Archive for Blogging Tips
Learning About WordPress-Blog Building Made Easy
Posted by: | Comments
I have just purchased the domain name, LearningAboutWordPress.com. I’m sure you can figure out what it’s all about!
Learning About WordPress will have video tutorials that will take you through the complete process of setting up a WordPress site. So whether it is a blog, a website or a combination of both (like this site is) you will learn how to do it here.
Some of the topics I’ll be covering are:
- Registering a Domain Name
- Setup Hosting
- Transferring your DNS
- Installing your blog
- Add security features
- Choosing a Theme and installing it
- Setting up Email
- Privacy Settings
- How to write, edit and publish a Post
- How to add Pages
- Plugins and Widgets
- and a whole lot more!!!
Protecting The .htaccess file in Your Blog Setup
Posted by: | CommentsNow that we have protected the wp-config file by adding some code to the .htaccess file we need to protect the .htaccess file. The video below demonstrates how to do that.
Make sure that you make a copy of the code that is already there…just in case something goes wrong and you need to fix it.
Add the following code to the .htaccess file:
<Files .htaccess>
Order Allow,Deny
Deny from all
</Files>
That is it. I hope you enjoy the video and learn something from it. If there are any questions don’t hesitate to ask The Blog Builder Guy.
Secure Passwords Are Hard to Hack
Posted by: | CommentsIn a recent post on the importance of using secure passwords and usernames I said that the longer the password is and the greater the variety of the characters it is composed of, the stronger it will be. Here is a chart I found that shows the difficulty or lack there of, of cracking passwords.
Protecting the WP-Config File
Posted by: | CommentsIn a previous post I stated that the wp-config file is one of the most important files in the WordPress file system. So far we have made some modifications to this file to make the blog setup more secure but now we need to secure the file itself.
In the following video I explain how to use the .htaccess file to prevent anyone from gaining access to your wp-config file.
Below is the code you need to add to the .htaccess file. Do Not Copy and Paste this code but type it in manually in the format you see below.
If you have any questions about WP security or WP in general don’t hesitate to ask The Blog Builder Guy.
Delete Installation files for a More Secure Blog Setup
Posted by: | Comments
Here are a few more tips that will help make your WordPress site just a little safer from those evil doers. Now please remember that the operative word here is “safer”. Hackers are discovering new ways to hacks sites all the time. There is no way to be 100% safe. But if you want to keep the kid living in his parent’s basement out of your site then the tips I’m offering in this series will be a big help.
If you have any questions or comments let The Blog Builder Guy know! Enjoy and put it to use!!
Using the WP-Config File to Secure Your Blog Setup
Posted by: | Comments
Today’s video explains how to make your WordPress blog setup a little more secure by making a simple changes to the wp-config file. Enjoy the video and if you have any questions let The Blog Builder Guy know.
Secure Your Blog Setup-The WP-Config File Pt.5
Posted by: | Comments
Securing the WP-Config File
What is the WP-Config file and why is it important?
The wp-config file is one of the most important files in the WordPress file system. This file is needed to connect to the database, set various preferences and allow custom settings. Without the wp-config file you have no WordPress.
Within the wp-config file you can change settings that add more layers of security to your site. You can also edit this file to add more functionality to the site as well.
So if some hacker can get access to this file they can do major damage to your site. Having said this it becomes imperative that this file is protected.
So where is the wp-config file? If your hosting company uses a cPanel interface then simply go to the File Manager, go to your site and the file will be in the directory your site is located in. If you use FTP just login and it will be in the directory where your site is located.
Next up will be some videos showing some of the steps you can take in your initial blog setup to secure your site by making changes to your wp-config file. Topics covered will be changing the name of your database, changing your secret keys, securing the config file and a few more.
In the meantime if you have any questions let The Blog Builder Guy
know!
Secure Your Blog Setup Part 4
Posted by: | Comments
Here is a list of plugins that can help improve your site’s security. I haven’t tried all of them so I can’t give an opinion as to their effectiveness. But I got the list from reliable and trusted sources. My thanks to Brad Williams from Webdev Studios and Chris Coyier and Jeff Starr at Digging Into WordPress.
• Secure WordPress
Provides many important security measures, including protection against bad queries and complete removal of sensitive, auto-generated information.
• WP Security Scan
Scans your WordPress installation for known security vulnerabilities and suggests corrective actions. Features include passwords, permissions, and more.
• WP File Monitor
Scans your WordPress files for malicious code and notifies you with the results. When files are changed, moved, added or removed, this plugin lets you know.
• Ultimate Security Check
Scans for “hundreds of known threats” and grades security performance. Provides a great overview of your site’s security. And it’s incredibly easy to use.
• BlogSecurity’s WPIDS plugin
Detects attacks and blocks them. Each intrusion is clearly visible and an error is displayed, making administration easier than in previous versions.
• AskApache Password Protect
Protects your site by blocking automated attacks, spam, and other nonsense. Helps to secure wp-admin, wp-includes, wp-content, and plugins as well.
• WordPress Firewall
Blocks potential attacks based on a list of potentially suspicious parameters.
• Login Lockdown
Blocks the IP address of any user with too many failed login attempts.
• Stealth Login
Enables creation of custom URLs for logging in and other administrative tasks.
• Exploit Scanner
Searches your site’s files, plugins, and database for suspicious business.
• Safer Cookies
Prevents unauthorized Admin access by making your cookies IP-specific.
• Maximum Security plugin
Guards against intrusion, tracks system events, blocks malicious content, and includes a strong Web application firewall and intrusion prevention system.
• WordPress AntiVirus
Smart and effective solution to protect your blog against exploits and spam injections. Features manual testing, auto notifications, and whitelist functionality.
• ServerBuddy
Tests server configuration to look for problems with hosting configuration and determine compatibility with various WordPress themes and plugins.
• WP-MalWatch
Security plugin scanner designed to help alert you when hackers have been at work inside your blog.
Securing Your Blog Setup-Part 3
Posted by: | Comments
Changing the Admin Username
In another post on blog setup security I mentioned that you should never use the default username “admin” as your username. Why? Because hacker bots will look for that username and when they find it they are half way into your site.
With version 3.0 and up WP lets you set the administrator username during the initial installation process. This has been talked about for awhile and it has finally been implemented!
But people ask, “What if I already have “admin” set as my username? How do I change it?”
Here is how you do it:
- Login to your WP account
- Go to Users>Add New make the new user name unique
- Assign this user as an Administrator
- Log out of your account and log back in with the new account
- Then delete the original admin account
- Ta Done!
I got ambitious and did a quick video explaining the above instructions. I hope you like it!
And as always if you have any questions let The Blog Builder Guy know!
Securing Your Blog Setup Part 2
Posted by: | CommentsMy last post on securing your blog setup dealt with having a unique username and a password made up of uppercase, lowercase letters, numbers and characters.
This post will go a little deeper into the process and will require a trip to the Theme Functions (functions.php) file of your blog. And lucky you, you get to see a video of me explaining how to do it.
This is the code you want to put in your Theme Functions file:
remove_action('wp_head','wp_generator');
