Although WordPress security goes far beyond just plugins, they’re still a vital tool for keeping your site locked up tight. However, choosing the best WordPress security plugins can be difficult, particularly because there are so many to pick from.
With that said, the wide range of available options means you can customize your site’s security features to meet your specific needs. Once you get to know some of the most popular and effective plugins on the market, you can make an informed decision regarding which ones to use.
11 Top WordPress security
There are many great WordPress security plugins available, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. Here are 11 of the best:
- Sucuri Security. Sucuri is a comprehensive security plugin that offers a wide range of features, including malware scanning, firewall protection, and brute force attack prevention.
- Wordfence Security. Wordfence is another popular security plugin that offers a similar range of features to Sucuri. It is also free to use with a premium plan available for additional features.
- MalCare Security. MalCare is a newer security plugin that focuses on malware scanning and removal. It is known for its high accuracy and its ability to quickly identify and remove malware from websites.
- iThemes Security. iThemes Security is a powerful security plugin that offers a wide range of features, including two-factor authentication, file and directory protection, and password strength checking.
- All in One WP Security & Firewall. All in One WP Security & Firewall is a free security plugin that offers a comprehensive range of features, including file and directory protection, brute force attack prevention, and password strength checking.
- Defender. Defender is a security plugin from WP Engine that offers a wide range of features, including malware scanning, firewall protection, and brute force attack prevention.
- Jetpack Security. Jetpack is a popular plugin that offers a variety of features, including security features such as brute force attack protection and file scanning.
- WP Security Audit Log. WP Security Audit Log is a plugin that logs all security-related events on your website, making it easy to track down any problems that may occur.
- Google Authenticator. Google Authenticator is a two-factor authentication app that can be used to add an extra layer of security to your WordPress site.
- Block Bad Queries. Block Bad Queries is a plugin that blocks malicious requests from being made to your website, helping to protect it from DDoS attacks and other forms of attack.
- Security Ninja. Security Ninja is a comprehensive security plugin that offers a wide range of features, including malware scanning, firewall protection, and brute force attack prevention.
The best WordPress security plugin for you will depend on your specific needs and requirements. If you are looking for a comprehensive security solution with a wide range of features, then Sucuri Security, Wordfence Security, or MalCare Security are all good options. If you are on a budget, then All in One WP Security & Firewall is a free option that offers a comprehensive range of features. And if you are looking for a plugin that offers two-factor authentication, then Google Authenticator is a good option.
No matter which plugin you choose, it is important to keep your WordPress site up to date with the latest security patches and to use strong passwords. You should also consider using a backup plugin to create regular backups of your site, in case anything does go wrong.thumb_upthumb_downuploadGoogle itmore_vert
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Why Use a WordPress Security Plugin?
There are around 18.5 Million websites infected with malware at any given time each week. An average website is attacked 44 times every day, which includes both WordPress and non-WordPress websites.
A security breach on your website can cause some serious damage to your business.
- Hackers can steal your data or the data belonging to your users and customers
- A compromised website can be used to distribute malicious code to unsuspecting users and other websites.
- You can lose data, lose access to your website, get locked out, or your data could be held hostage
- Your website can be destroyed or defaced, which can affect your SEO rankings and brand reputation.
You can scan your WordPress site for security breaches at any time. However, cleaning a hacked WordPress site without professional help can be quite difficult for non-technical users.
To avoid being hacked, you need to follow security best practices to protect your website. We have compiled them all in an easy to follow step by step WordPress security guide for beginners.
One of the most important steps in securing your WordPress site is to start using a WordPress security plugin. These plugins help you harden WordPress security while also blocking brute force attacks on your website.
Let’s take a look at some of the best WordPress security plugins, and how they help you protect your website.
Note: You only need to use one plugin from this list. Having multiple plugins active from this list can lead to bugs.
1. Sucuri
Sucuri is the industry leader in WordPress security. It is one of the best WordPress security plugins on the market. They offer a basic free Sucuri Security plugin which helps you harden WordPress security and scan your website for common threats.
But the real value is in the paid plans, which come with the best WordPress firewall protection. A firewall helps you block brute force and malicious attacks from accessing WordPress.
Sucuri website firewall filters out bad traffic even before it reaches your server. They also serve static content from their own CDN servers.
Apart from security, their DNS level firewall with CDN gives you a tremendous performance boost and speeds up your website.
Most importantly, they offer to clean up your WordPress site if it gets affected by malware at no additional cost. You can even take a website already affected by a malware, and they will clean it up for you.
We use Sucuri on all our websites. For more information, see our complete Sucuri review to learn how it helped us protect our websites.
2. Wordfence
Wordfence is a free and premium WordPress security plugin that offers a wide range of features to help protect your website from hackers and other malicious threats. Some of the key features of Wordfence include:
- Malware scanner: Wordfence’s malware scanner can scan your website for known malware and other malicious files.
- Firewall: Wordfence’s firewall can block unauthorized access to your website, preventing hackers from exploiting known vulnerabilities.
- Login security: Wordfence’s login security features can help prevent brute force attacks and other login-related attacks.
- Two-factor authentication: Wordfence’s two-factor authentication feature can add an extra layer of security to your website by requiring users to enter a code from their phone in addition to their username and password when logging in.
- IP address blocking: Wordfence can block IP addresses that have been associated with malicious activity.
- Site scanning: Wordfence can scan your website for potential security problems and offer suggestions for how to fix them.
- Security audit trail: Wordfence keeps a detailed log of all security-related activity on your website, so you can track what’s happening and identify any potential problems.
Wordfence is a powerful security plugin that can help protect your WordPress website from a wide range of threats. If you’re looking for a comprehensive security solution for your WordPress website, Wordfence is a great option.
To install and set up Wordfence, follow these steps:
- Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on the Plugins menu.
- Click on the Add New button.
- Search for “Wordfence” and click on the Install button.
- Once Wordfence has been installed, click on the Activate button.
- Once Wordfence is activated, you will be prompted to create a free Wordfence account.
- After you have created a Wordfence account, you will be able to configure Wordfence’s settings.
Wordfence offers a wide range of settings that you can configure to meet your specific security needs. For more information on configuring Wordfence, please see the Wordfence documentation.
Here are some additional tips for using Wordfence to protect your WordPress website:
- Keep Wordfence up to date: Wordfence is constantly being updated with new features and security fixes. It is important to keep Wordfence up to date to ensure that you are protected from the latest threats.
- Use two-factor authentication: Two-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security to your website by requiring users to enter a code from their phone in addition to their username and password when logging in.
- Block IP addresses: Wordfence can block IP addresses that have been associated with malicious activity. This can help prevent hackers from accessing your website.
- Monitor your security logs: Wordfence keeps a detailed log of all security-related activity on your website. This can help you track what’s happening and identify any potential problems.
By following these tips, you can help to keep your WordPress website safe from hackers and other malicious threats.thumb_upthumb_downuploadGoogle itmore_vert
iThemes Security is a WordPress security plugin from the folks behind the popular BackupBuddy plugin. Like all their products, iThemes Security offers a nice clean user interface with tons of options.
It comes with file integrity checks, security hardening, limit login attempts, strong password enforcement, 404 detections, brute force protection, and more.
iThemes Security does not include a website firewall. It also does not include its own malware scanner and uses Sucuri’s Sitecheck malware scanner.
4. All In One WP Security
Yes, All in One WordPress Security (AIO Security) is a great plugin for improving the security of your WordPress website. It offers a wide range of features, including:
- Login lockdown: This feature helps to prevent brute force attacks by limiting the number of incorrect login attempts that can be made from a single IP address.
- IP filtering: This feature allows you to block specific IP addresses from accessing your website.
- File integrity monitoring: This feature checks your website’s files for changes that may have been made by unauthorized users.
- User account monitoring: This feature tracks changes to user accounts, such as password changes and new user registrations.
- Database injection scanning: This feature scans your website’s database for signs of database injection attacks.
- Website firewall: This feature blocks common attack vectors, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting (XSS).
AIO Security also offers a number of other features, such as:
- Two-factor authentication (2FA): This feature adds an extra layer of security to your website by requiring users to enter a code from their phone in addition to their password.
- Malware scanning: This feature scans your website for malware.
- Security hardening: This feature helps to make your website more secure by disabling unnecessary features and fixing security vulnerabilities.
AIO Security is a free plugin, but there is also a premium version that offers additional features, such as:
- Support for more than 500,000 IP addresses
- Advanced reporting features
- Custom email notifications
- Priority support from the AIO Security team
Overall, AIO Security is a great plugin for improving the security of your WordPress website. It offers a wide range of features, both free and premium, that can help to protect your website from a variety of attacks.
Here are some additional tips for improving the security of your WordPress website:
- Use strong passwords and don’t share them with anyone.
- Keep your WordPress software up to date.
- Install and use a security plugin, such as AIO Security.
- Back up your website regularly.
- Be careful about what plugins and themes you install.
- Only install plugins and themes from trusted sources.
- Keep an eye on your website’s traffic logs for suspicious activity.
- If you see anything suspicious, report it to your hosting provider immediately.
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Anti-Malware Security is another useful WordPress anti-malware and security plugin. The plugin comes with actively maintained definitions which help it find the most common threats.
It’s malware scanner allows you to easily scan all files and folders on your WordPress site for malicious code, backdoors, malware, and other known patterns of malicious attacks.
The plugin requires you to create a free account on plugin’s website to access the latest definitions and also get some premium features like brute force prevention. The plugin also makes call to developers website to look for the updated definitions.
While the plugin runs thorough tests, it often shows a large number of false positives. Matching each one of them with the source file is quite a lot of work.
6. BulletProof Security
Sure, BulletProof Security is a great option for WordPress security. It offers a wide range of features, including:
- Malware scanner
- Firewall protection
- Brute force attack prevention
- Login protection
- Idle session logout
- Security logs
- Database backup utility
- Email notifications
- User lockout alerts
BulletProof Security is easy to set up and use. The setup wizard walks you through the process of configuring the plugin’s settings. The documentation is extensive and provides detailed information on how to use the plugin’s features.
BulletProof Security is a free plugin, but there is also a premium version that offers additional features, such as:
- Custom firewall rules
- Two-factor authentication
- Site hardening
- Malware removal
Overall, BulletProof Security is a great option for WordPress security. It offers a wide range of features, is easy to use, and is free to use.
Here are some additional tips for keeping your WordPress site secure:
- Keep your WordPress software up to date.
- Use strong passwords.
- Enable two-factor authentication.
- Use a firewall.
- Back up your site regularly.
- Be careful about what plugins you install.
- Only install plugins from trusted sources.
- Keep an eye on your site’s traffic logs.
- Report any suspicious activity to your hosting provider.
By following these tips, you can help to keep your WordPress site safe from hackers.thumb_upthumb_downuploadGoogle itmore_vert