WP plugin iThemes Security
The last thing you would need as a blog or website owner is a hacked site. Unfortunately, hacking is a common thing. Over 30,000 new websites are hacked daily. Shocking? Worse still, WordPress sites are easy to hack. They have obsolete software, weak passwords and plugins as well. iThemes Security, formerly known as Better WP Security comes in handy to ensure that your WordPress site is protected. Let us delve more into it:
iThemes Security helps you as a WordPress admin as it stops automated attacks, strengthens user credentials, and fixes other common loopholes. It is very easy to install the plugin, as it entails a one-click activation.
Features
Here are some of the most useful iThemes security features and how they help to protect your WordPress site:
– User Action logging
This helps to track user’s behavior on the site, for instance, login, logout or even when they edit content.
– Import/Export Settings
If you want to set up multiple WordPress sites, then this feature saves you time.
– Password Expiration
This allows you to set a maximum age for passwords. Your users will therefore need to keep choosing new passwords. Sometimes, you may need to inform all users to change their passwords. Let them know that their own security is your priority. This will help them to comply.
– Dashboard Widget
This feature allows you to manage important tasks, for instance, banning some users and doing system scans from the dashboard.
– Google reCAPTCHA
This feature protects your site from spammers
– Malware Scan Scheduling
This feature scans for malware automatically daily. If any malware is detected, an email with the details is sent.
– Generating Strong Passwords
This feature helps you to generate strong passwords from your profile screen.
– Online File Comparison
This feature detects file changes. It scans the origin of the file which helps it to identify malicious files. It currently works in WordPress core. The plugins and themes are being built by the iThemes team.
– Wp-cli integration
This feature allows you to manage the security of your site from the command line.
– The Brute Force Protection Network
This feature identifies users who have tried to break into sites. It then blocks them from breaking into yours via banning them. The IP addresses of login attempts that failed are reported. iThemes then blocks the IP addresses for the length of time that is necessary. The plugin will be doing this based on an analysis of the websites that have experienced a similar attack.
Pros
– It is very easy to use even if you are not a pro at WordPress. iThemes Security makes it very easy to remember login and admin URLs as it customizes URLs to be used by the admin only.
– You will receive free support from iThemes experts.
It detects some hidden 404 errors on the WordPress site. These errors could affect your SEO, for instance, missing images and bad links.
– The plugin is highly compatible
– It provides backups for your database. This is vital in case of an attack.
Caution
It is important to back up your files before you install the plugin. This is because it makes significant changes to your files and database.
Conclusion
Why allow weak passwords, plugins and obsolete software to expose your site to attacks? iThemes Security provides the ultimate protection for your WordPress site.