The Best Security Plugins for WordPress

Do you know that roughly 30,000 websites are hacked every day? It's a stunning statistic. And most security experts agree that websites hosted on WordPress are generally more attractive targets to hackers than their counterparts, in large part because so many people use the WordPress framework. Most hackers gravitate towards large pools of potential victims.

With that in mind, how can you secure your WordPress website? It takes more than running good antivirus software and plugins! And after all, there are hundreds of security plugins, but many of those have been proven, interestingly enough, to be insecure. So we've put together a concise list of the best security plugins for WordPress.

Wordfence

Wordfence is one of the most popular security plugins out there, and unlike many security plugins, has both a free and a paid option. But even the paid options won't burn a hole in your wallet, with the standard one site, one year licence costing only $39.

Wordfence helps you protect your website by conducting timed scans of your website for file changes, and also helps administrators block IP addresses, countries, and redirects. It also helps you set up two factor authentication and can utilize a special alert system to warn you of anything unusual. Unlike many plugins, it's very easy to use, and can also allow administrators to choose the times of their security scans so that they can be optimized for low-traffic times.

All In One WP Security

Most webmasters prefer free options, when one can be had. And the All In One plugin is not only free, but has dozens of novel and useful features. The plugin includes an easy guide which highlights vulnerable areas of your website and indicates how to correct them. It can also disable WP Meta data, and monitors your WordPress users for potential weaknesses. You can blacklist IP addresses and reduce comment spam, prevents the copying of your website's text, and edits the WordPress login URL. And that's just the beginning! For a free plugin, it offers many of the same capabilities of a paid option. The primary difference is that it requires administrators to do a bit of the legwork to manually improve their website's security.

Securi

Securi is a security suite company which provides web-based and machine security software. Their Securi plugin uses the same blacklists and data used in its computer software, meaning it's a potentially stronger security option than many other plugins. It quickly helps you remove sensitive WordPress information and protects your upload directory, and helps administrators set up restricted access to sensitive files. It will also immediately alert you to alterations in your website, including changes to files or any suspicious updates. But Securi has one significant flaw: it assumes that your website is safe when it installs, and bases all subsequent alerts based on that original status.

iThemes Security

The iThemes Security plugin is another option which offers both free and paid options, and it's both well-documented, popular, and very effective. It immediately begins protecting against brute force hacks, file changes, and blacklists known dangerous IP addresses and areas... but also goes several steps further, forcing two-factor logins, strong login credentials, improves file permissions, and even creates a detailed log of all user actions. If you're serious about security and willing to pay for the privilege, their $80 a year plan is one of the strongest on the market.

Use Best Security Practices

All of the above plugins represent great ways to improve the baseline security of your website. But great security always starts with you, your habits, and your security management style. For example, you should always monitor your web browsing habits, regularly clear your cache, and regularly run system scans with your antivirus software. You should also avoid putting off important operating system updates, and make certain that both your computer and router both have firewalls installed and activated.