Joomla Security Guide - How to Keep Your Joomla Site Secure?

There are a lot of Content Management Systems (CMSs) that are in use today and Joomla is one of them. It is also one of the most vulnerable CMSs prone to high risks of insecurity. The primary causes for vulnerability being misconfiguration and third-party extensions that bear weak codes. You must put up proper measures to secure your Joomla site from such insecurities.

To secure it, there should be an SSL certificate that you can consider for website security. There are many SSL providers who offer the cheapest SSL certificate that will please your pocket. Apart from it, there are other measures that you can adopt to protect your Joomla site. This article provides you with other important Joomla security tips.

#1. Constantly Upgrade Your Joomla Site

Applying regular updates is a significant measure for protecting your Joomla site. Most of these upgrades come with improved security features and complicated code structures that hackers will find hard to break. For them to attain this, they will have to start from scratch. The latest versions of Joomla websites will have you notified when there is an upgrade or a new extension.

#2. Set up a Security Plugin

Security plugins are fitted with malware and scanners that help in the identification of any security threats and vulnerabilities. Having a security plugin will enable you to take appropriate and immediate actions in case of any security risks.

#3. Use A Reliable Hosting

A reputed hosting company offers so many advantages to your Joomla site. A hosting company will take it as a responsibility to make upgrades to the PHP version. It also carries out security checks and locks any threats from reaching your site. A hosting company will also ensure the optimal performance of Joomla website.

#4. Do Not Use Nulled Templates or Extensions

Websites that offer free themes and extensions are so many. They offer these themes at a low price or for free. Using these themes and extensions poses a considerable risk to your Joomla site. Nulled templates are so vulnerable, and they can be hacked easily.

#5. Use Strong Login Details

The first thing that you should do after launching your website is to change the default login details. This is because a hacker will try using these details first. You should also avoid guessable passwords and usernames. Password generator tools can be utilized to create strong passwords. You should also add another security layer to your Joomla site by enabling two-factor authentication.

#6. Remove Unwanted and Unidentified Developer’s Extension

Joomla is a free site that enables the installation of new modules to try out new functionalities. Some of these extensions can be very vulnerable. It is essential that you test any extension to assess its reliability before you use it. You also must erase any extension that you are not utilizing. This is because some of these extensions can easily get compromised by hackers.

#7. Carry out Regular Joomla Backup

Having a backup will help you restore your Joomla site whenever it is compromised, or you mess up with it. Your hosting company can help you in carrying out regular backups.

#8. Protect Administrator Login

Restricting access to your security is a proper measure for improving the security of your Joomla website. To do so, you can create strong passwords and can make .htaccess file also. You should also use a secret key anytime you want to make changes to your Joomla database.

#9. Restrict FTP Layer

Restricting an FTP layer allows operations to files without necessarily making the file folders writable. This increases the security of your Joomla site.

#10. Install SSL Certificate

As mentioned earlier, one of the perfect ways to make your Joomla site secure is to secure it with an SSL certificate. One of the ways to secure a connection between your website and the visitors to your website is to install an SSL certificate. It also optimizes Google ranking. You can opt for the cheapest SSL certificate that you can afford. If you do not know about SSL installation, then you can hire an expert to do the work for you.

#11. Have Appropriate File Permissions

You should make sure that you are using an ideal Joomla set up. The preferred CHMOD configuration should have the following:

PHP files – 644

Configuration Files – 644

Other folders – 755

#12. Constantly Monitor Your Joomla Website

You should continuously keep an eye to your Joomla website to make sure that there are no threats posed to it and to make sure that everything is operating appropriately. You can make use of free tools like StatusCake to help in the monitoring task.

#13. Enable Search Engine Friendly (SEF) URL

SEF URL helps to make your Joomla website search-friendly. It also gives your website more security features. A SEF URL hides data and makes it tougher for a hacker to uncover any security weaknesses.

#14. Disable File Editing

You must disable file editing authorizations. Only those directories that require file editing option should be granted write access permissions. These permissions include upload and cache directories.

#15. Use a Web Application Firewall

A web application firewall (WAF) plays the role of filtering and monitoring HTTP applications. It is essential for protecting your Joomla website from top Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP) 10 security, known vulnerabilities & malware. Web Application Firewall will also be of great essence in login protection, SQL injection, backdoor protection, and XSS attack.

#16. Harden Your PHP Configuration

PHP language is the language in which Joomla is written. It is recommended that you change the following PHP directives in your php.ini file to improve your Joomla security:

expose_php = 0: Hiding your PHP version will hinder attackers from knowing which kind of vulnerable is hidden.

open_basedir = “/var/www/yoursite.com:/tmp/”: it stops cyber intruders from accessing your system.

display_errors = 0: You should not display any errors to attackers that expose the vulnerability of your site.

#17. Change Joomla Database Prefix

Changing your database prefix to something else hinders attackers from targeting your site for malicious reasons.

Conclusion

Joomla website is a vulnerable website which needs to be protected. Good measures should be put in place to secure your Joomla website. Installing an SSL certificate is one of those measures that you can put in place to ensure the safety of your Joomla website.