Author Topic: How secure is a private WordPress post from public view? (Read 11409 times)

kyrathaba · « **on:** July 06, 2018, 04:25 PM »

I understand from the documentation that even if someone guessed the URL to a private WordPress post, they still couldn't view it. Is that strictly true? How vulnerable are private posts to, say, a WordPress site using say a typical security plug-in like Wordfence?

Tuxman · « **Reply #1 on:** July 07, 2018, 07:15 AM »

Plug-ins are able to lower the security of private posts. If you are unsure, don't install them.

wraith808 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 07, 2018, 09:34 AM »

If you're very concerned about security, I wouldn't trust WordPress, private or not. Not that it's not capable, it's just that WordPress is a big target. Keeping things that you'd rather not have anyone see but it's not disastrous if someone does? It's probably fine for that. But really secure things? I'd suggest somewhere else, IMO.

Shades · « **Reply #3 on:** July 07, 2018, 02:22 PM »

Well, it is possible to configure the web server being used by this private WordPress to only allow access from certain domains or IP addresses. This is not the default setting from any piece of web server software, in my experience. If the computer that runs the web server software is patched and configured securely, then it will be quite difficult to access the content of this private WordPress instance. A knowledgeable intruder with access to (un)documented back doors on either the web server or WordPress will still find a way in.

Private post on a 3rd party WordPress site, which might or might not have sufficient patches/security in place for that website or the server(s) that site runs on, could be much more quickly compromised than you would expect and therefore should not be considered private under practically any circumstance.

Nowadays I do have the impression that most breaches are made by persons who want to make money of the information they acquire. So if those posts are made on a obscure website with hardly any traffic, than it is likely the case that the financial gain is too low for the amount of effort those persons would have to spent for acquiring your private posts.

The above is valid for anything you couple with the internet, not only WordPress. Applying also fail2ban and 2 factor authentication systems to a web site will improve the chances that your posts stay private considerably. A WordPress website often uses a MySQL database for storing content. If it is an option, storing your private posts sufficiently encrypted (AES256 and/or RSA2048) into such a database will again improve the chance that your posts remain private, even if a breach does occur.

Still, the best thing to do keeping things private is to not post those things on the internet at all.

Deozaan · « **Reply #4 on:** July 07, 2018, 02:38 PM »

What's your intended usage? What kind of "security" are you concerned about? Who do you consider your potential adversaries to be that you need to protect the data from?

dirosi · « **Reply #5 on:** July 20, 2018, 11:10 AM »

I understand from the documentation that even if someone guessed the URL to a private WordPress post, they still couldn't view it. Is that strictly true? How vulnerable are private posts to, say, a WordPress site using say a typical security plug-in like Wordfence?

Although, I am not sure about your question. But, I am trying to give an idea about wordpress post setting.
Wordpress have a Visibility option(For each post you will get this option). Public, Password Protected and Private.
Public: All can view that post.
Password Protected: If someone know your post url and try to visit that url then it will ask admin setup password. Without password visitor cannot view that post.
Private: Only admin and your website register user(if you give access) can view that post.
As an example I do this my cookware website: https://healthyceram...ic-cookware-reviews/
This article was password protected. Now public.

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #6 on:** November 30, 2018, 06:56 AM »

If you're very concerned about security, I wouldn't trust WordPress, private or not. Not that it's not capable, it's just that WordPress is a big target. Keeping things that you'd rather not have anyone see but it's not disastrous if someone does? It's probably fine for that. But really secure things? I'd suggest somewhere else, IMO.
-wraith808 (July 07, 2018, 09:34 AM)

I'll second that - There is no true 'privacy' on the internet.

On a side note: We really do need a like button system here, it's a great way to agree with something without making a low content clutter post.

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #7 on:** November 30, 2018, 07:32 AM »

If you're very concerned about security, I wouldn't trust WordPress, private or not. Not that it's not capable, it's just that WordPress is a big target. Keeping things that you'd rather not have anyone see but it's not disastrous if someone does? It's probably fine for that. But really secure things? I'd suggest somewhere else, IMO.
-wraith808 (July 07, 2018, 09:34 AM)
I'll second that - There is no true 'privacy' on the internet.

On a side note: We really do need a like button system here, it's a great way to agree with something without making a low content clutter post.
-Stoic Joker (November 30, 2018, 06:56 AM)

I've literally been bugging mouser about this since 2010 :')

Shades · « **Reply #8 on:** November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?

I visit other sites where people can indicate how much they like a post on that website. It doesn't add anything content-wise, not without the "liker" giving a reason why he/she likes that post. And if "liker" doees that, he/she might as well type a new post anyway.

Personally speaking: Of course, the amount of likes could mean that a particular post is valuable, but that also means that you would need a way to highlight them or find other ways to get the post the attention it deserves. The amount of likes can also allow for a filter to those who only want to see posts that have at 2 or more likes for example. While such things may work on other sites, forum posts on DC I find interesting enough to go through all of them. Besides, the best curator of posts I want to read is me, not some arbitrary number.

Deozaan · « **Reply #9 on:** November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #10 on:** November 30, 2018, 11:21 AM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.
-Deozaan (November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM)

This is exactly my thinking behind the "upvote/like" system. There happens to be a lot of posts on DC where there are no replies at all because the reader may feel like it's "interesting" but have nothing useful to add to the topic. Clicking "Like" will allow the writer to know they didn't just waste their time and that the content was appreciated in some way

wraith808 · « **Reply #11 on:** November 30, 2018, 12:14 PM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.
-Deozaan (November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM)

This is exactly my thinking behind the "upvote/like" system. There happens to be a lot of posts on DC where there are no replies at all because the reader may feel like it's "interesting" but have nothing useful to add to the topic. Clicking "Like" will allow the writer to know they didn't just waste their time and that the content was appreciated in some way
-Stephen66515 (November 30, 2018, 11:21 AM)

And I wouldn't keep having to post this. Like I'm posting now.

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 30, 2018, 12:15 PM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.
-Deozaan (November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM)

This is exactly my thinking behind the "upvote/like" system. There happens to be a lot of posts on DC where there are no replies at all because the reader may feel like it's "interesting" but have nothing useful to add to the topic. Clicking "Like" will allow the writer to know they didn't just waste their time and that the content was appreciated in some way
-Stephen66515 (November 30, 2018, 11:21 AM)

And I wouldn't keep having to post this. Like I'm posting now.

-wraith808 (November 30, 2018, 12:14 PM)

I'm stealing this "this" GIF.

rgdot · « **Reply #13 on:** November 30, 2018, 12:26 PM »

So next step is when a post gets likes the thread title on the post list page is animated somehow

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #14 on:** November 30, 2018, 12:29 PM »

So next step is when a post gets likes the thread title on the post list page is animated somehow
-rgdot (November 30, 2018, 12:26 PM)

Wat?

wraith808 · « **Reply #15 on:** November 30, 2018, 12:51 PM »

So next step is when a post gets likes the thread title on the post list page is animated somehow
-rgdot (November 30, 2018, 12:26 PM)

Wat?
-Stephen66515 (November 30, 2018, 12:29 PM)

Don't worry. I don't get it either.

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #16 on:** November 30, 2018, 12:53 PM »

OH WAIT...

When the post gets "likes", then the thread title on the main topic list will become animated somehow

I thnk

rgdot · « **Reply #17 on:** November 30, 2018, 02:18 PM »

What do you expect from a guy born in an axis of evil country, me fail English of course

I - jokingly - meant gif or blinking thread titles, to indicate likes

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #18 on:** November 30, 2018, 02:19 PM »

What do you expect from a guy born in an axis of evil country, me fail English of course
-rgdot (November 30, 2018, 02:18 PM)

America?

Stoic Joker · « **Reply #19 on:** November 30, 2018, 02:28 PM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.
-Deozaan (November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM)

^Like^

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #20 on:** November 30, 2018, 02:33 PM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.
-Deozaan (November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM)

^Like^
-Stoic Joker (November 30, 2018, 02:28 PM)

+1

rgdot · « **Reply #21 on:** November 30, 2018, 03:27 PM »

What do you expect from a guy born in an axis of evil country, me fail English of course
-rgdot (November 30, 2018, 02:18 PM)

America?
-Stephen66515 (November 30, 2018, 02:19 PM)

rimshot

wraith808 · « **Reply #22 on:** November 30, 2018, 04:24 PM »

What do you expect from a guy born in an axis of evil country, me fail English of course
-rgdot (November 30, 2018, 02:18 PM)

America?
-Stephen66515 (November 30, 2018, 02:19 PM)

Hey now pot (Brexit) watch what you're calling the kettle.

wraith808 · « **Reply #23 on:** November 30, 2018, 04:25 PM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.
-Deozaan (November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM)

^Like^
-Stoic Joker (November 30, 2018, 02:28 PM)

+1
-Stephen66515 (November 30, 2018, 02:33 PM)

⬆

KynloStephen66515 · « **Reply #24 on:** November 30, 2018, 04:51 PM »

Advocate of the devil here: Would it then not become just a numbers game? This post is liked by x amount of people on this forum? What does that add exactly?
-Shades (November 30, 2018, 08:09 AM)

The point of it would be so that you could express thanks or approval or give some form of feedback without having to create a new reply which would therefore ping everyone who has signed up to be notified of new replies. It also helps keep threads on topic instead of having a bunch of superfluous "thanks" or "nice" replies.

This would be especially handy, IMO, in threads such as the latest Steam or GOG giveaways.

As things are now, I have to choose between no reply at all (which can give the OP the idea that nobody cared about what they had to say/share) or possibly bothering a bunch of people with notifications just to say something like "thanks" or "I enjoyed that" etc. Often times I choose the former.
-Deozaan (November 30, 2018, 11:17 AM)

^Like^
-Stoic Joker (November 30, 2018, 02:28 PM)

+1
-Stephen66515 (November 30, 2018, 02:33 PM)

⬆
-wraith808 (November 30, 2018, 04:25 PM)

✔