Gauntlet Security

Gauntlet Security can find opportunities for improving the security of your site. It checks many aspects of the site’s configuration including file permissions, server software, PHP, database, plugins, themes, and user accounts. The plugin will give each check a pass, warning, or fail and explain in clear language how you can fix the issue.

How you ultimately choose to patch these issues is up to you but whatever method you use, this plugin should always provide an accurate report. It does not make changes to your database or to any of your files and it should be compatible with all other security plugins.

Checks and recommendations include:

• Set correct file and directory permissions
• Turn off directory indexing
• Prevent code execution in the uploads directory
• Block files in the includes directory
• Prevent access to stray files which could be useful to attackers
• Keep PHP up-to-date
• Disable dangerous PHP functions
• Disable allow_url_include and allow_url_fopen PHP flags
• Turn off the display of PHP errors
• Don’t advertise the PHP version you are running
• Use a strong database password
• Change the default database table prefix
• Keep WordPress up-to-date
• Turn off file editing in the control panel
• Set security keys in WP-Config file
• Don’t advertise the WordPress version you are running
• Turn off self-registration
• Force SSL when accessing the admin area
• Review the development activity and reputation of all plugins
• Remove unused themes from the server
• Rename the plugin directory
• Move the active theme to an alternate location
• Do not use TimThumb
• Do not use common user names (such as “admin”)
• Do not use weak passwords
• Do not have a user with an ID = 1
• Minimize the number of admin users
• Users should not display their login usernames publicly
• Prevent username enumeration through standard author URLs
• …more tests planned

Check the screenshots for more detail on some of the above features.

Many of these security checks are based on recommendations from the WordPress codex: https://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress.

Disclaimer

Some of the tips included in this plugin only require making small changes to configuration files (.htaccess, php.ini, wp-config.php, functions.php). Others require more in-depth changes to the filesystem or database. Before attempting any of these fixes, you should be comfortable experimenting and know how to undo any change you make. That includes making backups and knowing how restore your site from those backups. I can’t guarantee that the recommendations or sample code provided in this plugin will not break your site or that they will prevent it from being hacked.

Requirements

• Apache web server
• WordPress 3.4 minimum
• PHP 5.2.7 minimum