The scale of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is increasing on a daily basis, and the situation is getting worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if your website or blog hasn’t been hacked yet, then it’s inevitable that at some point in time someone will attempt 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 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)
According to leading security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your website or blog is of no interest to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, all websites provide an opportunity to gain some benefit at your expense.
If a malicious user can break in and remotely take control of your blog, that blog can then be used as part of a larger network of “bots” to target other valuable websites.
The harsh reality is that software-driven bots are most likely trying to break into your site right now. Whether they will achieve this will depend on how difficult you have made it for hackers or botnets to keep trying until they work out how to get access, or give up and decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Website Security Scan Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan returns various results and information about your WordPress site …
(Hackertarget – WordPress security scan results. Product 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.
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
Being able to see which version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed on your site, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories can be valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about potential vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their sites.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender began looking for a way to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended by the hosting company. This blog was new and so had practically no value to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of the event after being suspended by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within his site, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to lure unsuspecting visitors to the site and hijack financial details.
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience shows that that all websites have value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for security holes …
And then shows you how to quickly and easily fix these …
WordPress Plugins
Blog Defender comes with three WordPress plugins:
Plugin #1 in the product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
The plugin lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud backup solutions using different backup methods, schedule full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do mass text string replacements in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
The plugin provides a range of essential site and file security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan your content and files to detect whether code in your files has been modified, and fix problems …
(Source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious scripts 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 – Step-By-Step Tutorial Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender security product suite also includes step-by-step tutorial videos plus written guides that will show you exactly how to protect your site from malicious users …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Here 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:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product are quite easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user section and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a do-it-yourself training product that will walk you through the website security process and show you what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free WordPress plugins to install to get the job done.
Some additional benefits of using this plugin include:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Stolen – If you are an info product creator (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on peer-to-peer sharing sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a site is hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, web presence can get closed by your host, or even blacklisted in search engines. In addition, your personal contacts can end up being spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender hide your WordPress website or blog from hackers and malicious bots.
The product addresses the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WordPress Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- File Monitoring
- Track Links
- Block Known Offenders
- Automate Core WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical sequence of steps for securing your website, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Product image source: BlogDefender website)
Testimonials
Here are just a few of the testimonials that users have published about the Blog Defender security suite:
”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, no websites or blogs using Blog Defender were hacked since Blog Defender was first released in 2012.
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 an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools that developers can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’t cost a fortune and it’s as good if not better than many web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Plugin 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, complete refund 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.. Price = $47.00.
Note: The cost of purchasing Blog Defender can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The pricing above was current at the time this content was published. This may not be the actual pricing set by the product author when you visit the product site and there may be 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.
Use This Product
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 cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, plugins and themes, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to malicious by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your website is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major WordPress security holes without paying a lot of money.
For full details, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender Security Suite For WordPress
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