Book Image

WordPress 3 Ultimate Security

Book Image

WordPress 3 Ultimate Security

Overview of this book

Most likely – today – some hacker tried to crack your WordPress site, its data and content – maybe once but, with automated tools, very likely dozens or hundreds of times. There's no silver bullet but if you want to cut the odds of a successful attack from practically inevitable to practically zero, read this book. WordPress 3 Ultimate Security shows you how to hack your site before someone else does. You'll uncover its weaknesses before sealing them off, securing your content and your day-to-day local-to-remote editorial process. This is more than some "10 Tips ..." guide. It's ultimate protection – because that's what you need. Survey your network, using the insight from this book to scan for and seal the holes before galvanizing the network with a rack of cool tools. Solid! The WordPress platform is only as safe as the weakest network link, administrator discipline, and your security knowledge. We'll cover the bases, underpinning your working process from any location, containing content, locking down the platform, your web files, the database, and the server. With that done, your ongoing security is infinitely more manageable. Covering deep-set security yet enjoyable to read, WordPress 3 Ultimate Security will multiply your understanding and fortify your site.
Table of Contents (23 chapters)
WordPress 3 Ultimate Security
Credits
About the Author
Acknowledgement
About the Reviewers
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

Correcting permissions creep


Just as we give users the least possible permissions, so we should for files and folders. We'll crash-course the detail of permissions and ownership, server-wide, in Chapter 9. For now though, we'll ensure that you have the correct permissions for WordPress.

Note

Least privilege permissions

This is the bottom line and applies to any file on any computer. What we should do is to cut rights to the bone while not restricting the required functionality.

The platform's defaults are fair: 755 for folders and 644 for files. Over time, though, these can become loosened up, particularly by developers and tinkerers. Bring them into line.

Pruning permissions at the terminal

Logged into the server and swapping the path to that of your WordPress root, do this:

find /full/path/to/WordPress -type d -exec chmod 755 {} \;
find /full/path/to/WordPress -type f -exec chmod 644 {} \;

VPS and dedicated server users should have to append that command with sudo.

Restyling perms with a control...