Why the New WordPress "WordFence" Plugin May be the Greatest Security Tool Out There!
Even though websites are crucial to businesses and a major source of income, many website or blog owners don’t give much thought to website security, especially when it comes to WordPress websites. In most cases WordPress is secure; still some hackers target WordPress because many fail to update the application or plugins. To prevent this from happening some users prefer to install a plugin called WordFence. The following are five features available through WordFence.
- Scraper Protection
- Performance
- Customized Options
- Ease of Use
- Free
WordFence offers protection against scrapers; essentially aggressive bots or applications that scour the web for content to steal and use on other websites. When scraped content is not linked back to the original source and is simply placed on any website whether it relates to your industry or not.
WordFence’s parent company Feedjit Inc. has been in existence since 2007, although they were primarily focused on real-time analytics. But because of their experience, the WordFence plugin is very well coded and secure. It is effective at keeping viruses out. Here’s a pretty good review of those features, among others.
The plugin does allow users to customize options through the drop down menu. It is here you can choose to receive email alerts for the level of protection you want.
WordFence is very easy to use and configure. Just search for the plugin from the WordPress plugin page in your back-end dashboard. Click on the activate button once it downloads and follow the link that takes you to the video tour. This helps you understand how the plugin works. Once you finish the watching the instructional video which lasts a few minutes run the scan feature by going to the WordFence menu, clicking “Start” under the “Scan” option and waiting for it to complete. Once finished configure the intuitive options to run your scans automatically the number of times you want it run throughout the day, week or month.
This plugin is free, although it does have premium paid options. Once installed it scans your blog several times a day to keep it free from Trojans, malicious links, malware and more.
Have you used WordFence or another WordPress security tool? Please share in the comments.