The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and things are only going to get worse.
You can safely 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 162,000 WordPress web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
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 security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your website has no significant value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, all websites provide an opportunity to benefit or profit at your expense.
If a malicious user can exploit a security flaw in your system that lets them remotely take control of your blog, the blog can then be used to target larger and more highly-valued websites.
The reality is that hackers are looking for vulnerabilities and trying to break into your site as you are reading this. Whether they will do this successfully or not, will depend on how difficult or easy you can make things for hackers or bots to keep trying until they can discover how to get access, or give up and go look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
If you visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Website Security Scan Product image: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the scan returns various results and information about your site …
(website security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you are able to access all of this information about your site, hackers can too.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
Being able 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 be valuable information to hackers, as these can inform them about any security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and make your site invisible to malicious users and botnets.
Blog Defender
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother got hacked into. This site was fairly new and had practically nothing to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being suspended by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside the server, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to lure visitors to the site and hijack Paypal account information.
(Image source: Blog Defender)
This simple example provides the valuable lesson that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security holes in your website are …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Plugins
The product suite comes with three WordPress plugins:
The first plugin in the product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud backup solutions using a number of backup methods, schedule full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides WordPress security …
(Image source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides a range of file and site protection functions (see “Features” section below).
Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” lets you scan your plugins, WordPress themes, WordPress core files and content to detect if any of your files have been tampered with, and repair any problems it finds …
(Source: BlogDefender site)
Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious content have been added to your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your hard work without providing you anything of benefit in return).
Blog Defender – Video Training
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes step-by-step training in video format and training documentation that show you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
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:
Quick Installation
The plugins install just like every plugin. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow do-it-yourself step-by-step training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can use for free to get things done without incurring extra costs.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Protect your WordPress website from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If you sell info products (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a website gets hacked, expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. During this time, your, blog can get closed by your host, or even blocked in search engines. Additionally, your personal contacts could be spammed, your subscriber list and financial details can be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender provides many unique features to WordPress users.
The product helps you fix all of the following areas:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WP Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Monitor Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical sequence of steps to help protect your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
Testimonials From Plugin Users
Below are a couple of the testimonials 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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”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 Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, since Blog Defender was first released, no Blog Defender-protected websites were hacked.
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 knowledge and technologies that developers presently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than many 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, thirty day, 100% refund guarantee.
Product License Cost
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 to purchase the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the product retails for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin seller when you visit the website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing details here:
Additional Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Install These Plugins
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot ignore the importance of website security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, plugins and themes, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security procedures such as the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what’s going on in your site and where the security holes are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your website is hacked or compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your WordPress site easier.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
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