The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is increasing on a daily basis, 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 only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that 160,000+ legitimate WordPress-powered web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(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)
As reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every blog with a security vulnerability can present an opportunity to hackers. A vulnerable web site not only presents hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and claim “bragging rights” amongst their peers, but it can also be a valuable resource for DDoS attacks, spreading malware and as a source for creating information theft.
If someone can break in and remotely take control of your website or blog, that web site can then be employed as part of a larger network of “bots” to target more valued web sites.
The harsh reality is that malicious bots are probably trying to hack into your website at this very moment. Whether they can do this successfully or not, will depend on how hard you have made it for hackers or bots to keep persisting until they work out a way to get access, or decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(WP Security Check Image source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test will return a number of results and details about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – WP security check results. Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can see all of this information, so can hackers.
(Image source: 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 can all be useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any vulnerabilities, especially where the owners haven’t updated their sites.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution that will stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender WordPress Security Solution
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 the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven site he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended by the webhost. This particular site was devoid of content and had practically no value to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside his server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files designed to lure unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack their financial information.
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
This simple example should be enough to convince you that all websites have some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for security weaknesses …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The product suite includes three plugins for WordPress:
Plugin #1 in the product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud-based solutions using different backup methods, perform complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to new domains or server locations), search and replace text strings in your database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides your website with security …
(Source: Blog Defender)
The “WP Security” plugin performs a range of vital site protection functions (see “Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 lets you scan your files and content to detect whether anything has been tampered with, and fix any problems detected …
(Source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #3 “WP 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 content without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes several training in video format plus training guides that will show you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from malicious users …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender site)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Plugin Benefits
Here are just some of the benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Fast And Simple To Install And Use
The plugins install just like every other plugin. Simply upload them to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow training product that will walk you through the website security process and show you what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free WordPress plugins you should install to get things done without paying additional costs.
Additional benefits of using this plugin include:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Helps Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If you’re an info product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on peer-to-peer sharing sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a site is hacked, you can expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. As a result, your, web presence could get suspended by your host, or even blocked by search engines. In addition, 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 much more.
Features
Blog Defender make your your WordPress site invisible to hackers and malicious botnets.
Blog Defender addresses the following security areas:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- MySQL Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- Monitoring Files
- Track Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process for securing your your WordPress installation, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky themes and WP plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
User Feedback
Below are a few of the testimonials that plugin customers have provided 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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”Since working with blogs, I… like many others, have been concerned about how to handle the constant threat of blog attacks. After having a look at Blog Defender you can’t help but become most aware of the vulnerable areas all bloggers need to protect. Blog Defender is viable WordPress blog security prevention system that offers video instruction along with 3 software plugins that are free to download. The instruction shows the optimum settings on how to use the free plugins that will allow you top level force against blog hacker attacks.” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, no sites protected with the solution have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released back in 2012.
Matt Garrett, the product developer 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.”
Cybersecurity is an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers currently can access. 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.
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 refund 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.. Price = $47.00.
Please Note: Price details for the Blog Defender product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the pricing when this article was published. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Our Recommendation
Regardless of the 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 ignore.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress installation, plugins and WordPress themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security policies such as the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what’s going on in your site and where the security holes are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your sites are compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the process of securing your WordPress website easier.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Plugin For WordPress
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