STEP 8: Update Usernames and Passwords
The next step we want to take is to reset our usernames and passwords. Here’s what you should change:
- WordPress Username and Password – this is what you use to login to your WP dashboard. Please note that it’s not a good idea to use ‘admin‘ as the username because hackers know that’s the default username in WP = that’s like giving away 50% of the info they need to hack your site.
- Hosting Control Panel – this is what you use to login to your host’s control panel.
- FTP – if you know how, you may want to change your FTP user/pw as well.
Note that I intentionally did not recommend changing your MySQL database name, username and password because this guide is intended for the average user. More advanced users can go ahead and change their MySQL database parameters if they wish. Though, if you do change your MySQL password, remember to update wp-config.php accordingly.