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Hacked: Has Your Website Become A Walker?

“Why does our website seem so sluggish?” A client recently asked.

Much like the slow infected walkers on The Walking Dead, a hacked website can have a dramatically reduced loading speed. I set out to rid their website of it’s Walkers, Rick Grimes style.

First: Always CYA

I started by making a backup of their database. I never skip this step! If something goes wrong, your ass is covered.

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Lock It Down

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  • CHANGE THE SALT KEY. The SALT key lives in the wp-config.php file. Doing this will log out any users currently logged into the WordPress install on the website. *Zap* Mutha F*ckers!

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  • CREATE ALL NEW PASSWORDS. This cannot be stressed enough. There are a number of passwords you will have to change, including the WordPress users, FTP, and the database password. Remove any unnecessary users and/or make sure anyone with administrator privileges should have them.

[Read more…] about Hacked: Has Your Website Become A Walker?

There are WordPress Security Risks Lurking in Your Disabled Plugins

[intro]One of the most overlooked security risks lurking in your WordPress powered website are disabled plugins and themes that you are no longer using.[/intro]

Here is Why The Risk is Real

The PHP files that make up those plugins and themes are still available for exploit even though they are no longer activated through WordPress. An outdated, deactivated plugin, or theme’s files can be used to run malicious code or serve unwanted ads.

Here is an example of a WordPress Plugins page [Read more…] about There are WordPress Security Risks Lurking in Your Disabled Plugins