If you run a WordPress website, it is just a matter of time until a hacker attempts to take control of it. They may not even be interested in your website but merely the server it sits on. The reason they want your server is simple. It gives them a new cannon in their war rather than the pistols they’ve been using. Huh? Let me explain.

There is a tool called a botnet that hackers can use for a wide variety of purposes. It is software that has secretly been installed on millions of home computers across the world by hackers. The owners don’t have any idea they are there and hackers enjoy using them to direct attacks on bigger servers at companies and governments worldwide. They use these millions of computers to either overwhelm big computers to shut down or deface websites, banking or country infrastructure. They also use these hornets for cracking passwords at sensitive locations to gain access to information.

So what does this have to do with your WordPress website? Hackers are now using these techniques to take over the we servers that you are hosted on. Home computers are not that powerful but we servers can do a lot more damage much faster. It’s like having a canon rather than a pistol to take down a target.

WordPress, though it is a great tool, has a lot of security issues by itself. Fortunately, these issues are regularly addressed by the WordPress community. There are two plugins I strongly recommend all WordPress users have installed.

Wordfence – this is an easy plugin to install and prevents a number of things but mainly people from trying to hack your password.

Better WP Security – this plugin fixes a lot of the security holes in WordPress. You may want to hire someone to set this one up for you as it can cause other plugins to not work correctly and it can drastically alter code WP code. It is worth it though. If you’ve ever been hacked, you know getting a site back to where it was can be a challenge.

With any new plugin, especially security plugins, you should always backup first in case something goes wrong. PressBackup is a great tool for backing up WordPress if you don’t already have a good backup solution.