A Guide To Two-Factor Authentication For WordPress
So, you are a small business owner and believe that your website is too fringe of a site to be under threat from nefarious bots. Well, it’s a wrong perception. Any site can be attacked, it has nothing to do with size or popularity of a website.
This is especially true when your website is powered by the WordPress platform, as bots are constantly looking for WordPress sites for an ambush. Therefore, as a business or website owner, you need to take steps to ensure the security of your website.
Common way of attack
While a WordPress website is constantly under the threat of bots attack, the most common way is brute-force login attacks. During such attacks, they constantly pummel at different websites attempting to spread spam, malware etc. One of the best ways to neutralize such attacks is the two-factor authentication.
Securing it twice as good
The two-factor authentication process has turned out to be a security process, especially for WordPress sites. Earlier, it was just used by large entities like banks or big corporations like Facebook or Google, as they integrated it in their account login procedures. However, now it is something that has become quite common and used by most websites.
It is a process that helps to determine that you are a legitimate version on the website. One of the common usages are the text messages that are sent to the user’s mobile to confirm their identity. Such double step authorization process has turned out be an effective procedure to fight against possible bot attacks.
Incorporating two-factor authentication to WordPress
There is no doubt that WordPress is one of the best platforms to build a website but recently security is an issue. To your surprise, placing this double layer security cover is pretty simple. In fact, there are a number of plugins that can successfully deal with the two-factor authentication process.
However, take the time to study the different plugins available in WordPress for this process as there are differences in each of them. Here is a list of WordPress plugins that offer such two-factor authentication.
It’s a widely popular plugin for the process. It is known to take a different approach to the two-factor authentication process as it requires no password. You simply need to install Clef on the website and install the companion app on your mobile.
When you log into the site, you will see a “Clef Wave” on display which you need to scan with the mobile app. The other process it offers is authentication by pin code or fingerprint. The plugin’s authentication approach is quite fun and effective. There are both free and paid versions of it.
WordFence is a WordPress plugin that is widely used by users and offers a firewall along with regular scans that keep your site free of spam and malware. The premium version of the software offers the two-factor authentication process, which is a perk.
The software allows you to jot down a list of users who can use this feature. They send out codes in text message each time they want to login. The code needs to be added to the end of the user’s password. It is a highly secured process though not the most user-friendly.
Google Authenticator is the app that Google uses for its two-factor authentication. You need to install the plugin on your website and the app on your mobile phone. You will get a temporary code for verification of selected user logins, which you need to put in the field specified in WordPress login screen.
Prevention is better than cure
There is hardly any doubt that WordPress has become a top target for brute-force attacks. However, with proper security steps and help from experts, you can combat such attacks. The plugins discussed above make this fight against bots or humans comparatively easier.
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About The Author
Sarah Clark
Sarah Clark, working in B3NET Inc. & Mobixed as Content Developer. B3NET is leading web design & web development company from Orange County, California, Search Optimal is the Internet Marketing division of it. Sarah is working in web, mobile & Internet marketing domain with her 8 years of experience.