Word Press Websites are known to be targets of hackers and one of their techniques is to perform a brute force attack on the account by using the default WP admin username. This way they can retrieve the password, change the password and gain access and "ownership" of the Website to do their evil deed. So a security precaution would naturally be to change the default administrator username "Admin" to a different one that would be very difficult for the hacker to figure out. In addition, it is equally important to make certain that the display name with which blog articles are written is different to the Admin user name.
Here is how it is done:
1. Log into your WP admin panel using your admin account.
2. Go to your Dashboard Panel and select "users" (in left panel)
3. Click on "Add a New User"
4. Add a challenging New User Name to the form
5. Choose Administrator in the "Role" drop down menu
6. Enter a VERY STRONG web password
7. When finished click on "Add New User"
8. Now log out of the "Admin" account
9. Log in again using the new WP Username
10. Select Dashboard Panel and click on "users" again.
11. From the users list tick the box of the previous username "admin"
12. Select the "Delete" option from the drop-down menu
13. Next, you'll be asked about the articles posted under the "admin" user name that you want to delete.
Select the option: "Attribute all posts and links to:" and select your new administrator password.
14. When ready, click on "Confirm Deletion".
This way the default WP username has been successfully deleted and the security level of your blog has been increased.
Second security precaution is to make sure that the display name of your new user account is different from the user name when you are publishing your articles. As hackers logically could easily figure out what the new admin username is by just checking the articles.
1. Go to your Dashboard again - select Users
2. Select "Your Profile"
3. Scroll down the "Your Profile" screen to the "Name" area
4. Fill in your first name, last name and nick name
5. Make them all REALLY creative so WP can create interesting combos out of them
5. Now click on the drop-down menu next to Admin and there will be a combo of names you could select.
6. This display name is automatically generated by WordPress based on what you put in the First Name, Last Name and Nickname fields. So if you don't like them you could go back and change the names in your profile
7. The variation you select will become your new display name.
Here is how it is done:
1. Log into your WP admin panel using your admin account.
2. Go to your Dashboard Panel and select "users" (in left panel)
3. Click on "Add a New User"
4. Add a challenging New User Name to the form
5. Choose Administrator in the "Role" drop down menu
6. Enter a VERY STRONG web password
7. When finished click on "Add New User"
8. Now log out of the "Admin" account
9. Log in again using the new WP Username
10. Select Dashboard Panel and click on "users" again.
11. From the users list tick the box of the previous username "admin"
12. Select the "Delete" option from the drop-down menu
13. Next, you'll be asked about the articles posted under the "admin" user name that you want to delete.
Select the option: "Attribute all posts and links to:" and select your new administrator password.
14. When ready, click on "Confirm Deletion".
This way the default WP username has been successfully deleted and the security level of your blog has been increased.
Second security precaution is to make sure that the display name of your new user account is different from the user name when you are publishing your articles. As hackers logically could easily figure out what the new admin username is by just checking the articles.
1. Go to your Dashboard again - select Users
2. Select "Your Profile"
3. Scroll down the "Your Profile" screen to the "Name" area
4. Fill in your first name, last name and nick name
5. Make them all REALLY creative so WP can create interesting combos out of them
5. Now click on the drop-down menu next to Admin and there will be a combo of names you could select.
6. This display name is automatically generated by WordPress based on what you put in the First Name, Last Name and Nickname fields. So if you don't like them you could go back and change the names in your profile
7. The variation you select will become your new display name.