Importance
Ease of Task

Beating the Hackers / Botnets

It’s a question we are often asked, “How do I move my WordPress login URL?” and just as importantly, “Why do I need to move my WordPress Login?”

In this brief WordPress Security Blog we will explain why & how.

Very simply, moving your WordPress login URL helps you to stop brute-force attacks on your website site. As well as posing a security threat by gaining Admin access, these attacks consume resources by attempting to gain entry.

Most bot nets use a script that searches the web for WordPress sites and then automatically uses the standard (out of the box) login path / url “wp-login.php” to try and login to your site with Admin rights, generally with malicious intent!

One of your best defences against these attacks is to change your login URL  You can create an unique, easy to remember login URL rather than wp-login.php to something like “www.mywordpresswebsite.co.uk/qpu98ty/”. Whilst you could use real words to make it easy to remember it is better to use random characters that mean something to you but couldn’t be guessed.

Instructions

  1. Login to your WordPress account / dashboard.
  2. Go to Plugins > Add New.
  3. In the search box type “Move Login”.
  4. When the Move Login plugin shows click the “Install” button.
  5. After install, the “Install” button changes to “Activate”. Click the “Activate” button.
  6. Once activated, from the main WordPress menu on the left of your screen go to Settings > Move Login.
  7. Change the URL’S to where you want them to be, for security we strongly advise against leaving as the defaults i.e. “login” as these are easy to guess. Instead, as above, use something random but that you can remember such as in this example “qpu98ty”
  8. Set the option at the bottom “When a not connected user attempts to access the administration area”. to a “Redirect to a «Page not found» error page”
  9. Lastly, click the “Save Changes” button at the bottom.

That’s it, you have improved your website security! Fewer botnet attacks and a much easier to use URL! But please ensure you remember the new one!

Open Formula are always happy to help so if you need any help setting this up, or have questions, please feel free to contact us.

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