One of the most painful experiences that a blogger can ever go through is to get their site hacked. This is because most hackers do not usually hack sites in order to improve its template, rather they usually hack sites so that they can damage them, and at times even remove files from the site. I once had my site hacked- a long time ago- and it was not a pleasant experience; I literally had to start from scratch.

However, from that experience I learned how to protect my sites from hackers. Today, hackers are still active, and they seem to hack WordPress based sites more and more every day. Therefore, if you have a WordPress site, then you ought to know the best way to protect it from attacks because if you do not protect it, you may end up losing all the hard work you put in to your site.

There is a number of WordPress security Plugins that you can try out, and the best thing about them is that they can be used by anyone. This is because they are not as complex as code writing, and a person does not need to know programming in order to use them.

1. Login Lockdown

Login lockdown is one of the more popular security Plugins for WordPress. The reason for this is that this plugin protects a site when a person tries to use brute hacking in the area where you would log in. The plugin works in a rather simple way, but it is quite effective. When someone tries to log in to a site, the app records the number of times that the attempt was made, and it also record the IP address of the location where the attempt was made. Then, all this info is sent to the site administrator for action, and the login page is blocked.

2. WP Security Scan

If you are however, afraid of the fact that hacking in to a site can be carried out during the installation of various Plugins, or widgets, then this is the app to have. WP security scan is a Plugin that scans any item installed in to WordPress, including those gotten from www.shopwpthemes.com. Therefore, in case you install an application that is dangerous, you will be alerted, and then the item can be uninstalled, or cleaned.

3. AskApache Password Protect

AskApache password protect is an app that does not really affect one’s database. Rather, this is a plugin that creates layers of security to one’s site, or blog. Therefore, when any attempts are made to hack in to the site, they do not work. In addition, AskApache is great because it can enable a person to generate a password that can be used to protect a site further. The password can be based on basic authentication, or it can be based on the more secure HTTP authentication.

Nevertheless, it is important that if you are looking for a plugin that is certain of protecting your site, then you need to look at its features, and if possible read a few reviews about it. I have personally tried out some of these Plugins and there are some that are wanting, and there are others that are simply astounding. So, I have a few favourite plugins, that I think you should also check out, in fact, these are my top 2 selections for 2012.

My Top Picks:

4. Ultimate Security Checker

This is a plugin that is sure of locating any problems with your WordPress site. This is because the plugin scans and looks for errors that might compromise the safety of the site. After each scan a grade is usually given to a site, and options to deal with the problems are also usually offered, or a person may deal with them personally.

5. Stealth Login

My last pick for 2012 is stealth login, and it is simply great. This is an app that can help you hide your login URL. It is great if you are afraid of a person hacking into your site, since if they do, then they may have a problem locating where to login.

Although James Martell has been running the longest podcast in the affiliate marketing industry, he is not done yet. Today, James is working with the StudioPress Themes to see what they are all about. James knows how to install a WordPress theme and says it was also believes that WordPress is the best content management system in use today, and looks forward to seeing how it can only get better.