The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and it’s only going to get worse.
It’s 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 over 162,000 WordPress-powered web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Image 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)
According to security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your site has no significant value to hackers, but the reality is that all websites have value to a malicious user.
If a hacker can find a way to break in and take over your site, that blog can then be used to target other highly-valued web sites.
The truth is that software-driven bots are probably trying to hack into your website or blog as you are reading this page at this very moment. Whether they can break into your site will depend on how difficult you will make things for them to keep persisting until they discover how to get access, or are forced to give up and decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Scan Image source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the check returns a number of results and information about your website setup …
(WP security scan results. Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you can freely access all of this information about your site, hackers can too.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
The ability to see what 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 all be potentially valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about exploitable vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Plugin
Product Description
Blog Defender is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
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 blog was devoid of content and so had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had occurred within the server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack Paypal account details.
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience provides the valuable lesson that all websites have value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security holes in your WordPress installation are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly …
WP Plugins
The Blog Defender security product includes 3 plugins for WordPress:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
The plugin lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud storage solutions using different backup methods (e.g. FTP), schedule complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to new domains or server locations), do bulk text replacements in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides your website or blog with security …
(Image source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 provides a range of vital site and file security functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Plugin #3 lets you scan your files and content to detect if any of your files have been changed, and repair problems …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been added to your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes several step-by-step training in video format plus written documentation that teach you exactly what to do to protect your website from malicious attacks …
(Product image source: BlogDefender site)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
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 website:
Easy To Install
The plugins are very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow DIY training product that will guide you through the website security process and show you what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free plugins to install to get the job done without paying for additional or unnecessary costs.
Additional benefits include:
- Secure your website from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If you are a digital product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Banned By Search Engines – When a website is hacked, you should expect to go through a great deal of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, sites could be closed by your host, or even deindexed in search engines. In addition, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal or financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Features
Blog Defender was created to locks down your site and keeps your business safe and secure 24/7.
The product helps you fix all of the following areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- 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
- File Monitoring
- Link Monitoring
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process to help protect your website, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to identify risky WP themes and WordPress plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Feedback From Plugin Customers
Here are a couple of the testimonials plugin customers have provided for the Blog Defender plugin:
”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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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to the product’s website, since Blog Defender’s first release, no Blog Defender-protected websites or blogs have been hacked.
Matt Garrett also 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.”
Cybersecurity is an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and technologies that developers presently can access. 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 most premium security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Blog Defender 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, 30 day, full money-back guarantee.
Plugin Price
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.. Price = $47.00.
Note: The cost to purchase the product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing at the time this article was published. This may not be the actual price set by the software seller when you visit the product website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Use This Product
No matter what type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot afford to ignore the importance of securing your web site.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WordPress software, WP plugins and WordPress themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security procedures such as the one Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your 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 installation easier.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender Security Product Suite
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