The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and this is only going to get worse.
It’s probably 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 160,000+ WordPress web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
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)
According to leading security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a security vulnerability can be seen as a potential opportunity to hackers. A compromised site not only presents wannabe hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and claim “bragging rights” from their peers, but it can also be a resource for launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, distributing malware and as a source of information theft.
If hackers can exploit a web software vulnerability, your web site can then be used to attack other highly-valued websites.
The truth is that hackers are probably trying to break into your web site as you are reading these very words. Whether they can be successful or not, will depend on how difficult or easy you can make it for them to keep persisting until they can find a way to get access, or are forced to give up and go look for a less secure target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Website Security Check Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test returns various results and information about your WordPress installation …
(Hackertarget – website 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, so can hackers.
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
The ability to see what 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 be useful information to hackers, as this informs them about exploitable holes or weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and protect against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of the BlogDefender security suit began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven site he set up for his mother got hacked into. This site was devoid of content and had literally no value to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being suspended by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place inside the site, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
This example demonstrates that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your WordPress installation are …
And then shows you how to quickly and easily fix these …
Blog Defender – WordPress Plugins
Blog Defender comes with three WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the product suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do secure site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and cloud solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), schedule full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to different domains or server locations), do mass text replacements in databases, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
The second plugin provides your WP website with security …
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
Plugin #2 provides a range of essential website protection functions (see “Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 scans your content and files to detect if your source code has been modified, and repair problems …
(Product image: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin # 3 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 – Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes 7 video training modules and PDF/DOC documentation that teach you exactly what to do to protect your website from malicious attacks …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Plugin Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Installation Is Easy
The plugins are quite easy to install. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your WordPress admin user login and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a DIY step-by-step 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 you should use to get the job done.
Some additional benefits of the plugin include the following:
- Protect your website from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Freely Distributed – If you are a digital product author (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a website has been hacked, expect to go through a great deal of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, website or blog can get suspended by your webhost, or even blocked by search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal and financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender provides many features to WordPress users.
Blog Defender provides fixes for all of the following issues:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress 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 Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Monitoring Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process to help protect your your WordPress installation, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and WP plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Feedback From Users
Below are just a few of the testimonials that plugin users have submitted for Blog Defender:
”This is probably one of those times you ask yourself ‘do I really need this product?’ Let’s face it, on the surface it’s not going to immediately put more money in your pocket or even add some cool new gizmo to your site… The truth is yes you do and you need it now. I’ve been in the online business for 10+ years and had my fair share of hacked sites which have cost me time and money (lots of it)…I’ve also seen a good number of people have their reputations and entire businesses left in tatters when their sites have been hacked. Right now is the time to act, because when it’s too late, well basically you’ll be screwed (and you’ll regret the day you passed over such a great opportunity to protect yourself for so little). And by the way, if you think your web host will come to your rescue think again, you’ll be on your own, paying to put things right and suffering the cost of lost sales and business. This is a seriously good product and if you rely on WordPress to make you money online then it’s nothing less than essential. Buy it, follow Matt’s expert advice and don’t end up another victim!” Simon Hodgkinson, www.hodgkinsonpublishing.com
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”In the past month alone, I’ve had 3 niche blogs hacked, costing me hundreds of dollars in lost sales – all of which could have been avoided if I followed the steps in this training. I can tell you, there’s nothing worse than spending months building up a blog, adding posts every few days, and then finding it all gone in an instant. The great thing about these ‘over the shoulder’ videos is that you get to see exactly how to do everything, so it doesn’t matter if you’re technically challenged. Just copy what you see on the screen, and then relax knowing your blogs are safe. (Just one of the tips in the first video alone could probably have prevented my blogs getting hacked) I even noticed one or two tips in there that help with SEO too … so following these videos could even bring your blogs more traffic!” Richard Legg – www.richard-legg.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, Matt Garrett, since Blog Defender was first released in 2012, no sites using Blog Defender have been hacked.
Matt 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 knowledge and tools developers can get their hands on. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need 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.
Blog Defender 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, thirty day, complete money-back guarantee.
Plugin Pricing
Blog Defender is normally available for personal use only 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 this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the software is being retailed for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price here:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Use These Plugins
Regardless of the kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot afford to ignore the importance of website security.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress software, WordPress plugins and themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to malicious by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you understand what’s going on in your site and where the vulnerabilities are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your website is attacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your website easier.
To learn more, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender WordPress Security Product Suite
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