The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and it’s 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 over 160,000+ legitimate WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Image 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)
As described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your website or blog is of no interest to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, every website provides an opportunity to benefit or profit at your expense.
If hackers can exploit a flaw in your web software, your website can then be employed as a “bot” in a planned cyber-attack against larger and more highly-valued sites.
The harsh reality is that software-driven bots are very likely searching for security weaknesses and trying to break into your blog at this very moment. Whether they can get into your site successfully or not, will depend on how challenging you have made things for hackers and botnets to continue persisting until they work out how to get access, or are forced to give up and go look for a less protected target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(WP Security Scan Screenshot source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check returns a number of results and details about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – website security scan results. Image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to see all of this information, hackers can too.
(Source: Blog Defender)
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 useful information to hackers, as this informs them about potentially exploitable security vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution that will stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to hackers and bots.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a suite 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 site he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended. This particular site had practically nothing to offer, yet it still was targeted by hackers.
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 by whoever had broken into the site.
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
This simple example should be enough to illustrate the fact that every website has value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for security weaknesses …
And let’s you fix these quickly …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The Blog Defender security suite of products comes with 3 plugins for WordPress:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
Plugin #1 lets you do automated backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud-based solutions using a number of backup methods, perform complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides WordPress security …
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
The “WordPress Security” plugin provides a range of vital file and site security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Plugin #3 allows you to scan your WP plugins, WordPress themes and WP core files to detect if any of your files have been tampered with, 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 others benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender security product suite also includes a number of training in video format plus downloadable documentation that will teach you exactly how to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Source: Blog Defender)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
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 site:
Quick And Easy To Install And Set Up
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product suite are very easy to install. Simply upload them to your Plugin folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow do-it-yourself 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 free WordPress plugins to use to get things done inexpensively.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Secure 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.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Theft – If you are an info product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Host – When a website gets hacked, you should expect to go through a great deal of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. During this time, your, website could get suspended by your webhost, or even blocked in search engines. In addition, your contacts could be spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender provides a number of features to website owners.
The product helps you fix all of the following security areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress 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
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process to help secure your website, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
User Testimonials
Below are a few of the testimonials and comments plugin customers have published about the Blog Defender product suite:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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“Sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently!” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, no Blog Defender-secured 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.”
The war on hackers is is a perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and technologies that developers can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, doesn’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.
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, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
Software Price
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.
Note: Pricing for Blog Defender depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the price when this content was published. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product seller when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing details here:
Additional Plugin Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
What We Recommend
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your web sites is something you simply cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like keeping your WordPress core files, plugins and themes updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to attacks by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your responsibilities are as a website owner, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your site is attacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major security risks without paying a lot of money.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Product Suite
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