The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is increasing on a daily basis, and this is getting worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that over 162,000 WordPress sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Could yours 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 well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your site has nothing to offer to hackers, but the reality is that every website has value to a malicious user.
If hackers can find a web security flaw, your web site can then be used as part of a larger network of “bots” to target more valuable sites.
The reality is that software-driven bots are probably looking for security weaknesses and trying to break into your site right now. Whether they can do this successfully depends on how hard or easy you will make things for them to continue persisting until they can work out how to get access, or are forced to decide to look for an easier target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
If you visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Website Security Check Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check returns various results and details about your website setup …
(WordPress security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the scanning tool that if you can see all of this information, then hackers can too.
(Product image source: 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 are all useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about exploitable security vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their sites.
Fortunately, there is a solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender WordPress Security Solution
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress 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-driven blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by its webhost. This site was quite new and so had practically nothing to offer, yet it was still hacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being suspended by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within his server, as well as the addition of several malicious files designed to lure visitors to the site and hijack their Paypal account details.
(Source: BlogDefender website)
This example should be enough to illustrate the fact that all websites have some value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security weaknesses in your website are …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Blog Defender – Plugins
Blog Defender comes with 3 WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
The plugin lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, third-party servers and well-known cloud backup solutions using a number of backup methods, perform complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do mass text replacements in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
The second plugin provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
This plugin performs a range of essential file and site protection functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” lets you scan your WP website to detect whether anything in your files has been changed, and repair the problem …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious content have been added to 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).
Blog Defender – Videos
In addition to the plugins, Blog Defender also includes seven video training modules plus downloadable documentation that show you exactly how to protect your website from malicious users …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Ready To Use In Very Little Time
The Blog Defender plugins install like every WordPress plugin. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your WP admin login and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a step-by-step training product that will walk you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which plugins you can use for free to get things done.
Some additional benefits of using this plugin include:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Shared Around The Net – If you’re an info product creator (e.g. downloadable ebooks, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on peer-to-peer sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Host – When a site has been hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. During this time, your, website can be closed by your webhost, or even blacklisted by search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender make your your website invisible to hackers and bots.
Blog Defender covers the following security areas:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- 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
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical sequence of steps to help secure 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 source: Blog Defender)
Feedback From Users
Below are some of the testimonials and comments plugin customers 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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”I sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently. Okay, it was my fault for not securing things more, BUT… I didn’t have a handy, current reference like this to turn to for quick help either.;)” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, no Blog Defender-protected websites or blogs were hacked since Blog Defender’s release.
Matt also 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.”
The war on hackers is an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers presently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender creates 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 most web 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 no-risk, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
Plugin 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.. Price = $47.00.
Please Note: The cost of purchasing the Blog Defender product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The price above was current when this review was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the product developer when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Information
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Get The Product
No matter what 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 web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WordPress software, plugins and themes are kept up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security policies like the one Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your security responsibilities are as the website owner, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being 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.
For more details, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender
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