The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and this is getting worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if you haven’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 162,000 WordPress-powered web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Screenshot: 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 reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every site with a security vulnerability can be seen as a potential opportunity to hackers. No web site is guaranteed immunity from cyberattacks. Business sites, personal blogs, government web sites … even web sites owned by web security and anti-hacking experts can and have been targeted.
If hackers can find a web software vulnerability, your website can then be used to attack other valuable web sites.
The reality is that hackers are very likely trying to hack into your blog at this very moment. Whether they will get into your site successfully depends on how hard you can make it for them to continue persisting until they work out a way to get access, or are forced to decide to look for an easier 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 …
(WP Security Check Source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check returns a number of results and information about your WordPress installation …
(website security check results. Screenshot: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this scanning tool that if you can freely access all of this information about your website, hackers can too.
(Source: Blog Defender)
The ability 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 potentially valuable information to hackers, as this can inform them about any potential security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and make your site invisible to malicious attackers and botnets.
Blog Defender
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This particular site was fairly new and had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still hacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within his site, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience is evidence that all websites have some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for potential security vulnerabilities …
And let’s you fix these quickly and easily …
Plugins
Blog Defender includes three plugins:
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
The plugin lets you do automated backups to your server, external servers and well-known cloud-based solutions using different backup methods (e.g. Email), schedule full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to new domains or server locations), do bulk text string replacements in databases, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 provides your site with security …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #2 “WP Security” performs a range of vital site and file protection functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan your plugins, themes and WP core files to detect whether anything has been tampered with, and repair problems …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
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 people benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender product suite also includes a number of step-by-step videos plus PDF/DOC guides that show you exactly what to do to protect your website from malicious attacks …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Plugin Benefits
Here 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:
Installation Is Easy, Simple And Fast
The plugins install like any regular WP plugin. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a DIY training product that will guide 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.
Some additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Avoid Intellectual Property Theft – If you sell digital products (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Search Engines – When a site has been hacked, expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, web presence can get suspended by your host, or even blocked by search engines. And if that is not enough to have to deal with, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details and financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Features
Blog Defender offers many unique features to WP users.
The product helps you fix the following areas:
- 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
- Monitor Files
- Link Tracking
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process to help secure your site, addressing hosting security, using tools to identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
User Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials and comments users have submitted regarding Blog Defender:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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”In the past month alone, I’ve had 3 niche blogs hacked, costing me hundreds of dollars in lost sales – all of which could have been avoided if I followed the steps in this training. I can tell you, there’s nothing worse than spending months building up a blog, adding posts every few days, and then finding it all gone in an instant. The great thing about these ‘over the shoulder’ videos is that you get to see exactly how to do everything, so it doesn’t matter if you’re technically challenged. Just copy what you see on the screen, and then relax knowing your blogs are safe. (Just one of the tips in the first video alone could probably have prevented my blogs getting hacked) I even noticed one or two tips in there that help with SEO too … so following these videos could even bring your blogs more traffic!” Richard Legg – www.richard-legg.com
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin’s site, since Blog Defender’s first release in 2012, no websites protected by the product have been 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 information and technologies that developers can get their hands on. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, is quite inexpensive 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 risk-free, thirty day, complete refund guarantee.
Product Licensing 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 the Blog Defender plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the software sells for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the product developer 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 price here:
Additional Plugin Information
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
We Recommend
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your site is something you simply cannot ignore.
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.
Blog Defender helps you learn what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your site is attacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your WordPress site easier.
For more information, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender Security Solution For WordPress
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