-force and DDoS attacks.
- Check the integrity of your WordPress Core files.
- Automatically download new Definition Updates when running a Complete Scan.
When installing the plugin, you will have the option to register an account at GOTMLS.net. If you register an account, you can download the latest security definitions or “known threats” to help you analyze potential threats when scanning your application.
10. WPScans
An alternative to installing a plugin on your site would be to run a scan with WPScans.com.
WPscans.com is a remote scanning application based on the black box vulnerability scanner WPScan.org. The application scans for known bugs that have been indexed in the WPScan Vulnerability Database, which contains over 10,000 reported vulnerabilities.
Visit the site, and enter the domain you would like to scan. WPScans.com will list your vulnerable plugins, themes, and information leaked from your site.
There is also a premium service. As of the time of writing this article, it’s offered at 19€ per month.
Premium features include:
- Receive instant & unlimited access and benefit from all features that we offer at WPScans.com.
- Receive E-mail notifications when your WordPress becomes vulnerable
- Add 2 or more WordPress websites to monitor
- Access complete history of all your scan reports
Additional security measures
Along with these WordPress plugins, you should also follow a few security measures from your side. These will help you in improving the security of your blog.
- Always keep your WordPress installation up to date. Update your WordPress as soon as possible if there is any new WordPress update. Most of the times, hacked websites are those which are using an older version of WordPress. Older versions of WordPress always have a few known security issues. And exploits for these security issues are available for free.
- Always keep plugins and themes added in your blog updates to latest version. New versions always come with new features and security fixes. So, updating plugins and themes is necessary. Most of the time, these third party plugins and themes are the reason for vulnerability in WordPress websites. Attackers can exploit these plugins to gain access to your website or inject malicious script in your website.
Download themes and plugins only from trusted sources. Nulled themes and themes from untrusted sources generally contain malware in the code. If you install any security plugin, you will be notified, but why to take risk. Avoid any unknown source for download plugins and themes.
- Avoid using the administrator username ‘admin’, because this is default and common. By using this username in your blog, you are making the attacker’s work easier. He does not need to guess the username now, just bruteforce your website for username admin. Thanks to these plugins, bruteforce will not work anymore.
- Always use strong password for your WordPress account. WordPress bruteforcing tools are available. So, do not take the risk. Use a long password with capital letters, small case letters, numbers and special characters. A combination of these makes a strong password which is hard to guess.
Final Thought
Get Protected Right Away!
Protecting your WordPress website should be your first priority and without security plugins, it can prove to be a real challenge. Having a lenient approach towards website security is nothing short of foolishness. The content on your website is a result of your hard work and the people working with you. It’s obviously sad to see it go down the drain in a matter of minutes.
A proactive approach in this scenario is the wiser option and the first step is to install a WordPress security plugin. The plugins mentioned in this article are guaranteed to protect your website against all types of malware and attacks. You Best bet to use are the first five listed with WordFence Leading. Stay Protected and share this Piece.
