Kadence Security – Password, Two Factor Authentication, and Brute Force Protection vs Two Factor

Reduce your WordPress website’s risk to nearly zero with Kadence Security Formerly iThemes Security. Looking for iThemes? Learn more here. On average, 30,000 websites are hacked every day.* Cyberattacks in the US increased by 57% in 2022.** Bad actors who want to hack your site, steal your data, and cripple your business are a 24/7/365 threat. You need a proactive, strategic approach to WordPress website security that protects your site from brute force attacks, malware infections, and other cyber threats. Kadence Security shields your site from cyberattacks and prevents security vulnerabilities. It automatically locks out bad users identified by our Brute Force Protection Network that is nearly 1 million sites strong and leverages your own blacklist. It secures and protects your most commonly attacked part of your WordPress website – user login authentication. With Patchstack integration (Pro) protects your site before you even have a chance to address vulnerabilities and before a plugin or theme vendor or developer can even issue a patch. That’s 24/7/365 always-on truly Kadence Security. 🌐 Secure your Website in Minutes The Kadence Security setup and onboarding experience allows anyone to secure their WordPress website in under 10 minutes, regardless of technical acumen. Knowing that you have enabled all the right security settings for your website will leave you feeling like your site has never been more secure. 📚 Security Site Templates to Fit Your Type of Site Enabling the correct security settings based on the type of website you are building or maintaining is essential for proper security. An eCommerce site requires a different level of security than a basic blog. Kadence Security Site Templates make it quick and easy to apply the right security settings for your website. Choose from six different site templates to apply the type of security your site needs: Ecommerce – websites that sell products or services Network – websites that connect people or communities Non-Profit – websites that promote your cause and collect donations Blog – websites that share your thoughts or start a conversation Portfolio – websites that showcase your craft Brochure – simple websites that promote your business ⌚ Real-Time Website Security Dashboard Every day, lots of activity is happening on your website that you can’t see. Many of these activities can be related to your site’s security, so monitoring these events is vital to keeping your site secure. The Kadence Security Pro plugin provides a real-time WordPress security dashboard that monitors security-related events on your site around the clock. The Kadence Security Dashboard is a dynamic dashboard with all your WordPress website’s security activity stats in one place, including brute force attacks, banned users, active lockouts, site scan results, and user security stats (Pro). 🗝️ WordPress Login Security Setting up and maintaining proper WordPress configurations and managing user account access are essential aspects of hardening your site against threats and vulnerabilities. Basic and Pro include features that address both of these factors. Two Factor Authentication (2FA) – Make your WordPress login nearly impenetrable to attack by requiring users to enter a security code along with a password to login. The Kadence Security plugin allows you to add two-factor authentication to your WordPress login with several authentication methods, including mobile apps like Authy and Google Authenticator, email, and backup codes. Password Requirements – Create and enforce a password policy for your users in less than a minute. reCAPTCHA (Pro) – Stop bad bots from engaging in abusive activities on your website, such as attempting to break into your website using compromised passwords, posting spam, or even scraping your content. Passwordless Logins (Pro) – WordPress security made easy. Secure your user accounts with 2fa & strong passwords while allowing real users login with a click of a mouse. Trusted Devices (Pro) – Identify the devices you and other users use to block session hijacking attacks and limit Administrator privileges to Trusted Devices. Automated Vulnerability Patching (Pro) – Kadence Security Pro includes Patchstack which patches vulnerabilities before you have a chance to and applies fixes even before a plugin developer or vendor has issued a patch. Learn more about how passwordless login is the future and how Kadence Security can help you implement it today. 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 The Right Amount of Security for Every User Level Different types of user levels require different levels of security. During the Kadence Security setup process, you can identify your website’s key user groups. Once the different types of users are identified, you can apply the level of security that is just right for each user group. Here are a couple of examples of how User Groups are useful for securing your site: For Clients – Let’s say you are configuring Kadence Security on a client’s website. You will decide whether or not they are required to use two-factor authentication and if they should have access to the Kadence Security settings. For Customers – If you have an eCommerce website, you will decide whether or not you want to protect customer accounts with a password policy. Privilege Escalation (Pro) also adds a safe, secure way to grant temporary admin-level access to your website. 🤖 Block Bad Bots & Ban User Agents with Lockouts Ban Users (Basic and Pro) – Permanently block repeat offenders from accessing your site. Local Brute Force Protection – Automatically identify and stop the most common method of attack on WordPress sites. Local Brute Force Protection (Basic and Pro) – Automatically identify and stop the most common method of attack on WordPress sites. Network Brute Force Protection (Basic and Pro) – The network is the Kadence Security community and is nearly one million websites strong. If someone tries to break into websites in the Kadence Security community, Kadence Security will block them across the network. Magic Links (Pro) – Security shouldn’t get in your way. Magic Links allow you to log in to your WordPress site while your username is locked out by the Kadence Security Local Brute Force Protection feature. 🔍 Monitor Your Site’s Security Health File Change Detection (Basic and Pro) – Kadence Security logs changes made to your website that can help detect malicious activity on your website. Site Scanner (Basic and Pro) – Schedule checks to run four times per day (Basic) or hourly (Pro) for known vulnerabilities of WordPress core file, plugins and themes. Using the Google Safe Browsing API, the Site Scan also checks your Google’s blocklist status and will alert you if Google has found any malware on your website. Patchstack integration (Pro) – Automated virtual patching of some vulnerabilities before you even have a chance to address them yourself, and before a plugin or theme vendor or developer can even issue a patch. Site Scanner (Pro) – Unlock Version Management to automatically apply a patch to vulnerable software detected by the Site Scan when one is available. User Logging (Pro) – Keep a record of user activity in your WordPress security logs, including login/logout, user registration, adding/removing plugins, switching themes, changes to posts and pages, and more. Version Management (Pro) – The Version Management feature in Kadence Security Pro allows you to auto-update WordPress, plugins, and themes. Beyond that, Version Management also has options to harden your website when you are running outdated software and scan for old websites. 🧠 Smarter, More Actionable Vulnerability Prioritization Not all vulnerabilities pose the same level of risk, and the traditional Common Vulnerability Scoring System (CVSS) score doesn’t always reflect the realities of running a WordPress site. Kadence Security now uses the Patchstack Priority score, which goes beyond CVSS to provide a real-world risk assessment tailored to WordPress. It factors in how likely a vulnerability is to be exploited and its actual impact on your site. With Patchstack Priority, you get a clearer picture of what really matters, helping you focus on the vulnerabilities that pose the greatest risk, and worry less about noise from low-impact issues. 🛠️ Website Security Utilities Enforce SSL – Force all connections to the website to be made over SSL/TLS. Database Backups – Create backups of your WordPress database. (Not a complete backup.) Geolocation (Pro) – Improve Trusted Devices by connecting to an external location or mapping API. 🚀 Advanced Security Tools Identify Server IPs – Prevent issues caused by inadvertently locking out your server IPs. Change User ID 1 – Change the user ID for the first WordPress user, potentially preventing attacks that assume the user with ID1 exists and is an administrator. Change Database Prefix – Change the database prefix that WordPress uses, potentially preventing attacks that assume the database prefix is “wp_”. Check File Permission – See the file and directory permissions of key areas of your site. Server Config Rules – View or flush the server security rules generated by Kadence Security. wp-config.php Rules – View or flush the wp-config.php security rules generated by Kadence Security. Change WordPress Salts – Secure your site after a successful attack by changing the WordPress salts used to secure cookies and security tokens. Hide Login URL – change the login URL of your site, making it harder for bots to find your login page and attack it. 🛟 Need Help? Free support may be available with the community’s help in the WordPress.org support forums. Our Kadence Security support team provides top-notch technical support to all our Kadence Security Basic users there. Our Help Center will help you become an iThemes Security expert. Get additional peace of mind with professional support from our expert team and pro features to take your site’s security to the next level with Kadence Security Pro. Recover From a Hacked Site Kadence Security makes regular backups of your WordPress database, allowing you to get back online quickly in the event of a hack or security breach. Use Kadence Security to create and email database backups on a customizable schedule. For complete site backups and the ability to restore or move WordPress to a new host or domain, check out Solid Backups. Solid Central Integration Manage more than one WordPress site? Release lockouts and keep your themes, plugins, and WordPress core up to date from one dashboard with Solid Central. *Zippia. “30 Crucial Cybersecurity Statistics [2023]: Data, Trends And More” Zippia.com. Jun. 15, 2023, https://www.zippia.com/advice/cybersecurity-statistics/ **https://blog.checkpoint.com/2023/01/05/38-increase-in-2022-global-cyberattacks/ License Released under the terms of the GNU General Public License.

The Two-Factor plugin adds an extra layer of security to your WordPress login by requiring users to provide a second form of authentication in addition to their password. This helps protect against unauthorized access even if passwords are compromised. Setup Instructions Important: Each user must individually configure their two-factor authentication settings. For Individual Users Navigate to your profile: Go to “Users” → “Your Profile” in the WordPress admin Find Two-Factor Options: Scroll down to the “Two-Factor Options” section Choose your methods: Enable one or more authentication providers (noting a site admin may have hidden one or more so what is available could vary): Authenticator App (TOTP) – Use apps like Google Authenticator, Authy, or 1Password Email Codes – Receive one-time codes via email Backup Codes – Generate one-time backup codes for emergencies Dummy Method – For testing purposes only (requires WP_DEBUG) Configure each method: Follow the setup instructions for each enabled provider Set primary method: Choose which method to use as your default authentication Save changes: Click “Update Profile” to save your settings For Site Administrators Plugin settings: The plugin provides a settings page under “Settings → Two-Factor” to configure which providers should be disabled site-wide. User management: Administrators can configure 2FA for other users by editing their profiles Security recommendations: Encourage users to enable backup methods to prevent account lockouts Available Authentication Methods Authenticator App (TOTP) – Recommended Security: High – Time-based one-time passwords Setup: Scan QR code with authenticator app Compatibility: Works with Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, and other TOTP apps Best for: Most users, provides excellent security with good usability Backup Codes – Recommended Security: Medium – One-time use codes Setup: Generate 10 backup codes for emergency access Compatibility: Works everywhere, no special hardware needed Best for: Emergency access when other methods are unavailable Email Codes Security: Medium – One-time codes sent via email Setup: Automatic – uses your WordPress email address Compatibility: Works with any email-capable device Best for: Users who prefer email-based authentication FIDO U2F Security Keys Deprecated and removed due to loss of browser support. Dummy Method Security: None – Always succeeds Setup: Only available when WP_DEBUG is enabled Purpose: Testing and development only Best for: Developers testing the plugin Important Notes HTTPS Requirement All methods work on both HTTP and HTTPS sites Browser Compatibility TOTP and email methods work on all devices and browsers Account Recovery Always enable backup codes to prevent being locked out of your account If you lose access to all authentication methods, contact your site administrator Security Best Practices Use multiple authentication methods when possible Keep backup codes in a secure location Regularly review and update your authentication settings For more information about two-factor authentication in WordPress, see the WordPress Advanced Administration Security Guide. For more history, see this post. Actions & Filters Here is a list of action and filter hooks provided by the plugin: two_factor_providers filter overrides the available two-factor providers such as email and time-based one-time passwords. Array values are PHP classnames of the two-factor providers. two_factor_providers_for_user filter overrides the available two-factor providers for a specific user. Array values are instances of provider classes and the user object WP_User is available as the second argument. two_factor_enabled_providers_for_user filter overrides the list of two-factor providers enabled for a user. First argument is an array of enabled provider classnames as values, the second argument is the user ID. two_factor_user_authenticated action which receives the logged in WP_User object as the first argument for determining the logged in user right after the authentication workflow. two_factor_user_api_login_enable filter restricts authentication for REST API and XML-RPC to application passwords only. Provides the user ID as the second argument. two_factor_email_token_ttl filter overrides the time interval in seconds that an email token is considered after generation. Accepts the time in seconds as the first argument and the ID of the WP_User object being authenticated. two_factor_email_token_length filter overrides the default 8 character count for email tokens. two_factor_backup_code_length filter overrides the default 8 character count for backup codes. Provides the WP_User of the associated user as the second argument. two_factor_rest_api_can_edit_user filter overrides whether a user’s Two-Factor settings can be edited via the REST API. First argument is the current $can_edit boolean, the second argument is the user ID. two_factor_before_authentication_prompt action which receives the provider object and fires prior to the prompt shown on the authentication input form. two_factor_after_authentication_prompt action which receives the provider object and fires after the prompt shown on the authentication input form. two_factor_after_authentication_input action which receives the provider object and fires after the input shown on the authentication input form (if form contains no input, action fires immediately after two_factor_after_authentication_prompt). two_factor_login_backup_links filters the backup links displayed on the two-factor login form. Redirect After the Two-Factor Challenge To redirect users to a specific URL after completing the two-factor challenge, use WordPress Core built-in login_redirect filter. The filter works the same way as in a standard WordPress login flow: add_filter( 'login_redirect', function( $redirect_to, $requested_redirect_to, $user ) { return home_url( '/dashboard/' ); }, 10, 3 );