LosWordPress attacks are a reality even for small, newly created websites, and understanding why they happen is the key to protecting your site without fear.

You build your website calmly.
A simple WordPress site, freshly launched, with barely any traffic. Everything works fine… until one day you log into your dashboard and see alerts: blocked IPs, login attempts from countries you don’t recognize, attacks on wp-login.php, requests to xmlrpc.php.

Your reaction is almost automatic:
“Why is this happening to me?”
“Are they attacking me?”
“Did I do something wrong?”

If you’ve experienced this, take a deep breath. You’re not alone and, most importantly, this isn’t strange at all. In fact, it’s the opposite: this is completely normal today when you have a WordPress site exposed to the internet, even if it’s small, new, and seemingly irrelevant.

Let’s explain it properly—calmly, and without panic.

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Why There Are So Many WordPress Attacks Today

WordPress is the most widely used content management system in the world. And while that’s a huge advantage, it also makes it a constant target.

But there’s something important you should understand from the start:
most WordPress attacks are not personal.

There isn’t someone sitting in front of a screen thinking about your specific website. What you’re seeing is automated bots crawling the internet 24/7, scanning entire IP ranges and testing logins at scale.

These bots always do the same thing:

• search for active WordPress installations
• test known routes like wp-login.php or xmlrpc.php
• try common username/password combinations
• and if they fail, they move on to the next site

All of this happens even if your site has no traffic, authority, or “importance.”

It’s an industrial process—not selective.

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Why Even a Brand-New WordPress Site Gets Attacked

This is one of the most common questions—and also one of the most reassuring once you truly understand it.

Many people assume attacks only happen when a website grows, starts ranking, or begins making money. But the reality is different.

The moment your WordPress site:

• is online
• responds to HTTP requests
• and sits inside a public IP range

…it becomes part of the automatic radar of these bots.

In the case of a VPS—like those from IONOS or other major providers—this becomes even more noticeable. Attackers know these companies host thousands of websites, many of them WordPress, so they scan entire IP blocks, not individual websites.

It doesn’t matter if your site:

• is simple
• was just created
• has no visitors
• or only you know it exists

If it’s accessible on the internet, it will be tested.

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The Most Common Attacks You’ll See in WordPress

When you check security logs or alerts from a plugin like Wordfence, you’ll almost always see the same patterns. That’s no coincidence.

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Attacks on wp-login.php

This is the classic one.
They try to access your admin panel using common usernames like:

• admin
• administrator
• personal names
• automated combinations

Most of these attempts fail and show up as blocked logins.

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Attacks on xmlrpc.php

This often causes confusion because many people don’t even know what xmlrpc.php is.

It’s a file that enables certain remote functions in WordPress, but historically it has also been a target for brute-force abuse and other attacks. That’s why you’ll often see constant attempts hitting it.

For simple websites that don’t use the WordPress mobile app or specific external services, there’s usually no need to keep it open.

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Automated Brute Force Attacks

There’s no intelligence or strategy here. Just:

• username
• password
• repeat

Over and over again, across thousands of sites.

When you see dozens or hundreds of attempts from different countries, with strange browsers or outdated versions, this is exactly what you’re looking at.

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What Are They Really Trying to Do?

This is another key question—and it helps remove fear.

In most cases, they’re looking for:

• poorly configured websites
• weak passwords
• outdated installations
• vulnerable plugins

They’re not targeting your content, your project, or you personally.

If they manage to get into a vulnerable website, the goal is usually to:

• inject spam
• redirect traffic
• host malware
• use your server as part of a larger network

That’s why small websites are useful too. They don’t need your site to be famous—they just need it to be weak.

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What Happens If an Attack Succeeds?

Let’s be clear, without being dramatic.

If an attacker gains real access to your WordPress site, several things can happen:

• your site starts showing strange links
• suspicious redirects appear
• Google flags your site as unsafe
• your server gets used to send spam
• performance drops for no apparent reason

It’s not always obvious at first, which is why prevention matters so much.

The good news is that most of these scenarios can be avoided with basic measures applied properly—without being a security expert.

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How to Protect a Simple WordPress Site Without Being an Expert

This is where many people get lost, because the internet is full of endless checklists, complex configurations, and recommendations that don’t always apply to small sites.

The reality is simpler.

For a well-maintained WordPress site, it’s usually enough to have:

• strong passwords
• properly managed users
• up-to-date updates
• a well-configured security plugin

Tools like Wordfence do a great job when you understand them and use them with common sense.

If you see blocked attacks, that’s not a sign of danger:
it’s a sign your protection is working.

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Is It Enough That Wordfence Blocks Attacks?

Blocking attempts doesn’t mean your website is invincible, but it does mean you’re at a reasonable security level for most small personal and professional projects.

The goal isn’t to eliminate attempts (that’s impossible), but to ensure:

• they can’t get in
• they don’t overload your server
• they can’t exploit known vulnerabilities

When protection is properly configured, attacks stop being a threat and become background noise.

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The Questions We All Ask When We See WordPress Attacks

Why are they attacking me if my website isn’t important?

Because they’re not attacking you.
They attack everything they find automatically.

Can they do anything if they never access the dashboard?

No. If attempts are blocked and there are no successful logins, there is no infection.

Do I need to be a security expert?

No. For most websites, applying the basics is more than enough.

Do attackers care about small websites?

Yes—because they look for quantity, not quality.

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A Final Message of Reassurance

Seeing WordPress attack attempts for the first time is shocking. That’s normal.
But once you understand how the internet works today, everything makes sense.

Having attacks doesn’t mean you’re doing something wrong.
It means your website is alive, visible, and protected.

And if managed properly, that’s exactly where you want to be.

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WordPress Attacks (continued)

By now we’ve understood something important:
attacks exist, they’re constant, and they have nothing to do with you personally or the size of your website. Now let’s go a bit deeper, because this is where confusion often starts—and where many people begin doing unnecessary things.

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The Most Common Mistake: Thinking “Something Is Wrong” Because There Are Attacks

When you see dozens or hundreds of blocked attempts, your instinct is to think:

• “I configured something wrong”
• “My WordPress is insecure”
• “This shouldn’t happen”
• “I need to shut down the site or change everything”

But no.
In fact, it’s often the opposite.

👉 If you see attacks in the logs, it’s because you’re seeing them.
And if you’re seeing them, it usually means there’s a security layer working.

Truly vulnerable websites often show nothing… until the damage is already done.

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Attacks Don’t Mean Vulnerability

This is extremely important and worth saying clearly.

A vulnerable WordPress site is one that:

• isn’t updated
• has abandoned plugins
• uses weak passwords
• doesn’t limit access
• has no detection system

A WordPress site under attack, on the other hand, can be perfectly:

• updated
• well configured
• protected
• stable

The difference is huge, and confusing the two creates unnecessary fear.

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Why WordPress Gets Attacked More Than Other Systems

Not because it’s worse.
But because it’s more popular.

Attackers look for:

• large surfaces
• repeatable patterns
• common configurations

WordPress checks all three boxes.

That doesn’t make it insecure by default.
What makes it insecure is leaving it unattended.

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The Real Role of Security Plugins Like Wordfence

Here it’s important to set expectations.

A security plugin is not:

• a magic shield
• an absolute guarantee
• something that “eliminates attacks”

Its real function is:

• detect suspicious patterns
• block automated attempts
• limit access
• alert you about what’s happening

And that’s exactly what you’re seeing.

When Wordfence blocks IPs, logins, or requests to xmlrpc.php, it’s not a danger signal—it’s controlled activity.

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Why Do They Come From So Many Different Countries?

Another very common question.

Bots:

• use compromised servers
• use rented VPS
• use proxies
• rotate IPs constantly

That’s why you see attempts from:

• the United States
• Europe
• Asia
• addresses that look “normal”

It doesn’t mean real people are behind each attempt.
It means the infrastructure is global.

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VPS, Public IP and Visibility

Your case is especially interesting—and very common.

A VPS:

• has a fixed public IP
• isn’t “hidden” behind other websites
• responds directly to the internet

That means:

• scans reach you sooner
• logs are clearer
• attempts show up in more detail

It’s not a VPS problem.
It’s the natural consequence of having control and visibility.

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Does It Make Sense to Hide wp-login.php?

For a simple website, yes.
Not out of paranoia, but to reduce noise.

Changing the login URL:

• doesn’t make your site invulnerable
• but removes 90% of automated scanning
• reduces logs, alerts, and unnecessary load

It’s practical, not extreme.

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What About xmlrpc.php? Block It or Not?

The answer is simple and honest:

If you don’t use the WordPress mobile app
If you don’t publish remotely
If you don’t depend on services that require it

👉 then blocking it usually has no negative consequences for a simple site.

And it removes one of the most historically attacked routes.

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What You Don’t Need to Do (Even If People Recommend It)

I’ll be clear here, because this saves time and headaches.

For a normal website you don’t need:

• complex server configurations
• impossible manual firewalls
• editing critical files without knowing
• installing five security plugins at once
• living obsessed with every IP

More security doesn’t always mean better security.

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Reasonable Security Exists

And this is the key point to close the loop.

WordPress security isn’t about eliminating all risk (that doesn’t exist), but about:

• reducing attack surface
• blocking automated threats
• detecting anomalies
• reacting on time

Once you have that covered, attacks stop being a real problem and become part of the landscape.

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So… When Should You Actually Worry?

Good question.

There are signs that do deserve attention:

• successful logins you don’t recognize
• files modified without reason
• strange redirects
• warnings from Google or your hosting provider
• performance drops with no explanation

As long as that doesn’t happen and attacks are being blocked, there’s no reason to panic.

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What Changes When You Understand All This

Something interesting happens once you understand how WordPress attacks work.

You stop:

• logging into your dashboard with fear
• checking logs with anxiety
• thinking your site is “in constant danger”

And you start:

• interpreting information
• making decisions with clarity
• maintaining your site calmly

And paradoxically, that’s what creates real security.

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One Last Important Message

If you have a WordPress site that is:

• simple
• newly created
• well configured
• protected with basic security measures

…and you see blocked attacks…

👉 you’re not failing
👉 you’re doing the right thing