The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and it’s getting worse.
You can safely 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 began reporting that over 162,000 WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Image 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)
According to security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your site provides little to no value to hackers, but the reality is that every website has value to a malicious user.
If someone can discover a security opening in your system that lets them take over your website, the site can then be employed to target larger and more valued web sites.
The reality is that hackers are probably looking for security exploits and trying to break into your blog right now. Whether they can achieve this depends on how hard or easy you have made it for them to continue trying until they discover how to get in, or are forced to decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Scan Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test will yield a number of results and details about your website …
(Hackertarget – WP security check results. Image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you are able to see all of this information about your website, then hackers can too.
(Image 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 all be potentially valuable information to hackers, as this can inform them about any potential security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to malicious users and bots.
Blog Defender
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 BlogDefender began developing BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This blog had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being suspended by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside the site, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience illustrates the fact that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your WordPress site are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
Plugins
Blog Defender includes three plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site, file and data backups to your server, third-party servers and leading cloud backup solutions using different backup methods, automate complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides WordPress security …
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
The “WP Security” plugin provides a range of vital site security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Plugin #3 allows you to scan your WP plugins, WordPress themes, core files and content to detect whether any code in your files has been altered, and repair the problem …
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been added to your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your work without offering you anything in return).
Training Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes a number of step-by-step videos and downloadable guides that will show you exactly how to protect your site from hackers …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Plugin Benefits
Below are 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:
Ready To Use In Minutes
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product suite install just like every other WP plugin. Just upload a zip folder containing the plugin files to your Plugin 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 will walk you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free plugins to use to get the job done without paying for extra costs.
Some additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Secure Your Info Products – If you are a digital product creator (e.g. downloadable ebooks, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Search Engines – When a site has been hacked, expect to go through a great deal of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. As a result, your, site could get closed by your webhost, or even blacklisted by search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details or financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender was designed to lock down your site and keep your business safe and secure 24/7.
The product addresses the following security areas:
- Host 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 Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Link Tracking
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps for securing your your WordPress installation, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to identify risky themes and plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Image source: Blog Defender)
User Feedback
Below are a few of the testimonials and comments plugin customers have written about Blog Defender:
“You are literally walked through the process!” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
***
”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
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin’s site, since Blog Defender was first released in 2012, no Blog Defender-protected sites were hacked.
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 an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers currently have access to. 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 no-risk, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
Software Pricing
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.
Note: The price of this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the pricing at the time this content was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin 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 Information
For installation instructions 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, securing your websites is something you simply cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like keeping your WordPress installation, plugins and WordPress themes up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to malicious by hackers and bots.
Adopting a security policy such as the one Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major security risks without paying for costly solutions.
For full details, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender
***
***