It is very common these days for people to build websites using WordPress. In fact, WordPress powers over 30% of all websites created around the world. This means that there are millions of websites using various themes and WordPress plugins.
Plugins, in particular, are widely used by WordPress websites to add various functionality to the latter. This makes plugins the main targets for website hackers.
So the WordPress plugins can they contain viruses?
Yes, the WordPress plugins may contain viruses if they come from unreliable sources. But in general, WordPress plugins are virus-free if you get them from trusted and secure sources.
But how do plugins introduce viruses?
How much damage can these viruses cause?
Can these viruses spread to other websites?
You will find answers to all these questions and many more in this short guide. So read on ...
How do WordPress plugins introduce viruses?
WordPress is based on a programming language called PHP. So even WordPress plugins are written in the same PHP programming language. And a piece of code written in PHP can do it all!
This means that WordPress plugins are capable of doing anything. They can access data in your WordPress database, modify that data, delete that data, or do whatever the plugin is written to do.
This is how WordPress plugins introduce viruses.
more…
How much damage can viruses cause to a WordPress website?
As I just said, WordPress plugins can be written to access the WordPress database.
They are therefore able to edit or delete data from your WordPress database which includes your WordPress settings, user credentials, other sensitive data, etc. They can even send the collected data to hackers.
It can have a severe impact on your website. It can even prevent you from completely accessing your WordPress admin dashboard or leaking your customer data to hackers if you manage a online store on WordPress.
This will not only cause damage to your website, but it can also cause a lot of damage to your business.
Now the next question that arises is ...
Can the virus spread to other websites?
There are two ways the virus can be spread ...
- From one website to another
- From a website to the entire server where the website is hosted.
For the former, it is unlikely that a virus will spread from one website to another as long as the other website has security measures in place to protect it from the injection of any malicious code.
For the second, the propagation of a virus on a server depends on the server configuration. But in general, a virus cannot spread across an entire server because most software companiesWeb hosting have adequate security measures in place to avoid this situation.
To discover also: Some WordPress security plugins for your blog
However, if you set up a server and allow files to download and run, it is possible that some junk files may be downloaded that contain code that can cause serious damage to your server.
It could even lead to an entire server containing multiple infected websites. All of these websites would then be infected as well.
However, this situation is not so common because almost all shipping companiesWeb hosting have implemented security measures on their servers.
Okay, I know you're worried now and you're probably wondering ...
Is WordPress Safe to Use?
Yes, WordPress is safe to use.
Most of the time, websites built using WordPress get infected with viruses if you install plugins from untrusted sources.
Discover also: How to strengthen and protect your websites
As long as you don't, WordPress is perfectly safe. After all, over 30% of websites around the world wouldn't be using WordPress if it wasn't safe to use. So remove the fear from your mind about using WordPress.
I have been using WordPress for over 10 years now and have never had any security issues as such.
So, are there any security measures you should take?
The Easiest Ways To Secure A WordPress Website From Viruses
First, choose a shipping companyWeb hosting good and reliable to host your website. Once you have done this, the next thing you should do is make sure that you are not installing plugins from untrustworthy sources.
Always install plugins from the WordPress plugin repository. This will greatly reduce the chances of viruses sneaking into your website.
I have to put a disclaimer though that not all plugins are created equally. So chances are the plugin developer could have left a security hole that hackers can exploit.
However, such cases are not common even though they do occur from time to time.
Also read 8 types of security attacks and how to prevent them
Now, if you want to use any external plugins, do thorough research before using them. If these are free plugins, there is absolutely no reason why they should not be available on the WordPress plugin repository.
And if they are premium plugins, then generally they should be safe. However, it never hurts to do background checks on the developers of these plugins to see how trustworthy they are.
Keep this simple rule in mind ...
Never install a plugin on your WordPress website from unknown sources. Always, always, cross the reliability of the plugin developer.
Alright, I hope you understood the importance of being careful when using plugins.
Let's finish!
I guess you now understand that WordPress plugins can contain viruses. However, it is not common for a plugin to contain viruses if it is from a trusted source. So using WordPress and WordPress plugins is safe.
See also: How to safely update your WordPress plugins (in 3 steps)
Don't be afraid to build your website using WordPress. It has a very large community so it's easy to find help if you ever need it.
Discover also some themes and premium WordPress plugins
You can use other WordPress plugins to give a modern look and optimize the grip of your blog or website.
Here we offer you some premium WordPress plugins and themes that will help you do that.
1. Ultimate Membership Pro
Ultimate Membership Pro is a great WordPress Plugin subscription premium and content restriction. It allows users to be managed according to their package (free or premium) by creating exclusive access levels.
It will therefore be possible to protect all the content of your website, or just part of it. It will be for example a course, a lesson, a page, a product, a category, an image, etc ...
So much to see... 9 WordPress plugins to translate the content of your blog
Its main functionalities are among others: content protection, multiple access levels, support for multiple Payment gateways - PayPal, Authorize.net, Stripe, 2CheckOut, Bank Transfer-, partial content protection, and much more ...
Download | Demo | Web hosting
2. WP Real Media Library
WP Real Media Library (RML) is one of the most coveted premium WordPress media management plugins on the WordPress platform. It's easy to use and actually lets you organize thousands of images in folders.
Its use is really simple. Use your mouse (or touch) to drag and drop your files. You can easily create, rename, delete and rearrange your folders in your website. When you need to select an image, you can, for example, filter your library to quickly find your file.
See also our 7 plugins to boost your sidebars on WordPress
WP Real Media Library supports all your images, as well as your media files, as soon as it is installed. It also supports the multisite network of WordPress.
Download | Demo | Web hosting
3. SEO Friendly Images for WordPress
SEO Friendly Images is a WordPress Plugin premium, which optimizes the referencing of your website, thanks to the images of your website.
It has a free version that offers basic features, but its pro version boosts the performance of your website with the Lazy Load technique. You'll also be able to optimize it with Alt and Title attributes.
5 WordPress plugins to integrate Google Analytics into a blog and to consult absolutely.
Its features are: automatic filling of Alt and Title attributes, support for lazy loading, optimization of hypertext links, support for images, thumbnails and other plugins, support for multilingual, automatic updates and Much more…
Download | Demo | Web hosting
Recommended Resources
Find out about other recommended resources to help you build and manage your website.
- 10 WooCommerce plugins to boost your online store
- How to configure deliveries on WooCommerce
- How to create a private store with WooCommerce
- How to control the stock of your WooCommerce store
Conclusion
Here is ! That's it for this tutorial. We hope this article has helped you understand if WordPress plugins can contain viruses.
However, you will also be able to consult our resources, if you need more elements to carry out your projects of creation of Internet sites, by consulting our guide on the WordPress blog creation.
If you liked it, don't hesitate to share with your friends on your favorite social networks. But, in the meantime, let us know about your Comments and suggestions in the dedicated section.
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