Web sites are becoming more and more vulnerable with each new feature we add, but you can protect yourself. In recent news, the US Federal Bureau of Investigations is urging WordPress users to patch plugins for the popular content management system following a spate of ISIS-branded website attacks, according to a ZDNet article.
Of course most sites are not going to be targeted by ISIS, but there are plenty of other treats that are more common. Hackers looking to attach a website, will look for vulnerabilities and most often they are outdated third-party WordPress plug-ins.
What can you do to protect your site?
The best way to protect your site and your business, is to update outdated WordPress installations and third-party plugins. It also means you may have to use a different third-party plugin, if it is no longer being maintained. In the world of the internet old code can just being 6 months old and “old code” is open to attacks.
Steps to take:
First step in any WordPress update is to backup your site. A few minutes spent backing up your WordPress site (files and database) is a small price to pay if something goes wrong. With a backup, your site can be returned to a working stage, in far less time than without a backup.
Second step in an WordPress update is to update one plugin at a time. Working on one plugin at a time and testing, will allow you to immediately identify which plugin may have caused an error. This method can be quite a time saver.
Third step in an WordPress update is to backup your site again. You just spend some time updating WordPress, updating plugins, and testing your site, it is important to save your work.
Finally, one of the most important things about a WordPress backup, is to store a WordPress backup off your web hosting server. Having a backup off site, gives you a secondary line of defense in case of a hack or catastrophic event.
Need help?
We can help “harden” your WordPress installation. We have added services to maintain your site, which includes regular updates, backups and monitoring services to catch attacks before the happen. Call 707-628-8383