The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and the situation is getting worse.
You can safely assume that if your website or blog hasn’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that over 160,000+ WordPress-powered web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Screenshot: 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)
As described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a vulnerability offers some potential value to hackers. A vulnerable website not only offers new hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and win “respect” from their peers, but it can also serve as a platform for launching stealth attacks, spreading malware and engaging in information theft.
If someone can discover a vulnerability in your setup, that website or blog can then be employed to target larger and more valuable sites.
The reality is that software-driven bots are probably trying to break into your site while you are reading these very words. Whether they will hack into your site successfully or not, will depend on how difficult you have made it for hackers or botnets to continue persisting until they discover a way to get in, or give up and go look for an easier target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress 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 …
(Website Security Scan Product image source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test returns a number of results and details about your website setup …
(Hackertarget – WP security check results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to access all of this information, hackers can too.
(Source: 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 on your server are all valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about exploitable holes or weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and make your site invisible to hackers and botnets.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This site was not being used and had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had occurred within his server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack their Paypal account information.
(Image source: Blog Defender)
This example shows that that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your website are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
Plugins
The product suite includes 3 WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do automated backups to your server, third-party servers and leading cloud solutions using a number of backup methods (including FTP and email backups), automate complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to new domains or server locations), do mass text string replacements in databases, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides your website or blog with security …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
The “WordPress Security” plugin provides a range of vital site security functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan your files and content to see if code in your files has been altered, and repair the problem …
(Product image: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious content have been inserted into your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Step-By-Step Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes 7 training modules in video format and written guides that teach you exactly how to protect your site from hackers …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Benefits
Below 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:
Really Easy To Install
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product suite install like any WP plugin. Simply upload them to your Plugin folder via your admin user account and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow training product that will take you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can install for free to get things done without paying for additional or unnecessary expenses.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Protect your website from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Being Stolen – If you are an info product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Host – When a site has been hacked, you should 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. In the meantime, your, websites can be closed by your host, or even blocked by search engines. Additionally, your personal contacts can be spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Features
Blog Defender offers many great features to WP users.
The product helps you fix the following areas:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WordPress Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- Monitor Files
- Link Tracking
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help protect your site, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky themes and WordPress plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot: BlogDefender site)
Testimonials
Below are just a few of the testimonials plugin customers have provided for Blog Defender:
”I’ve had to go through the inconvenience of a hacked blog before and let me tell you it’s not nice. With online security becoming an increasing problem, especially with WordPress, this is a great way to secure your blog. I’ll be following Matt’s training and securing all my blogs…Great job.” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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”I discovered some incredible security tricks!” David Walker – www.inboxrockstar.com
Useful Tips
According to Matt Garrett’s site, no Blog Defender-protected websites or blogs have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released back in 2012.
Matt Garrett, 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 an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers can currently 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 most premium security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Blog Defender 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, 100% money-back 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.
Please Note: Price details for the Blog Defender software depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current price at the time this content was published. This may not be the actual price charged by the plugin developer when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing information:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
We Recommend
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, web security is something you simply cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress installation, WP plugins and themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to malicious 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 your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your WordPress website easier.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender WordPress Security Solution
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