Gauntlet Security vs SX User Name Security

Gauntlet Security can find opportunities for improving the security of your site. It checks many aspects of the site’s configuration including file permissions, server software, PHP, database, plugins, themes, and user accounts. The plugin will give each check a pass, warning, or fail and explain in clear language how you can fix the issue. How you ultimately choose to patch these issues is up to you but whatever method you use, this plugin should always provide an accurate report. It does not make changes to your database or to any of your files and it should be compatible with all other security plugins. Checks and recommendations include: Set correct file and directory permissions Turn off directory indexing Prevent code execution in the uploads directory Block files in the includes directory Prevent access to stray files which could be useful to attackers Keep PHP up-to-date Disable dangerous PHP functions Disable allow_url_include and allow_url_fopen PHP flags Turn off the display of PHP errors Don’t advertise the PHP version you are running Use a strong database password Change the default database table prefix Keep WordPress up-to-date Turn off file editing in the control panel Set security keys in WP-Config file Don’t advertise the WordPress version you are running Turn off self-registration Force SSL when accessing the admin area Review the development activity and reputation of all plugins Remove unused themes from the server Rename the plugin directory Move the active theme to an alternate location Do not use TimThumb Do not use common user names (such as “admin”) Do not use weak passwords Do not have a user with an ID = 1 Minimize the number of admin users Users should not display their login usernames publicly Prevent username enumeration through standard author URLs …more tests planned Check the screenshots for more detail on some of the above features. Many of these security checks are based on recommendations from the WordPress codex: https://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress. Disclaimer Some of the tips included in this plugin only require making small changes to configuration files (.htaccess, php.ini, wp-config.php, functions.php). Others require more in-depth changes to the filesystem or database. Before attempting any of these fixes, you should be comfortable experimenting and know how to undo any change you make. That includes making backups and knowing how restore your site from those backups. I can’t guarantee that the recommendations or sample code provided in this plugin will not break your site or that they will prevent it from being hacked. Requirements Apache web server WordPress 3.4 minimum PHP 5.2.7 minimum

WordPress show your WordPress login and ID in several places. It’s time to fix this ! WordPress automaticaly uses “User login” to fill in the “User Display Name”. WordPress also allows everyone to use the same value for Nickname, Display Name and Login. The body_class function also shows to everyone your User ID and Login on author pages. A hacker can easily see then use your “NickName” or “Display Name” to find your real login. Once activated, SX User Name Security will prevent WordPress from showing those informations, and will warn you if you need to fix old users. Features Body_class function: Removes User ID from body_class function (front-end users pages) Removes User Nicename from body_class function (front-end users pages) Current User informations: The plugin changes “Display Name” and “Nickname” to a random value (like ‘Ticibe T. Aduvoguripe’, ‘Lagubo N. Agigerovibe’ or ‘Datela N. Orejadavino’) if they are identiqual to user login If not, it changes “Display Name” to “Nickname” or “Nickname” to “Display Name” if one of them is identiqual to user login New Registration: Display Name and Nickname are changed to random value during user registration. Nicename is also changed (it’s used to generate the user permalink on the front-end). For previous user, a notice has been added to use another plugin to safely change old nicenames. Other information: All functions are translated into french and english. You can find me here on SeoMix, and here is the official french post about this plugin https://www.seomix.fr/user-name-security/ Find here our other plugins: SEOKEY WordPress SEO plugin SecuPress Security plugin