Keeping WordPress Users Safe
Technological security used to be the domain of trained IT professionals. As more and more people are growing up in today’s tech landscape, questions of security are becoming a concern for individual users. Most commonly, these newcomers to the digital sphere seek guidance about security; and in particular, security for their personal or small business website, often built on the WordPress platform. So here are a few security basics from your friends at Pegasus Technologies to get new WordPress users started safely.
- Do not use “Admin” as your username. This is the modern equivalent of users choosing “GOD” as their password back in the 80’s.
- Backup, backup, backup. Preservation of data is key to security online as well as offline.
- Remember to update. No matter what software you are using, developers and even some third-party content providers work hard to stay ahead of malicious intrusions and keep your site secure.
- As your site grows and evolves, make sure the themes and plugins you are using evolve as well. As mentioned above, regular updates and support are critical.
- You get what you pay for. Try to avoid freebies, as these themes and plugins are rarely supported and are seldom produced with lasting security in mind.
- Protect the Admin directory in WordPress at all times. It is the gate to every bit of data and every function on the site.
- Secure Socket Layer Certificates are relatively easy to implement and offer necessary protections. Make sure you have that certificate in place before you go live.
- WiFi is great, but not for logging in to your site’s Admin panel. WiFi is open to packet sniffing software and a variety of other threats that make it just too risky for administrative use.
This short list of do’s and don’ts should get you safely on your way without too much trouble, but as your needs grow and your need for managed security grows with it, remember you can always contact us at Pegasus Technologies to discover what your next steps should be to keep your site up and your data secure.
