Joomla is one of the most widely used CMSes for running all types and sizes of websites. However, similar to all the other open source CMSes, your Joomla site will also have to be protected from various types of hacking threats. There could be any type of threats including disrupting your webpages, opening backdoors and deleting or stealing confidential and valuable information. Any such attacks could cost you significantly in time and resources. Here are 10 strategies to ensure a more secure joomla site.
1. Create a Highly Secure Admin Login
Use a strong password to protect your admin account. This is seen as one of the biggest security loopholes in Joomla sites. Don’t use default “admin” username or a password that could be easily guessed. The default admin should be something unique and create a long and complex string for password. Your password must not include your site’s name or anything related. It is recommended to use a Secure Password Generator for creating strong passwords for admin login.
2. Use Secret URL for Admin Access
Use secret URL for accessing admin area and hiding the backend from hackers. You could use login protection extensions that help in adding secret key to access admin URL. kSecure and jSecure are good examples.
3. Monitor your Joomla Site
Make sure to subscribe to a service that allows regular monitoring of the site. WebSitePulse and Watchful are good examples that allow you to monitor your Joomla site and report any issues instantly. Without such a system you will not be able to tell if your site is running properly or not. Real time reports will help you learn about any issues immediately so that you could take proper action.
4. Regular Backups
An easy way to ensure regular backup of your Joomla site is to choose a quality web host. It is however recommended you should also take manual backups. Akeeba Backup and JoomlaPack are free and open-source backup systems that allow full Joomla site backup. You can restore your website on any Joomla-based server. You could take backups in single archives for all the files.
5. Use Anti-hacking Extensions
There are many extensions designed for protecting Joomla sites from hackers. jHackGuard is a good example. This extension is available for all Joomla sites without concern. There are two components to this extension:
- It works as a security plugin
- It supports in handling configurations
The combined effect helps in protecting your site through filtration of input data and integration of PHP security settings. By default the plugin part is disabled for preventing the filters from hindering admins from carrying out their tasks.
6. Use a Firewall
Use a powerful firewall to secure Joomla site against any kind of intrusion or backdoor attacks. There are several security extensions designed specifically for Joomla that protect your site from hacker attacks and intrusions.
RSFirewall is a good example. It is designed and maintained by industry-leading security experts that ensure that the extension is always up-to-date. Besides, security updates are regularly provided for additional protection from new threats. The extension also has several tools that allow you to enhance and control your site’s security.
7. Disable the FTP Layer
One way to keep your Joomla site safe is to disable FTP layer. If possible don’t enable it when installing because it can open security loopholes. FTP info is usually stored in simple text format within the Joomla Config file and if accessed can pose serious security risks. usually there is no need for FTP layer because hosting is already protected and configured.
8. Upgrade Joomla
Your Joomla should always be updated to the latest version. This will not only help improve the user experience, it will also keep the security features updated. Joomla is always releasing new security updates. So it will be best to subscribe to their feed. Besides, make sure that all the updates are processed through Joomla’s official site.
There are a few CMS update tools like Akeeba that can do all this for you. They can email updates to assigned Super User accounts or perform automatic updates. Such tools can also inform you before conducting an update.
9. Delete all Unnecessary Extensions
There are thousands of third-party extensions for Joomla. As an admin you must have installed lots of modules. However, installing to many extension can affect your Joomla site security. Therefore, we highly recommend you to delete all these unwanted extensions.
10. Scan Your Site
Scan your Joomla site periodically to detect and remove any security threats. Site scanning systems can help scan, detect and cleanup malware. They can also monitor the site for any malware attacks.
11. Find a Secured Joomla Hosting solution
It’s useless if your Joomla server is not secured enough. If the server is hacked, everything you have done in above 10 steps will mean nothing as the hacker will get control over the server and do whatever they want to do with your Joomla file. So, it will be highly necessary to find a secured Joomla hosting, and work with them to host your website.
