Andrew Williams...

Review​ ​of​ ​Udemy's​ ​“WordPress​ ​Security​ ​– How​ ​to​ ​Stop​ ​Hackers”​ ​By​ ​Andrew​ ​Williams

Today's​ ​review​​ ​WordPress​ ​Security​ ​“How​ ​To​ ​Stop​ ​Hackers”​ ​by​ ​Hackers​ ​by​ ​Andrew Williams​​ ​is​ ​a​ ​Udemy​ ​course​ ​I​ ​had​ ​to​ ​pick​ ​up​ ​out​ ​of​ ​necessity.​ ​My​ ​sites​ ​were​ ​getting​ ​hacked,​ ​or more​ ​specifically​​ ​negative​ ​SEO'ed​.​ ​As​ ​a​ ​matter​ ​fact,​ ​I'm​ ​still​ ​getting​ ​hacked​ ​right​ ​now.​ ​I'm blocking​ ​all​ ​this​ ​traffic.

So​ ​at​ ​some​ ​point,​ ​it​ ​will​ ​come​ ​down​ ​to​ ​diminishing​ ​returns​ ​as​ ​the​ ​hackers​​ ​run​ ​out​ ​of​ ​IPS​ ​and Proxies​.​ ​My​ ​first​ ​mistake​ ​that​ ​was​ ​using​ ​was​ ​using​ ​WordFence.​ ​Which​ ​is​ ​unstable​ ​and​​ ​drains the​ ​resources​ ​on​ ​your​ ​server​,​ ​especially​ ​if​ ​you​ ​enable​ ​the​ ​“live​ ​traffic”.​ ​Then​ ​there​ ​is​ ​also​ ​the problems​ ​that​ ​it​ ​is​ ​the​ ​most​ ​commonly​ ​used​ ​WordPress​ ​plug-in​ ​for​ ​security.​ ​So​ ​any​ ​hacker​ ​worth his​ ​salt​ ​knows​ ​how​ ​to​ ​get​ ​around​ ​it.

Is​ ​The​ ​an​ ​Alternative​ ​To​ ​WordFence?

Frustrated,​ ​I​ ​searched​ ​Udemy​ ​for​ ​“​WordPress​ ​security​”​ ​(using​ ​the​ ​method​ ​I​ ​alway​ ​use​​ ​to​ ​find the​ ​best​ ​courses​ ​on​ ​Udemy​).​ ​As​ ​soon​ ​as​ ​I​ ​started​ ​watching​ ​it,​ ​I​ ​liked​ ​what​ ​I​ ​was​ ​hearing because​​ ​instructor​ ​Andrew​ ​Williams​ ​got​ ​it!​​ ​Because​ ​of​ ​his​ ​background​ ​in​ ​SEO​ ​and​ ​he understood,​​ ​hacking​​ ​isn't​ ​all​ ​about​ ​bringing​ ​down​ ​your​ ​site.​ ​The​ ​onslaught​ ​of​ ​brute​ ​force attacks,​ ​404​ ​and​ ​503​ ​responses​ ​will​ ​deflate​ ​the​ ​“User​ ​Experience”.​ ​Over​ ​time​ ​search​ ​engines will​ ​stop​ ​suggesting​ ​your​ ​site​ ​because​ ​it​ ​is​ ​of​ ​poor​ ​quality.

Negative​ ​SEO​ ​IS​ ​Dead?

When​ ​people​ ​would​ ​try​ ​to​ ​say​ ​“​Negative​ ​SEO​ ​IS​ ​Dead​,”​ ​I​ ​couldn't​ ​agree​ ​less.​​ ​Negative​ ​SEO​ ​is alive​ ​and​ ​stronger​ ​than​ ​ever!​​ ​To​ ​some​ ​hackers​ ​attack​ ​just​ ​to​ ​be​ ​jerks?​ ​Sure!​ ​The​ ​vast​ ​majority​ ​of people​ ​hacking​ ​your​ ​site​ ​are​ ​your​ ​competitors​ ​trying​ ​to​ ​tank​ ​your​ ​site​ ​in​ ​Google's​ ​eyes​ ​IF​ ​they can​ ​usurp​ ​your​ ​SERP​ ​they​ ​move​ ​up.​ ​The​ ​zero-sum​ ​game:​ ​Your​ ​loss​ ​is​ ​my​ ​gain!.​ ​The​ ​whole negative​ ​SEO​​ ​is​ ​something;​ ​I've​ ​been​ ​screaming​ ​a​ ​year.​ ​Hacking​ ​is​ ​how​ ​the​ ​new​ ​negative SEO​ ​game​ ​played.

So​ ​What​ ​Is​ ​In​ ​This​ ​Course?

The​ ​intro​ ​poses​ ​a​ ​question:​​ ​Is​ ​WordPress​ ​secure?​​ ​Yes​ ​(for​ ​the​ ​most​ ​part),​ ​or​ ​WordPress wouldn't​ ​have​ ​such​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​share​ ​of​ ​the​ ​CMS​ ​market.​ ​WordPress​ ​does​ ​have​ ​a​ ​security​ ​term​ ​that will​ ​make​ ​the​ ​public​ ​aware​ ​as​ ​soon​ ​as​ ​an​​ ​exploit​ ​is​ ​found​.​ ​Users​ ​can​ ​make​ ​WordPress insecure​ ​and​ ​so​ ​can​ ​poorly​ ​code​ ​/​ ​outdated​ ​plugins.​ ​WordPress​ ​as​ ​a​ ​core​ ​CMS​ ​is​ ​quite​ ​stable.

He​ ​follows​ ​this​ ​question​ ​up​ ​by​ ​going​ ​through​ ​every​ ​significant​ ​vulnerability​ ​and​ ​hack​ ​you​ ​can think​ ​of,​ ​from​ ​using​ ​the​ ​“admin”​ ​username​ ​to​​ ​MYSQL​ ​injections​.​ ​Depending​ ​on​ ​how​ ​much​ ​you know​ ​about​ ​WordPress​ ​security,​ ​this​ ​may​ ​or​ ​may​ ​not​ ​be​ ​news.​ ​The​ ​Instructor​ ​covers​ ​enough ground​ ​to​ ​where​ ​you​ ​will​ ​have​ ​a​ ​working​ ​knowledge​ ​of​ ​the​ ​treats.

You​ ​Could​ ​Skip​ ​The​ ​Intro

He​ ​suggests​ ​an​ ​alternative​ ​to​ ​Wordfence​ ​called​​ ​All​ ​In​ ​One​ ​WP​ ​Security​ ​&​ ​Firewall​.​ ​If​ ​you follow​​ ​Andrew​ ​Williams​ ​recommendations,​​ ​within​ ​an​ ​hour​ ​you​ ​will​ ​have​ ​a​ ​95%​ ​bulletproof WordPress​ ​site​ ​and​ ​won't​ ​have​ ​your​ ​site​ ​slowed​ ​by​ ​live​ ​traffic.

Why​ ​Experts​ ​Sometime​ ​Make​ ​Matters​ ​Complicated The​ ​author​ ​is​ ​not​ ​a​ ​security​ ​expert​ ​(which​ ​I​ ​like),​ ​because​ ​you​ ​are​ ​aren't​ ​learning​ ​things​ ​that don't​ ​matter!​ ​This​ ​training​ ​teaches​ ​what's​ ​important​ ​most​ ​important​ ​to​ ​have​ ​a​ ​secuer​ ​site​ ​and what​ ​you​ ​can​ ​ingnore,​ ​which​ ​is​ ​a​ ​huge​ ​time-saver​ ​configuring​​ ​All​ ​In​ ​One​ ​WP​ ​Security​ ​& Firewall​ ​is​ ​a​ ​free​ ​plugin​.​ ​Your​ ​average​ ​user​ ​could​ ​easily​ ​become​ ​confused​ ​configuring​ ​this security​ ​plugin.​ ​If​ ​I​ ​had​ ​never​ ​used​ ​it​ ​(sans-guadance)​ ​I​ ​probably​ ​would​ ​have​ ​locked​ ​crashed​ ​my site.​​ ​Udemy's​ ​“WordPress​ ​Security​ ​–​ ​How​ ​to​ ​Stop​ ​Hackers”​​ ​By​​ ​Andrew​ ​Williams​​ ​is excellent​ ​and​ ​it​ ​it​ ​honestly​ ​saved​ ​my​ ​ass,​ ​and​ ​for​ ​that,​ ​I'm​ ​giving​ ​this​ ​course​ ​five​ ​stars.