Wordfence includes a firewall and malware scanner designed to protect WordPress websites and is currently installed on over 4 million websites.
As of 2021, over 455 million websites use WordPress, making it the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world. The fact that over 30% of websites are built on WordPress isn’t what makes it prone to hacking. One of the main reasons WordPress sites get hacked is that site owners often neglect to keep the core files, plugins and themes up-to-date. WordPress is safe to use providing you’re following basic security practices, including installing a security plugin.
Sometimes hackers have targeted or focused attacks, such as sites that contain credit card information, government secrets, or control infrastructure. You may think that your website is too small for hackers to care about, but keep in mind that hacking attempts are not personal; it’s a matter of “an opportunity” to make some money. Sometimes hackers just want to redirect your website to one of their own websites that generates income for them.
Most hacking attempts are automated and don’t differentiate between small personal websites and large corporate websites. They use bots to search out vulnerabilities, which are easy to find on your site when you’re not maintaining it.
Why leave the doors to your website unlocked and wide open for hackers to waltz on in and wipe out everything you’ve spent a considerable amount of time and money building up over the years?
This is where a plugin like Wordfence can help protect your online property.
Wordfence Security For WordPress Sites
Wordfence is one of several security systems for WordPress and should be used in conjunction with other security measures. Of all the security plugins that I’ve used, this one has become my “weapon of choice” when it comes to protecting a WordPress site. And I’m not getting paid to promote Wordfence. I use the premium version on my site, and both the free or premium versions on every WordPress site I’ve installed and/or maintain.
Granted, no website is “hack-proof.” If it was at all possible to make a website, or ANYTHING using the Internet, hack-proof, you wouldn’t be hearing about websites like Target, Chase, Google, government websites, and countless other large corporate sites being hacked and/or compromised.
You should do all that you can to keep your website as safe as possible, and also minimize the damage if your site gets hacked — or goes off-line for any reason — by having a full off-site (meaning not stored on the server hosting your site) backup copy of your website.
Wordfence stops hackers from exploiting vulnerabilities, blocks automated attacks from bots, and even protects your own users from reusing passwords involved in data breaches.
If you’re on one of my Website Maintenance Plans, then I’ve already installed Wordfence on your site. And, since you are on a maintenance program, I’m having the warning emails sent to me so that I can quickly investigate and help resolve any issues.
If I’m in the process of designing your new WordPress site, the free version of Wordfence is being installed. You can always upgrade to their paid version if you want extra security, along with a Country Blocking feature. However, if you’re not on a maintenance plan it will be up to you to take care of any warnings and notices that will be emailed to you via Wordfence once your new site is launched.
If you’re installing the plugin yourself, once installed and configured, run your first scan. If there are any problems, or warnings, you’ll see exactly what they are and you’ll then be provided with options as to what to do about said warning(s). Hopefully, you won’t hit that “ignore this for now” option. Unless, of course, you know it’s safe to do so.
Bottom line: Be Proactive
You’ve put a lot of time, money and energy into growing your business and building your online reputation. You may have also invested a good chunk of money into promoting your website, and have been keeping it fresh and up-to-date. Don’t let all of your efforts be destroyed in a New York minute by an opportunist hacker!
You can use Sucuri’s free website security check and malware scanner. Enter your URL and Sucuri SiteCheck scanner will check your website for known malware, viruses, out-of-date software (which you will not have if you’ve been maintaining your website), and malicious code.
There are also websites you can use to check to find out if your email, or phone number, has been compromised in a data breach. The most popular and oldest one is Have I Been Pwned.
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