Up Close and (un)Conventional #10 – WP Security?

Posted 4 December, 2014 by Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms in Discussion Posts / 13 Comments

Up Close and (un)Conventional

Up Close and (un)Conventional #10 Word Press Security

Welcome to this week’s Up Close and (un)Conventional. I am going to rant a little bit about Word Press security plugins today. Because for a long time, I used Better WP Security, until I couldn’t even log in to my own site, and my host told me it was because there was a virus in the security plugin. Yeah, imagine the look on my face when they let me know the problem came from the plugin that was supposed to make sure my site runs smoothly and can’t be taken over by hackers.

I then changed to Bullet Proof Security, but I don’t understand anything from their logs, and I have noticed lately that I get less comments on my blog. Some bloggers have contacted me telling me they had trouble loading my home-page (or even a blog-post directly from the way they follow me), but since I got rid of Bullet Proof Security earlier this week, those people have been able to comment again.

I guess my question in all this is do I really have to use a security plug in? Are you using a security plugin? If I make sure my username and my password is really hard to hack, is it OK to assume that (un)Conventional Bookviews will be safe, and my followers will be able to comment on my posts? Because I truly love comments, and it makes me sad when I see less of them, only to realize that the problem might be something going on right here on the blog, you know?

If you are using a security plugin you are happy with, please let me know which on it is! I really need to do something here, and while I know my way around a computer pretty well, I’m not very website / blog platform savvy. Thanks in advance for sharing your personal experiences!

Lexxie signature (un)Conventional Bookviews

 

 

 

Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

About Linda @ (un)Conventional Bookworms

Linda is an English as foreign language teacher and has a Master's degree in English Language and Literature. She's an avid reader, blogger, compulsive one-clicker and a genre omnivore. Ever since she learnt how to read she has been seen with a book or two in her hands everywhere she goes.

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13 responses to “Up Close and (un)Conventional #10 – WP Security?

  1. With wordpress.ORG, you need your own host, so it’s not completely a free blogging platform, but you do get your own domain-name when you sign up with a hosting company. I first started with blogger, then went to WP.com, before I quickly changed to .org so I could have those pesky plugins 🙂
    If you don’t want to spend too much money on your blog, the .com is probably the best way to go, Claudia.

  2. Well, I’m on blogger, as you know, Lex. So I don’t have any cool plugins. But I share in your frustration over security. I mean, WTH? You have a plugin to keep your site secure but find out not only does it not do the job, but it also prevents interaction with your readers?? Maybe I’m glad I don’t have a plugin like that. I don’t have anything security-wise on my blog…except for username and password. I actually have no idea what blogger does or offers in this area. Perhaps nothing…but I guess I should check it out.

    Bookworm Brandee recently posted: **That's What HE Said ~ #19**
    • I think it should be possible to have a blog without necessarily having an extra security plugin! I really don’t think my password could be guessed by anyone… And if I don’t get any comments from my buddies because they can’t get a page to even load, what’s the use of having the blog?
      I actually think Blogger has built-in security measures, Brandee, which is probably a good thing. *BIG HUGS*

  3. A security what ? OK, I’m kidding 😉 I don’t use any. It doesn’t prevent me from commenting, but I know it drives away some people. I’ve never had any trouble with your blog, though, and believe me, my computer is sloooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwww !

    Red Iza recently posted: Cat thursday #1
    • That’s good to know, Iza. I just found out that some IP addresses were permanently banned from here… and since I have no idea who used those IP addresses (and they were from the US and Canada) I can only hope those people will try to come back here again one day…

  4. WordPress security is really hard. My sites once got spammed by hackers trying to get access and since then I installed some security plugins. I have about 3 security plugins and don’t dare delete any of them for fear of anyone being able to hack my site. I think having a strong admin name and password is a good start, but there are things those plugins do extra.

    I have the following security plugins:
    – Limit Login Attempts – does exactly what the name says it limit the number of login attempts, I think one of my other plugins also has this feature, but I always forget to check.
    – Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Hardening – I love this plugin it’s easy to use and I can actually make sense of this plugin.
    – Wordfence Security – not sure why I keep this around, but I am not sure if securi covers all the things this one does.
    – WordPress Simple Firewall – prevents some spam and stuff. It’s easy and I like it. I use their firewall and commentign options mostly. It keeps out most spam combined with akismet.

    Lola recently posted: Lola’s Ramblings: Blurbs
  5. Yeah, it is complicated, Lola. I haven’t had a spam go through in a very long time, and since I started using the ‘confirm you are human’ button, I hardly have any that are caught by Akismet either.
    I just don’t want my site to be too slow, or to have people leave because they can’t comment. If that happens to me, it might take quite a long time before I go back to that blog again, although I usually send a DM on Twitter or somewhere to let them know I’m having trouble.
    I might try one of the plugins you mentioned, and then check how long it takes to load again. Thanks for the tip!

    • You had to use a trick to be able to comment here, Berls? That’s messed up! And I know, right, security with malware – that just sounds like an oxymoron if I ever heard one 🙁

  6. Lexxie, I used the free version of WordFence which I believe I learned about via Kimba over at Caffeinated Book Reviewer. I also use Stop Spammers, also free, because I was getting TONS of what seemed to be fake registrations on my site. I use Disqus for my commenting system so I’ve never had much of a problem with spammy comments.

    Great post by the way!

    Terri M.
    Second Run Reviews

    • I just use that little box to check for spam, and even akismet hardly ever needs to hold back spam for me now. I think it’s hard to find the right security plugin to use, and I’m really and truly wondering if it’s really necessary, you know?
      For a while, I had a lot of failed login attempts, but that hasn’t happened in a long time, thank goodness.
      Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Terri 🙂

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