WordPress Security Tips - WordPress Versions
(Page 2 of 5 )
At the time of writing, the latest WordPress version is 2.6.2; it is true that failure to update will result to some security issues. Take a look at the way user data has been sanitized in the older WordPress versions. Forms used to accept user data and feed it directly to the data base; this resulted in some malicious code injection to the MySQL.
In the more recent versions, possibly beginning with version 2.5, user data has been sanitized, and all input data to the MySQL database will be clean.
Updating WordPress is a pain in the neck. I admit that any newbie to WordPress would really find it hard to update manually. I hope that the software's developers will soon make it very easy to update versions, to combat security issues and plug-in problems.
Unlike other software, the process of updating WordPress looks like you are going to reinstall WordPress to your server. Installing and configuring WordPress takes some time, and every update becomes a burden to any webmaster.
If you want to be fully secured, get an up-to-date version of WordPress. I highly recommend reading WordPress's own article on upgrading, as well as this automatic upgrade FAQ from WordPress.
Personally I feared upgrading WordPress, because I thought it might cause some plug-in failures which could be highly detrimental to my website's functionally. But why in the first place are we talking about upgrading WordPress?
Here is the catch: if your site does not require a lot of plug-ins to work, updating WordPress is highly necessary -- BUT if you have a website that requires (and uses) a lot of plug-ins, I highly recommend that you not upgrade WordPress, but "strengthen the gates," or user entry points of your website.
Upgrading an open source solution like WordPress gives you a lot of headaches because some plug-ins are unstable. If you have a perfectly running WordPress site with lots of stable plug-ins at your current version, I highly recommend checking first to find out if the plug-in will be compatible with the new version.
If you are not upgrading WordPress on your site, it is smart to hide your WordPress versions. You can do this by installing this plug-in: http://selfexile.com/wordpress-plug-in-hide-wordpress-version-from-hackers/ . Normally, any hackers can view the source code of your blog, which exposes your WordPress versions. This plug-in will prevent the WordPress version from being shown in the source code.
Next: Robots.txt and WordPress >>
More Blog Help Articles
More By Codex-M
