WordPress is considered to be a very important, easy to use and cost-effective blogging platform for website owners for publishing and sharing their views, contents, and information to the whole world. But as a stand-alone platform, WordPress has some security glitch that should be fixed in a professional website with a long term goal. So we have to protect WordPress from getting hacked or getting affected by many viruses and malware.
Fortunately, there are lots of security plugins are available for WordPress, most of them are really doing the pretty good job to protecting a WordPress website. So, in this article, you will get to know about 10 most effective security plugins of WordPress that you can trust and use to make your website ready to handle any kind of security attacks.
But, one thing I need to mention here. As some below-mentioned plugins are really providing much-advanced protection, some advanced knowledge is also required to understand it properly. So, if you are a basic user of WordPress without much technical knowledge, please use any of these plugins very carefully. It is always recommended to take a full backup of your website files and databases. This will help you to recover your website from any adverse situations.
Related: I have read a recent article by Joe Fylan, a WordPress lover. The article is related to WordPress security which can give us a detailed idea on how to hardening WordPress. The article is worth reading.
1. Wordfence Security – Firewall & Malware Scan
Basically, Wordfence security gives your WordPress website a free enterprise class protection against malware and hackings. And as a result, you and your WordPress website will remain to relax and secured. Let’s know what their working features are.
Wordfence features generally cover up the factors like IP Blocking, Login Security, Security Scanning, WordPress Firewall, Monitoring, Multi-Site Security, Caching, IPv6 Compatibility, support for major Theme and Plugins and a free learning center which will keep updating you on the latest security features.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". The name of the author is Wordfence. The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. More than 89,140,474 users are already downloaded this. It was first get published on April 21, 2012. It was last get upgraded on September 12, 2018.
2. iThemes Security (formerly Better WP Security)
It gives security and protections over 30+ ways to your WordPress site. They basically protect your WordPress site by not only hiding the vital areas of your website but also gives protections to your important files just by preventing brute-force login attempts and also by detecting the threats which come the way of your website. Their implementation procedure is just like a one click activations process. Just use this plugin and fix your websites common holes and stop hackers from attacking your site by making it strong user credentials.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". The name of the author is IThemes. The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. 14,923,284+ users are downloaded this already. It was first get released on October 23, 2010. It was last get upgraded on August 15, 2018.
4. All In One WP Security & Firewall
This one is also a very easy plugin for users who always prefers a comprehensive solution, but at the same time, an easy to use, stable and well supported, for them All in One WP security & Firewall is an ideal one.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". It is developed by Tips And Tricks HQ, Peter Petreski, Ruhul, Ivy. The name of the publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. More than 6,524,869 users are downloaded this already. It was first get published on June 03, 2013. It was last get upgraded on July 24, 2018.
5. Sucuri Security – Auditing, Malware Scanner and Security Hardening
This plugin can be considered as a security toolset against the security integrity monitoring, malware detecting, and security hardening. This way Sucuri Security controls the hackers for stealing up or wiping up your forensic data from doing any kind of misuse. And if by chance any hackers get able to bypass your security controls, then also, your secured information will remain safe within the Sucuri Security Operations Center (SOC). This one is really a good security plugin for your WordPress site.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". The name of the author is Sucuri Inc.. The name of the publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. More than 3,997,573 users are already downloaded this. It was first get released on November 18, 2011. It was last get upgraded on July 03, 2018.
6. Login LockDown
This plugin is especially good in giving security by recording your website IP address and timestamp for every failed login attempt made on your website. This way you can easily detect how many times an attempt is made in doing login within a short period of time from the same IP range. The login function can be disabled for all requests from that IP range. And as a result, it will protect your website from the hackers who brutally doing force password recovery attempts. Initially, you will get 1-hour security blockage after 3 repeated failed attempts within 5 minutes, but this can be modified via the options panel. But if it is you who are doing the mistakes then you can take help from the administrators, who will then release locked out IP ranges manually from the control panel.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. 817,031+ users are downloaded this already. It was first get available on June 16, 2008. It was last get upgraded on May 22, 2018.
7. Anti-spam
Anti-spam plugin basically used for blocking spams usually which gets added in comments automatically, both for the users and for the admins, by staying invisible. This plugin is very easy to use because you can start using it by just installing it and it will be ready to use.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". It is developed by Webvitaly. The name of the publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. More than 1,147,104 users are already downloaded this. It was first get released on September 06, 2012. On June 03, 2018, it was last get upgraded.
9. Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall
The work of Anti-Malware Security and Brute Force Firewall is to scan and fix all the malware, viruses, and other security threats and vulnerabilities which can create a problem for your server. So, as a result, your WordPress site can remain threat free all time.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". It is developed by Eli Scheetz. The publisher name is WordPress Plugin Repository. 2,273,823+ users are downloaded this already. It was first get available on March 27, 2012. On August 07, 2018, it was last get upgraded.
10. BulletProof Security
Last but not the least one is BulletProof Security. This plugin specially provides protections against hardening WordPress website security. Like, it can be firewall security, it can be login security, and it can be database security. Moreover, this plugin is very much effective, at the same time it is reliable and very easy to use.
It is listed under "WordPress" > "WordPress Security Plugins". The author name is AITpro Website Security. The publisher is WordPress Plugin Repository. More than 2,835,109 users are downloaded this already. It was first get available on April 29, 2010. It was last get upgraded on August 07, 2018.
Conclusion:
Here above are some of the names of security plugins for WordPress who are doing very well. But always remember, to make your website fully secure you should have some technical knowledge. Also, always keep it in mind that you should know what you are implementing.
Also, please remember, you cannot able to use all plugins on the same website. So, please review all plugins and its features and then choose the appropriate plugin as per your needs. Be protected, take regular backup and stay safe.
FYI: In our website we are currently using 2 of the above-mentioned plugins, Wordfence Security and Anti-spam. Both are protecting our website pretty well.
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Hey!
Great post! We would be very grateful if you would try and then express your opinion about our plug-in. it’s not as popular yet, but we are receiving good reviews from our users. Our product offers an all-around website protection and security modules as well as several interesting additions such as an automatic version updater
It’s the WordPress “WebDefender“.
Many Thanks,
Alan
Knowledgeable list here; got introduced with some new security plugins. I use iThemes security plugin on my blog. And when I found it on above list, felt glad that I am using the correct one. Thanks for Sharing such helpful info!
Regards!
Hi,
My Website was hacked on last day and inserted some folders and locked my backend logins. There was already a security plugin added in my web from the start time onwards (All in one Security).
So can you help to choose which one among above listing, or any users who can suggest a better star-rated plugin to protect from similar attacks?
I personally use Wordfence on all of my WordPress sites. It actually saved my sites from many attacks.
That’s a brilliant list of security plugins you have there. I really liked the research you have put into this list.
I think WP Antivirus Site Protection is an excellent security plugin. It has the ability to detect backdoors, rootkits, Trojan horses, worms, fraud tools, adware, spyware, hidden links, redirection, etc.
The plugin you mentioned has a bad reputation and user review currently.
Great Job. Thanks for sharing.
I would like to add one more useful security plugin in this list which is User Activity Log Pro. It helps you monitor and keep track of all the activities occurs on the admin side. Find out more features: https://codecanyon.net/item/user-activity-log-pro-for-wordpress/18201203?ref=rswebsols
Thank you very much for your share. It is really helpful!
This is a fantastic list and I love how you have analyzed all of those security plugins, but there is a new one on the market that I found very useful. It’s called IVGuard and it does stuff that the others don’t. You can read more about it here: https://wordpress.org/plugins/ivguard/
Thank you for your share! :-)
Hello Souvik,
This article is really helpful because I know what it means but it all sounds like spun content, nowhere near correct English. Did you just move here from India? Maybe that is why it is so hard to understand these articles. You have a good site, just scan over it once in a while, OK?
Hello Tony,
Thank you for your suggestion. As I am from a non-native English country, you may find some glitch in my English. I will surely try to improve it over time. Nice to see, instead of unfriendly English, you found the article helpful.
Regards,
Souvik