Help, My WordPress Site Has Been Hacked! Pt 3.
I absolutely HATE hearing those words!
The truth is, it is very possible to get hacked using WordPress if you do a quick install.
Here is Part 2 of this Security Series! You should read Part 1 and Part 2 before read this one.
Keep your WordPress Up to Date
If you’ve been using WordPress for awhile, then you’ve probably seen occasional notifications at the top of the page prompting you to update the version of WordPress that your site is running on. It’s always worth it to make this update—not just for the extra features and interface improvements, but because newer versions of the software may fix security holes.
Updates are released for an excellent reason! They are released because:
- New functionality has been included
- Bugs in the previous version have been fixed
- Security has been improved
- Efficiencies in the WordPress Code have been developed (so the site loads faster, for example)
Why wouldn’t want to upgrade?
Though it might seem like an enormous pain if you’ve got a number of sites running on WordPress, updating regularly is a solid way to ensure that hackers have a lower probability of being able to crack your site.
In addition to keeping your WordPress software up to date, be sure to keep any plugins that you’ve installed up to date as well. But that is a story for another post…
Enjoying your series here Paul – I think we all get a bit too complacent with some of these issues! Think it might be time to have a quick spring clean!
Good to connect with you as part of the blog challenge by the way 🙂
cheers
Tanya
Absolutely, Tanya! I admit it… I had a bunch of sites that used the username of admin…. Shame on me! I also had a lot of short passwords. Not good at all! Now, my passwords are at least 12 characters, and VERY strong. I use roboform to manage them.
Paul, thanks for the confirmation that I have been doing the right thing by keeping everything updated. I appreciate your expertise.
Fantastic, Pat! You are right on track then!
Thanks for the reminder to pay attention to those notifications. As a complete non techie I tend to ignore things sometimes.
It is all about the little things, Pat. Some of the easiest can prevent so much!
More intensely valuable info! Thanks for sharing!
The series has been well received, Denny. Maybe I will continue to write about security!
Thank you Paul for sharing…Pt. 1 & 2 of your series did prompt me to update my WordPress site…Have a great weekend! …Hughie
Yeah! My work here is done. Well, for now. More to do tomorrow!
You Rock, Hughie!
Thanks for sharing, it is useful to know!
Hi Solvita – Be safe now… later is no so fun!
Thanks Paul. Surely not fun when we have WordPress problems. Great article.
Thanks, Carol!
So informative! Thank you for being so helpful!