With the COVID-19 crisis pushing most businesses online, hackers are trying to make the most of this shift. Among the common hacks that have gained notoriety are SQL injection attacks. Hackers use SQL injections to hack into your backend files and insert malicious code. This code redirects your incoming traffic to unsolicited sites, mostly adult and illegal pharma sites.
WordPress sites are unfortunately always on hackers’ radars – simply because WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system. On the plus side, as with all things WordPress, there are solutions to this issue. However, with all these options, finding the right tools can be confusing. In this article, we look at six WordPress security plugins that can protect your site from SQL injection attacks and other malware and hacks. Before we dive in, let’s answer a few questions:
Hackers infiltrate into your database using SQL commands and insert malicious code into your database tables. Generally, they do this through input fields – like customer comments, contact forms, or search bars – present on most websites.
Depending on the severity of the SQL injection, your WordPress website can suffer the following consequences:
Apart from these consequences, you also need to spend a lot of time and resources cleaning and restoring your website to normal. However, you can avoid all this by installing the right security plugin for your site.
To handle SQL injections and other forms of malware attacks, you need a security tool to provide complete protection for your website. This includes malware detection, clean-ups, and protection from future attacks.
We’ve detailed out the 6 which we think are some of the most comprehensive security plugins you should consider. Let’s check them out.
Among the most trusted security solutions for WordPress sites, MalCare has been used by over 250,000 websites around the globe. The tool uses intelligent malware scanning techniques that analyse over 100+ signals on your site. This way, it can detect new or unknown malware variants on your website, not just publicly known ones.
It also has an automated malware removal feature that lets you clean your site without delay. One of MalCare’s unique features is that it performs all malware scanning and removal on its dedicated servers, thus putting no additional load on your web server. It also offers an inbuilt firewall that monitors all traffic requests to your site and blocks out malicious ones such as automated bots or requests from suspicious or blacklisted IPs.
Along with a free version that can perform an immediate malware scan of your website, you can avail this plugin in multiple plans priced from $99 (for one website) up to $599 (for up to 20 websites) for a year.
Like MalCare, Sucuri also offers a complete malware scanning and removal solution for sites. This tool includes comprehensive security features such as server-side scanning, SEO spam scanning, and checking the blacklist status.
Sucuri SiteCheck is the free version that only offers malware scanning and excludes malware removal. Premium plans are based on the malware scanning frequency and are priced from $199.99 to up to $499.99 a year.
Previously known as Better WP Security, iThemes Security is easy to use and can protect your website from online threats including brute force attacks. Additionally, this security tool is packed with functionalities, including 404 error detection, enforcement of strong passwords, and automatic scheduling of malware scanning.
Along with a free version, iThemes Security Pro offers paid plans priced from $80 a year (for a single website) to a maximum of $199 per year (for unlimited websites).
Developed by Automattic (the name behind WordPress), Jetpack combines security, performance, and marketing tools. It combines malware scanning with added functionalities like real-time backups and automatic blocking spam comments. Jetpack also improves your website loading speed through optimum images and videos.
Jetpack Free offers paid features such daily scans, anti-spam, etc. as individual products. You can opt for individual products, including real-time backups, automatic scanning, or anti-spam – or go for product bundles with prices starting from £19.95 per month to £79.95 per month for a complete package. Features such as brute force, CDN, and downtime monitoring come free with all products.
With over 3 million active installations, Wordfence is among the most popular security tools for sites. The tool is packed with features like web application firewalls, malware signature detection, real-time IP blacklisting, and server-based malware scanning.
Among its few limitations, Wordfence can overload your web server, thus slowing down your website. Additionally, the tool is known to add its tables to your database – thus causing your website to bloat.
Wordfence offers a license-based paid plan where the price per license is lower when you purchase more licenses. The price per license ranges from a high of $99 (for a single license) to a low of $74.25 (for 15 or more).
With over 900,000 active installations worldwide, All in One WP Security is among the most comprehensive security tools in the market today. Easy to install and use, the security solution is designed for basic, intermediate, and advanced WordPress users. Along with an in-built firewall, the tool checks for common vulnerabilities in your site and enforces recommended security practices.
The tool is 100% free with no hidden costs or upsells.
SQL injections are just one of the many hacks that hackers deploy. You need a security solution that can detect even unknown and more complex hacks – ones that can be impossible to manually detect or remove. The six security plugins in this article offer comprehensive security features specially designed for WordPress sites.
The ultimate decision would depend on you and the number/type of websites you manage. We recommend that you opt for a solution that combines both scanning and malware removal – without you having to pay each time. MalCare offers automated malware removal in just a few clicks on its dashboard. It also helps you implement WordPress hardening measures through a few clicks on its dashboard.
