You probably know already that WordPress is the largest content management system (CMS) which powers over 30% of all websites on the Internet. The figure just keeps growing since users launch 50 thousand WordPress-based websites each day.
But do you know that the popularity of this CMS brings a proportional share of security issues? According to the report, 90 thousand attacks on WordPress sites occur every minute. It’s a huge threat that could jeopardize years of hard work and content creation within seconds, so you need to think about the best protection model.
A study reveals that over 70% of the most popular WordPress installations are vulnerable to vulnerabilities which can be detected using free automated tools, plugins in particular. However, when you enter “security” in the WordPress plugin search box, it displays more than 300 results.
In such circumstances, it becomes extremely difficult to check all options and find the one that suits your website the most. That’s why we decided to cut the long story short and present you the best WordPress security plugins. Let’s see our top 10 picks!
You might wanna check also: Best GDPR WordPress Plugins
Jetpack
Jetpack is the native WordPress plugin that contains much more than just security features. However, the CMS developers did a good job creating a quality system of website protection as well, so you can rely on this tool when it comes to safety.
The free version ensures brute force attack protection and downtime monitoring, but you’ll get much more if you choose the premium package (starting at $99 a year). The paid system also offers:
- Automated spam filtering
- Automated malware scanning
- Automated security fixes
Besides that, Jetpack Premium includes real-time backups, more frequent security scanning, spam filtering, and many other options that make it a reliable WordPress security plugin.
Sucuri Security
Sucury Security is one of the most frequently used WordPress plugins (400 thousand installations) due to its powerful defense mechanism. The plugin is being updated regularly and includes most of the safety solutions your website requires. It’s a free tool with features such as:
- Security Activity Auditing
- File Integrity Monitoring
- Remote Malware Scanning
- Blacklist Monitoring
- Effective Security Hardening
- Post-Hack Security Actions
- Security Notifications
However, Sucuri Security also comes with a few premium options for more advanced systems. There are three types of licenses – Basic, Pro, and Business – and each one offers additional support with improved response times.
SiteLock Security
SiteLock Security is another all-encompassing WordPress safety plugin, which helps webmasters to handle all features from within the CMS dashboard. It’s an open source platform that you can install within minutes.
Janice Baron, a WordPress developer at UK Careers Booster, told us what she loves about SiteLock Security: “The tool maximizes security by scanning pages in draft mode, while ongoing upgrades allow minimal latency between identifying and correcting issues. This improves the over the stability of our website, making it almost impenetrable.”
MalCare
MalCare is the security plugin that protects websites without compromising their performance or end-users experience. As such, it is very convenient for webmasters who don’t want to spend too much time thinking about website safety but want to focus on content creation instead.
MalCare is updated regularly and it gives you a wide range of free security mechanisms dealing with login protection, firewall, and malware scanning. However, you can also opt for the more advanced version that goes from Personal ($8.25 a month) to Agency ($159) plans.
This kind of support will give you extra features such as website hardening, ultrafast support response time, unknown malware detection, and detailed client reports.
Defender
Defender represents an easy website protection solution. It is simple to use and offers an intuitive interface, so you don’t have to be a tech guru to keep it running. The biggest qualities of Defender are:
- Google 2-Step Verification
- One-click site hardening and security tweaking
- WordPress core file scanning and repair
- Login Screen Masking
- IP Blacklist manager and logging
- Unlimited file scans
- Timed Lockout brute force attack shield for login protection
- 404 limiter for blocking vulnerability scans
- IP lockout notifications and reports
The list goes on if you are willing to pay $49 a month for Defender Pro. Most of all, it will help you with extra scanning, audits, and monitoring.
BulletProof Security
BulletProof Security is the comprehensive WordPress security platform with over 80 thousand active installations. It has a broad scope of basic safety mechanisms, including MScan malware scanner, login security and monitoring, extensive system information, and firewalls.
The paid BulletProof Security ($69.95) is even more productive, offering dozens of bonus features. Some of the most significant solutions that don’t come with the free version are quarantine, auto restore, DB monitor, uploads anti-exploit guard, pro tools, and email alerting.
Shield Security
Shield Security is making the WordPress website defense simpler by automating most of the process. It doesn’t send you security alerts or notifications every once in a while, but rather tries to do all things discretely. You will only receive safety alerts when you really need to know about the certain issue.
Shield Security is giving you the whole palette of basic protection tools, including login attempts limit, core file scanners, automatic IP black lists, two-factor authentication, firewall, user activities, and many more. There is even more available at Shield Security Pro, an upgraded version that costs as little as $1 per month.
Wordfence Security
Wordfence Security is a widely used plugin that identifies and block malicious traffic. Since it’s not cloud-based, Wordfence Security doesn’t break encryption and reduces the data leakage risks to the minimum. Using the malware scanner, you can regularly inspect core files, spam, bad links, or any other type of safety threat.
Wordfence Security also comes with a premium package, starting at $99 per single license. This option gives you a set of additional features:
- Country blocking
- Real-time threat defense feed
- Spam detection by IPs
- More frequent scans
- Faster support
- Two-factor authentication
iThemes Security
iThemes Security is preventing brute force attacks by banning hosts and users with too many invalid login attempts. But this is only one defense mechanism as the plugin does a good job detecting and preventing problematic users and/or activities, among many other things.
With this tool, you can check the system for unauthorized changes, find bots, blacklist users, recover the WordPress database, and do many other activities to keep the site protected. If you choose the premium plan (starting at $80 a year), you can get even more:
- Malware scan scheduling
- Online file comparison
- Password expiration
- User action logging
- Security keys
- Temporary privilege escalation
All In One
All In One is a stable security plugin that always updates to the latest WordPress safety protocols. It comes in three formats – Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced – all of which are free of charge. What makes it different than other tools is its unique grading system which measures the quality of the defense based on the protection features at your disposal. This way, you can easily check whether your WordPress-powered website is in danger.
Conclusion
Security is a major WordPress issue that webmasters must put on the top of their priority lists. With thousands of malware attacks taking place each day, a security plugin is often the only thing that can protect you from disastrous consequences in the long-term perspective.
This post showed you the 10 best WordPress security plugins. Feel free to check them out, and don’t hesitate to choose one for your website – it will save you a lot of time and nerves.
Bio: Eugene is an Australian-based blogger for UK Careers Booster, who is into stand-up comedy. His favorite comedians are Louis CK and George Carlin. A good morning laugh is what keeps Eugene upbeat and motivated through the harsh day.
