The scale of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and things are getting worse.
It’s safe to assume that if your website or blog hasn’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-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
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 WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every web site with a vulnerability provides some degree of opportunity to hackers. A compromised blog presents hackers with a platform for launching distributed attacks, spreading malware and to engage in information theft.
If a hacker can find a weakness in your system, that site can then be used as part of a larger network of “bots” to target other valued websites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are most likely looking for exploits and trying to break into your web site at this very moment. Whether they will break in successfully depends on how challenging you have made it for them to continue persisting until they discover a way to get in, or decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
If you visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(WP Security Check Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check will yield various results and details about your website …
(WP security scan results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can freely access all of this information about your site, then so can hackers.
(Screenshot: BlogDefender site)
The ability to see which version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories on your server can all be useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any potential holes or weaknesses, especially where site owners haven’t updated their files.
Fortunately, there is a way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to hackers and bots.
Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin
Product Description
Blog Defender is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by the webhost. This particular blog was quite new and so had practically no value to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being suspended by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place inside his server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files designed to drive visitors to the site and steal their financial information.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
This example shows that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security weaknesses in your web site are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly and easily …
Plugins
Blog Defender includes three WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), perform complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text in your database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides WordPress security …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
The “WP Security” plugin performs a range of file and site security functions (see “Features” section below).
Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” lets you scan your files and content to detect whether any of your files have been tampered with, and repair the problem …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Plugin #3 “WordPress 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 people benefit from your work without reciprocating the favor).
Training Videos
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes 7 step-by-step video training modules and written guides that show you exactly how to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
Learn more here:
Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Quick And Simple To Install And Set Up
The Blog Defender plugins are very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow DIY training product that walks you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free plugins to use to get things done.
Some additional benefits of using the plugin include:
- Protect 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.
- Protect Your Info Products – If you sell digital products (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Closed By Your Web Host And Banned By Search Engines – When a website has been hacked, you should expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. As a result, your, blog could get suspended by your webhost, or even blocked in search engines. In addition, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal details or financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender was designed to lock down your site and keep your business safe and secure 24/7.
Blog Defender covers the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WP Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- Monitor Files
- Link Monitoring
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process for securing your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to identify risky WordPress themes and WordPress plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Product image: BlogDefender.com)
Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials users have provided for the Blog Defender solution:
”Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re too small or not important enough to be hacked! I’ve found out that I’ve had bots in the backend of my sites, making alterations and changing things around, so there’s no telling what damage they’ve caused. I’ve had my main blog for over 3 years now, and the thought of losing all the hard work I’ve put into it is just devastating, not to mention costly! I have a shared hosting plan, so of course once they can get into one site, they can also access the others. Luckily, I now have the procedures detailed within Blog Defender in place so that I can prevent the majority of this ever happening again. Once you’ve secured one site it gets a lot quicker to secure all subsequent sites. With Blog Defender, you get easy-to-follow videos, along with a detailed checklist that you can downloadf. You are literally walked through the process of securing your blog against hackers, which has given me real peace of mind. This is a growing issue that all website owners are facing; so it isn’t going to go away. Prevention is better than cure, particularly as some of the nastier hacks around can literally ruin your business. So do yourself a favour – get your sites protected now, before it’s too late.” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, since Blog Defender’s first release in 2012, no Blog Defender-secured websites or blogs have been hacked.
The product developer 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 is a perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and technologies that developers can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than many web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Product 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 risk-free, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
Software Pricing
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.
Please Note: Pricing for the product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the product is being retailed for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the product seller when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing details:
Additional Information
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Buy This Product
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your website is something you simply cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, WP plugins and themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to malicious by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you learn what’s going on in your site and where the vulnerabilities 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 which tools can make the process of securing your site easier.
For full details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Suite
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