The scale of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and the situation is only going to get worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if your website or blog hasn’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that 162,000 WordPress web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Could yours 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)
As reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every blog with a security vulnerability offers some value to hackers. An unsecured website not only offers hackers opportunities to improve their skills and claim “bragging rights” amongst their peers, but it can also be a resource for launching denial of service attacks, spreading malware and as a source of information theft.
If a malicious user can find a security flaw in your system that lets them gain any form of control of your web site, your web site can then be employed to target other highly-valued web sites.
The harsh reality is that software-driven bots are very likely trying to break into your site right now. Whether they will hack into your site will depend on how challenging you have made it for them to keep trying until they discover a way to get access, or are forced to give up and go look for a less secure target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(WordPress Security Check Screenshot: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the check will return various results and details about your website setup …
(Hackertarget – WordPress security check results. Screenshot: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this scanning tool that if you can access all of this information about your blog, then so can hackers.
(Image source: BlogDefender website)
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 these can inform them about potential vulnerabilities, especially where the owners haven’t updated their software versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular site had practically nothing to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being contacted by his host and seeing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within his server, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into his mother’s site.
(Image source: BlogDefender website)
Matt’s experience shows that that all websites have value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security holes in your WordPress installation are …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Plugins
The Blog Defender security product includes three WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 lets you do secure site, file and data backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud solutions using a number of backup methods (including FTP and email backups), perform 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 auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides WordPress security …
(Source: Blog Defender)
The “WordPress Security” plugin provides a range of file and site protection functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 lets you scan your content and files to detect if code in your files has been changed, and repair the problem …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious scripts 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 reciprocating the favor).
Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender product suite also includes 7 videos and training guides that will teach you exactly what you need to do to protect your site from hackers and bots …
(Image source: Blog Defender)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
Benefits
Here we have listed just some of the many benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Ready To Start Using In No Time
The plugins are really easy to install. Simply upload a zip folder that contains the plugins to your Plugins folder via your administrator login and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow training product that will take 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 things done without paying for additional or unnecessary expenses.
Some additional benefits and advantages include:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If you’re a digital product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a website gets hacked, expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. Your, site could get closed by your host, or even blacklisted by search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender provides many great features to WP users.
The product addresses the following security areas:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress 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
- Link Tracking
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps for securing your website, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky themes and WordPress plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Product image source: Blog Defender)
User Testimonials
Here are a few of the testimonials and comments that customers have published about Blog Defender:
”This is a seriously good product!” 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’s site, since Blog Defender was first released in 2012, no sites protected by the product have been hacked.
Matt 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.”
The war on hackers is is a constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers presently can access. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, doesn’t cost a fortune and it’s as good if not better than most web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Blog Defender 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 Cost
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: Pricing for the Blog Defender software can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The pricing above was correct at the time this article was published. This may not be the actual price charged by the software developer when you visit the site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing information:
Additional Plugin Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Buy This Product
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot ignore the importance of website security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting basic 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 security responsibilities are as the site owner, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being hacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the process of securing your WordPress site easier.
To learn more, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress
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