Did you know that every minute, over 90,000 hack attacks are launched against WordPress websites? That is a staggering figure that we must not overlook.
The login page is the most popular target for hackers trying to break into WordPress pages. This is because a hacker can gain full control of your site by accessing it via this tab.
The ensuing chaos would have a significant negative effect on your website. Hackers may use your identity to sell illicit goods or redirect your visitors to malicious websites. They can even deceive tourists into purchasing counterfeit goods or installing malware. This can be very damaging to the company’s and image.
Fortunately, you will keep hackers from abusing your website by securing the most frequently visited page – the login page. We deal with these hacks on a daily basis at MalCare, and we want to make sure that all WordPress users are aware of the issue. We’ll show you how to protect your login page from hackers using the best security measures available. You can also read our guide on how to keep your website safe from hackers.
TL;DR (short version) – Install our MalCare Protection Plugin if you need a WordPress security solution that is simple to set up and will automatically secure your login page. It will instantly allow you to restrict login attempts as well as provide you with options for hardening your WordPress website.
5 Steps To Secure Your WordPress Login Page
There are a few things you can do to make your WordPress Login Page more stable. However, not every action you take would be fruitful. You’re often only making a lot of noise when your login page is still vulnerable.
In this post, we’ll go through five key steps you can take to keep your site safe that have been shown to be successful.
We’ll presume that your site already has SSL enabled. If you don’t already have SSL security, you’ll need to get it from your hosting company or an SSL provider right away. SSL should be configured as the first basic site protection measure on any website. It encrypts the information sent between your website and the server. This means that hackers won’t be able to steal your data when it travels between your site and the hosting server. As a result, hackers attempting to steal user credentials from the login page would be thwarted.
Using Strong Usernames And Passwords To Secure a Login Page
People like to use something simple to remember or that they’ve used with all of their other accounts when building user accounts on WordPress pages. The issue with this is that it makes a hacker’s job so much easier.
To begin, hackers use a technique known as brute forcing, in which they try a variety of usernames and passwords to gain access to your account. They accomplish this by employing automated bots and algorithms capable of performing thousands of attempts in a matter of seconds. A bot would be able to guess easy passwords like “password123” in the first few tries if you use them.
Second, if you use the same login credentials for all of your accounts, you’re asking for trouble. There have been several high-profile data breaches, with 4.1 billion records revealed in 2019. If your username and password were stolen on a shopping website, hackers might use them to try to break into your other accounts, such as your email, online banking, or WordPress site.
The keys to your house or office are your admin login credentials. This is why using strong usernames and passwords is the first step in ensuring login protection.
- We strongly advise against using the default username of ‘admin.’ Make your admin username anything other than thefirstexample.com if your website’s name is thefirstexample.com. On the login screen, these are the first few usernames that hackers can try. Instead, go for rare and one-of-a-kind names that are difficult to guess.
- When it comes to passwords, you can choose one that is difficult to guess. A passcode can be used in conjunction with symbols and numerals. As a result, your password is extremely safe.
WordPress can tell you how powerful or weak your password is when you build it.
The password is extremely weak, according to WordPress.
Finally, since your WordPress website is a valuable asset, we believe it should have its own password. Make one that you haven’t seen on any other website.
You can rest assured that your login credentials are secure. If you have several users on your WordPress account, it’s critical that they all obey these instructions because it’s a crucial step in safeguarding your WordPress login page.
Limit The Number Of Login Attempts for Better Security
WordPress makes an infinite number of login attempts by default. Using brute force attacks, hackers take advantage of this feature. Simply restricting the number of failed login attempts a user is allowed would provide brute force security.
When you enter a wrong password on a website, particularly an online banking site, you can see this prompt:
This is due to the website’s restricted login attempts policy. A user has three chances to enter their account credentials correctly. They would be locked out of their account after three failed attempts and would have to use the ‘Forgot password’ alternative.
You have two options for implementing this feature:
- Using a plugin – the MalCare protection plugin comes highly recommended. WordPress login security is automatically activated once the plugin is mounted. The plugin also includes Captcha-based security, which will keep bad bots off your web.
- Manually – You’ll need to go through your functions.php file to manually restrict the number of login attempts. You must have a WordPress action and hook filter, as well as a callback feature. This approach is both technological and dangerous. It’s best not to try this if you don’t know how to code.
Your WordPress website’s basic security measures for your login page are taken care of with these two measures in place. We may now proceed to more advanced steps.
Using 2-Factor Authentication for Stronger Login Security
You’ve already found that you have to go through two measures to log into your Gmail account.
The first phase entails entering your credentials. Gmail sends you a verification code to your registered phone number or email address in the second stage. To access your emails, you’ll need to type this number into your Gmail account. This is known as two-factor authentication or two-step verification.
The process uses standard passwords plus a one-time password (OTP) that is created in real-time to ensure that the user accessing the account is authentic.
So, even if a hacker guesses your passwords, they’ll have to enter the one-time code sent to you, and your WordPress login page will be protected.
A plugin can be used to enforce 2-factor authentication. Google Authenticator 2FA and Two Factor Authentication are two plugins we suggest.
2-Factor Authentication will be available shortly if you’re using the MalCare plugin.
Geo-blocking – Prevent a Hacker to Reach Your WordPress website
Unless you customise it to a specific area, when you set up a WordPress account, it automatically welcomes traffic from all over the world.
Sign up for Google Analytics to see where the traffic is coming from. The choice ‘Where are your users?’ can be found on the dashboard. You can see where your visitors come from by clicking on ‘Location Overview.’
We’ve encountered several website owners who have discovered that they are receiving unnecessary traffic from specific countries.
Let us use an example to demonstrate what we say. Assume you have a website called example.co.uk that only serves the United Kingdom. However, when you look at your analytics, you’ll notice that a large portion of your website’s traffic comes from countries such as Russia, Singapore, and the United States. This should raise a red flag for you.
This is just a hacker’s indicator; you can use the MalCare plugin to determine if the traffic is malicious or not.
Access the dashboard after downloading the MalCare plugin. Under ‘Security,’ you can see how many login attempts your website has received and how many the plugin has prevented.
We’ve encountered several website owners who have discovered that they are receiving unnecessary traffic from specific countries.
Let us use an example to demonstrate what we say. Assume you have a website called example.co.uk that only serves the United Kingdom. However, when you look at your analytics, you’ll notice that a large portion of your website’s traffic comes from countries such as Russia, Singapore, and the United States. This should raise a red flag for you.
This is just a hacker’s indicator; you can use the MalCare plugin to determine if the traffic is malicious or not.
Access the dashboard after downloading the MalCare plugin. Under ‘Security,’ you can see how many login attempts your website has received and how many the plugin has prevented.
The audit logs will show you exactly where the traffic is coming from and what username was attempted if you click on “show more.”
If you believe that this type of traffic poses an unacceptable danger, you may literally block entire countries. MalCare has a feature called ‘geoblocking’ that does just that, adding an extra layer of protection by blocking any IP address from the country you want. Here’s how to do it:
Pick your site from the dashboard and then click on ‘Geoblocking.’
Pick the countries you want to ban from the drop-down menu. The prompt “Selected Countries IPs have been successfully blocked” will appear after you click on “Block Country.” Geo-blocking, also known as nation blocking, reduces the possibility of being hacked. Blocking entire countries is not recommended since some of the traffic might be valid. If you’re certain you don’t need any traffic from that region, however, it’s best to simply block it so you can protect your WordPress login page by preventing a hacker from accessing it.
Auto Logout
It’s not unusual for people to log into their accounts and leave them open. It’s possible that you’ll close the window without signing out of your accounts. If you leave your computer unattended, a hacker may reopen your browser and log into your accounts automatically.
Such habits increase the likelihood of an assault. Many websites use a feature called “auto logout” to help minimise these risks. When it comes to online banking, this is standard procedure. If you are offline for an extended period of time, the website will log you out automatically.
This is an important step you can take to improve the performance of your WordPress website. It guarantees that no one can take advantage of a logged-in account while the user is away from their computer.
This step is particularly important for people who work from home or on their own devices. You can never be certain that they will remember to log out when they are no longer involved as a website owner. It puts your website at greater risk if they’re using a public computer or unsecured public wifi.
WordPress, unlike e-banking sites, does not log users out while they are inactive. However, you can use plugins like Bulletproof Protection to enforce this security measure.
You can allow a security feature called “Idle Session Logout” in the plugin. You may specify the time span during which a user will be automatically logged out.
Finally, it’s Not Just Your Login Page
Protecting the protection of your WordPress login page puts you one step closer to having a secure WordPress site. Hackers prefer to prey on websites that are simple to break into. So, if you use simple security measures to secure your website, hackers would most likely give it a few tries before moving on to a less difficult target.
However, this does not guarantee that your site will not be hacked. Any flaw on your website is identified and exploited by hackers. It might be a security bug in a new plugin you built. It’s possible that a theme you built a long time ago and failed to update created a security flaw over time. Hackers take advantage of a variety of such openings.
What you really need is a robust security strategy. We strongly advise adding a few more security steps, such as IP blocking, protecting your site with wp-config.php, following this comprehensive guide to WordPress security, and using MalCare, one of the best WordPress security plugins that will secure your site 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It provides you with daily scan reports as well as the ability to enforce recommended WordPress security measures. Your WordPress account would be incredibly difficult to hack into this way!