WordPress is Under Attack – Should you be Worried

It seems that WordPress has been under attack for several weeks now and considering the vast number of websites that use their software to build their site it leaves open one question, should you be worried?

The attack issue is focused on just one thing, VisitorTracker malware. This particular type of code started off as something that people were not that concerned about as it was just seen as being a bit of a pest, but it appears that things have now changed somewhat.

Now, clearly anybody that is running a WordPress website should already be taking various steps when it comes to their security because there has always been various issues surrounding keeping your website safe, but this new attack appears to have caught people by surprise.

At first, the malware would change headers and footers and redirect people to a different site, annoying although at least it was able to be fixed. However, now it has evolved to the point where it is injecting code into javascript on every page making the job a lot bigger to repair and causing more fear that it could lead to websites having to be taken down or a lot of money spent in trying to repair them.

It is unknown how many websites have been infected by this particular malware, but the fact that it exists opens up a completely new point that has to be discussed, looking after your site security.

Keeping Yourself Safe.

The only real problem of using something such as WordPress is that it is so popular, and it is understandable why it is so popular, that it means those individuals with the desire to try to cause mayhem will clearly target it.

However, WordPress has taken notice of this as well as a team of developers that have taken steps to produce various plugins that can reduce the chances of your site being attacked and it is those plugins that we need to discuss at this point.

There are different ways in which your website can be attacked and clearly this means that you need to take the relevant steps to eliminate those danger areas as best you can. Now, we are not saying that every website is going to be 100% secure, but by reducing the ways in which people can attack you it should at least increase your chances of emerging from attacks such as this malware one relatively unscathed.

As web designers that specialize in WordPress, we recommend that you do various things in order to reduce the odds of you logging onto your website one day and finding that it has been defaced and hacked.

First, you must make sure that you have the latest version of WordPress because they will update the core code with new safety and security features that are designed to tackle issues such as this one. Failing to update, which you should do automatically, will only leave the door open to attacks and that is certainly something that you need to avoid.

Next, the same concept of updating things applies to all of those useful plugins and pieces of software that you use in order to run your website. If they are out of date, then there can easily be holes left in the code that can then be exploited and what you will tend to find with those people that are involved in this kind of activity is that they love trying to find gaps to exploit.

By not updating you are basically inviting them in, so if you thought that it was too much hassle to update things, then just think about it from this perspective. What takes the least amount of time to do? Click a few buttons to update or arrange meetings with your web designer who then has to remove all of the malicious code that has brought your website down and cost you money in the process?

It really is perhaps the easiest question that you will ever have to answer.

The problem with all of this is that the threats to websites are constantly evolving, so websites themselves have to evolve at the same pace. As technology changes and improves, so does those threats and it is absolutely essential that you keep on top of things or else you will only be making life harder for yourself.

Now, we are not saying that you need to be an expert in web design or the actual mechanics behind a website as that is really not the case. Instead, what we are saying is that you must trust your web designer who can advise you on what to do in order to reduce the chances of you being attacked.

Listen to advice on special plugins that should be included, and if you have any questions regarding this, then feel free to ask because they will only be happy to help. After all, if you are more than happy with your website and it is running smoothly without any problems, then that makes you happy and a happy customer is all that any service provider should ever hope for.