Update WordPress Authentication Unique Keys and Salt

Ever since WordPress 2.6.0, there are keys and salt for authentication in your wp-config.php file. They look something like this:

define('AUTH_KEY',         '43.%Qo~})0$uH}jn_vD@|@?XB3p&q.b|#Li3PLJvLD&&J|t`T7oMq]5&{r$c+fr2');
define('SECURE_AUTH_KEY',  'bk3i}wgjp2@;NIz4L>14;{m@tB/bql;)Kl<cJm8P}|F;S>(+pJWPp&^U4SMz$PZ8');
define('LOGGED_IN_KEY',    'DS(v +H[dZe]bm6kFvOlu!J7LJ)?c%^qC:|2A=_zixkw`o(TT%:G?t ?_-sX7<rp');
define('NONCE_KEY',        '[t%`YC7lhO[L&sIA43/:-7>ZaJP`{m2CL-+JTGPCau#>Xqng~~.*J56j{Sxh>&KD');
define('AUTH_SALT',        'X;Y:h9.`H@he$]<fNHu2xx;2J%UN~7K%[F%4y*3,G8l[,c(SwkDxi-[ +-f}[To~');
define('SECURE_AUTH_SALT', 'bq- r~2>J`!18ei/|ZGzY0hyNMxC-Be;x3lVZnGS!V>o+.>rV*ab*r|@x,]e`d#D');
define('LOGGED_IN_SALT',   '8nwkt|TD2:~lkE;8q{6hXw#=3+Xz!f)+.nvs:@(g-0Sr]f`i)meWiF*vsOGL#|9]');
define('NONCE_SALT',       'XT`ejK<~|otmbqu )[w[vI=g),D+[Y=KWm@u4n=Ay_[b4YT,aTqiAmCGPAHbkt)T');

You can set these to whatever you’d like, but if you’re like me, you are not really that interested in what these actually are as long as they are long enough and sufficiently random. Instead of figuring out your own method of randomizing, WordPress has a tool set up for you to automatically regenerate these. Simply load up https://api.wordpress.org/secret-key/1.1/salt/ in your browser, and you will have a new set of keys and salt, generated and already formatted for easy pasting into your wp-config.php file. Very handy.

This is especially handy if you may have someone logged into your site that you no longer want to have access. For instance, firing an employee with access to your WordPress site, but need to keep their username active in WordPress? Go in and change the password for their user, and then reset the authentication keys and salt in the config file. This will log everyone out (so warn the rest of your users), and force them to log back in again. if the fired employee tries to log back in, their password has been changed so they won’t be able to.

*Note, this is just an idea, not a recommended security practice. I am not a security expert.