5 ways to stop brute force attacks

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The iThemes Security PRO NL plugin offers five ways to prevent brute force attacks on your WordPress website:

1. 404 Detection: Bots and hackers often try to access non-existent pages or files on your website in search of vulnerable plugins or themes. iThemes Security PRO NL tracks the number of attempts an IP address (bot/PC) makes to retrieve unavailable pages or files. After a certain number of 404 errors, the security feature denies access to the website temporarily, and if the attempts continue, the IP address is blocked in the .htaccess file, preventing access to the entire website.

2. Brute Force Protection (Automated): This feature focuses on the login panel. Failed login attempts are recorded, and after a certain number of incorrect login attempts, access to the login page is temporarily denied. You can set a maximum number of attempts and the time required before new attempts are allowed. Afterward, the IP address attempting the logins is blocked, preventing continuous login attempts through brute force.

3. Disabling XML-RPC: XML-RPC can be exploited for various login attempts. This feature allows you to disable XML-RPC via the plugin if you do not use Jetpack or external apps to access WordPress.

4. Absent Mode: If you typically update your WordPress website only during certain hours of the day, you may not need the login page accessible 24/7. The Absent Mode feature lets you set a specific time when the login page is or isn’t reachable.

5. Blocking Brute Force Attacks per IP: The plugin provides a field where you can enter IP addresses to block. If you discover many brute force attacks coming from specific regions or countries where your website’s target audience is not located, you can add those IP addresses to the ban list, preventing them from launching brute force attacks on your website.

For more information about this plugin and how it prevents brute force attacks, you can follow the provided link.

SSL – What is that?

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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.

SSL for WordPress

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Securing your website with SSL can be beneficial in certain situations when it comes to protecting a WordPress website from hacking attempts.

Does SSL have any use in securing a WordPress website?

When it comes to automated attacks from hackers and scripts that target WordPress plugins, themes, and users directly: No

When it comes to hackers personally targeting your WordPress website: Yes

Why SSL may be necessary to secure your WordPress website

If there is a significant interest in hacking a website, a hacker may personally focus on your website. This doesn’t happen frequently, as in most cases, hackers use automated scripts to gain access to websites. However, in cases where automated methods fail, hackers may resort to other methods, making encrypting the connection between you and your WordPress website necessary.

SSL becomes essential when there is valuable information or money involved.

The moment you log in to your WordPress website

Logging in to your WordPress website involves a series of exchanges between your computer and the WordPress login panel. Here’s a simplified breakdown of the process:

  1. You send a command from your computer by typing the admin address. (Make sure to have good antivirus software)
  2. This goes to your router (Ensure it has good encryption and a strong password)
  3. Then to your internet service provider
  4. It travels through several intermediary steps
  5. To reach the server (a computer running on Linux or sometimes Windows)
  6. The server responds and sends the admin page back to your PC & browser. (Beware of browser malware/trojans)
  7. Then you enter your username & password, which travels back through all the previous steps without encryption.

Now you understand why doing this through SSL encryption is important!

  • This is why you should not click on pop-ups from web pages (they may contain malware)
  • This is why you need a good browser (avoid using outdated Internet Explorer)
  • This is why your WordPress website must be secured to prevent data from being sent to hackers

The internet is a serious place, just like you wouldn’t leave your house key lying around or your windows open, you need to take security seriously on the internet. Or you could end up waiting until someone has copied your key… CLICK

This is how a hacker earns from your website

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Placing even a small piece of code on your website can allow a hacker to display advertisements on your website, which can earn them money through affiliate programs.

How much money does a hacker make?

A simple hacker may earn around 10-50 euros per month by targeting a few websites. However, if a hacker or a team of programmers cracks a plugin and gains access to 10,000+ websites through that plugin, the earnings can be significant.

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There have been cases where companies with programmers nearly go bankrupt and resort to hacking websites to generate income through advertising networks or selling their own products. Such actions harm many websites and can quickly generate substantial profits for the hackers.

How innocent is hacking a site?

Injecting a link into a website. That should be harmless, right?
WRONG! It is an intrusion into someone else’s property. It robs the victim of their income and the investments made to build a good website.

Hacking, whether it targets small sites or large business websites, is a criminal act.

The hacker gains, and you lose

 

Your Google ranking takes a hit..

Google will notice that your website is displaying information that doesn’t belong to it.

Especially in the case of adult content or illegal pharmaceuticals, your reputation will quickly deteriorate.

If a hacker’s code redirects your website to another site or offers unsafe files through your website, Google may choose to block access to your website with a red warning screen. This warning appears on Google Chrome browsers on desktops, tablets, and phones, as well as in the description of your website in Google search results.

google blokkeerd website uit veiligheid

You lose potential customers..

Customers visit your website or online shop but see that it is unsafe, so they perform a new search on Google and end up at your competitor’s website.

Restoring a hacked website..

You need to ensure that your website is free from viruses and hacks. Searching for malicious code takes time for every programmer, not to mention finding and closing backdoors; otherwise, the website may be hacked again within a few days!

Preventing your website from being hacked

A hacker uses specific tricks and exploits vulnerabilities in plugins and WordPress. These can include forms, upload directories, the well-known login address, files containing sensitive information, the database, and more.

We secure WordPress websites against hackers, offering hack-free guarantee!

Get your WordPress website secured now

The difference between Widgets – Plugins – Themes – Templates

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The Widgets

These are flexible additions to your website that you can place in specific areas such as the Sidebar (beside your content) or in the Footer (at the bottom of your website).

Some characteristics of widgets:

  1. Easy to move around by dragging them with the mouse
  2. Many popular plugins have widgets available to display information
  3. Can be used in fixed locations like the Sidebar, Footer, and sometimes the Header
  4. Widgets are designed as small components of your website

Click here to learn more about how widgets work.

The Plugins

These are additions to your website, such as a contact form or SEO tools. Plugins are developed to expand the functionality of your website and also to enhance your WordPress Dashboard.

Some characteristics of plugins:

  1. Average size between 1-2 MB
  2. Can be downloaded for both free and paid
  3. Provide WordPress with endless possibilities
  4. Sometimes the cause of a hacked website
  5. Load scripts, which can make your website slightly slower
  6. Need to be regularly updated

Click here if you want to learn about plugins.

The Themes

A theme contains the design of your pages. Sometimes it’s only for the homepage, blog pages, and subpages, but in luxury themes, it can also style your contact forms and landing pages.

Some characteristics of themes:

  1. Can be downloaded for both free and paid
  2. Determine 70% of what a visitor thinks about your website
  3. Can sometimes be vulnerable, leading to a hacked WordPress website
  4. Affect the speed and readability of your website for both visitors and Google

The Templates

These are individual pages. Think of a landing page, a contact page, or a style for blog posts or portfolio items.

Some characteristics of templates:

  1. They are easy to add to your current theme
  2. A custom template can save a lot of work if you have many pages with a specific layout
  3. By loading code specifically on one template, you ensure that other pages remain fast

Be selective with plugins & themes

Every theme and plugin adds code to your website. Among that code, there may be vulnerabilities that allow hackers and scripts to enter your website, such as placing their advertisements.
As of the writing of this article, there are 4000+ known vulnerabilities in themes and plugins that are often exploited by automated scripts (bots).

Limit the number of plugins to what you truly need and do not keep unused plugins and themes on the server, as they can also be accessed by hackers! Reduce the attack surface.

Finally, regardless of the theme or the number of plugins on your site, always use a good antivirus plugin for WordPress to limit the capabilities of hackers and scripts.

Backing up WordPress!

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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.

Restoring WordPress after a failed update

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If a WordPress update fails and certain plugins stop working, you can follow these steps to restore your WordPress site:

Restoring WordPress after a failed update – 4 steps!

  1. First, create a backup of your current state (before anything else goes wrong!)
  2. Download an older release of WordPress (the last version that was working properly)
  3. Start an FTP program that allows you to view and edit your site’s data
  4. Delete the current WordPress installation, and manually upload the older version of WordPress (see the image above for reference)

Please note that restoring an older version of WordPress should be done with caution, and it’s always best to have a backup of your site before attempting any major changes.

10 reasons why you’ll be happy with WordPress

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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

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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

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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!