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Wordpress Security Labs

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Welcome to the very first edition of the WordPress Security Labs - where you get useful information on checking your Word Press site for security problems and fix them too.

We aim to keep this short and simple. However, this site is meant for you, so please feel free to tell us what you’d like to see here. We will do our best to keep it relevant and useful for you.

WPSL Tip #1 : Use the latest versions of software!

Your site security depends on both the WordPress core as well as any plug-ins and themes you use. Hackers (good, bad and in-between) are aggressively looking for security flaws. Due to this, vendors are forced to publish frequent security patches and version upgrades to keep up with the new discoveries. If you use older versions, you carry the risk of becoming easy prey for hackers. So we strongly recommend that you check for new versions daily – and apply security patches / updates / upgrades.

How to do it:
  • Login into your wordpress administrator console and check for newer versions.
  • -or- Use this tool: https://github.com/anantshri/wpvulndb_commandline
  • -or- Use a security tool like ActiFend to send you alerts whenever you have outdated / vulnerable software.
Important notes / related tips:
  • Always upgrade in a test environment first and see if it breaks any of your website functionality. It may only happen rarely, but it is a good idea to check in a safe environment first.
  • Sometimes fixing such broken functionality make take extra time. It is worth spending that effort on high-priority. To postpone any more than necessary is only an open invitation to hackers.
  • The more extensions (plugins / themes) you use, the more is your risk. Make a conscious attempt to use only really important plugins and reduce this risk.
  • Consider using a dedicated server. For the additional price, the advantages are often worth it. On shared servers, a hack into any one of the co-hosted websites could mean the hack of your website too. In addition, on shared servers it is often difficult to deploy additional protections without impacting all other co-hosted websites.


WP Security Labs is brought to you by ActiFend – Advanced Web Security – See | Respond | Pre-empt

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