The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and it’s getting worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that 162,000 legitimate WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
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 described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every web site with a vulnerability has potential value to hackers. Every website is valuable to hackers. Corporate sites, personal blogs, government web sites … even sites owned by online security experts can and have been targeted.
If a malicious user can find a way to gain any form of control of your site, your website can then be employed to attack other valuable sites.
The reality is that malicious bots are looking for weaknesses and trying to hack into your blog as you are reading these very words. Whether they can get into your site successfully or not, will depend on how hard or easy you will make it for hackers to keep trying until they discover how to get access, or give up and go look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Check Source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the scan returns a number of results and information about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – WP security check results. Image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to freely access all of this information, then so can hackers.
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Being able 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 valuable information to hackers, as these can inform them about any potential vulnerabilities, especially where the owners haven’t updated their files.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and make your site invisible to malicious users and bots.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package 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 site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by the webhost. This blog was new and had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it still was targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of this after being suspended by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place within the server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to lure unsuspecting visitors to the site and steal financial details.
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience demonstrates that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your web site are …
And let’s you fix these quickly and easily …
WP Plugins
Blog Defender comes with three plugins for WordPress:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the product suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, external servers and well-known cloud-based solutions using a number of backup methods, schedule complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides WordPress security …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
The plugin provides a range of essential site security functions (see “Product Features” section below).
The third plugin allows you to scan your files and content to see if any of your files have been altered, and repair any problems it detects …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been inserted into your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your hard work without providing you anything of value in return).
Tutorials Videos
In addition to the plugins, Blog Defender also includes a number of video training guides and downloadable guides that show you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from malicious attacks …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Learn more here:
Benefits
Below are just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
The Blog Defender plugins install just like any other plugin. Just upload them to your Plugin folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
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 things up, and even which plugins you can use for free to get things done without incurring additional or unnecessary costs.
Some additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Secure your WordPress website from hackers, spammers, botnets, 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 Shared Around The Net – If your site sells an info product (e.g. downloadable e-books, video training, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a website is hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, web presence can get suspended by your host, or even blacklisted in search engines. In addition, your personal contacts could end up being spammed, your subscriber list and financial details could be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Features
Blog Defender make your your WordPress web site invisible to hackers and malicious bots.
Blog Defender addresses the following areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- MySQL Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- File Monitoring
- Link Tracking
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process for securing your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and WP plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
Testimonials
Here are some of the testimonials and comments that plugin users have published about the Blog Defender security products:
”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 the plugin developer, Matt Garrett, since Blog Defender was released back in 2012, no websites using Blog Defender have been hacked.
Matt Garrett, the product developer 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 is a perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers can currently 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 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, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
Software 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 Blog Defender product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the product sells for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the software seller when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Download The Product
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your web sites is something you cannot ignore.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, WordPress plugins and WP themes, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you learn what your security responsibilities are as the site owner, what hosting companies can and can’t do if the security on your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major security risks without paying a lot of money.
For full details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
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