With the world shifting towards technology, remote working has increasingly become the norm. However, the need to protect sensitive data alongside privacy has become a more significant concern. So, how do remote employees and organizations ensure their WordPress sites are secure and private when dealing with sensitive issues? This article addresses your site's essential WordPress security plugins, preserving privacy, ensuring data safety, and working remotely.
WordPress is among the leading website hosting services, and for a good reason. It is easy to use, flexible, and has a multitude of plugins and themes suitable for all types of businesses, bloggers, and remote employees. However, the same attribute also makes it prone to harm from hackers and other malicious attacks. This is critical for remote workers who constantly log into different sites from multiple locations and networks because strong privacy and security measures are necessary. Let's review some of the most crucial plugins every remote employee should utilize to protect their WordPress site.
1. Wordfence Security
If you are looking for the best cybersecurity measure for WordPress sites, Wordfence Security is your best bet. It is a complete tool with a firewall, malware scans, attempted login block, and more. Moreover, real-time updates allow users to defend against threats as they emerge, which is particularly helpful for users who work remotely on unsecured Wi-Fi networks. Users can have peace of mind knowing that their sites are being safeguarded all day, every day, with Wordfence security.
Furthermore, Wordfence's two-factor authentication helps bolster security for remote workers logging into their sites from many locations. Its powerful scanning tool also detects weaknesses and malware, warning users before any substantial damage is inflicted.
2. iThemes Security
Another primary candidate for contesting the theme of WordPress security is iThemes Security. This tool has over 30 features alongside comprehensive website security, such as database backups or file integrity checking, to force users to create strong passwords. Workers who operate remotely can also rest easy against brute-force attacks, a popular hacker tactic, as iThemes Security can limit the repeated attempts of unauthorized logins.
IThemes Security is unique because it protects unauthorized users more sophisticatedly by monitoring their remote access. The plugin records each user's steps and actions, tracking any suspicious happenings. This plugin is ideal for remote employees who work with others or on public PCs, as it tracks every move made on the site.
3. UpdraftPlus
Keeping your WordPress site secure is critical, but having a failsafe backup strategy is just as important. Many experts consider UpdraftPlus one of the best backup plugins for WordPress. Remote workers can also schedule automatic backups for the site, including the databases, files, and plugins. This is an excellent feature for remote employees who can't always easily access the site.
Moreover, UpdraftPlus is compatible with other cloud storage providers like Dropbox, Google Drive, and Amazon S3, which allows for storing backups in a secure remote location. This ensures remote workers' work is always protected no matter when or where their devices or connections are compromised. Restoring the backups, just like storing them, is super simple, resulting in less downtime in an urgent situation.
4. WPForms
WPForms is an essential plugin for remote workers dealing with contact forms, customer communication, and collecting sensitive information within forms. This plugin is a form builder with a lot of ease, where simple forms can be built with a few clicks. It comes with submission features like CAPTCHA that leave no room for spam submissions while also featuring two-step authentication for users accessing forms.
WPForms also encrypt form submissions, which means sensitive information is not prone to unauthorized access. Remote workers should feel confident using WPForms, knowing that the data shared by clients or customers cannot fall into the wrong hands.
5. Sucuri Security
Sucuri Security is a great choice when dealing with your WordPress site's security and privacy concerns. Security-minded people will appreciate that it covers almost all security aspects, such as firewall protection, malware scans, website monitoring, etc. Remote workers are given these benefits, so they are alerted immediately if their site gets breached by someone or malware is detected on it.
With Sucuri's firewall, attackers' attempts to reach your website are made more difficult because Sucuri blocks harmful traffic before it even gets there. Remote workers can use Sucuri's monitoring tools to track their website's health, ensuring all security breaches are detected and dealt with.
6. WooCommerce Pre-Order Plugin
The WooCommerce pre-order plugin is an excellent asset for online store managers working remotely. Store owners can now capture pre-orders for products that are not available yet. This feature helps increase sales and customer engagement while facilitating inventory planning. Remote stores' ability to accept pre-orders makes the work for e-commerce remote employees simpler. All this is possible by securing the store using the previously mentioned plugins.
7. Jetpack
Jetpack is a highly optimized plugin that combines security, performance, and website management tools. Remote employees will use Jetpack's real-time backups, malware scans, and downtime monitoring. The brute force attack protection feature is relevant to remote employees who access their site from various networks, such as public Wi-Fi, because it helps stop unauthorized login attempts.
Jetpack also provides analytics for the site, which may come in handy for remote employees who wish to check the analytical performance of their site. Equally important, they will know how to interpret the data to make well-informed decisions regarding the site's security, performance, and overall UX.
8. SSL Insecure Content Fixer
Enabling SSL (Secure Socket Layer) is the first thing to consider. Once SSL encryption has been enabled, the SSL Insecure Content Fixer uses plugins to fix mixed content errors. It also helps with the multifaceted issues of broken content errors and content-specific problems on the website.
Remote workers need to access sites and servers worldwide, making SSL encryption necessary. These plugins simplify SSL verification, ensuring remote employees have their information shielded while simultaneously transmitting information over the web.
9. Spam Protection by CleanTalk
For WordPress sites that offer blogging or e-commerce features, spam is a primary authentication issue, especially for remote employees. In this scenario, CleanTalk provides a strong wall around the website with leaked spam while nullifying comments made by robotic users. In the long run, it helps prevent spam bots from disrupting your site and keeps them very well protected even without the remote worker's onsite assistance.
Moreover, CleanTalk works perfectly with WooCommerce, guaranteeing that spam orders do not clear the checkout page. This feature allows remote teams to shift their focus, as they do not have to worry about spam taking away precious time and can instead focus on other tasks.
10. MalCare Security
MalCare is another solid security plugin, and this one comes with an effortless malware elimination feature. Remote workers concerned about the damage malware can do to their site will enjoy MalCare's scanning for vulnerabilities and malware features. A cloud-based system is used to scan your site, which ensures that your website's performance is not affected in any way.
With Malcare, you also get login protection, firewalls, and the ability to block brute-force attacks, essential for remote workers who log in from different locations and devices. If users notice malware on their sites, Malcare's malware removal tool enables them to remove it swiftly and effectively.
Conclusion
The surge in the adoption of remote work means a greater emphasis on safety and privacy when securing WordPress sites. The plugins discussed above enable remote workers to defend their websites from potential threats, data breaches, and malicious attacks. Whether using Wordfence to protect your site or WPForms to deal with sensitive data, these tools address every aspect of protection needed for your website.
To ensure the security of your WordPress site, a protective and precautionary stance has to be taken, which these plugins deliver perfectly. Moreover, for remote workers who have to manage online shops, customer service can be elevated with the WooCommerce pre-order feature while safeguarding security. With constant protection of privacy and security, remote workers can concentrate on what matters the most—their work, knowing very well that their websites are secure.
