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Websites are extremely susceptible to cyber-attacks from hackers as these unauthorized cyber geeks are constantly searching for weak points through which they can install malware or viruses on your website.

These cybercriminals throw a monkey wrench into your marketing efforts. Your blog is also equally vulnerable to such hacking attacks. While many of the writers out there would be worried about plagiarism of their blog content, a security breach of personal information and business details is also a serious problem to be considered.

Here are the top measures you should take to secure your blog in 2023, 2024.

Important Tips

Here are some steps and best practices to enhance the security of your blog:

Keep Software and Plugins Updated:

Ensure that your blogging platform (e.g., WordPress, Blogger) and all plugins or extensions are up to date. Developers release updates to patch security vulnerabilities.

Use Strong and Unique Passwords:

Create strong, complex passwords for your blog’s admin account. Consider using a password manager to generate and store secure passwords.

Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA):

Enable 2FA for your blog’s login. This adds an extra layer of security by requiring a second form of authentication, such as a one-time code sent to your mobile device.

Regular Backups:

Perform regular backups of your blog’s content and database. Store backups securely, either offsite or in a separate location.

Secure Hosting Provider:

Choose a reputable hosting provider that offers security features such as firewalls, malware scanning, and regular security updates.

SSL Encryption:

Enable SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) encryption to encrypt data transmitted between your blog and users’ browsers. This is especially important if you collect any user data.

Limit Login Attempts:

Implement login attempt restrictions to prevent brute-force attacks. After a certain number of failed login attempts, temporarily lock or block access.

Monitor for Suspicious Activity:

Use security plugins or monitoring tools to keep an eye on your blog for unusual activity, such as unauthorized login attempts or changes to core files.

Remove Unnecessary Plugins and Themes:

Only keep essential plugins and themes active. Remove or deactivate any that you no longer use to reduce potential security risks.

File Permissions:

Set appropriate file permissions on your server to restrict unauthorized access to sensitive files and directories.

Content Security Policy (CSP):

Implement CSP headers to control which external resources can be loaded and executed on your blog, reducing the risk of cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

Regularly Update Content:

Review and update your blog content, including outdated posts and plugins. Remove any content that is no longer relevant.

User Permissions:

Limit user access and permissions to only what is necessary. Avoid giving users administrative privileges unless required.

Harden Your CMS:

If you’re using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress, follow security best practices specific to your CMS, such as disabling directory listing and securing configuration files.

Educate Yourself:

Stay informed about the latest security threats and best practices. Educate yourself on common attack vectors, such as SQL injection and cross-site scripting.

Regularly Review Comments:

Monitor and moderate comments on your blog to prevent spam and potentially harmful links.

Backup Content Offsite:

In addition to regular backups, consider storing your content offsite or in a cloud-based service for added redundancy.

Security Audits:

Periodically conduct security audits of your blog to identify vulnerabilities and address them proactively.

Emergency Response Plan:

Develop a plan for responding to security incidents, including steps to take if your blog is compromised.

Have secure login credentials

If you have a WordPress blog, change your username from the default username of ‘admin’ as hackers are already aware of this credential. Add Captcha to protect your account from unauthorized sources.

Use strong passwords

Add numbers, symbols, capital letters, and small letters to your password so that it becomes impossible to guess. Have a confidential password-protected file that saves all your passwords in case you forget.

SSL Certificate is a must

Cheap SSL Certificates are available, and these certificates ensure that the transaction between the website and the server remains safe. As a result, you can rest assured about content privacy and prevent data breaches.

Keep the version of your WordPress blog a secret

Conceal the WordPress version to ensure that no visitors can figure out even if your blog is working on an outdated version. Also, remove the readme.html file from the WordPress installation directory as the WordPress version is revealed there too.

Many WordPress themes have login links that provide easy login access. Remove these themes or change the theme.

Find the best WordPress themes here: http://bit.ly/2s29XRN

Get your blog automatically backed up

Regular backups are very important to protect your website from hackers. This enables restoring the website at a single click. Moreover, don’t forget to back up the blog while you update the WordPress version or get a new plugin installed.

Siteground has the best WordPress hosting, support, and backups and comes with 30 days of separate backup copies stored in data centers around the world.

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Add security plugins

It is of paramount importance to activate the security plugins that help in stopping the hacking attacks. Wordfence Security and Sucuri Security are two such examples of security plugins.

Check out some of these helpful WordPress security plugins: http://bit.ly/2IwjDyW

Authenticate the WP-admin folder with a password

The main aim of securing your blog is to have a solid strategy that disallows hackers from entering your website. This can be executed by authenticating the WP-admin folder with a password, thereby making it necessary for everyone who wants to access this folder, to mention the right username and password.

Include the links to avoid copy-paste

Tools like Tynt are available on the website that includes the attribution link in your blog whenever anyone tries to copy your blog content. It is quite simple as you do not require any complicated method or technical knowledge. This prevents plagiarisers from copying your content. The tool will also give you the total number of copy commands your blog encountered along with the posts that are commonly copied. In addition, you will also be able to learn the number of links created through the “Read More” links.

Avoid hotlinking

It is understood that generally while copying your blog content, the person also copies the images you have used therein. Once this copied content is posted on the new blog, the image URLs target at your website server. Because of this, your blog performance is negatively affected due to more load on your hosting server. This type of image copying is referred to as hotlinking. A content delivery network known as CloudFlare can relieve you of this headache. The main advantages of this tool are that it makes your website load faster and is available for free.

Keep the plugins updated

Make sure you install only the plugins that are reliable and trustworthy. Go through the rating, the number of downloads, feedback from users before installing any plugin. Also, you should update all the plugins at regular intervals to reduce the likelihood of a security breach.

Firewall your website

A firewall helps to keep your blog free of malware and suspicious codes. You can even prevent spam on your blog by having a firewall.

Check out some of these helpful WordPress security plugins: http://bit.ly/2IwjDyW

Adopt a 2-step verification system

To ensure added security, adopt a 2-step verification system through which you receive an OTP on your phone number or email address. Consequently, the hacker cannot enter your blog as he does not have access to your phone or email.

Block pings and bots

Pingback should be disabled as blogs that have active pingback option make DDOS attacks more likely. Also, block the bots so that they cannot access the WP-Admin login page. You can achieve this by locating the /htaccess file in the main directory of the server and pasting it in the file at the top.

Check out some of these helpful WordPress security plugins: http://bit.ly/2IwjDyW

Monitor Webmaster Tools

Google Webmaster Tools keeps you aware of any malware in your blog or other security issues in your website. Make sure you resolve the issue as soon as you receive the notification.

Block suspicious IP addresses and guest registrations

You can block suspicious IP addresses from getting access to the login page. If the need arises, it is also possible to blacklist every other IP address except your own. Just go to /wp-admin/folder >> .htaccess file.

You can include the following code in the file along with the IP numbers.

order deny,allow

deny from all

# whitelist home IP address

allow from YOURIPNUMBER

# whitelist work IP address

allow from YOURIPNUMBER

# whitelist holiday IP address

allow from YOURIPNUMBER

Once you complete these steps, no one would be allowed to access the login page of your blog.

Unless you are the owner of a membership site, guest registrations are not required. Uncheck the option “Anyone can register” from the “Settings” of the blog page.

Legally Protect your Blog

Do you know how to legally protect your blog?  Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer. The information I am giving you in this video is for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice in any way. So I’m not liable for any damages resulting from using the information in this video and I advise you to consult a lawyer for advice on your unique situation.

Final Thoughts

As the world is getting digitally-driven and hackers are constantly evolving, it is the prime priority to ensure that your blog remains protected against every unsolicited access. These 15 tips would keep your blog safe and help you to take a customer-centric approach, thereby driving greater visitor engagement with better content and security.

Originally posted 2018-04-17 05:56:15. Republished by Blog Post Promoter