WordPress security is important. Beginner to moderate steps to securing a WordPress website are covered in this presentation given at the Pasadena WordPress Meetup September 2018. Don't leave the "front door" open to your website.

1. Basic WordPress Security
September 2018 - Pasadena WordPress Meetup
Examples taken from https://harvestersolutions.com/wp-admin/plugins.php
Pasadena WordPress Meetup - Sept 2018 - Stephen Harvey

2. Security on a WP
website can be
thought of as locks,
gates, cameras, etc.
that protect your
home.
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3. The Basics...
● NEVER use “admin” or any form of the word ‘administrator’
as a User name
● Limit the number of Admin accounts on the website to no
more than 2
● ALWAYS research a plugin or add-on to the website before
installing
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4. Plugins that help...
● Wordfence
○ https://wordpress.org/plugins/wordfence/
● Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall
○ https://wordpress.org/plugins/gotmls/
● Two Factor Authentication
○ https://wordpress.org/plugins/two-factor-authentication/
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5. Some slight coding...
● Create unique SALT values in the wp-config.php file
● Access via FTP and edit the file
● Random SALT key generator
○ https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/
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6. Difficulty of items to implement
Easy - ADMIN name
Moderate - Install/configure plugins
Difficult - update SALT keys
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7. Another option...
● Use a managed WordPress web hosting
solution
● Examples:
○ WPEngine - https://wpengine.com/
○ Godaddy’s Managed WP option -
https://www.godaddy.com/offers/managed-wordpress
○ Siteground - https://www.siteground.com/wordpress-hosting.htm
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8. Footnote:
This is not so much for website security as it is a way to instill
confidence in the website visitor…
Use HTTPS - buy an SSL certificate, install Really Simple SSL,
and you’re ready to go.
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9. One last thing...
Security through obscurity is not a good option.
● It doesn’t work
● It breaks things on the website
● Many other effective security options (see previous slides)
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10. Thank you!
RECAP:
- don’t use ADMIN as a user name
- install a security plugin
- change the SALT keys
Group: September 2018 Pasadena WordPress Meetup
Topic: Basic WordPress security
Presenter: Stephen Harvey
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