Increasing security levels of websites built with CMS (Content Management Systems) like WordPress, Magento and Joomla, is of vital importance.
That’s why we decided to go into detail with a review of WordFence, one of the best security plugins on the market.
What is WordFence security and what is it for
Wordfence is a very popular security plugin used for WordPress-based websites. It provides real-time protection against various dangers, such as two-factor authentication, brute force attacks, malware, hacking, and other common vulnerabilities that may be present in a system like WordPress.
Here are some of its main functions and what it’s used for:
Firewall
Wordfence includes a firewall for web applications, which identifies and blocks malicious traffic to your website. The firewall will filter malicious requests, protecting your site from attacks and unauthorized access.
Malware Scanner
This feature examines WordPress core files, themes, plugins, and uploaded content for any signs of malicious code or potential backdoors. If malware is detected, Wordfence will notify the site administrator.
Brute Force Login Protection
Brute force attacks attempt to access your site by repeatedly trying various username and password combinations.
Wordfence detects and prevents these login attempts, also limiting the number of login attempts that can be made in a given period of time.
Real-time Traffic Monitoring
You can see real-time activities on your site, including traffic sources, IP addresses, access time, and pages visited.
This can help identify and react quickly to any suspicious behavior. Remember that maintaining the integrity of your website is essential.
Security Updates and Alerts
Wordfence will keep you updated with the latest known WordPress vulnerabilities and alert you if your site is using outdated or insecure plugins or themes.
This plugin is an essential tool for maintaining data integrity and security on your website.
WordFence is a freemium plugin. Therefore, there is a free version and a paid version.
Why a security plugin is necessary
Websites created with an Open Source CMS like WordPress can be more at risk of hacker attacks.
This happens because they are extremely widespread platforms, and being Open Source, it’s easy to study the core codes to attack them.
It should be said that programmers do everything to frequently update the CMS and help their clients.
There are also recommended practices for the site manager that can help achieve good security levels.
For example, “updating to the latest CMS versions and” using only certified plugins and only if necessary.
Prevention, through a security plugin like WordFence, guarantees very high levels of security and almost no possibility of hacker attacks.
Do I still recommend using an open source CMS? Absolutely yes, and if you adopt security best practices and use a good plugin like WordFence, you can rest easy!
How to download and install WordFence
To download WordFence, you’ll need to go to the official directory of your CMS, as we recommend for any other plugin.
Search for Wordfence, download and install. After installing it, you’ll see the WordFence icon in the control panel in the backend of your site, where you can access its control panel.
Main features of WordFence security
One of the strengths of WordFence is its multi-level protection activity. In fact, it scans the site to find threats, prevents hacker attacks, and blocks incoming dangerous traffic.
Security scanner
The first thing to do after downloading WordFence is a scan, which will check if there are viruses, spam, or weak points within your site.
If anomalies are detected during the scan, they will be reported to you and you will be asked what type of action you want to take.
Ignore, if you’ve understood that it’s not a real security issue, or resolve.
After the first scan, the plugin works continuously, performing real-time checks on attacks and weaknesses, in order to prevent and report any problems.
In the plugin settings, you can also set the frequency of automatic scans.
Firewall
The WordFence firewall is able to analyze your site and protect it best from external attacks.
It also offers you the possibility to set additional security rules, such as secure passwords, number of password entry attempts before blocking, and limitations for crawlers. By entering the settings, you can decide who to allow access to the firewall.
Block IP
By blocking an IP address, you will block access and/or viewing of your site to a specific user.
When they try to access or view the pages of your site, a page will appear explaining the limitation to which they are subject.
Live Traffic
With this feature, you will be able to monitor and see in real-time anyone visiting your website, whether they are users or robots.
In the WordFence settings, you can exclude administrator and team accesses from the counts.
Password Audit
WordFence is able to analyze the passwords used to access the website and communicate their security level to you.
This premium feature also allows you to invite any collaborators to change their password if identified as weak.
How much does Wordfence cost
Wordfence offers both a free version and a premium version with additional costs, which provides advanced features.
However, prices may vary over time depending on the company’s choices, special offers, or service updates.
In the free version, you will have access to several essential security features, such as the firewall, security scanning, and protection against brute force login attempts.
The premium version costs $119 per year per website and offers many more features, including:
- More frequent scans.
- Premium support and priority customer assistance from the Wordfence team.
- Improved scans and firewall.
- Real-time monitoring and alerts in case of intrusion attempts or detected security issues.
- Traffic control with advanced tools to monitor and limit traffic from suspicious IPs or specific countries.
The premium version of Wordfence is an investment in your website’s security, especially if you handle sensitive information or if your site has high traffic and a higher risk of cyber attacks.
What we at Qreativa think of the WordFence security plugin
For us, security is never too much. In addition to following all the basic rules to keep our clients’ websites secure, we find a support plugin useful and necessary.
Wordfence is among the best security plugins for open source CMS on the market, and it’s really worth trying and studying each of its features.
Do you need help increasing your website’s security? Contact us!
