The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and this is getting worse.
You can safely 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 162,000 legitimate WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
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 websites 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 every website is valuable to a malicious user.
If hackers can exploit a way to gain complete control of your site, your blog can then be used to target other valued web sites.
The harsh reality is that hackers are most likely trying to break into your website or blog at this very moment. Whether they can get into your site will depend on how hard or easy you have made it for hackers to continue persisting until they either discover a way to get access, or give up and decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
If you visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Website Security Check Product image: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan will yield various results and details about your website …
(Hackertarget – WP security check results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to freely access all of this information, hackers can too.
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
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 are all potentially useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about potential holes or weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and help to protect it against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender WordPress Security Product Suite
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 the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended by the hosting company. This site was devoid of content and had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being suspended 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 by whoever had broken into the site.
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
This simple example shows that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security holes in your WordPress site are …
And then shows you how to quickly fix these …
Plugins
The product suite includes three WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud-based solutions using a number of backup methods (e.g. FTP), schedule 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 database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides your website or blog with security …
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 provides a range of vital site protection functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” scans your WordPress plugins, themes and WP core files to detect if your source code has been altered, and fix problems …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #3 “WP 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 others 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 video guides and PDF/DOC documentation that will teach you exactly what to do to protect your site from malicious users …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Plugin Benefits
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 site:
Be Up And Running In No Time
The Blog Defender plugins are quite easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugin folder via your admin user area and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a DIY step-by-step training product that will walk you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can use for free to get the job done without paying extra costs.
Some additional plugin benefits include:
- Protect your WordPress website from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Helps Avoid Intellectual Property Theft – If you sell info products (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Deindexed By Search Engines – When a website has been hacked, you should 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. As a result, your, websites could be suspended by your host, or even deindexed in search engines. Additionally, your personal contacts could be spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender offers a number of great features to WP users.
The product covers the following issues:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WP Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Tracking Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical process to help secure your web site, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky WordPress 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.com)
User Testimonials
Here are some of the testimonials and comments plugin customers have provided for the Blog Defender solution:
”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 the plugin’s website, since the release of Blog Defender, no Blog Defender-protected websites or blogs have been hacked.
Matt Garrett, the product developer 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.”
Cybersecurity is an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, doesn’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than many web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
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, full money-back guarantee.
Plugin Price
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.
Please Note: The cost of purchasing this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the product is being retailed for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the product author when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing:
Additional Plugin Information
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
The Bottom Line
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 website security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, WP plugins and themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps 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 website is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major security risks without paying a lot of money.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress
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