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WordPress is one of the most popular CMS (Content Management System). That popularity also means that it is a target of choice for hackers.
In this article, I will give you some tips to keep your website secure and avoid being attacked.

1. Use latest versions

This is true for WordPress itself but also for all your extensions. There are new versions available regularly. If a plugin has not been updated for a while, it is probably not maintained anymore and you might need to remove or replace it. This is also applicable for your theme.
The version of PHP is also important, check with your hosting provider that you are running the latest version of PHP (7.X), especially the versions 5.X won’t be supported by the end of the year.
Also, note that the more extensions you have installed, the more risk you are taking, as your WordPress configuration will rely on more 3rd party code. You should only keep the plugins that you really need. If a plugin is disabled, don’t keep its source code and remove all its associated files.

2. Use secure login details

Never use the default admin user. If you do, disable this account and create your own account with a personalized username.
Choose a strong password. If several users are managing your website, make sure the permissions are valid and avoid giving the admin permission to everyone.

3. Scan your website

This is an easy and quick way to find vulnerabilities and see if one of your plugins is vulnerable or not. You can use these 2 online tools:

• WordPress Security Scan (my favourite with a detailed report)
• WPScans

4. Use .htaccess files to protect your directories

The .htaccess file is a server configuration file. It allows you to define rules for your server to follow.

For example, in /wp-content/uploads, I have created the following .htaccess:

# Deny access to everything by default
Order deny,allow
Deny from all

# Allow access to media files
<FilesMatch "\.(jpg|jpeg|png|gif|bmp|zip|rar|pdf)$">
    Allow from all
</FilesMatch>

This config ensures only media files are accessible from the browser, any JavaScript, PHP files will be discarded. It is not 100% bulletproof as only the extension is checked, but it is better than nothing.

To avoid execution of malicious PHP in some folder (e.g. in /wp-includes), you can create another .htaccess file with the following content:

<Files *.php>
Order allow,deny
Deny from all
</Files>

5. Review file and directory permission

Make sure the critical files (wp-config.php, php.ini…) are not writable publicly, only readable. Only owners should be able to write.

6. Use security headers

You can check which security headers you currently use with this online tool.

At the root folder, update the .htaccess file and add:

# Extra Security Headers
<IfModule mod_headers.c>
	Header set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=31536000; includeSubDomains"
	Header set X-XSS-Protection "1; mode=block"
	Header set X-Frame-Options "sameorigin"
	Header set X-Content-Type-Options "nosniff"
	Header unset Server
	Header always unset X-Powered-By
	Header unset X-Powered-By
	Header unset X-CF-Powered-By
	Header unset X-Mod-Pagespeed
	Header unset X-Pingback
</IfModule>

In wp-config.php, add:

/** Extra Security */
header('X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN');
header('X-XSS-Protection: 1; mode=block');
header('X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff');
header('Strict-Transport-Security:max-age=31536000; includeSubdomains; preload');
header('Referrer-Policy: no-referrer-when-downgrade');
header_remove('X-Powered-By');
header_remove('Server');
header_remove('X-CF-Powered-By');
header_remove('X-Mod-Pagespeed');
header_remove('X-Pingback');
@ini_set('session.cookie_httponly', true);
@ini_set('session.cookie_secure', true);
@ini_set('session.use_only_cookies', true);

7. Do not expose too much information

At the root folder of your website, in php.ini, add the line:

expose_php = Off

Your current version of PHP will not be exposed.

8. Backup your website regularly

Last but not least! You don’t need a particular software or extra plugin to achieve this.

• With your favourite FTP tool (e.g. Filezilla), save all the files available on your server.
• For the database, use the available MySQL backup feature. Many hosting companies provide access to phpMyAdmin, an online tool.

I recommend doing a backup every month, and keep the history of the last 6 backups somewhere safe. Of course, it depends on the volume of articles you are writing and how critical is your data.

That’s it! If you have done all the above, your website should be more resilient to attacks. In the worst case, you should be able to recover easily.

Happy safe blogging!

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When we think of computer security, security software like antivirus, firewalls immediately come to mind. Actually, we forget that one of the root causes of hacking is… you!

Prevention is better than cure.

You know that old saying, because it can apply to your computer habits as well.

A good security starts with a good password

• Use a different password for each application you are using. At least, if someone finds out your Facebook password, he won’t be able to connect to your Twitter account.




• Currently, many websites (even some famous ones) don’t encrypt passwords of their users. Who has not received an email including a password reminder?
  One might say: hooray, that’s great, I will be able to recover my password easily in case I forget it. Actually, it would be better to think: hum, if my email gets hacked, the hacker will get this password, especially it means that my password is somewhere in plain language in a database. It also means the administrator or other people can see it (and imagine if the website gets hacked).
  Unfortunately, the problem is not on your side, but again it is a really good reason to have different passwords.




• Your password must be neither simple nor logical. A date of birth, the name of your pet or one of your children, a word taken from the dictionary… Avoid all of these! Mechanisms like brute force attack (i.e. trying all combinations to find out the password) will eventually find it in a short amount of time (hardware is very powerful now). Therefore, I advise you to choose a password not too short and containing a mix of uppercase, lowercase letters and numbers. Of course, a complex password is great but if you have to write it down on a post’it to remember it, that’s not the right solution either. You have to strike a happy medium.




• When it is possible, use advanced authentication strategies. For example, it can be a confirmation code sent on your phone. This kind of service is usually proposed by largest software companies such as Google or Facebook.

A good security also requires common sense

• Avoid to connect to public Wi-Fi networks and other free hotspots. This is especially true when you connect to unsecured services. Insecure means that data exchanges are not encrypted. You can easily identify secure services when they are using the ‘https’ prefix in the URL (the ‘s’ is important), hopefully the most popular applications support it.
  Why? A bad guy can listen to the network and collect all the exchanged data (thanks to a sniffer), the bunch of data is difficult to read at first sight, but an expert will be able to isolate any useful information. In the case you are searching for kitten videos on YouTube, you will not care a lot, but if you are logging in to an application through an unsecured form, I guess it will be more annoying…




• When you download your software, always take a look at the download URL.
  For instance, if you want to download the latest version of iTunes, go systematically on the Apple website, avoid generic websites such as downloadfreesoftwares.com (I will not be surprised if this website exists). First, use publisher websites. Ultimately, use famous and trusted download websites.




• Same thing when you are using an online service, make sure it can be trusted before you register and provide your personal information.




• Pay attention to your emails. Especially when you receive strange ones that could not be identified as spam by your email software.
  Just yesterday, I received an email from the French tax department to inform me about a refund of 178.20 euros due to a mistake. The email was so real (no misspelling) that I thought it was good news. When I clicked on the link, I realized there was something wrong. It was not the usual website URL of the French government, and above all I needed to enter my credit card information. This is clearly a phishing attempt: a fake page with a classic form that reproduced exactly the official website (design interface, header, footer and so on). It’s really easy to fall into the trap.




• One last tip, update your software and applications when new updates are available. It can be your browser, its plugins, any installed software… or even your blog’s engine (if you have one, I use WordPress that is updated several times a year).
  Every day, security vulnerabilities are discovered and corrected. A security glitch is usually (at least when it is a big one) published in the press, it becomes a door left open for hackers. I do not want to scare you, but remember it!

Every day if you follow these advices and are vigilant, you should avoid any kind of virtual trouble! At least, you cannot say that nobody warned you!

I realize I have denigrated cats a little bit in this article, I hope they will forgive me…