[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #13118: wp-login.php and wp-admin folder location/name choice during the installation

[WordPress Trac]

#13118: wp-login.php and wp-admin folder location/name choice during the
installation
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 Reporter:  MSNexus                              |       Owner:  dd32
     Type:  enhancement                          |      Status:  reopened
 Priority:  normal                               |   Milestone:
Component:  Administration                       |     Version:
 Severity:  normal                               |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  wp-login wp-                         |
  admin,wordpress,secure,more                    |
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Changes (by carlocapocasa):

 * status:  closed => reopened
 * cc: carlocapocasa (added)
 * type:  feature request => enhancement
 * version:  2.9.2 =>
 * keywords:  wp-login,wp-admin,wordpress,secure,more => wp-login wp-
     admin,wordpress,secure,more
 * resolution:  wontfix =>


Comment:

 While "security by obscurity" is indeed a house of cards, it has been
 confused in this thread with "obscure url", which is actually a perfectly
 valid security technique that is just as good as using a password. Only
 the name is similar, not the concept; "obscure URL" is equivalent to
 including a security token in a REST API call.

 To make it work, the obscure URL component needs to be chosen like a
 strong password. Examples:

 No additional security:

 http://my-site.com/my-wp-admin

 http://my-site.com/admin

 http://my-site.com/nancy-admin

 Full additional security layer:

 http://my-site.com/wp-admin-1m1f9ioz8hr3qljr

 http://my-site.com/admin38wtfet39nz5rubh

 http://my-site.com/o1b7uv8n7twdcrpb

 Of course it would be a perfectly sound management decision to keep this
 on 'wontfix' to avoid the risk of breaking things or to focus the labor
 elsewhere, but the commenter thinks it would be a great idea to re-
 evaluate the decision in those terms and weigh it against the benefit of
 having the option of using "obscure url" instead of baseauth (or
 additionally), given the two provide equivalent security.

 Pros of obscure url:

 * Less hassle for users than baseauth, good for "friendly security"
 * Can be implemented without admin access, lowers the barrier for small
 companies or individual bloggers to harden their install
 * Can be done in addition to baseauth and the regular login if desired
 * Bots give up without trying to brute-force the login, reduces log spam

 Cons of obscure url:

 * Implementors need to know how to chose the URL, the same way they need
 to know how to chose a strong password
 * Users need to know they must keep the admin URL secret, the same way the
 need to know they must not share their passwords
 * The browser keeps the secret URL in history by default, so users need to
 know to delete their history on public computers, just like they need to
 know they should't allow their passwords to be saved on public computers
 * Oddly, it is not a very widely known technique except for APIs, so a
 little explaining might be required along the way.

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Ticket URL: <http://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/13118#comment:5>
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