You may have seen reports in the press that hackers have recently singled out WordPress websites for an attack.
Recent figures suggest that over 90,000 servers have been attacked so far with the number growing daily.
Since Adira build the majority of it’s websites on WordPress, I felt that it would be a good idea to write an article explaining what exactly is going on and how to defend your WordPress site against this botnet attack.
Adira clients who are signed up to a maintenance contract, or customer care package need not worry as we will take care of everything for you. Clients who are not on a contract are more than welcome to contact us for more guidance or detailed instructions on how to perform the tasks detailed in this article. Read the rest…
This how-to assumes that you have a basic knowledge of WordPress, are able to upgrade and install plugins.
There are a number of things you should do to ensure that your WordPress website does not fall victim to the recent spate of WordPress botnet attacks.
Step One: Use this free online tool to check whether your site has been infected (it will also tell you if you’re using outdated software)
Step Two: Ensure that you do not have a user called ‘admin’. To check this:-
log in to your WordPress Administration Panel (http://www.yourdomain/wp-admin).
Select Users from the left hand menu.
If you see an admin username, add a new user for yourself (ensuring that the role is set to Administrator) and log out.
Log back in as the new user and select Users from the left hand menu
and delete the admin account.
Step Three: Ensure that you are using the latest version of WordPress. Either use the tool in step one, or log into your WordPress Administration Panel, take a look at the top of the screen. If you see a yellow bar that says ‘WordPress x.x.x is available. Please update now’, then your version of WordPress is out of date.
It is important to always have the latest version of WordPress as this will contain the latest security features
If your version of WordPress is out of date, do the following:-
Back Up your WordPress install – you can install this plugin that will back everything up and allow you to download it to your own computer. Updates do not always go smoothly so this step is critical.
Click the upgrade link, located within the yellow bar at the top, and follow the upgrade instructions.
Check your website to ensure that everything is working as expected. It is possible in some instances for updates to interfere with older plugins (this is why step 1 is so critical!)
Luckily WordPress makes the upgrade procedure easy, so all being well the process should be very smooth.
Step Three: Install this plugin that limits the amount of attempts that can be made on a password. Once the limit (which you can set) is reached, it will lock the account for a specified period of time to prevent further attempts.
Step Four: Whatever user account you are using, make damn sure you have a strong password! This is true for any password! Here are some tips for choosing strong passwords:-
Try to use a minimum of 8 characters
Use at least one number
Use a mixture of uppercase and lowercase letters
Use at least one character (i.e. @, $, ^, ! etc.)
Never use words you’ll find in a dictionary
NEVER use obvious passwords such as ‘password’
Your password should never be the same as your username.
I hope this helps, remeber if you’re an Adira customer and have any doubts then please don’t hesitate to call on 0845 6121199
Website design really can be fun! No-one embodies playfulness within the website design world quite like Google – they inspire their website designers to think outside the box, and to really play with the latest technology that’s out there.
This is often seen through the regular changes and innovations seen on the Google search page – we’ve seen great moving graphics, inspiring art and even full on games! Read the rest…
Although this article deals primarily with Adira’s blog of choice, WordPress, the principles here can apply to pretty much any blog and indeed any web page! Read the rest…
For some time it has been common practice to include lists of ‘tags’ or keywords within a website design – this has traditionally been used to add relevant keywords to the website page in an attempt to boost Google rankings.
However, it has recently come to light that this is now considered by Google to be bad practice – here’s a video that explains the issues…
We’ve just recieved an email from SitePoint all about using WordPress as a content management system to back up great website design. Adira uses WordPress for many clients – and, it seems, with good reason!
For those of you that don’t know, WordPress is a back end system that allows you to manage your website pages, add functionality (online shop, website gallery, booking system etc…) through a vast bank of plugins that are usually free or inexpensive to acquire. Read the rest…
This is an amazing piece of guerilla marketing using social media to promote continued awareness of HIV with a shoestring budget – absolutely incredible! Read the rest…
Choosing a web design firm for your company’s website may seem simple. You can choose the lowest cost website design company, or you can make a list of what you need for your website and choose the website hosting company that is best able to give you what you need. Though the list may be more time consuming, a bit of research can help you rest assured that you’ve made the best choice for your company. Read the rest…
Not really on-topic for a Winchester web design company, but an extremely interesting video that gives a whole host of fascinating statistics about information technology and its effect on us all. Read the rest…
According to web design Winchester professionals, content is of the utmost importance in any website and is therefore called as the king of the web design. Read the rest…
WordPress Botnet Attack
How to Protect Yourself from a Botnet Attack
