As a Joomla user, you should know some security practices to keep your Joomla website secure. In this article, we will show you how to keep your Joomla site secure with some simple tips. Lets start now.
Secure Joomla Website - Best Security Practices
1. Use Strong Username & Password for Admin
This tip is useful for any account information to keep your account security. Do not use silly password which is guessable. It is highly recommended to use a strong password which includes number, letter, upper case, lower case and special characters. And it is not proposed to use default username "admin" for your account.
2. Use Latest Joomla Core & Joomla Extensions
As mentioned above, Joomla team always bring the update releases with security issues addressed and bug fixes & improvements included. Besides, the Joomla extensions developers also regularly update their extensions to latest Joomla core as well as fix any reported bugs. Therefore, you should ensure that your Joomla website is always updated to the latest Joomla core and Joomla extensions.
3. Remove inactive Joomla Templates or Joomla Extensions
There are thousands of Joomla templates and Joomla extension which are developed with various designs and functionalities. Based on your needs, you will find the most suitable Joomla template for your website. You can change the website template whenever you want as well as extend new functions for your site by installing the extensions. When install the new templates, extensions, you should remove the old ones that you will not use anymore. Besides, sometimes you may get some unfortunate issues related to your themes or extensions. You must remove them immediately. Make sure to use the Joomla templates & Joomla extensions trustworthy & up-to-date.
4. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
Beyond a strong password, you can enable the multi-factor authentication layer to keep your Joomla site secure. There are some extra method to verify your login identify - usually a 6-digit code sent to an email, text, or time-based authentication app.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (Joomla 3.2.0 & above)
- In Admin, go to Component
- Select Post-installation Message
- Find and choose to Enable two factor authentication
- Install a Google Authenticator client for your device
- Verify the 2 factor authentication
- Save & close
5. Backup Your Site Regularly
Backup is an essential task for website administrator. It will save your website when things gone wrong. If your site is hacked and loss the date, you can simply restore it by using backup. You should use a good backup extension to get the most effective backup, Akeeba is one of the most popular backup tools for Joomla you can refer.
6. Use Principle of Least Privilege
In back-end, Joomla supports 3 user groups: Managers, Administrators & Super Administrators. In which:
- Managers: Have the least access to the back end of Joomla. This user group can create and edit categories and articles, upload and remove media. Managers cannot install or remove extensions.
- Administrators: Have higher access than managers. They have all the rights of Managers. In addition, this user group can access to User Management, Menu Manager and Extension Manager but don’t have access to Global Configuration.
- Super Administrators: Highest level of users and have the complete access. This user group manage all the site configurations and Managers and Administrators as well.
Aware of tasks of each user group will help you carefully assign the roles for each team.
7. Use HTTPS/SSL Certification
SSL does not preserve your website from being hacked, it protects the data in transit. With SSL certification, your website will use HTTPS protocol to encrypt the data before send it to the web server. Moreover, your website will get better Google ranks when using SSL.
In conclusion, when you follow these tips, your website will become more secure and help you reduce the risk of attack. You will also be able to quickly recover it.