WordPress is the best modern-day mechanism that you can use for your website. According to a recent study, it shows that twenty-eight percent of website administrators use WordPress all over the world. WordPress is used to defend your website from being hacked. We can say that Word press is a wall between hackers and your secret data.
WordPress uses two secured elements on the website which protect it from being hacked. It uses HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Security) which is a secure version of HTTP so we can say that to migrate WordPress to HTTPS was a good action. The function of HTTPS is to transfer your private from browser to your website securely. All the data that you sent from your browser to your website is secured and encrypted. Many big companies use it in big online transactions.
If we are talking about WordPress then we will cover a portion of the best WordPress security plugins that can help diminish the danger of your site being hacked. These security plugins offer a few highlights to make your WordPress blog secure from any known or unknown vulnerabilities. These plugins cover certain factors like control access, login security, spam assurance, content burglary insurance, reinforcement apparatuses, real document checking, email insurance, firewall, and significantly much more.
Before we start this article, let’s first look at the security issues that you face when running a WordPress blog or site:
- Brute Force attack (How to fix it without a plugin).
- Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack.
- SQL Injection.
- Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks.
- Backdoors.
- Database (Typically MySQL) security.
- PHP security.
- And much more.
In fact, there are many ways to secure your WordPress with no plugins:
- Keep your WordPress up to date.
- Use a complex, strong password.
- Regularly back up your files and databases.
- Check the file permissions.
- Select a good hosting provider like Bluehost.
- Add SSL(HTTPS) to your WordPress.
- Use a CDN (Content delivery network) like Cloudflare that will provide a basic firewall for your WordPress site.
- …
This is a complex, time-consuming task, especially for beginners. For those WordPress users who have no networking and PHP skills, choosing a WordPress Security Plugin is a good idea.
Here are the Best 10 WordPress security plugins to protect your WordPress sites with ease. We did the research for you! So let’s get started.
Originally Published Feb 09 2019, updated Feb 09 2023
1. Really Simple SSL
Total downloads: 5,000,000+
Five Star Ratings: 8,000+
This plugin is designed to make sure that your website is taking full advantage of the benefits of SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. By installing and activating the plugin, you’ll be able to enjoy the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your website is as secure as it can be.
One of the standout features of the Really Simple SSL WordPress plugin is its ease of use. With just one click, you can take your website from HTTP to HTTPS, ensuring that all of your traffic is encrypted and protected from prying eyes. This feature makes it simple for even non-technical users to get the most out of SSL encryption.
Another important aspect of website security is the configuration of your server. That’s why the Really Simple SSL WordPress plugin also includes a server health check. This feature helps you keep track of your server configuration and identify any areas that might need attention to ensure the best possible security for your website.
Finally, the plugin includes a robust set of hardening features that you can use to fortify your WordPress installation. By tweaking your configuration, you can address common vulnerabilities and weaknesses in WordPress, making it even more difficult for attackers to compromise your website. With the Really Simple SSL WordPress plugin, you’ll have everything you need to keep your website safe and secure, all in one convenient package.
2. Wordfence Security – Firewall & Malware Scan
Total downloads: 3,000,000+
Five Star Ratings: 3,800+
This is the most popular WordPress Firewall & Malware Scanner on the web.
Wordfence includes an endpoint firewall and malware scanner that were built from the ground up to protect WordPress. Our Threat Defense Feed arms Wordfence with the newest firewall rules, malware signatures and malicious IP addresses it needs to keep your website safe. Rounded out by a suite of additional features, Wordfence is the most comprehensive WordPress security solution available.
Firewall Features:
- Web Application Firewall identifies and blocks malicious traffic. Built and maintained by a large team focused 100% on WordPress security.
- [Premium] Real-time firewall rule and malware signature updates via the Threat Defense Feed (free version is delayed by 30 days).
- [Premium] Real-time IP Blacklist blocks all requests from the most malicious IPs, protecting your site while reducing load.
- Protects your site at the endpoint, enabling deep integration with WordPress. Unlike cloud alternatives does not break encryption, cannot be bypassed and cannot leak data.
- Integrated malware scanner blocks requests that include malicious code or content.
- Protection from brute force attacks by limiting login attempts, enforcing strong passwords and other login security measures.
Malware Scan Features:
- Malware scanner checks core files, themes and plugins for malware, bad URLs, backdoors, SEO spam, malicious redirects and code injections.
- [Premium] Real-time malware signature updates via the Threat Defense Feed (free version is delayed by 30 days).
- Compares your core files, themes and plugins with what is in the WordPress.org repository, checking their integrity and reporting any changes to you.
- Repair files that have changed by overwriting them with a pristine, original version. Delete any files that don’t belong easily within the Wordfence interface.
- Checks your site for known security vulnerabilities and alerts you to any issues. Also alerts you to potential security issues when a plugin has been closed or abandoned.
- Checks your content safety by scanning file contents, posts and comments for dangerous URLs and suspicious content.
- [Premium] Checks to see if your site or IP have been blacklisted for malicious activity, generating spam or other security issue.
Other tools:
- With Live Traffic, monitor visits and hack attempts not shown in other analytics packages in real time; including origin, their IP address, the time of day and time spent on your site.
- [Premium] Stop brute force attacks permanently by using two factor authentication, one of the most secure forms of remote system authentication available.
- [Premium] Password Audit ensures your passwords are strong by simulating a hack attempt using our password auditing GPU cluster.
- The free version of Wordfence includes an excellent comment spam filter. [Premium] An advanced comment spam filter is automatically enabled for premium customers.
- Block attackers by IP or build advanced rules based on IP Range, Hostname, User Agent and Referrer. [Premium] Country blocking available with Wordfence Premium.
3. iThemes Security
Total downloads: 1,000,000+
Five Star Ratings: 1,900+
iThemes Security (formerly Better WP Security) gives you over 30+ ways to secure and protect your WordPress site. On average, 30,000 new websites are hacked each day. WordPress sites can be an easy target for attacks because of plugin vulnerabilities, weak passwords, and obsolete software.
Features:
- Works to protect your site by blocking bad users and increasing the security of passwords and other vital information.
- Monitors your site and reports changes to the filesystem and database that might indicate a compromise. iThemes Security also works to detect bots and other attempts to search vulnerabilities.
- Hides common WordPress security vulnerabilities, preventing attackers from learning too much about your site and away from sensitive areas like your site’s login, admin, etc.
- Makes regular backups of your WordPress database, allowing you to get back online quickly in the event of an attack. Use iThemes Security to create and email database backups on a customizable schedule.
4. Sucuri Security
Total downloads: 700,000+
Five Star Ratings: 370+
The Sucuri Security WordPress plugin is a security suite meant to complement your existing security posture.
Features:
- Security Activity Auditing
- File Integrity Monitoring
- Remote Malware Scanning
- Blacklist Monitoring
- Effective Security Hardening
- Post-Hack Security Actions
- Security Notifications
5. SiteGround Security
Total downloads: 700,000+
Five Star Ratings: 80+
With the carefully selected and easy to configure functions the plugin provides everything you need to secure your website and prevent a number of threats such as brute-force attacks, compromised login, data leaks, and more.
7. SiteGuard WP Plugin
Total downloads: 300,000+
Five Star Ratings: 250+
This plugin is a security plugin that specializes in the login attack of brute force, such as protection and management capabilities.
Features:
- Admin Page IP Filter
- Rename Login
- CAPTCHA
- Login Lock
- Login Alert
- Fail Once
- Disable Pingback
- Updates Notify
- WAF Tuning Support
8. Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall
Total downloads: 300,000+
Five Star Ratings: 720+
An Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall plugin for WordPress sites.
Features:
- Run a Complete Scan to automatically remove known security threats and backdoor scripts.
- Firewall block SoakSoak and other malware from exploiting Revolution Slider and other plugins from known vulnerabilites.
- Upgrade vulnerable versions of timthumb scripts.
- Download Definition Updates to protect against new threats.
9. MalCare Security
Total downloads: 100,000+
Five Star Ratings: 200+
A cloud based security plugin for WordPress. The plugin helps website owners worry less about their site security, achieve peace of mind and focus all their energies on growing their business or website.
10. Hide My WP Ghost – Security Plugin
Total downloads: 100,000+
Five Star Ratings: 200+
This plugin offers a comprehensive range of security features to protect your website against a wide range of threats, including scripts and SQL injections, brute force attacks, XML-RPC attacks, XSS, and more.
One of the key benefits of using Hide My WP Ghost is that it changes and hides the common paths of WordPress, such as the plugins and themes paths, providing an added layer of protection against hacker bots. Additionally, it obscures the authentication paths of your website, such as wp-admin, wp-login.php, and wp-login, effectively hiding them from malicious actors.
With Hide My WP Ghost, you can be confident that your WordPress website is protected from a wide range of security threats, giving you peace of mind and allowing you to focus on what really matters – running your website and growing your business.
Conclusion:
Since by far most of the plugins are free of cost, take note that they normally don’t accompany technical support. Hence it is imperative to be watchful while picking which ones you need to introduce on your site. In spite of the fact that there are modules that can do anything for all intents and purposes anything, some are significantly higher quality than others.
Keeping in mind the end goal to pick the correct ones, you ought to put forth several inquiries. To what extent has it been since it was refreshed? Is it good with the most recent form of Word Press? Are individuals finding solutions to their help questions?
So according to me, WordPress is the best security for your website as it is free and it is very easy to use. You can extend it by using its plugins and themes, it can handle all media, it is very easy to manage and search engine friendly.
