The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is increasing on a daily basis, and the situation is getting worse.
You can safely assume that if your website or blog hasn’t been hacked yet, then it’s inevitable that at some point in time someone will attempt to hack into your site.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that over 160,000+ legitimate WordPress web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Image 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 well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website or blog with a security vulnerability can present an opportunity to hackers. A vulnerable web site not only offers hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and win “respect” among their peers, but it can also be a platform for launching denial of service attacks, spreading malware and as a source of information theft.
If someone can discover a security weakness, that website can then be used to target other valuable websites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are very likely looking for weaknesses and trying to break into your blog while you are reading this at this very moment. Whether they will successfully get into your site or not, will depend on how hard you have made it for them to continue trying until they discover how to break in, or are forced to give up and decide to look for a less protected target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Scan Screenshot: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan returns a number of results and details about your WordPress installation …
(Hackertarget – WordPress security check results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can access all of this information about your site, so can hackers.
(Source: Blog Defender)
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 are all valuable information to hackers, as this can inform them about any potential security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and make your site invisible to malicious users and botnets.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress
Product Description
The product is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the developer of the BlogDefender security suit began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This blog was not being used and so had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside the server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack their Paypal account details.
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience illustrates the fact that all websites have some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress site for potential security vulnerabilities …
And let’s you quickly fix these …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The product suite comes with three plugins for WordPress:
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Source: BlogDefender website)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do secure site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud-based backup solutions using a number of backup methods (e.g. FTP), perform complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do bulk text string replacements in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 performs a range of website security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Plugin #3 allows you to scan your web site to detect whether code in your files has been changed, and repair the problem …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious content have been added to your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes training in video format plus printable guides that show you exactly what to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Below are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your web site:
Quick And Easy Installation
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product suite install just like every other WP plugin. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your administrator account and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a step-by-step training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which plugins you can use for free to get the job done inexpensively.
Additional benefits include:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Secure Your Info Products – If you sell digital products (e.g. downloadable ebooks, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a website gets hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, sites could be suspended by your webhost, or even blacklisted in search engines. And if this isn’t enough to have to deal with, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Features
Blog Defender was created to keeps your site and your business safe and secure 24/7.
The product addresses the following issues:
- Host Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress 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
- File Monitoring
- Monitor Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate Core WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical sequence of steps to help protect your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky themes and WP plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Product image source: BlogDefender site)
Feedback From Users
Here are just a few of the testimonials that customers have provided for Blog Defender:
”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 secured by the solution were hacked.
Matt 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.”
The war on hackers is an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and technologies that developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need 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.
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 no-risk, 30 day, complete refund guarantee.
Plugin 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: The cost to purchase the Blog Defender software depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the plugin is selling for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the software author when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing information here:
Additional Plugin Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Install The Plugins
Regardless of the kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you simply cannot afford to ignore the importance of web security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like keeping your WP installation, WordPress plugins and WordPress themes updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security procedures like the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your website is attacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major WordPress security holes without paying for costly solutions.
For more information, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender WordPress Security Suite
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