Website security is an essential element for any website administrator to consider. Malicious actors have often used the most predictable attack vector – WordPress’ default admin user account – to gain illegal access to websites.
To secure your site and protect against such intrusions, delete this default user as soon as possible or use extra caution if keeping it: change its password frequently with a reliable generator like WP Passwords. Don’t let hackers be one step ahead of you; act now!
WordPress Security 101: Why delete the WordPress default admin user? If your website uses the default admin user, BEWARE, because odds are, it is only a matter of time before your website is hacked.
We monitor login attempts for websites daily and notice, all the time, persons using the default admin username to attempt illegal entry into one or more websites. The WordPress default admin user ID is the most targeted by hackers because it’s easy, and every WordPress website starts with this account. Therefore, properly securing this default administrator account immediately is vital.
The very first WordPress security tweak, you should do, is to remove the default admin user.
Why delete the WordPress default admin user?
To ensure the maximum security of your WordPress website, deleting the default admin user is essential. Doing so eliminates an easy target for malicious attackers who could quickly identify and exploit the administrator account with just a password if left unchanged–decreasing both attack success rates and timelines considerably.
This extra step ensures that all infiltration attempts are unlikely to deliver results promptly and thus can be identified faster before any real damage occurs.
If a malicious hacker identifies the administrator ID of a WordPress website, they could launch an attack specifically against that administrator account. This makes the episode a lot easier because one side of the equation is filled in, and only the password is needed.
If the malicious attacker does not know the WordPress administrator username, they must guess the username and password. This means the chances the attack will succeed are much less, and the attack will take longer. The longer the attack takes, the more the chances of identification are what they do not want.
By changing the WordPress default admin user ID, you are protecting your WordPress from easily targeted attacks.
How to Change a WordPress Username without losing important content.
Easiest Method: Create a New User and Delete the Old One while transferring content to the new user.
- Create a new USER ID with the administrator user role. You will need to use a different email address than the old account. You cannot use your old account email yet. (details to recover old email address below)
- Log out and log in again with the new user account you created. Go to the Users section and click the Delete link under your old username. (delete admin)
- While deleting your old user, WordPress will ask what you want to do with the senior user’s content. Next, click the ‘Attribute all content to:’ option and select the new user you just created. Finally, click the ‘Confirm Deletion’ button to delete the old user account.
- The old user is deleted, and its content (if necessary) should now be associated with the new user.
Note: You can now change the new user email address to the old admin email address.
Extra security tip: To help hide your new administration user ID, you should create and display a nickname instead of the actual ID. The nickname will show instead of the real ID on created Posts.
The WordPress admin user is the primary point of entry for malicious attackers. Changing this ID raises a formidable barrier that can render potential attacks ineffective and unnecessarily time-consuming. Thus, replacing the default admin user provides an essential layer of security to your website’s data safety.
Need help? Quick Web Design offers a full range of WordPress Security services. Contact us to get started today!!
