6 Popular WordPress Security Plugins Recommendations and Selection Advice

For a commercial website, website security is a relatively important aspect. If you are not very proficient in server technology and website technology yourself, then installing a WordPress security plugin is a good choice. Among so manyWordPress Pluginwhich WordPress security plugin is the best to install? Naibabiji here summarizes several popular WordPress security plugins for everyone.

Popular WordPress Security Plugins Recommendations

Wordfence Security

The Wordfence Security pluginNaiba is currently using (not using anymore, now running bare), previously introduced in a separate article:4 WordPress Officially Recommended Malware Scanning PluginsWordfence Security has over 3 million active installations, which should be considered the most popular WordPress security plugin.Wordfence Security is relatively simple to set up; you hardly need to do any configuration, just activate it. Wordfence Security comes with a firewall, through which you can block specific crawler bots or visitors from specific regions or countries. At the same time, Wordfence Security also includes a scanning tool that can scan your server for malware, broken URLs, backdoors, spam, malicious code, Themes, and Plugins. It can also prevent user brute-force login attempts, find users with weak passwords on the server, and other security features.Download Link

All In One WP Security & Firewall

All In One WP Security & Firewall has over 800,000 active installations. All In One WP Security & Firewall features a scoring Dashboard, through which you can intuitively see the security status of your website.The All In One WP Security & Firewall firewall rules are divided into three levels: Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced. You can adjust and set the firewall rules according to your needs. Moreover, using All In One WP Security & Firewall will not slow down your website speed. Most importantly, All In One WP Security & Firewall currently has Chinese translation available, so you don't have to worry about not understanding it after installation.Download Link

iThemes Security

iThemes Security has over 900,000 active installations. It was originally named Better WP Security.The introduction page for iThemes Security states it is the #1 ranked WordPress security plugin, but Naiba doesn't know how this ranking was determined. Due to Plugin vulnerabilities, weak passwords, and outdated software, WordPress websites can become easy targets for attacks. iThemes Security provides over 30 security methods to protect your WordPress website.Download Link

Sucuri Security

Sucuri Inc. is a globally recognized authority responsible for all matters related to website security, with a focus on WordPress security. Sucuri Security is a security plugin they launched for the WordPress platform.The free features of Sucuri Security include the following:

• Security Activity Auditing
• File Integrity Monitoring
• Remote Malware Scanning
• Blacklist Monitoring
• Effective Security Hardening
• Post-Hack Security Actions
• Security Notifications

Only the website firewall is a paid feature. Sucuri Security has 500,000 active installations.Download Link

Jetpack

Jetpack is a Plugin launched by the WordPress team, supporting both WordPress security and optimization features. It already has over 5 million active installations.Jetpack monitors when your website goes down and notifies you immediately. Additionally, it provides robust protection against malware and spam. It safeguards your site from brute force attacks and unauthorized login attempts. Jetpack also optimizes your images and static resources to make your website faster. Unfortunately, this plugin is not suitable for domestic sites in China.Download Link

Cerber Security

Cerber Security, Antispam & Malware Scan has over 100,000 active installations. It protects your WordPress website from hackers, spam, trojans, and malware.Cerber Security, Antispam & Malware Scan includes an advanced malware scanner with file integrity checking and file monitoring. It supports setting up whitelists and blacklists for website access, allows customizing the admin login URL, and offers many features, including even DoS attack prevention.Download Link

Why You Need a Security Plugin

WordPress is the choice for one-third of website owners online, with a very large user base. Given its popularity, there are many individuals with malicious intent targeting it. You may not know which Theme or Plugin has vulnerabilities or which piece of code is malicious. For example, Naiba has encountered two cases of foreign trade websites being infected with malware.Sharing a case of a foreign trade WordPress website infected with malwareThese hackers may not need your website's data; they might simply use your site's traffic to display ads for their own benefit. However, this harms your website's own interests. Therefore, a plugin to protect WordPress security is essential. It can help scan your website's Themes and Plugins to check for vulnerabilities and malware. It can also scan your website users for weak passwords and block access from specific IPs. In short, if you care about your website's security and lack good security awareness, installing a WordPress security plugin is an excellent choice.

WP Security Plugin Selection Recommendations

There are many WordPress security plugins. You only need to install one plugin for the same type of functionality. If you want to install a WordPress security plugin, Naiba recommends ordinary users install Wordfence directly, and e-commerce users install Jetpack. If you only have a personal website, besides performing regular website backups, setting a complex password for the website is sufficient. Keep your website version and Plugin versions updated regularly, avoid installing cracked Plugins and Themes, and a complex password will generally prevent security issues. Installing a security plugin itself adds some burden to the website and can impact speed.Readers of this article are also interested in: Hide WordPress Admin Login URL to Enhance Security with WPS Hide Login Implement security measures to prevent WordPress websites from being hacked