The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and this is 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.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that over 160,000+ legitimate WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Image: BlogDefender site)
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 attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every web site with a security vulnerability provides some degree of opportunity to hackers. A vulnerable web site presents hackers with a resource for denial of service attacks, spreading malware and to engage in information theft.
If someone can discover a security weakness in your system that allows them to access and control your website, your website can then be employed as a “bot” to attack more valued web sites.
The harsh reality is that hackers are very likely trying to hack into your website or blog right now. Whether they can achieve this depends on how hard or easy you will make things for hackers to keep trying until they either can discover how to break in, or give up and go look for a more vulnerable 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 website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Check Screenshot source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan returns a number of results and information about your website …
(Hackertarget – WP security scan results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to access all of this information, so can hackers.
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
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 potentially useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about potential holes or weaknesses, especially where the owners haven’t updated their files.
Fortunately, there is a solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender
Product Description
Blog Defender 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 blog he set up for his mother got hacked into. This particular site was not being used and had practically no value to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being suspended by his host and seeing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within the site, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
This example is evidence that all websites have some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress installation for potential security vulnerabilities …
And let’s you fix these quickly and easily …
Blog Defender – WordPress Plugins
The Blog Defender security suite comes with 3 plugins for WordPress:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Image source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do automated backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud-based storage solutions using a number of backup methods (e.g. Email), automate full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 provides your website or blog with security …
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
Plugin #2 “WP Security” performs a range of vital file and site security functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Plugin #3 lets you scan your files and content to detect whether your source code has been found, and repair any problems found …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been inserted into your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Step-By-Step Tutorial Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender product suite also includes several training videos and written guides that show you exactly how to protect your site from malicious users …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
For more details go here:
Plugin Benefits
Here 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 website:
Quick And Simple To Install And Implement
The plugins included with Blog Defender are quite easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugin folder via your WordPress admin user login and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow training product that will take you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free plugins you should install to get things done without paying for unnecessary expenses.
Some additional benefits of this plugin include:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Being Stolen – If you are an information product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on peer-to-peer sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Delisted By Search Engines – When a site has been hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. Your, websites can get suspended by your host, or even blacklisted by search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal and financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender offers a number of features to WP users.
Blog Defender provides fixes for all of the following areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- WordPress 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
- Monitoring Files
- Monitor Links
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help secure your site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Feedback From Users
Below are a few of the testimonials that plugin customers have submitted regarding 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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”Just one tip could have prevented my blogs getting hacked!” Richard Legg – www.richard-legg.com
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin developer, Matt Garrett, since the release of Blog Defender, no Blog Defender-secured websites have been hacked.
Matt Garrett, the product developer 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 tools that developers presently 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 a fortune and it’s as good if not better than most premium 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.
Software Pricing
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 can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The pricing above was current when this review was written. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin developer when you visit the plugin website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing:
Additional Plugin Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, 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 simply cannot afford to ignore the importance of securing your sites.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WP software, plugins and themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to attacks by hackers and bots.
Adopting security procedures such as the one Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major WordPress security holes without costly solutions.
To learn more, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Plugin
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