The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and it’s getting 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 began reporting that 160,000+ legitimate WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
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 well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every site with a security vulnerability presents an opportunity to hackers. A vulnerable web site presents malicious users with a valuable resource for launching denial of service attacks, spreading malware and as a source of information theft.
If a malicious user can find a weakness in your security setup, that blog can then be employed as a “bot” in a planned cyber attack against other valued sites.
The harsh reality is that brute-force software bots are trying to break into your site while you are reading this article right now. Whether they will hack in successfully will depend on how challenging you can make it for them to continue trying until they can discover a way to get access, or decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(WordPress Security Scan Source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check returns various results and information about your site …
(website security scan results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to freely access all of this information about your blog, then hackers can too.
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Being able 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 can be useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and protect against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the creator of the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This blog had literally nothing 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 unusual activity had occurred inside his site, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Source: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience demonstrates that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your WordPress installation are …
And let’s you fix these quickly …
WordPress Plugins
Blog Defender includes 3 plugins for WordPress:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
The plugin lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud solutions using a number of backup methods (including FTP and email backups), automate full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text in your database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides your website with security …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #2 performs a range of essential file and site security functions (see “Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 lets you scan your files and content to see if anything unusual in your source code has been altered, and fix any problems it detects …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
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 people benefit from your hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Videos
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes 7 video training modules and training documentation that will show you exactly how to protect your website from hackers …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Fast And Simple To Install And Implement
The plugins included with Blog Defender are quite easy to install. Just upload a zip folder containing the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow DIY step-by-step training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free WordPress plugins to install to get the job done.
Additional benefits and advantages include:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Freely Distributed – If you’re a digital product author (e.g. downloadable ebooks, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a site is 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. During this time, your, websites could get suspended by your host, 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 a whole lot more.
Features
Blog Defender was designed to keeps your site and your business safe and secure 24/7.
The product provides fixes for the following issues:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WP Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- File Monitoring
- Link Tracking
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps to help protect your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and WordPress plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Image source: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Below are a few of the testimonials and comments users have submitted regarding 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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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to Matt Garrett’s site, no Blog Defender-protected websites or blogs have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
The product developer states on his site …
“With the volume of attacks nowadays … we probably won’t hold forever, so we’ve been busy creating even tougher WordPress security.”
Cybersecurity is an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and technologies that 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, won’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than many premium security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
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, full refund 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.
Please Note: The cost of purchasing the Blog Defender plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The pricing shown above was correct when this review was published. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged 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 current pricing details:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, 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, you simply cannot afford to ignore the importance of securing your website.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like keeping your WordPress core files, plugins and WordPress themes up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to attacks by hackers and bots.
Adopting security procedures such as the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your site is hacked or compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major security risks without paying a lot of money.
To learn more, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Suite For WordPress Websites & Blogs
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