WordPress Security Presentation Tips to Protect Your Site

Who Am I?

Brad Williams
Co-Founder of WebDevStudios.com
Organizer NJ/Philly WordPress Meetup
Co-Host SitePoint Podcast

Co-Author of Professional WordPress (http://bit.ly/pro-wp)

The Goal of this Presentation…


…Is to scare the crap out of you!


…and then make everything better
with the best security tips!

Topics

 Example WordPress Hacks
 Securing Your WordPress Website
 How to Clean Up a Hacked Site
 Hosting Considerations
 Recommended Plugins

Who Do Hackers Target?

YOU

Example

Hacker bot finds a security hole on your website

WordPress

Example

Hacker bot hides a file in your WordPress installation

WordPress

Akismet.cache.php is NOT an Akismet file

Example

Hacker bot can now trigger this file/code remotely

WordPress Hacker Bot

Example
Common Hacker bot script jobs

• Add spam content and links to your websites theme files
• Create posts and pages with spam content and links
• Delete posts/pages/settings wreaking havoc on your site
• etc, etc, bad stuff, etc, etc

WordPress Hacker Bot

CSS Hides the Spam

<b style=“display:none”>Any text you want to hide</b>

FeaturedContentGallery.com: HACKED

Don‟t use the admin account

If you are using the admin account you are wrong!

Either change the username in MySQL:

UPDATE wp_users SET user_login='newuser' WHERE user_login='admin';

Or create a new/unique account with administrator privileges.

1. Create a new account. Make the username very unique
2. Assign account to Administrator role
3. Log out and log back in with new account
4. Delete admin account

Make it hard on the hacker! If they already know your username that‟s half the battle

Don‟t use the admin account

WordPress 3.0 lets you set
the administrator username
during the installation
process!

The Great Permission Debate
What folder permissions should you use?

Good Rule of Thumb:
• Files should be set to 644
• Folders should be set to 755

Start with the default settings above
If your host requires 777…SWITCH HOSTS!

Permission levels vary depending on server configuration

The Great Permission Debate

Permissions can be set via FTP

Or via SSH with the following commands

find [your path here] -type d -exec chmod 755 {} ;
find [your path here] -type f -exec chmod 644 {} ;

Move the wp-config.php file
WordPress 2.6 added the ability to move the wp-config.php
file one directory above your WordPress root

If WordPress is located here:

public_html/wordpress/wp-config.php

You can move your wp-config.php file to here

public_html/wp-config.php

WordPress automatically checks the parent directory if a
wp-config.php file is not found in your root directory

This makes it nearly impossible for anyone to access your wp-config.php
file as it now resides outside of your website‟s root directory

Move the wp-content Directory
WordPress 2.6 added the ability to move the wp-content directory

1. Move your wp-content directory
2. Make two additions to wp-config.php

define( 'WP_CONTENT_DIR', $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/blog/wp-content' );
define( 'WP_CONTENT_URL', 'http://domain.com/blog/wp-content');

If you have compatibility issues with plugins there are two optional settings

define( 'WP_PLUGIN_DIR', $_SERVER['DOCUMENT_ROOT'] . '/blog/wp-content/plugins' );
define( 'WP_PLUGIN_URL', 'http://domain.com/blog/wp-content/plugins');

If hackers can‟t find your wp-content folder, they can‟t hack it!

Stay Current on Updates
Keep WordPress core, plugins, and theme files up to date

Recent WordPress hack only affected outdated WordPress installs

The plugin Changelog tab
makes it very easy to view
what has changed in a new
plugin version

Use Secure Passwords
Use strong passwords to protect your website from dictionary attacks
Not just for WordPress, but also FTP, MySQL, etc

BAD PASSWORD: bradrocks
GOOD PASSWORD: S-gnop2D[6@8

WordPress will tell you
when you have it right

Great resource:
toughpassword.com

Creates random passwords

Use Secret Keys
A secret key is a hashing salt which makes your site harder to
hack by adding random elements to the password.
1. Edit wp-config.php
2. Visit this URL to get your secret keys: https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt
BEFORE
define('AUTH_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('LOGGED_IN_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('NONCE_KEY', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('LOGGED_IN_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');
define('NONCE_SALT', 'put your unique phrase here');

AFTER
define('AUTH_KEY', '*8`:Balq!`,-j.JTl~sP%&>@ON,t(}S6)IG|nG1JIfY(,y=][-3$!N6be]-af|BD');
define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY', 'q+i-|3S~d?];6$[$!ZOXbw6c]0 !k/,UxOod>fqV!sWCkvBihF2#hI=CDt_}WaH1');
define('LOGGED_IN_KEY', 'D/QoRf{=&OC=CrT/^Zq}M9MPT&49^O}G+m2L{ItpX_jh(-I&-?pkeC_SaF0nw;m+');
define('NONCE_KEY', 'oJo8C&sc+ C7Yc,W1v o5}.FR,Zk!J<]vaCa%2D9nj8otj5z8UnJ_q.Q!hgpQ*-H');
define('AUTH_SALT', 'r>O/;U|xg~I5v.u(Nq+JMfYHk.*[p8!baAsb1DKa8.0}q/@V5snU1hV2eR!|whmt');
define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', '3s1|cIj d7y<?]Z1n# i1^FQ *L(Kax)Y%r(mp[DUX.1a3!jv(;P_H6Q7|y.!7|-');
define('LOGGED_IN_SALT', '`@>+QdZhD!|AKk09*mr~-F]/F39Sxjl31FX8uw+wxUYI;U{NWx|y|+bKJ*4`uF`*');
define('NONCE_SALT', 'O+#iqcPw#]O4TcC%Kz_DAf:mK!Zy@Zt*Kmm^C25U|T!|?ldOf/l1TZ6Tw$9y[M/6');

You can add/change secret keys at anytime.
This will invalidate all existing cookies and require your users to login again

Change WordPress Table Prefix

1. Edit wp-config.php before installing WordPress
2. Change the prefix wp_ to something unique:

/**
* WordPress Database Table prefix.
*
* You can have multiple installations in one database if you give each a unique
* prefix. Only numbers, letters, and underscores please!
*/
$table_prefix = „wtf_';

All database tables will now have a unique prefix (ie wtf_posts)

Force SSL Login and Admin Access

Set the below option in wp-config.php to force SSL (https) on login

define('FORCE_SSL_LOGIN', true);

Set the below option in wp-config.php to force SSL (https) on all admin pages

define('FORCE_SSL_ADMIN', true);

.htaccess lockdown

1. Create a .htaccess file in your wp-admin directory
2. Add the following lines of code:

AuthUserFile /dev/null
AuthGroupFile /dev/null
AuthName "Access Control"
AuthType Basic
order deny,allow
deny from all
#IP address to Whitelist
allow from 67.123.83.59
allow from 123.123.123.123

Only a user with the IP 67.123.83.59 or 123.123.123.123 can access wp-admin

Shared Hosting
Shared Hosting Server

Website Website Website Website

Shared Hosting
What‟s
wrong with
that guy? Shared Hosting Server


Shared Hosting
Oh frack!


Shared Hosting
braaaaains


Invest In Your Website

Go VPS or Dedicated

Step 1: Delete Everything and Start Over!

Step 1: Do a Fresh Install of WordPress

• Delete, don‟t overwrite, all original WordPress files
• Upload fresh copies of all WordPress core files

Be sure to backup your theme, plugins, media, etc

Step 2: Re-install All Plugins

• Install fresh copies of all WP plugins need
• DON‟T use the same plugin files from the hacked site

Step 3: Re-install Your Theme

• If possible install a fresh copy of your theme
• If using the old theme be sure to inspect every file for hack code

Step 4: Change all Passwords and Keys

• Change your passwords: WordPress, FTP, MySQL
• Verify the hacker didn‟t create another user, if so delete it
• Update your secret keys in wp-config.php (as shown earlier)

Step 5: Scan Database for Malicious Code

• Look for common hack keywords:
• eval, base64, strrev, iframe, noscript, display
• Use WordPress Exploit Scanner plugin (discussed later)

Example SQL: SELECT * FROM wp_posts WHERE post_content LIKE '%eval%'

Step 6: Verify folder/file permissions

• Check all folder and file permissions are correct
• Reset to 755 on folders and 644 on files if needed

WP Security Scan

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-security-scan/

ServerBuddy

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/serverbuddy-by-pluginbuddy/

WordPress Exploit Scanner

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/exploit-scanner/

WordPress File Monitor

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wordpress-file-monitor/

Login Lockdown

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/login-lockdown/

WordPress Security Resources
 Security Related Codex Articles
› http://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress
› http://codex.wordpress.org/Changing_File_Permissions
› http://codex.wordpress.org/Editing_wp-config.php
› http://codex.wordpress.org/htaccess_for_subdirectories
 Blog Security Articles
› http://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/11-vital-tips-and-hacks-to-protect-your-
wordpress-admin-area/
› http://www.growmap.com/wordpress-exploits/
› http://lorelle.wordpress.com/2009/03/07/firewalling-and-hack-proofing-your-wordpress-
blog/
› http://semlabs.co.uk/journal/how-to-stop-your-wordpress-blog-getting-hacked/
› http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/18-useful-plugins-and-hacks-to-protect-your-wordpress-
blog/
› http://www.catswhocode.com/blog/10-easy-ways-to-secure-your-wordpress-blog
 Clean A Hacked Site
› http://codex.wordpress.org/FAQ_My_site_was_hacked
› http://ottodestruct.com/blog/2009/hacked-wordpress-backdoors/
› http://ocaoimh.ie/did-your-wordpress-site-get-hacked/
› http://smackdown.blogsblogsblogs.com/2008/06/24/how-to-completely-clean-your-hacked-
wordpress-installation/
› http://blog.sucuri.net/2010/02/removing-malware-from-wordpress-blog.html

Contact

Brad Williams
brad@webdevstudios.com

Blog: strangework.com
Twitter: @williamsba
IRC: WDS-Brad

http://www.slideshare.net/williamsba

Tweet: @williamsba WordPress Security Rocks! #wcma
Win a copy of Professional WordPress!

WordPress Security Presentation Tips to Protect Your Site

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