The scale of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and it’s only going to get worse.
It’s safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s inevitable that at some point in time someone will attempt to hack into your site.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that 162,000 WordPress web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Image source: BlogDefender website)
According to the Cnet report,
“With some old-fashioned trickery, hackers were able to get more than 162,000 legitimate WordPress-powered Web sites to mount a distributed-denial-of-service attack against another Web site.”
(Source: cnet.com/news/ddos-attack-is-launched-from-162000-wordpress-sites)
As reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your website or blog is of no interest to hackers, but the reality is that every website is valuable to a malicious user.
If a hacker can exploit a web security flaw that allows them to gain remote control of your website or blog, the site can then be employed as a “bot” in a planned cyber attack against larger and more valuable sites.
The reality is that hackers are probably looking for security exploits and trying to break into your website at this very moment. Whether they will be successful will depend on how difficult you have made things for them to keep trying until they either can discover a way to break in, or are forced to decide to look for a less protected target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WP Security Scan Screenshot: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the check returns various results and details about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – website security check results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to access all of this information about your WordPress site, so can hackers.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Being able to see which version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed on your site, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories in your site can all be valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about potentially exploitable security vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Plugin
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular blog had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still hacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had occurred within the server, as well as the addition of several phishing files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience shows that that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security weaknesses in your WordPress installation are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The Blog Defender security suite of products includes 3 plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Product image source: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud solutions using a number of backup methods, perform full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
The second plugin provides your site with security …
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
This plugin performs a range of vital website protection functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
The third plugin allows you to scan your files and content to detect if code in your files has been found, and repair problems …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious scripts have been inserted into your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Tutorials Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes 7 step-by-step training modules (video) and written documentation that will teach you exactly how to protect your site from malicious users …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Benefits
Here are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Fast And Easy To Install And Use
The Blog Defender plugins install just like any other WP plugin. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugins to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a practical and useful DIY training product that takes you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free plugins to use to get the job done.
Some additional plugin benefits include:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Freely Distributed – If you are an info product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a site has been hacked, expect to go through a serious amount of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. As a result, your, website can get closed by your webhost, or even deindexed by search engines. In addition, your contacts can be spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender offers many great features to website owners.
The product helps you fix all of the following security areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WordPress Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- Monitoring Files
- Track Links
- Block Known Offenders
- Automate Core WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process to help secure your site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky themes and WordPress plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Below are a few of the testimonials and comments plugin customers have provided for the Blog Defender product suite:
”This is a seriously good product!” Simon Hodgkinson, www.hodgkinsonpublishing.com
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“Sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently!” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Useful Tips
According to the product’s website, no sites using Blog Defender have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
Matt Garrett also states on his site, however …
“With the volume of attacks nowadays … we probably won’t hold forever, so we’ve been busy creating even tougher WordPress security.”
The war on hackers is an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers currently can access. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than most web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Plugin Support
The product is well-supported, can be used by both Mac and PC users, is compatible with the latest WordPress release and is backed by a no-risk, 30 day, complete refund guarantee.
Software Cost
Blog Defender is normally available with a personal license only for use on unlimited sites. When we last checked, however, it was also being sold with Developer rights, allowing users to secure client sites as well.. Cost = $47.00.
Note: Current pricing for the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the plugin sells for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin author when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Our Recommendation
No matter what type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your sites is something you cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like keeping your WP software, plugins and WordPress themes updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to attacks by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if the security on your website is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major security risks without investing in expensive solutions.
For full details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender Security Plugin
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