The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and it’s getting 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 before someone attempts to hack into your site.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that 160,000+ legitimate WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Image source: 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 reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your website has no significant value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, every website provides an opportunity to profit or benefit at your expense.
If a hacker can discover a way to take over your web site, your blog can then be used to attack more valued sites.
The reality is that software-driven bots are most likely looking for exploits and trying to break into your site right now. Whether they will do this successfully or not, depends on how hard you will make things for hackers or bots to keep trying until they can find a way to break in, or are forced to decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(WP Security Check Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test will yield a number of results and details about your site setup …
(WordPress security scan results. Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can see all of this information, hackers can too.
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
Being able 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 valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about any potential vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Plugin
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 developer of the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This site was fairly new and so had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of the event after being suspended by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside his server, as well as the addition of several malicious files designed to lure unsuspecting victims to the site and steal financial information.
(Image source: Blog Defender)
This example illustrates the fact that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for security vulnerabilities …
And let’s you fix these quickly and easily …
Blog Defender – WordPress Plugins
The product suite comes with 3 plugins for WordPress:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and cloud storage solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), perform full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do bulk text string replacements in databases, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
The second plugin provides your web site with security …
(Image source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 performs a range of vital website security functions (see “Product Features” section below).
The third plugin allows you to scan your plugins, themes, WP core files and content to detect if anything has been changed, and repair the problem …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious scripts have been added to 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 – Video Tutorials
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes 7 step-by-step video training modules and downloadable guides that show you exactly how to protect your website from malicious users …
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
More info:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Below 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 web site:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product are very easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your WordPress administrator area and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a do-it-yourself step-by-step training product that walks you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can install for free to get the job done without paying for unnecessary expenses.
Additional plugin benefits include:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protect Your Info Products – If you sell an information product (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Your Host – When a website is hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, website could get suspended by your host, or even blacklisted by search engines. And if this is not enough to have to deal with, your personal contacts can end up being spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender make your your website or blog invisible to hackers and bots.
The product helps you fix the following issues:
- 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 Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Track Links
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical sequence of steps to help secure your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky themes and WP plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Product image: BlogDefender.com)
Feedback From Users
Below are a couple of the testimonials customers have provided for Blog Defender:
”This is a seriously good product!” 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
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett’s site, since Blog Defender was first released, no sites using Blog Defender were hacked.
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 never-ending game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers can access. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, won’t cost a fortune 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 no-risk, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
Product Pricing
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.
Please Note: Pricing for Blog Defender can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the software is selling for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the plugin developer when you visit the product website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing information here:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Our Recommendation
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 simply cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like keeping your WP installation, WP plugins and themes up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you learn what’s going on in your site and where the security holes are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your sites are attacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major security risks without investing in expensive solutions.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Product Suite
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