{"id":281,"date":"2014-10-18T21:56:13","date_gmt":"2014-10-18T21:56:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.wordpress.com\/?p=281"},"modified":"2014-10-18T21:56:13","modified_gmt":"2014-10-18T21:56:13","slug":"hackers-gonna-hack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/hackers-gonna-hack\/","title":{"rendered":"Hackers gonna Hack"},"content":{"rendered":"

This was written by Laura Betterly…i thought it was a good read and good advice!<\/p>\n

Websites have always been under attack by nefarious individuals who try and gain control of personal data or the site itself.\u00a0 This is nothing new, it\u2019s been part of having an online presence since the birth of the Internet.\u00a0 Hackers make a sport out of looking to find new ways in, and hacker protections always run one step behind, plugging up the holes.<\/p>\n

While this may make the steps you can take to protect yourself seem futile, since hackers are gonna hack (it\u2019s what they do), it\u2019s actually worth taking a few minutes to read and implement the suggestions that follow.
\nIf you\u2019re using WordPress, or any open source or flexible framework website software, your risk of being hacked increases.\u00a0 Here are a few tips to help you preserve your security.<\/p>\n

WordPress Security Tips<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Select unique user names.\u00a0 The most common user name for a WordPress site is \u201cadmin\u201d.\u00a0 Why? Because it\u2019s the default suggested when you do a new WordPress install, and most people are too eager to get their site up they assume they will come back and change the user name.\u00a0 Few do.\u00a0 Avoid using admin or your name as your WordPress login, it\u2019s far too hackable.<\/li>\n
  2. Use a secure password. \u00a0 The easier a password is for you to remember, the easier it is for a hacker to guess or deduce.\u00a0 It\u2019s always a good idea to use a long password that contain a combination of upper and lower case characters, numbers and special characters.<\/li>\n
  3. Don\u2019t procrastinate on the updates.\u00a0 It seems like WordPress comes out with an update every couple of weeks.\u00a0 Be sure to update your WordPress install every time you see that there\u2019s one available.\u00a0 Most of the wordless updates include security fixes to plug up the back doors and vulnerabilities.<\/li>\n
  4. Don\u2019t stop with the WordPress install- update your plugins too.\u00a0 Update your plugins every time you see a new version come out, and delete old plugins and themes that you aren\u2019t using any longer.\u00a0 Sometimes plugins from the WordPress repository are designed for older WordPress versions and contain back door security issues.\u00a0 If you\u2019ve recently updated your WordPress and there hasn\u2019t been a corresponding update to your plugin shortly after, check to see that the plugin is still active and supported.<\/li>\n
  5. Beware unscrupulous developers.\u00a0 Some app developers will sell you a plugin that is really cheap and seems too good to be true.\u00a0 Many times it is because they either won\u2019t support it going forward or it contains vulnerabilities.\u00a0 Seems like everyone I know has at one time or another installed a plugin that contained some malware and found out by seeing Google\u2019s big red malware-infected warning when they tried to visit their domain.\u00a0 Google will take the site offline until you get it fixed.\u00a0 It\u2019s time consuming, and definitely will hurt your business when visitors can\u2019t access your information.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Why My Hackers didn’t hack me…<\/strong><\/p>\n

    I started this article telling you about how I was hacked.\u00a0 LauraBetterly.com had 247 attempts of someone trying to log in.\u00a0 But I have a plugin called Wordfence that saved my bacon, (there is a paid and free version).<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/WordPress.org\/plugins\/wordfence\/<\/a>\u00a0(the WordPress repository link)<\/p>\n

    https:\/\/www.wordfence.com\/<\/a>\u00a0(their website- not an affiliate link)<\/p>\n

    With Wordfence someone tries to login after a number of failed attempts (I set it up for three) the plugin blocks their IP address.\u00a0 In my case the guy persevered for about an hour, changing IPs and trying again until they decided my site was too secure and moved on to an easier target.<\/p>\n

    The paid version of WordFence scans your website and compares the code with the WordPress repository code, and lets you know by email if someone injects code into your site.\u00a0 That\u2019s how I learned of my hack attempts.<\/p>\n

    Hopefully my experiences have helped to increase your awareness about some potential vulnerabilities.\u00a0 It\u00a0only take a few minutes to implement secure site practices, and it can save you a few hours, days, or even months of misery at the hacking hands of a bored teenager in his parent\u2019s basement.<\/p>\n

    I have the survey results for you, I\u2019m working on compiling them and I\u2019ll share them with you soon.\u00a0 Be on the lookout for this as well as a special invitation for you to join me on vacation next year, coming up next week.<\/p>\n

    XO,<\/p>\n

    Laura<\/p>\n

    P.S. I forgot to mention an added benefit to ensuring that your site is secure against hacking.\u00a0 When you implement a trust seal from a virus or security company, your sales conversions will increase!<\/p>\n

    I leave you with this awesome sensationalist news article I found. \u00a0If it were written today it might say something like “Hackers can spread ebola through your home computer”! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    This was written by Laura Betterly…i thought it was a good read and good advice! Websites have always been under attack by nefarious individuals who try and gain control of personal data or the site itself.\u00a0 This is nothing new, it\u2019s been part of having an online presence since the birth of the Internet.\u00a0 Hackers … <\/p>\n

    Continue reading “Hackers gonna Hack”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4,5,7,9,1],"tags":[10,13,14,16,17,19,20,21,22,27,39,51],"class_list":["post-281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-facebook-2","category-loyalty-apps","category-loyalty-programs","category-mobile-marketing-loyalty-apps","category-smartphone-apps","category-uncategorized","tag-apps-for-business","tag-business-owner","tag-business-services","tag-computer-safety","tag-credit-card","tag-customer-loyalty-programs-toronto","tag-customer-management","tag-customer-satisfaction","tag-customer-service","tag-hackers","tag-programmers","tag-website"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=281"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/281\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/massmobileapps.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}