Important information for WordPress users | Heart Internet Blog – Focusing on all aspects of the web

Update 23/04/2013: We have now introduced a page with a captcha to help address the ongoing attempts by the botnet to access WordPress and Joomla websites. When you go to your admin/ login page you will be asked to enter the captcha to continue. We feel this is a more elegant, user friendly and secure approach. The page looks like this…

Website security captcha

Web hosts across the world are currently experiencing a huge DDoS attack that is specifically targeting WordPress installations on shared hosting platforms.

A number of other web hosts have started removing access to wp-login; however we don’t want to do this as it mean you can’t access your website’s WordPress control panel. We are going to add an extra layer of security to help fend off this attack and still give you access to your control panel.

Whilst this attack is on-going, you may find that when trying to login to your WordPress Admin you are prompted for a username and password not previously required (in addition to your usual login details). The credentials for this login are:

Username: protected

Password: wordpress

This automated attack is affecting WordPress websites globally and is not targeted at a particular web host, which is why we’re happy to make the login details above public.

As soon as normal service is resumed, this prompt will be removed and the above credentials will no longer be required. We appreciate your patience during this time, and will update www.webhostingstatus.com once this has been resolved.

Comments

Please remember that all comments are moderated and any links you paste in your comment will remain as plain text. If your comment looks like spam it will be deleted. We're looking forward to answering your questions and hearing your comments and opinions!

Got a question? Explore our Support Database. Start a live chat*.
Or log in to raise a ticket for support.
*Please note: you will need to accept cookies to see and use our live chat service