When someone hacks a website, what are they trying to accomplish? Some just do it for fun while others have more dangerous things in mind and even worse, financial interests. Some hackers like to show off and will maybe replace your home page with a…
WordPress Version 3.3.1 released
A new version of WordPress is available for download. WordPress version 3.3.1 includes a fix for a disclosed reflected cross-site scripting vulnerability reported by Joshua H., Hoang T., Stefan Zimmerman, Chris K and the GoDaddy team. It also includes 15 other fixes for several other…
Securing FTP Running on Your Web Server
I’ve had several questions from clients recently on how they can to secure FTP running on their web servers. The easy and short-sighted response would be “Are you nuts? You need to run FTP on a dedicated server!” However, looking at it from a business…
Create a WordPress htpasswd File to Secure the WP-Admin Dashboard
HTTP authentication adds a secondary layer of WordPress security that protects the admin dashboard — or wp-admin — by requiring the user to submit further authentication. After creating the .htaccess file for protecting the WordPress wp-admin folder, you should create a username and password database file…
Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner 8 Now BETA 2
As the BETA program for Acunetix Web Vulnerability Scanner 8 keeps gaining momentum, all the great feedback received from our BETA participants has helped us achieve the BETA 2 milestone. This brings a significant number of improvements to WVS 8, including new usability features, component…
Good Web Security Tools and Why They Matter
Like chemists, carpenters and doctors, those of us working in IT need good tools if we’re expected to do a good job. When dealing with application security, good security testing tools will always set the professionals apart from the amateurs. In fact, the quality of…
Update Your Site to WordPress 3.3 ‘Sonny’
Hello WordPress 3.3! The legendary Content Management System (CMS) — or blogging platform for us mortals — has been given a slick update, code-named ‘Sonny’ after the late jazz saxophonist Sonny Stitt. WordPress 3.3 is now available us an automatic update through your WordPress dashboard,…
Quantifying the Website Security Problem
The research is out and I can hear the journalist and editorial proclamations now: Website security flaws on the rise! Website malware getting the best of bloggers Website security being undermined by software quality Before you know it, the IT vendor marketing teams have climbed…
Weak WordPress Directory Permissions Can Be Exploited On Your Site
If a directory is not configured with the correct permissions, an intruder can upload and execute malicious files and modify critical files which can compromise your WordPress security. Eventually, the malicious user can gain full control over your web server which can lead to other serious…