Security on WordPress has, especially in the past couple of months,
become a serious issue. Never before have I seen so many determined and
sophisticated hacking attempts directed against the WordPress sites I
own or manage.
These run the whole gamut of attack variations:
- Blackhole Exploit Kit attacks
- SQL Injection attempts
- Login & Password access efforts
- Link Injection & Phishing attacks, where links to bank fraud efforts are made
- Etc…
Attacks are primarily initiated in Russia, Poland, Germany and India.
The firewall software I use also identifies hosts being blocked from
Australia, random European countries, plus sources that are
unidentifiable due to IP address concealment etc.
Generally speaking, its easy to minimize the potential threat by a
few minutes of pre-emptive efforts! In other words, an ounce of
prevention is still easier to apply than a pound of cure!
WordPress Security Plugins
This is the first line of defense – a properly implemented security
plugin will thwart the majority of hacking efforts – particularly the
script-based automated ones! Where a human-driven attack is initiated,
you can easily make it extremely difficult to gain access to the
internals of your website. The more difficult it is, the greater the
likelihood of the attacker giving up and seeking out a softer, easier
target. Even in the hacking world, time is money…
There are multiple WordPress security plugin applications available,
each with its own methodology or variation on a theme. Selection of one
over the other will often be based on the server environment – some
simply won’t install if the right PHP elements or server settings are
not enabled. Those that I have direct and extensive personal experience
with are:
Each has its peculiarities, peccadilloes and quirks! Each works…
Better WordPress Security
I’ve used Better WordPress Security a lot and do like the
comprehensive way in which it tackles a broad range of prospective
threats. Its evolution has been significant and rapid. Unfortunately,
the new releases have been occurring at almost weekly intervals for the
past couple of months. Upgrades sometimes culminate in a crisis on the
site, such as 500 Server Errors. This issue is particularly problematic
if you have WordPress running in a sub-directory! Such issues can only
remedied by:
- accessing the site via FTP
- deactivating the BWS plugin by renaming or deleting the directory
- editing the BWS code from the .htaccess file (or deleting .htaccess completely)
Obviously, that’s a pain in the proverbial, and is not an endearing aspect of the plugin!
If your WordPress installation runs from the root directory, BWS will
give you peace of mind, but you will need a good understanding of
WordPress, security issues, and confidence in WordPress troubleshooting…
Minor Irritation
* The “Backup” option being ON by default – that interferes with any
backup scheduling you already have in place, such as BackupBuddy or WP
DB-Manager etc. That can sometimes culminate in 2 dozen copies of your
site backup arriving in your email account overnight! LOL
Major Irritation
* Checking files outside the WordPress installation will give timeout
errors and lock up Admin access if you’ve got other large software
applications OR add-on domains. There is an “exclude directories”
option, but it requires manual selection… Such a lockup is not
recoverable and requires deactivation as above.
That said, it’s damned effective at preventing security breaches and
I’ve not had a single unauthorized access on a site running BWS! Despite
the irritations, I actually made a $50 donation towards the BWS cause,
as it’s obviously taking up a huge amount of dedicated effort to get it
right, and it’s getting better and better.
Wordfence
While I would prefer to use a single WordPress security plugin across
all sites I manage, I’ve got Wordfence Security installed on multiple
sites because of WP running from within a sub-directory, or in the case
of add-on domains as mentioned above.
Wordfence has a relatively simple interface compared to BWS or BPS,
and operates in a different way. It seems very robust, and the firewall
settings are easy to configure. Basically, I recommend simply selecting
the following setting;
“Level 4: Lockdown. Protect the site against an attack in progress at the cost of inconveniencing some users.”
That’s going to defeat the most determined of automated hacking
efforts without impacting on the site’s usability! Wordfence can be
configured to provide email warning of a variety of threats, including:
- Alert on critical problems
- Alert on warnings
- Alert when an IP address is blocked
- Alert when someone is locked out from login
- Alert when the “lost password” form is used for a valid user
- Alert when someone with administrator access signs in
- Alert when a non-admin user signs in
Other important security aspects include:
- Enable automatic scheduled scans
- Scan core files against repository versions for changes
- Scan for signatures of known malicious files
- Scan file contents for backdoors, trojans and suspicious code
- Scan posts for known dangerous URLs and suspicious content
- Scan comments for known dangerous URLs and suspicious content
- Scan for out-of-date plugins, themes and WordPress versions
- Check the strength of passwords
- Monitor disk space
- Scan for unauthorized DNS changes
- Scan files outside your WordPress installation
The fast alerts on the slightest hint of a problem are comforting. I
especially like the “Scan core files against repository” function! If a
file changes, or an extra one appears, the alarm bells start ringing!
Bullet Proof Security
This is also a robust security plugin application, and I’ve used
Bullet Proof Security on 2 sites where the preceding plugins could not
be installed. It’s comprehensive, but I personally find its interface to
be somewhat daunting – it’s complicated and hard to understand. Maybe
it’s just me…
However, it hasn’t ever crashed (unlike BWS) and it hasn’t ever been
breached either. On that basis I’d recommend it, but you will need to
read the directions!
Secure WordPress
Secure WordPress seems to be at the lower end of the complexity scale
and again, I’ve got a couple of sites running it. Installation is
neither difficult nor complicated. It’s going to require:
- a (free) account at WebsiteDefender,
- an ‘agent’ file upload to your site that verifies / authorizes the account
WebsiteDefender provides automated scanning of the site for you.
Alert notices are emailed, and the 1st scan on one site even picked up
on a link from the website to a page which had apparently been
compromised!
WordPress Security Plugins Summary
One or other of these four plugins are sure to solve the particular
security issues on your WordPress website. They provide a known base
from which to start your countermeasures. There are several others that
can be trialed.
My pick of the litter is Wordfence – that’s because it’s reliable,
has that core code verification feature and notifies you immediately of
any plugin upgrades!
Securing WordPress
There are several basic elements that need to be addressed as part of any recommendations on WordPress security.
Secure WordPress User ID
The default WordPress User ID is “Admin” and you should NOT use that
on your site. Doing so immediately means half of the “site access
equation” is known, and all that’s required is the password! That’s
pretty reckless in this day and age…
A secure User ID ought to be a minimum of 10 characters containing a
mix of upper and lower case and including numeric and/or special
character variations e.g.; $The#1Boss
In addition, you should then assign a User Account “nickname” so that
there is no clue as to the Admin identity if you inadvertently use the
account to publish any pages or posts! Ideally, you should publish the
pages and posts from a “Editor” level account…
Secure Passwords
Most people foolishly use a password related to their life in some
guessable way. Phone numbers, wife’s name, child’s name, dog’s name etc.
A little bit of research, a bit of trial and error on the part of a
smart hacker or competitor and your site is wide-open!
There are several websites specializing in secure password generation:
*
PCTools
*
Strong Password Generator
*
Online Password Generator
USE one of them!
Comment Spam & Bad Links
These contribute negatively to your website’s online profile.
Eliminate the majority of potential issues by using the inbuilt
automation options;
- Don’t allow registration unless it’s absolutely necessary!
- Don’t allow comments OR trackbacks on pages
- Close comments on posts after 2 – 4 weeks
- Don’t allow trackbacks on posts
Installing and configuring the built-in Akismet anti-spam plugin is
not at all difficult and it effectively screens out the worst of the
remaining garbage!
Maintaining WordPress & Plugins
It’s extremely important to diligently maintain WordPress and any
plugin applications. When a security breach or flaw occurs, fixes are
put in place, but word of the potential exploit quickly circulates
amongst the hacking community. Hackers immediately start looking for
sites that are at risk, and target them!
A ‘once a week’ login to your WordPress Admin should be a standard
task, in order to check if there are upgrades available. Install any
upgrades immediately! Having a plugin like Wordfence installed ensures
you are notified immediately if upgrades available.
How to Deal With WordPress Hacking
Don’t panic, because it won’t help! Usually, the hacking efforts I’ve
seen relate to exploits of inherent security weaknesses in:
- JavaScript in plugins
- permissions allowing concealment of phishing (most often bank fraud) code in a sub-directory
The first indication may be:
- an email from Fraudwatch requesting you delete the offending content
- a warning from your hosting company that the site is compromised and in danger of being shut down.
- a tip from a friend or client that Google is displaying malware or virus warnings about your website.
These days, it’s rare to have an overt, immediately obvious hacking
occur. It’s mostly an out-of-sight, deeply-planted problem that the
hacker hopes won’t be discovered for weeks or months.
Dealing with the problem is usually a straightforward process, as per the next section.
WordPress Tech Support / Help Desk
Usually, the fastest way to deal with a known breach of WordPress is to:
- Use the 1-click update in WordPress Dashboard / Updates to overwrite all core files that may have been compromised.
- Where a plugin is implicated, delete the affected plugin directory, and then upload a new copy.
- Where a Theme is implicated, copy your backup files across to replace the compromised files.
Follow that up by viewing the site’s files in your Control Panel file
manager or an FTP application such as Smart FTP, and look for:
- Files and directories that were altered or uploaded and don’t belong.
- Inappropriate file permissions – e.g. directories should usually
NEVER be set to 777 permissions, as this gives access to anyone to do
anything. The correct directory permissions for most hosting accounts is
755, and some servers generate “Server 500″ errors if permissions are
inadvertently set at 777.
- Unexpected items in /uploads/ or /backups/ directories.
- File Modified dates that don’t match up with any edits, uploads or changes you’ve made.
If you are using any of the WordPress Security plugins, run the included Scan option from within the site.
Use more than one online scanning service to examine your website.
These all have strengths in different areas, and one may identify issues
that another might not spot. Try
VirusTotal – scan the Home page URL and get a quick report from multiple sources.
The overriding goal is:
- deleting the compromised files and replacing them with the correct versions.
- ensuring secure permissions across directories and files.
- implementing a security plugin.
That must be followed by immediately by:
- changing the WordPress admin password.
- changing the Cpanel / Plesk / Hsphere admin password.
- changing the FTP access password.
- deleting any “extra” User or FTP accounts that may have been added to provide easy future access for the hackers.
Core File Compromises
If the /wp-config.php has been altered in any way, it is wise to
reset the WordPress Database User Account password, and add the new
password into the /wp-config.php file. This can be done through the
Admin Control Panel access to MySQL Database management. In the case of
Cpanel it’s very easy to change the MySQL password.
Backups
Having an automated monthly backup process scheduled, with off-server storage, makes sound business risk management sense.
WordPress Security Conclusions
* Avoiding the problem is not particularly difficult.
* Eliminating the problem is usually straightforward.
