WordPress under control?

Blocking hackers to keep your WordPress website safe with iThemes Security PRO NL is crucial.

Did you know that the log files of iThemes Security PRO NL provide valuable insights about your website?

The log files give you visibility into file changes, login attempts, accessed pages, and more!

“Why is it so important to have insight into file changes?” you might wonder. Let me explain:

File Changes

The file changes feature shows you which files have been modified or added. It’s possible that your WordPress website might be affected by an injection due to a vulnerable plugin or your own actions. Sometimes, plugins or themes that were considered secure might get exploited later due to newly discovered vulnerabilities by hackers.

iThemes Security PRO NL blocks many threats, but it doesn’t always prevent plugins from writing files. Otherwise, certain plugins wouldn’t be able to function correctly.

If, at any point, a malicious file is found on your server, you won’t have to spend days searching through all the directories and files and examining the code. Instead, you can simply open the log files.

What you can see in the log files of iThemes Security PRO NL:

  1. Date of the change
  2. Which files were modified
  3. Which files were added
  4. The complete path to the file

Knowing which files were modified can save you a lot of trouble if you’re hit by a hack or injection. You can take prompt action and understand exactly what happened!

Additionally, you can also see login attempts and which files are being sought after. The files listed under the 404 tab are often accessed by hackbots searching for vulnerabilities in your WordPress.

In conclusion, the iThemes Security PRO NL provides you with useful insights to keep your WordPress website under control. In various other articles on WPbeveiligen, you can learn how to prevent file modifications and automate the blocking of hackers and bots effectively.

Is my premium plugin safe?

A brief explanation about premium plugins

Premium plugins require a one-time or annual payment. With the cost involved, one might expect these plugins to be more secure.

However, it all depends on the mindset of the plugin’s developer. Some invest significant effort in securing the plugin, while others focus solely on development to maximize profits.

Therefore, a premium plugin is not necessarily safer than a free-to-download plugin.

One disadvantage of premium plugins is that hackers dedicate more time to finding vulnerabilities in such plugins. They know that websites using paid plugins are often business websites or other important websites, as they have been invested in.

Hackers’ goal is not to take down the website but rather to send spam or place advertisements (link building and traffic) using the domain.

Important tips when using premium plugins

  • Purchase them legally; downloading illegal versions for free often includes hacks and backdoors for hackers.
  • Regularly update the plugin to the latest version.
  • Ensure that updates and licenses do not expire after one year if it restricts your ability to update the plugin.

 

Knowledge and experience takes years

I often encounter programmers who have a hack on their website or their client’s site and then search on Google for how to remove that hack. They supplement their programming knowledge and try to restore and secure the site with that information.

However, no matter how much they read and apply from the internet, the hacks keep coming back.

This makes me think that knowledge and experience take years to build.

And I experienced this…

When I was young, I had a vintage bike, a manual moped. It didn’t run properly and couldn’t reach the expected speed. I did a lot of research on the internet and worked on it extensively, but nothing seemed to solve the problem.

During one of the test rides, an old man in his 80s, hunched over, shouted, “Your mixture is too rich, you’re burning too much oil.”

I said, “No, it’s fine, I know what’s in the tank!”

The old man said, “I can hear that it’s running too rich. You should put less oil in your fuel.

Later, it turned out that the wrong mixture had been added to the tank, which wasn’t suitable for that specific type of moped. (There was still a separate oil reservoir on the moped that required a small amount of oil, allowing it to run on different fuel.)

Various people around me (including the previous owner of the moped) couldn’t figure it out, but this man heard it from the sound of the engine!

That is knowledge and experience!

My WordPress website shows another website!?!!

Als je WordPress-website ineens verwijst naar een andere website, kan dit betekenen dat je website gehackt is. Hackers kunnen scripts gebruiken om je website aan te passen en door te verwijzen naar hun eigen website, wat kan leiden tot ongewenste reclame of andere schadelijke activiteiten. Het is essentieel om snel actie te ondernemen als je dit probleem opmerkt.

De website van de hacker

De website van de hacker wordt vaak gebruikt om geld te verdienen. Ze kunnen producten verkopen of andere frauduleuze activiteiten uitvoeren om winst te maken. Het is belangrijk om te voorkomen dat je website wordt gebruikt als een platform voor de activiteiten van de hacker.

Hou deze hackers buiten je website

Het is van cruciaal belang om ervoor te zorgen dat hackers geen toegang krijgen tot je website. Hoewel WordPress zelf over het algemeen veilig is, kunnen kwetsbaarheden in plugins een opening bieden voor hackers. Het is daarom belangrijk om je website goed te beveiligen.

Bescherm je WordPress website

Het gebruik van een betrouwbare beveiligingsplugin is een van de beste manieren om je WordPress-website te beschermen tegen hackers. Een antivirus- en beveiligingsplugin zoals iThemes Security PRO kan je helpen je website te beveiligen door verschillende functies, zoals het verbergen van het admin-gedeelte, het blokkeren van herhaalde pogingen, het beheren van veilige wachtwoorden en het maken van backups van je database.

Enkele functies van iThemes Security PRO:

– Het verbergen van het admin-gedeelte van je website om het moeilijker te maken voor hackers om toegang te krijgen.
– Het beveiligen van kwetsbare bestanden op de server, zodat hackers er geen toegang toe hebben.
– Het blokkeren van herhaalde pogingen om in te loggen, om brute force-aanvallen te voorkomen.
– Het afdwingen van het gebruik van sterke wachtwoorden om de beveiliging te verbeteren.
– Het maken van backups van je database, zodat je je website kunt herstellen als er iets misgaat.
– Het bijhouden van bestandswijzigingen, zodat je eventuele verdachte activiteiten kunt opsporen.
– Het informeren van jou over eventuele aanpassingen in je website, zodat je snel kunt reageren op verdachte activiteiten.

Het is belangrijk om regelmatig je beveiligingsinstellingen te controleren en ervoor te zorgen dat je WordPress-website up-to-date is om de beste bescherming te bieden tegen hackers. Met de juiste beveiligingsmaatregelen kun je de kans op een gehackte website aanzienlijk verkleinen en de veiligheid van je bezoekers en gegevens waarborgen.

Statistieken over de veiligheid van websites

With over 1 trillion websites (1,000,000,000,000!!), the internet is indeed a massive market for both website visitors and hackers. Cybercriminals see the potential to infect even a small percentage of websites with their own advertisements, which could yield significant results. WordPress, Joomla, and Magento, being popular content management systems, are particularly attractive targets for hackers, given that one-third of all websites are built on these platforms.

Sucuri’s report indicates a significant increase in cybercrime in recent years. However, the success of hackers in mass hacking websites largely depends on how websites are managed and secured.

While WordPress receives frequent updates and security enhancements from its developers, plugins remain a weak link in the security chain. Plugins with Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) vulnerabilities can leave websites exposed to injections and attacks. Popular plugins like Revslider, Gravityforms, and Timthumb, while powerful, are sometimes not updated frequently enough by users, making them susceptible to exploitation.

The most common issues seen in hacked websites include backdoors, malware distribution, SEO spam, unauthorized email sending, and website defacement. These problems can seriously harm a website’s reputation and compromise its functionality.

To defend against hackers, it’s not enough to rely solely on timely updates. The use of an effective antivirus plugin for WordPress that closes over 100 known vulnerabilities and intercepts hacker methods becomes crucial to prevent the website from becoming an easy target.

For further protection and more tips on securing your WordPress website, you can explore the article ‘Serieus, je moet je WordPress website nu echt beveiligen’ (in Dutch).

SSL – What is that?

You provided a concise and accurate explanation of SSL (Secured Socket Layer) and its purpose. Here’s a summary of how SSL works:

SSL establishes a secure connection between two computers over the internet or an internal network. The data transmitted by a website is encrypted, ensuring that only the intended recipient with the encryption key can read it. This prevents fraudsters or hackers from intercepting and reading the transmitted information.

SSL is commonly used, especially for webshops where sensitive data like credit card or bank information is transmitted. The encryption ensures that this data is sent securely.

You can easily identify if a site is using SSL by looking for a green padlock icon in your browser’s address bar, indicating a secure connection.

To obtain an SSL certificate for your website, you can request one from your hosting provider. It may involve some costs, and your website may need adjustments to work properly with the new secure connection method, such as updating links and images from “http” to “https.”

Remember, SSL is crucial for securing sensitive data and maintaining trust with website visitors.

Backing up WordPress!

A backup of your WordPress website is crucial, as a lot of time and money goes into creating a good website! Think about writing content, finding the right plugins, and sourcing beautiful images.

A reliable backup is your savior in case anything happens to your website. Especially the WordPress database, where all your posts and pages are stored, is crucial not to lose.

It’s important to have a complete backup of all the data on your server and the database containing all the information.

You can download Updraftplus Premium or Free here.

Making a complete backup with just one click

We have tested several free plugins, and one of the best free plugins we have come across is Updraftplus. This plugin allows you to create a backup of all your data, including the database!

backup restore wordpress

Restoring a backup

Having a backup is important, but it gets even better: Updraftplus also allows you to restore your plugins, themes, and more from the backup!

backup-restore-wordpress

This is useful when your website gets hacked, when you accidentally delete a plugin, or when an update of a plugin causes issues with your website. This happens quite often!

More advantages of Updraftplus

Updraftplus offers many features in its free version, including:

  • Restoring only plugins and themes
  • Writing the backup to another server
  • Automating backups based on hours, days, or weeks
  • Translated into Dutch
  • The ability to count the size of plugins, themes, etc.

Cloud services

If you want to use Dropbox or another cloud service, they even offer premium add-ons to further expand the functionality of the plugin.

10 reasons why you’ll be happy with WordPress

Here are some reasons why WordPress is a popular choice:

  1. The active community where you can ask questions and get help
  2. The vast number of plugins available
  3. The wide variety of free and premium themes
  4. The availability of a Dutch admin panel
  5. Good visibility in Google search results
  6. The ability to upload images and videos using the media uploader
  7. Frequent updates with new features and security enhancements
  8. The longstanding reputation that WordPress has built
  9. It is free to download and use!
  10. The large number of programmers and web designers who can work with WordPress

Using WordPress for business

WordPress is an excellent platform for representing your business online. Here are some reasons why WordPress is a great choice for business use:

  1. Easy to use
  2. Can be managed by multiple users through the admin panel
  3. Transformable into a powerful marketing machine with plugins
  4. Free to use
  5. Performs well in Google search results

Once you install WordPress, you can immediately start creating pages and news articles. Using a good theme, you can present information and leave a good impression on potential customers.

Get more out of your website with the right plugins

There are several essential plugins that can turn your website into a powerful marketing tool:

  1. Yoast SEO – Optimize descriptions for Google to attract more visitors.
  2. Count per day – Monitor daily, monthly, and yearly visitor statistics and where they come from.
  3. Contact form 7 – Create custom contact and quote forms.
  4. iThemes Security PRO NL – Protect your website against hackers and brute force attacks.
  5. WooCommerce – Integrate a webshop into your website.
  6. Search meter – Track search queries within your website to understand what your customers are looking for.

WordPress allows you to create an affordable and professional business website! If you have any tips for plugins, feel free to share them in the comments!

Making your WordPress website faster

Here are some tips on how to make your WordPress website faster:

  1. Use fewer plugins: Every plugin adds its own CSS, jQuery, and PHP/HTML code to your website, which can slow down loading times.
  2. Choose a good hosting provider: Invest in a hosting provider in the mid-price range (30-75 euros per year). These providers often offer better performance than cheaper options. Hosting providers that use PHP 7 are generally faster than those with PHP 5.
  3. Secure your website: A well-secured website is better protected against attacks and incorrect requests that can burden the server.
  4. Use a caching plugin: Cache plugins can make your WordPress website faster, but be aware that some cache plugins have had security vulnerabilities in the past.
  5. Optimize image sizes: Resize images to an appropriate size. Large images can slow down your site, especially if used in sliders where all images are loaded before the site is displayed.

How fast is your WordPress website?

You can use GTmetrix, a free tool, to measure the speed of your WordPress website.

When you run a test, you’ll see how your website scores in terms of PageSpeed:

wordpress sneller maken

A PageSpeed score of 97% might be challenging to achieve, but aiming for a score of 70-80 is important.

You’ll also see the loading time of your website and the total size of your website in MB:

snelheid en grootte wordpress website

GTmetrix provides more information to help you speed up your website. Visit GTmetrix to learn more.

Is your WordPress website still slow?

If your WordPress website takes 10 seconds or longer to load, you can contact us to optimize it and achieve loading times of 3-5 seconds.

Contact us!