The scale of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is increasing on a daily basis, and things are 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 before someone attempts to hack into your site.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that 160,000+ WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
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 flaw to attack unsuspecting WP sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every site with a vulnerability offers some value to hackers. All websites have value to hackers. Large, medium and small business web sites, personal blogs, government sites … even websites owned by online security experts can and have been targeted.
If a malicious user can hack and gain remote access and control of your website, that blog can then be used to attack larger and more valuable web sites.
The reality is that software-driven bots are probably trying to hack into your web site right now. Whether they will get in successfully depends on how hard or easy you will make it for hackers to continue trying until they discover how to get access, or are forced to give up and go look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(WP Security Check Product image: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test will display a number of results and details about your site setup …
(website security scan results. Source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the scanning tool that if you can access all of this information, then hackers can too.
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
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 potentially useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about exploitable security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to malicious users and botnets.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite
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 the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended by its hosting company. This site had practically nothing to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place within the server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files designed to lure visitors to the site and steal financial details.
(Source: Blog Defender)
This simple example demonstrates that every website has value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for potential security holes …
And let’s you fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
WordPress Plugins
The product suite includes 3 plugins for WordPress:
Plugin #1 in the product suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud storage solutions using a number of backup methods (including FTP and email backups), perform full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides your website or blog with security …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin #2 “WordPress Security” provides a range of vital site security functions (see “Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 scans your WordPress plugins, themes and core files to detect whether any of your files have been found, and fix any problems detected …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious scripts have been inserted into your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your content without providing you any reciprocal value or benefit in return).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to the plugins, Blog Defender also includes several videos and printable guides that will teach you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
More info:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Here are just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Be Up And Running In Very Little Time
The plugins included with Blog Defender install like every other plugin. Just upload a zip folder that contains the plugins to your Plugins folder via your WP admin area and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a DIY step-by-step training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free plugins you should install to get the job done without incurring additional expenses.
Some additional plugin benefits include:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protect Your Info Products From Being Shared Around The Net – If you are an info product author (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on peer-to-peer sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Search Engines – When a site has been hacked, you should expect to go through a great deal of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, site could get closed by your webhost, or even blacklisted in search engines. In addition, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business or financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender make your your WordPress website or blog invisible to hackers and bots.
The product provides fixes for all of the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- WP 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
- Link Tracking
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help secure your web site, addressing hosting security, using tools to identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Image source: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Here are just a few of the testimonials that plugin customers have published about Blog Defender:
”Great way to secure your blog!” 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, since Blog Defender’s first release, no websites protected by the solution have been hacked.
Matt Garrett 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.”
Cybersecurity is is a constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers can currently harness. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require 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.
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 money-back guarantee.
Plugin Pricing
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: Current pricing for the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the product sells for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin developer when you visit the website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing information:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Install The Plugins
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your web site is something you simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like keeping your WordPress core files, plugins and WordPress themes up-to-date, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you learn what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if the security on your website is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your site easier.
For full details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin
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