WordPress Two-Factor Authentication: Will Your Site Be Secure?

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WordPress 2FA Two-Factor Authentication: Securing the Login PageWordPress Two-Factor Authentication: Will Your Site Be Secure? Quick question: How sound do you sleep at night? Strange question, I know. But if you read this article in its entirety instead of getting straight to the point, you will understand why I asked. For now... If you're looking for a good, juicy article on what WordPress two-factor authentication is, let me know if this all sounds familiar:

  • You have received a warning from a security plugin that your WordPress login page is getting a lot of traffic.
  • You received a warning that bots were trying to hack your site.
  • Your security plugin has told you that you need login protection.

And then you started looking into login security and realized that…
Every blog and YouTube video has recommended that you install WordPress two-factor authentication.
This is probably why you started looking for WordPress two-factor authentication.

In this article, I will cover:

  • Let's go through what two-factor authentication is in WordPress.
  • Why should you use it.
  • How to quickly and easily install WordPress 2FA.
  • Which WordPress two-factor authentication plugin should you use.

Let's dive into this topic right now.

The content of the article:

What is two-factor authentication in WordPress?

Do you think that the security of your site depends on the plugin?
This is only partly true.
In fact, the security of your site is mostly up to you. You need to take action and set up security for your WordPress site.

A perfect example of this is WordPress two-factor authentication.
You will soon understand why.

WordPress two-factor authentication is a security measure that adds a layer of protection to your login page beyond your password.

Adding WordPress 2FA makes this nearly impossible:

  • If a hacker breaks into your site, and even if… he guessed your password.
  • When a bot has hijacked your site's login page, and even if... it's trying to hack it.

When you add WordPress 2FA, you will still need to use your username and password to login. But then you'll need more information to make sure it's really you.

What is this additional information?

Usually this:

  • OTP sent to a device that only you have access to;
  • Time-based OTP sent via email;
  • Optional password or PIN;
  • Security question you would ask during installation (NOT RECOMMENDED);

The real reason you should use WordPress two-factor authentication is because the password you use can be cracked in a million different ways. In fact, password cracking is estimated to grow even more and cost the world $7 trillion a year by 2023.

I'll ask you again: how soundly do you sleep at night?

Reality Check: Stealing a password is easier than you think. Most of your team and users also use very weak passwords that are easy for a hacker to guess with brute force and rainbow tables.

Installing 2FA on your site does not replace a strong password. You still need to create a really strong password to protect your site.

Now that you understand what WordPress two-factor authentication is and how it works, let me help you set it up for your site.

How to set up two-factor authentication in WordPress?

The only way to set up WordPress two-factor authentication is to use a third-party plugin. A standard WordPress installation does NOT come with 2FA protection for your login page. The best you can get from installing Softaculous is a login restrictor. But even this is not the best option for a standard WordPress installation.

select plugins

So what can you do? The best way to install WordPress 2FA on your site is to use a security plugin.

There are two ways to do this:

  • Install a security plugin with powerful security features.
  • Use a specialized plugin that only installs WordPress 2FA.

WordPress 2FA plugins

There are many plugins for WordPress two-factor authentication. Most of them only do one thing, and they do it right. At first glance, this seems like a good idea. But actually it is not.

WordPress 2FA plugins do not offer more than one level of security for your site.

Of course, if you already have a plugin for:

  • malware scanning;
  • malware cleaning;
  • WordPress protection;

And all you need is WordPress two-factor authentication, then by all means install a separate plugin for that. Here is a list of the best WordPress login security and two-factor authentication plugins you can trust:

Two factor

Two-Factor Login QR Code - Two-Factor AuthenticationTwo-Factor is a nice free plugin that gets the job done. The 2FA settings on your WordPress user profile page are easy to use. You can:

  • Receive OTP via email.
  • Get OTP with Google Authenticator.

Want more features?

You can also generate a backup code in case you are unable to login using the second factor. The only downside is that Two-Factor doesn't have a global setting. This means that as an administrator, you will have to enable 2FA on a per-user basis.

WP2FA

WP2FAWP 2FA is another free plugin for setting up two-factor authentication for WordPress. This is one of the simplest two-factor authentication plugins ever created.

Additional emphasis is placed on making the user experience ultra-simple. So, naturally, you get an installation wizard that will guide each user to set up two-factor authentication for their accounts. There is absolutely no need to have ANY technical setup knowledge.

You have a variety of OTP options to choose from, and you can make two-factor authentication mandatory for all users from an administrator account.

Google Authenticator

WP 2FA login pageGoogle Authenticator is the first 2FA plugin that many have ever used. This plugin is also free and is the simplest and most basic 2FA plugin for WordPress. After installing the plugin, go to your profile page and enable Google Authenticator settings. Then scan the QR code that appears in the Google Authenticator app on your smartphone.

There are quite a few reasons not to use it:

  • First, it is only compatible with Google Authenticator and no other authentication app.
  • This plugin also has no global settings. Thus, you will have to manually set up 2FA for all your users.
  • There are no backup codes either. So if you lose your smartphone, you will have to manually remove the plugin via FTP or SSH.

Unloq Two Factor Authentication

Unlock two-factor authenticationThe Unloq plugin for WordPress two-factor authentication is another good choice. You get a full set of standard options when you set up two-factor authentication. You can also send all your users an invitation to set up two-factor authentication from the central control panel.

You also get push notifications to verify your account instead of having to use OTP every time. You can receive OTP both for mobile devices and via email - this is also a useful feature.

There is one problem:

  • You will have to do all this using the Unloq mobile application.

Not cool.

What's next?

Now that you know and fully understand what WordPress two-factor authentication is and how to set it up on your site, here's what you need to do next:

Realize that this is not enough.

Seriously, DO NOT rely solely on a 2FA plugin and pretend your site is secure.

This is the wrong approach.

So what can you do?

Simple - use a malware scanner to constantly monitor your website for malware. Install a good malware cleaner that you can rely on so that you can clean up your site instantly, even if you are infected.

Yes, you also need a decent firewall to protect your login page. But most importantly, you need to tighten up your security measures with WordPress security plugins.

Here's what most of you don't know:

Hackers feed on your ignorance. Most hacks happen simply because WordPress users don't take the time to understand the threats they face every day.

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