Recently, one of our readers asked if it was possible to automatically change WordPress SALT keys. WordPress security authentication or SALT keys are the encrypted code that protects your login information. One way to improve WordPress security is to automatically change the SALT keys. In this article, we will show you how to automatically change WordPress SALT keys without any code.
Security keys also known as salt keys in WordPress are the variables that store your login credentials in encrypted form. By default, WordPress saves your login information in cookies which, given the right conditions, can be compromised especially when using public computers.
One way to avoid this risk is to change your security keys manually from your wp-config.php file which is available in the root folder of your WordPress site. The security keys and SALT will be like this:
We recommend changing these codes regularly to improve the security of your website (every 3 to 6 months). You can manually generate salt keys from the WordPress.org secret key service.
While it's not difficult to change keys manually, it's still time consuming to manually edit a central file and upload it via FTP. In case you don't have coding knowledge, or don't have time, this solution is for you.
Let's take a look at how easily you can set up an automated process for changing security and SALT keys in WordPress:
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Salt Shaker plugin. For more details, see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Once the plugin is activated, you need to go to Tools »Salt Shaker page in your WordPress admin to set a schedule for changing SALT keys.
You need to check the option to automatically change Salt keys and then select your schedule from the dropdown menu. You can automatically change the daily, weekly and monthly authentication keys.
In case you want to change the security keys and Salt manually, you can do it by clicking the Change now button button.
Note: Whenever WordPress SALT keys are changed, you and other users will be automatically logged out of your WordPress site on all devices. You can easily log back into your WordPress dashboard by going to the WordPress login page.
We hope this article helped you to automatically change WordPress SALT keys. You can also check out our ultimate WordPress security guide to improve your website security.
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