With all the recent press about global brute force attacks on WordPress I decided to install the Better WP Security plugin last Sunday.
It includes loads of security features, including the big ones mentioned in the recent attacks:
- Changing the name of the “admin” user.
- Changing the ID of your renamed admin user.
- Changing the table prefix.
- Max login attempts lockdown.
Of the 5 blogs I manage, 4 worked straight off with this plugin. Unfortunately, one required a few attempts, so remember to take filesystem and database backups before you start or you may not end up in a happy place.
Over the week since activating the plugin I’ve been quite interested/scared by the results. I’ve been getting several emails a day telling me of user lockdowns due to attempted brute force attacks originating from USA, Russia and the Netherlands.
If you have a self-hosted WordPress installation, you really need to take some basic steps stop yourself becoming a victim. There are a number of security plugins available, which I’m sure work equally well, but I only have experience of this one.
Good luck.
Cheers
Tim…