WordPress security – Ignore at your peril

Ever looked at your WordPress site and had this reaction?

Hopefully you haven't, but if you are not paying attention to routine maintenance you really can't complain if some nasty hacker destroys all your hard work and expense.

Last October famous real estate blogger Jay Thompson got hacked and spent 60 hours trying to sort it all out icon sad WordPress security Ignore at your peril

Now that WordPress is powering 14.7% of the top million websites in the world as of last August, there are more targets for those hackers.

So be sure that WordPress core developers take security very seriously and they regularly update the core software at the first sign of trouble.

WordPress have also made it much easier to install updates with just a couple of clicks.

There are some very simple WordPress security steps to follow:

Most of the hacks are caused by lack of routine maintenance and updating the WordPress core and plugin files. So make sure you update these when you are first notified.

If you don't visit the dashboard of your site very often, then you should install WP Updates Notifier. This plugin will email you whenever the WordPress core files or a plugin needs updating.

I use and recommend WebsiteDefender – it makes important security changes to your installation. It then emails you if changes take place on your site, including plugin code changes, so you will have no excuse!

If you think you have been hacked or want to check on vulnerabilities use the WP Security Scan plugin.

You can scan your site for free at Sucuri or do what Jay Thompson does now and spring for the yearly subscription. Benefits include: Monitor 1 site, Checked Every 6 hours, Malware Cleanup, 1 year guarantee – all for just under $90 a year.

If you are still concerned you might also look into the WordPress Firewall 2 plugin. It blocks malicious attempts at hacking into your site, you might be surprised at how often people are trying to inject things into your site.

Please don't be put off by all this security stuff. But as 22 out of every 100 new active domains in the US are set up to run on WordPress, knowing the basics makes sense right?

To view the original article, visit the Web Real Estate Marketing blog.