Prevent Brute Force Attacks on Your WordPress Site

Introduction

WordPress is known to be one of the most popular content management systems in the world, making it a prime target for hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities for personal gain. Brute force attacks, which involve hackers continuously guessing the admin’s login credentials using a series of random guesses, are one of the most common methods of attack against a WordPress site.

Fortunately, there are recommended steps you can take to strengthen your site’s security and avoid falling victim to these types of attacks.

Steps to Strengthen Your Site’s Security

1. Use Complicated Login Credentials

One of the easiest ways to prevent brute force attacks is to use a strong login password. It should consist of at least 12 characters, including uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. You can use a password manager to generate and store complex passwords for your WordPress site.

2. Implement Two-Factor Authentication

Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your WordPress site by requiring a secondary authentication method in addition to a username and password. A popular method is via Google Authenticator or another secure 2FA app.

3. Limit Unsuccessful Login Attempts

In WordPress, you can limit the number of failed login attempts to your site. After a certain number of tries, the user or IP address is locked out of the site. You can install plugins such as Limit Login Attempts or Login Lockdown to implement this limitation.

4. Install Plugins to Limit Access Attempts

By installing plugins such as Wordfence, you can enforce a range of security measures to prevent brute force attacks on your WordPress site. These include enforcing CAPTCHA authentication requirements after a specified number of attempts have been made using incorrect login credentials, blocking IP addresses that are responsible for repeated failed login attempts and providing real-time notifications when a brute force attack is suspected.

5. Create a Stronger .htaccess File

The file .htaccess is a critical file in your WordPress site that controls many security and performance settings. You can strengthen the .htaccess file to prevent unauthorized access attempts by blocking IP addresses based on a blacklist or limiting access to sensitive directories and files to only IP addresses that are authorized. WP Security Scan or Better WP Security are useful plugins you can install to monitor the .htaccess file and recommend appropriate changes.

6. Keep Your WordPress Site Updated

Regular updates are essential in ensuring that your WordPress site is fully functional and secure. Updates include new versions of WordPress, themes, and plugins that patch known vulnerabilities and improve site performance. You can enable automatic updates for your WordPress site or keep a schedule for updates every few weeks.

7. Check Your Server’s Security

Ensure that your server provider has configured your WordPress account securely. They should have disabled all the irrelevant modules being used by the server and have enabled PHP hardening. You can check the security configuration of your website through Firewalls such as Bitninja.

8. Reconsider Allowing Users with Weak Passwords

If you have various users logging into your website, you must enforce rules, such as imposing a strong password policy, or restricting uploads or downloads. Check the accounts and create strong passwords for all accounts on a regular basis. Remove or disable unneeded accounts, especially those that are dormant, as they often offer an easy target for brute force attacks.

9. Consider CloudFlare

Cloudflare is a CDN and security system that provides increased security against known attacks by eliminating direct and indirect IP flows using JavaScript Challenges. Even if an unauthorized user has guessed the correct username and password of the WordPress site, the JavaScript challenge challenge would halt the access to your site as it would take an additional step.

Conclusion

Keeping your WordPress site secure is not as complicated as most people think, and Implementing the steps outlined above is important. it is advisable to back-up your site regularly so that in case of a successful attack, you can restore your site quickly. Security is a never-ending journey, so keeping an eye on the latest trends in website security is key to ensuring your site remains safe and secure.