Dashboard Essentials

Dashboard Essentials

Understanding the Dashboard

What This Covers

This guide explains the Steel Security dashboard and how to interpret the information it provides.

The dashboard gives you a high-level view of your site's security posture and helps you prioritize next steps.

What the Dashboard Shows

The dashboard provides a summary of your site’s current security state.

It is designed to answer three key questions:

Key Sections

Scan Summary

The Scan Summary reflects the results of your most recent scan.

It includes:

This gives you a quick understanding of your current risk level.

Scan Risk Score

The Scan Risk Score represents the overall risk level of your site based on detected findings.

The score is intended as a guideline, not a perfect measurement.

Focus on the underlying findings rather than the number alone.

Recent Findings

This section highlights the most relevant issues detected during the last scan.

Each finding includes:

Use this section to quickly identify what needs attention.

Hardening Overview

The dashboard also summarizes available hardening opportunities.

This may include:

Hardening actions are optional and should be applied thoughtfully.

How to Use the Dashboard

A typical workflow:

  1. Review your Scan Risk Score
  2. Identify high-risk findings
  3. Open the Scan page for detailed results
  4. Apply hardening where appropriate
  5. Re-scan to confirm improvements

The dashboard helps you decide where to focus, not perform the work itself.

What the Dashboard Does Not Do

The dashboard does not:

It is a summary and navigation layer, not an action layer.

When to Check the Dashboard

Use the dashboard:

Common Questions

Why does the dashboard not update automatically?

The dashboard reflects the most recent scan results.

To refresh the data, return to the Scan page to trigger a new scan.

What should I focus on first?

Start with:

These typically represent the most immediate concerns.

Is a low score “secure”?

A low score indicates fewer detected risks, but no system is ever completely risk-free.

Use the score as a guide, not a guarantee.

Tips

What to Do Next

After reviewing the dashboard:

  1. Open the Scan page for detailed findings
  2. Review individual issues
  3. Begin applying hardening controls

Reviewing Findings

What This Covers

This guide explains how to review and interpret the findings from a Steel Security scan.

Understanding your findings is the key step before applying any hardening changes.

Where to View Findings

Findings are available on the Scan page.

To access them:

  1. Navigate to Steel Security → Scan
  2. A scan will run automatically
  3. Review the list of findings once the scan completes

Each finding represents a potential security risk or configuration issue.

What a Finding Represents

A finding indicates something on your site that may:

Not all findings require immediate action, but all should be understood.

Information Provided for Each Finding

Each finding includes:

This context is designed to help you make informed decisions, not just react to alerts.

How to Prioritize Findings

Start by focusing on:

High-Risk Findings

These typically include:

These should be addressed as soon as possible.

Configuration Issues

Examples include:

These may not be immediately critical but should be corrected.

Informational Findings

Some findings may be:

Review these carefully before taking action.

When to Take Action

You should consider taking action when:

If a finding is intentional, you may choose to leave it as-is.

Applying Fixes

Some findings can be addressed using Steel Security hardening features.

Others may require:

Always review the recommendation before applying changes.

Safe Approach to Fixing Issues

Follow this workflow:

  1. Review the finding and understand the risk
  2. Confirm whether the issue is intentional
  3. Apply the recommended fix or hardening
  4. Re-run the scan to verify resolution

Avoid applying multiple changes at once without verification.

What Not to Do

Steel Security is designed to inform, not automate decisions.

Common Questions

Why am I seeing findings on a new site?

Many WordPress installations include:

These are common and should be reviewed and cleaned up.

Can I ignore a finding?

Yes, if:

However, you should document or remember why it was ignored.

Why does a finding still appear after fixing it?

Tips

What to Do Next

After reviewing your findings:

  1. Identify the most important issues
  2. Begin applying hardening controls
  3. Re-scan to confirm improvements