Five Great Security Plugins for WordPress

The security of your website is not something you should take lightly. Millions of WordPress websites are compromised every year because the website owner did not take simple steps to protect their websites. Rather than wait until your website is attacked, it is better to be proactive and strengthen your website security from the beginning.

In this article, I would like to talk briefly about five great security plugins for WordPress.

There are a wide range of security plugins available for WordPress including anti-spam plugins, login security plugins and file monitoring plugins. The plugins I have listed below do not focus on any one area. They offer a range of security measures for your website. You will also be glad to know that all of the plugins can be downloaded free from either WordPress.org or installed directly through the WordPress admin area.

1. iThemes Security

Formerly known as Better WP Security, iThemes Security is a feature packed security plugin that can protect your website in more than thirty ways. It has lots of options that let you make things more difficult for hackers including hiding your admin area, renaming admin accounts, and displaying a random WordPress version to visitors.

It can also strengthen server security, enforce strong passwords on all users, detect bots, and monitor your file system. A pro version is available from $80 that offers many more features.

2. Wordfence Security

Wordfence Security is a versatile plugin that can scan your core files and plugins for threats. It can also improve your login security with a two-factor authentication login process via your phone.

The plugin has a firewall that blocks fake Googlebots and known hackers and blocks entire networks that are known for malicious activities. Real-time traffic reports are also provided.

3. Sucuri Security

Sucuri Security scans your website for malware using the Sucuri Site check service. The scan can search for malware, website errors, database connections issues, spam injections, and much more.

Its 1-click hardening options are superb. Several quick fixes can be performed such as restricting access to the wp-content folder, protecting the uploads folder, and removing the WordPress version.

4. BulletProof Security

A security plugin that lives up to its name. The plugin will protect your website against Base64, XSS, RFI, CRLF, CSRF, code, and SQL injections. It also offers one-click protection of your .htaccess file and will protect important files such as wp-config.php.

BulletProof Security also features a login security and monitoring system that will email you whenever an unauthorised login attempt has been attempted. The plugin also comes with a maintenance mode that can be enabled if you need to switch your website off and resolve a problem.

5. Acunetix WP Security

Acunetix WP Security will resolve many WordPress vulnerabilities such as protecting the admin area, removing the WordPress version, and removing the update information for non-admins. It will also ensure your file permissions are set correctly.

It uses a traffic light system to show you which issues have been resolved and which issues need attention. Due to the nature of the plugin, there is no need to keep it installed for a long time. You can deactivate it once you have resolved all vulnerabilities.

Apart from Acunetix, these plugins should be left activated in order to monitor, scan, and protect your website on a daily basis. As the plugins offer similar features, I recommend testing each one and choosing to use only one.

6. MalCare Security

MalCare is a multidimensional security solution. The service not only helps clean a hacked site but also protect it from further security breaches. It has a powerful Scanner that does not slow down your WordPress website along with a powerful one-click Cleaner.

MalCare Firewall prevents bad traffic from accessing your site. Its CAPTCHA-based login protection protects websites from brute-force attacks. MalCare also offers a ton of other facilities like Site Management where you can update outdated plugins, themes, and even the WP core. Did we mention the MalCare Site Hardening option which post-hack measure? The plugin also features White-labeling and Client Reporting which will undoubtedly help anyone who had a lot of client websites to manage.

I hope you have found this article useful. If so, please subscribe to WP Eka.

Additionally, if you know of any other great security plugins, please leave a comment below.

Good luck,
Kevin