The scale 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 reported that 162,000 WordPress sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Screenshot: 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 described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your website has no value to hackers, but the reality is that every website has value to a malicious user.
If hackers can exploit a flaw in the system and gain remote control of your website or blog, the website can then be used as a “bot” in a planned cyberattack against larger and more valuable sites.
The truth is that malicious bots are very likely trying to break into your website right now. Whether they will get in successfully or not, will depend on how difficult you have made things for hackers to keep trying until they can work out how to get in, or give up and decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – WP Security Scan Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan will yield a number of results and details about your website setup …
(Hackertarget – website security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can freely access all of this information, then so can hackers.
(Source: BlogDefender site)
Being able 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 on your server can all be potentially valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about any exploitable security vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the creator of the BlogDefender security suit began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular site had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being contacted by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside the site, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and steal their Paypal account details.
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
This simple example is evidence that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security holes in your WordPress installation are …
And let’s you fix these quickly and easily …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
The Blog Defender security suite includes 3 plugins for WordPress:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do automated backups to your server, external servers and cloud storage solutions using different backup methods (e.g. Email), perform full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides your site with security …
(Product image: BlogDefender website)
The “WordPress Security” plugin performs a range of essential site and file security functions (see “Product Features” section below).
The third plugin lets you scan your content and files to see if any of your files have been tampered with, and repair the problem …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious content have been inserted into your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Training Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes seven step-by-step video training modules plus printable guides that show you exactly what to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Below we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your web site:
Be Up And Running In No Time
The plugins included with Blog Defender install just like any regular WordPress plugin. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a 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 WordPress plugins you can use for free to get things done.
Some additional benefits and advantages include:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protect Your Info Products – If you’re a digital product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a site is hacked, you can expect to go through a great deal of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, website or blog can be closed by your webhost, or even blocked in search engines. In addition, your contacts can end up being spammed, your customer list and financial details can be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Features
Blog Defender provides a number of features to WordPress users.
Blog Defender helps you fix all of the following areas:
- Hosting 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 Blocking
- Monitor Files
- Link Monitoring
- Block Known Offenders
- Automate WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process for securing your website, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky WP themes and WordPress plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
Feedback From Users
Here are just some testimonials that users have published about 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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”My business is built around the WordPress platform and I’m embarrassed to admin I’ve been slack in the security department. However, Matt’s training soon put that right! I followed each detailed video to the letter and discovered some incredible security tricks and plugins I’d never heard of before. Better still, all the plugins were free to download too! The end result? My WordPress membership site is now locked down tighter than Parkhurst at midnight and if anybody tries hacking it, I’ll be the first to know! thanks again Matt, I’m off to secure the rest of the blogs in my portfolio!” David Walker – www.inboxrockstar.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, since Blog Defender was first released, no websites using Blog Defender were hacked.
Matt Garrett 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 an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and technologies that developers presently can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than many 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 risk-free, thirty day, complete refund guarantee.
Product Cost
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 to purchase this product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the product retails for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the software seller when you visit the plugin site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price here:
Additional Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Buy This Product
No matter what type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, website security is something you cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like keeping your WordPress installation, WP plugins and WP themes up-to-date, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to malicious by hackers and bots.
Adopting security policies like the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what’s going on in your site and where the vulnerabilities are, 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 which tools can make the process of securing your WordPress website easier.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress
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