A large number of WordPress users are noticing that they cannot log into their blogs this weekend. Or if they can log in, their site has an iframe that points to a malware site (networkads.net/grep). Original posts on the story pointed it at blogs hosted by Network Solutions. NetSol, however, claims it is not just them—that other hosts are being infected as well. They mention a “rogue plugin” however they will not say which one it is, and so far, the only complaints have been from NetSol blogs. Another early “fact” claimed by many was that this attack was only hitting 2.92 users, but comments indicate other versions have been hit as well.

Sucuri Security has a fantastic write-up of the attack, details and the fix, which will likely scare those unfamiliar with PHPMyAdmin. According to Sucuri:

“What is interesting about this attack is that it does not create or modify any files, so the average security advice does not apply here. The only thing is does is to modify your “siteurl” inside the “wp-option” table to point to http://networkads.net/grep/, breaking the site layout completely.”

If you find yourself infected, and are confused by the directions, do yourself a favor: ask a geeky friend to do this for you. It’s not beginner stuff.

TIP: One thing you can do immediately without accessing your wp-options table is turning off, then simply removing your xmlrpc.php file from your WordPress install. It’s always at the top level (root) of your WordPress install.

Has your blog been hit by this attack? How did you fix it?

Here’s another good take on the Twitter “Is this you lol” Phishing scam. I really like that author, Graham Cluley reminds readers to use better passwords. People. This is basic and yet 33% of you use the same password everywhere. This is ludicrous.

Would you pin your child’s social security number to their jacket and send them to school? Of course not! But you’ll use the same password because you can’t be bothered to spend 30 seconds to think of a new one. I mean, that’s 30 seconds less you would get to play Farmville, god forbid.

But I digress… Let’s be constructive here. Passwords. There is nothing more critical to the security of your basic identity than having a set of good passwords to use. I know what’s running through your head right now. “I know, I know should do that, but I just can’t remember more than one and I know enough not to tape it under my keyboard.” Congratulations. You’re half way to recovery. Now you just need some tools.

Unless you have a truly random brain, you need to use a password generator. There are several free ones. Go use these ones now.

1. Strong Password Generator is one of my favorites. You can choose the number of password characters (please don’t choose fewer than 12), whether or not to include symbols (yes, please!) and it even gives mnemonic hints to help you recall the password, despite it being quite random.
2. From Bytes Interactive comes two password generators. One creates passwords similar to Strong Password Generator with several options, the other generator creates 1337 passwords (LEET) which are based on a phrase you can recall. They also have a secure server.
3. RandPass has been online forever and generates very good passwords. What I like about them is the ability to generate large batches of passwords at once.

You also need some place to store passwords, but no, written down on paper is for chumps who deserve to be robbed blind. Do it right. Use a password database. Here are some of my favorites:

1. 1Password. This costs $40, but isn’t your identity worth it? 1Password can also generate them for you and has a 100% moneyback guarantee. It also comes as an iPhone app. Mac only
2. OnePassword is free. It integrates into Internet Explorer as a toolbar and has many of the features of 1Password.
3. How about your blog? A great plugin by Marcel Bokhorst exists for WordPress, called One-Time Password. As the name implies, it generates password logins for WordPress that can only be used one time, preventing password theft. Outstanding plugin.

Hope these tips help! Do you know of any good password generators or password databases I didn’t mention? Let us know in the comments.

It’s no secret to my friends that I am a WordPress fanatic. Having been on the original B2 dev team back in the day, I love seeing how far it’s gone. But with growth comes attention and sometimes that means negative attention à la scams, spammers, etc. WordPress has certainly seen its fair share of attacks. Fortunately, there are some great security plugins available to protect your blog and prevent attacks. Here are my faves:

1. WordPress Exploit Scanner:This plugin searches the files and database of your website for signs of suspicious activity. It will not stop someone hacking into your site, but it may help you find any uploaded or compromised files left by the hacker.
2. WP Security Scan: I love this plugin. It does exactly what it promises, and has protected my blog many times. Scans include passwords, file permissions, database security, version hiding, WordPress admin protection/security and removing the WP Generator META tag from core code—a simple method for protecting your blog from attacks that target specific versions of WordPress.
3. Secure WordPress: This fine German plugin has a few unique tricks I haven’t seen on the other plugins, including removing the error-information on the login-page, adding an index.php to the plugin-directory and removing core update information for non-admins.
4. Secure Invites for Wordpress MU: I haven’t personally tried this plugin, but it gets great reviews, so here is the plugin page description: “This plugin stops access to your signup page, except where the visitor has been invited and clicked the link in their invitation email. Your users invite people, and you can see who has sent the most invitations, and how many resulting signups have occurred.”
5. Fast and Secure Contact Form: With a 5-star rating (and no rating under 5), this is arguably the most popular and secure contact form available. I used to use Contact7, but was furious with how much spam gets through it. So many features that I recommend you read the plugin homepage to take it all in.
6. WP-DB-Backup: WordPress database backup creates backups of your core WordPress tables as well as other tables of your choice in the same database. Backups are something I suggest you all do on a weekly basis, daily if you blog for a living. Plugins like this allow you to schedule the backups automatically and not have to remember to do it. It’s all about the automation.
7. root Cookie: By default the wordpress cookie exactly matches the URL of your installation, this plugin removes any subfolders from the cookie so that your whole domain has access to it. This useful plugin also allows your authentication to work across subdomains!
8. WP-Secure Remove Wordpress Version: While plugins like Security Scan and Secure WordPress do this, if you aren’t up to installing big guns like them, at the very least add this plugin. It’s a one-trick pony, but a very good trick. It removes the version number from the WordPress meta tag; something spammers target all the time.
9. Akismet: Despite being a default plugin, I am amazed at how many people will not take the 30 seconds to sign up for an Akismet key. Do it now. It is the most effective spam plugin ever developed. Bar none.

Which plugins do you use for security?