Top 5 Security Plugins for WordPress 2022

Are you looking for the best security plugins to protect your WordPress website from cybercriminals and malware? If so, you are not alone on this quest. There are currently more than 1.35 billion websites on the web, and WordPress powers about 40 percent of all websites. That is, more than 455 million websites use WordPress. Hence, it is no surprise that the world’s most famous content management system (CMS) is a massive target for malicious actors.

According to Patchstack, a website statistics platform, an average of 30,000 new sites are attacked daily. Sadly, most of those websites are WordPress sites. If you do not want your website to be among those sites, you need the best WordPress security plugins. The importance of online security cannot be overemphasized. Website owners need to ensure their sites are secured and protected from bad behaviours.

However, the WordPress Store is loaded with more than 500 security plugins, and not all are created equal. WordPress core itself has some impressive security features. Nevertheless, you need a premium WP security plugin to strengthen and secure your website. In this guide, we will help you find the best and most active WordPress security plugins. Our list consists of WP plugins with excellent security features and reputations. Read on to check them out and pick the best option for your budget.

The Five Best Security Plugins for WordPress 2022

1.    iThemes Security

The iThemes Security plugin has proven to be one of the most effective WordPress security tools. This plugin does an impressive job of protecting WordPress-based sites, with more than 30 unique features to prevent things such as unwanted intruders. iThemes effectively recognizes obsolete software, plugin vulnerabilities, and weak passwords.

This WP security plugin is available in premium and freemium versions. The freemium version comes with limited but useful features. Nevertheless, if you want to enjoy the full security features of this plugin, we highly recommend you upgrade to the pro version. It comes with a feature that monitors 404 errors. If too many 404 errors are coming from a particular IP address, the plugin will assume it is a bad attempt and lockout the address from accessing your website.

The plugin will also mandate you to use strong administrative passwords and 2-way authentication. Another fascinating feature of this plugin is that it would back up your website automatically. That means you will always have a database backup to fall back on if something goes wrong with your site.

The pro version has a reCAPTCHA feature protecting your website from bad bots. These bots break into sites with compromised passwords, scraping content, and posting spam. We also love the Site Scanner of this plugin; it scans your website for known susceptibilities and automatically patches them (if any).

Key Features

• File change detection to notify you when your file is messed with.
• Real-time site security dashboard
• Two-factor authentication
• reCAPTCHA
• Passwordless logins
• Ban user agents and block bad bots with lockouts
• Monitor your website’s security health
• Strengthens your credentials
• Monitors for suspicious activities

Pricing

• Free Version: The plugin has a free version with limited features.
• Plan One: The first paid plan costs $80.00 per year for one site.
• Plan Two: The second plan costs $127.00 per year for ten websites.
• Plan Three: The third plan costs $199.00 per year for unlimited sites.
• Plan Four: The fourth plan costs $499.00 per year for unlimited sites, and it comes with all the features of this plugin.

2.    Wordfence Security

If you are looking for an all-inclusive security solution for your WordPress site, Wordfence Security is one of the best options to consider. This tool is powerful, and it comes with impressive features to ensure your website is always safe. Like many plugins on the market today, Wordfence Security is available in freemium and premium models.

The freemium version comes with many useful features. It offers essential protection for small websites. However, the major offerings of this security company are in its premium version. If you want advanced protection and fast security patches, opt for the paid version. Furthermore, Wordfence Security has a firewall that runs on your server instead of a cloud-based firewall .

In addition, this security plugin will instantly notify you via email if there is any breach attempt on your website. They will also keep you updated on weekly reports via email. One of the major selling points of this WP security plugin is its Login Security feature. The tool offers robust security controls, including XMLRPC protection, brute force protection, IP access control, and reCAPTCHA to block automated attacks.

Another thing we like about this plugin is that you can monitor your traffic in real-time. The plugin also offers great features like a security scanner, SEO spam, blocking malware, malicious redirects, two-way authentication, etc.

Key Features

• Industry-leading login security controls
• Centralized management
• Two-factor authentication
• 24/7 incident response team
• The Wordfence firewall
• WordPress malware scanner
• Country blocking
• Brute force attack protection
• Monitors file integrity for malicious code
• Real-time firewall protection
• Real-time traffic monitoring

Pricing

• Wordfence Free: This plan is completely free, and it comes with limited but advanced features.
• Wordfence Premium: This plan costs $99.00 per year, offering malware signatures, real-time firewall rules, and other advanced features.

3.    Loginizer WordPress Security

Loginizer WordPress Security also made it to our list because of its amazing features and effectiveness. This plugin is highly effective in protecting sites from malware and unauthorized access. With this tool’s effortless and straightforward solution, you can bid farewell to all your security issues.

The tool has proven to be highly effective against brute force attacks, thanks to its default optimal configuration. It also allows you to set up Auto Lockout for IPs. Hence, you can lockout IP addresses with a specific number of failed attempts. Furthermore, this tool offers reCAPTCHA protection to guard your site from abuse and fraud.

The plugin will notify you via email about failed long attempts to enable you to take action against a brute force as soon as possible. It allows you to monitor your website on the go, ensuring your site is always secure and safe. With the MD5 Checksum feature, you can conduct an MD5 checksum for your site’s core files to know if someone added malicious code or altered them.

It offers a 2FA security layer for login, and you can get the authentication code via email, mobile, or authenticator apps. The tool also disables pingbacks to prevent users from pingbacking your site. Another way this WP security plugin protects your site is by renaming or disabling the XML-RPC and preventing brute force attacks on the xmlrpc.php page.

Key Features

• Brute force protection
• Whitelist/blacklist IPs
• Failed login attempts log
• Simple and intuitive dashboard
• Permission check for vital folders and files
• Custom error messages on failed login
• MD5 checksum
• Two-factor authentication
• Passwordless login
• Rename/disable XML-RPC
• reCAPTCHA

Pricing

• Free Plan: This plugin comes with a lifetime free plan with limited features.
• Personal: The Personal plan costs $24 per year.
• Blogger: This plan costs $40 per year.
• Professional: The Professional costs $90 per year.
• Business: This plan costs $150 per year.

4.    Sucuri Security

Sucuri Security is undoubtedly one of the best WordPress security plugins. This plugin offers a wide variety of advanced security features to ensure your website is always safe and protected. With the Sucuri Security WordPress plugin, rest assured that your website is in safe hands.

Sucuri does not address itself as a plugin but as a platform because they offer a complete suite of security features. The tool comes with the usual features like monitoring, firewall, and detection. It also comes with advanced tools like a malware scanner and repair tools, preventing SEO spamming.

What separates Sucuri Security WordPress plugin from its rivals is its performance improvement features. In addition to providing maximum security, this tool will help enhance the speed and performance of your website. All these features and more comes at a price, though. The premium version is loaded with many impressive features to protect your site and your users’ data.

The free version also comes with many valuable features, including file integrity monitoring, security activity auditing, effective security hardening, blacklist monitoring, security actions, and security alerts. With the premium version, you can add a powerful DNS firewall with CDN to your WordPress site. That feature will add DNS layer protection to your website.

The premium version also offers DDoS attack protection. It also offers multiple SSL certificate variations to help keep your content safe and secure. Interestingly, it works with other platforms besides WordPress. You can use this security tool with Magento, Joomla, Drupal, and phpBB.

Sucuri also has a security resource center where they help users stay updated with the latest security threats with their skill-building email course, DIY guides, and security insights blog. You can also follow their tutorials and helpful guides to learn how to secure and clean your site. Sucuri is suitable for enterprise organizations, web professionals, and small businesses. They provide 24/7 web security with no downtime and zero hidden charges.

Key Features

• Website monitoring and alerts
• Protection against future website attacks
• Disaster recovery plan
• Speed up your website and boost performance
• Robust malware scanner
• Security resource center
• Fast response times
• Experienced security analysts
• WAF protection
• Unlimited malware removal

Pricing

• Basic Platform: This plan costs $199.99 per year.
• Pro Platform: The Pro plan costs $299.99 per year.
• Business Platform: This plan costs $499.99 per year.

5.    Malcare

Malcare is one of the best WordPress security plugins on the market today. If you are looking for a highly effective security plugin for high-performance sites, Malcare should be your go-to tool. This plugin made it to our list because of its best-in-class scanner, robust firewall, and one-click malware removal.

The security features of this tool make it an ideal choice for small and medium-scale businesses that want complete security for their website. You can clean and free your website of malware with the click of a button. The tool’s accurate malware scanner will scan your whole website, including your database and files.

Malware is designed to shield your WordPress website from forced intrusions and DDoS attacks. The tool also has an intuitive interface, and you can find all you need in one place. It has a colorful and easy-to-navigate dashboard.

Key Features

• Instant malware removal
• Accurate malware scanner
• Improves website performance
• Real-time firewall to block brute force attacks
• Receive notifications for detected vulnerable themes and plugins

Pricing

• Basic: The basic plan costs $99.00 per year for one site.
• Plus: This plan costs $149.00 per year for one website.
• Pro: The Pro plan costs $299 per year for one website.

Read more about wordpress at Web – Computer tips & tricks (pc-tricks.net)

Do I Need a WordPress Security Plugin?

WordPress is one of the strongest content management systems out there. However, you still need a security plugin to tighten your website’s security. Some people believe that WordPress is not secure because WordPress websites are attacked more than other sites. WordPress accounts for more than 45 percent of the website on the internet, so it attracts more attention than other CMS.

You need to secure your website to ensure it is safe from these attacks, and the best way to do that is with the best WordPress security plugins. A malicious attack can be devastating, as you can lose your database, files, users’ credentials, SEO ranking, and even your entire site.

Conclusion

The best WordPress security plugins are highly effective against malware and malicious attacks. With the rising attack on WordPress websites, you need these tools to protect your site, user data, and SEO rankings. Fortunately, we have listed the most functional, reputable, and effective security plugins for WordPress. The plugins on this list are easy to install; you do not need to be tech-savvy to install them.