The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is increasing on a daily basis, and it’s only going to get worse.
You can safely assume that if you haven’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 162,000 WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(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 WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your website or blog has nothing to offer to hackers, but the reality is that every website has some value to a malicious user.
If a hacker can exploit a security opening that allows them to remotely control your site, the blog can then be used as part of a larger network of “bots” to target other highly-valued websites.
The harsh reality is that malicious bots are probably looking for vulnerabilities and trying to hack into your website or blog as you are reading these very words. Whether they can get in or not, depends on how hard or easy you will make it for hackers to continue persisting until they can find a way to get access, or are forced to decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Check Screenshot: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the scan returns a number of results and details about your WordPress site …
(WP security scan results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you are able to see all of this information about your blog, then so can hackers.
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Being able to see which 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 can be valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about exploitable vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and help to protect it against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender Security Suite
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the creator of the BlogDefender security suit began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by its hosting company. This particular blog was devoid of content and had literally nothing to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being contacted by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had occurred within his site, as well as the addition of several phishing files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
This simple example is evidence that every website has value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security holes in your web site are …
And then shows you how to quickly fix these …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
Blog Defender includes three plugins:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud-based backup solutions using different backup methods (e.g. Email), perform complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do bulk text replacements in databases, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides your website with security …
(Image source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 performs a range of essential site protection functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 scans your web site to see if any of your files have been tampered with, and repair any problems detected …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
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 others benefit from your hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Video Training
In addition to the plugins, Blog Defender also includes a number of training in video format and training documentation that teach you exactly how to protect your site from hackers …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Plugin Benefits
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 website:
Quick And Simple To Install And Implement
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product install like any WordPress plugin. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugins to your Plugins folder via your administrator section and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a DIY step-by-step training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set things up, and even which plugins you can install for free to get the job done.
Some additional benefits and advantages include:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protect Your Info Products – If your site sells a digital product (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on peer-to-peer sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blacklisted By Search Engines – When a site gets hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, site could get closed by your host, or even blocked by search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Features
Blog Defender offers many great features to web site owners.
Blog Defender covers the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- MySQL Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Link Monitoring
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps for securing your your WordPress installation, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to identify risky themes and WordPress plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Product image: Blog Defender)
Testimonials From Plugin Customers
Here are a few of the testimonials and comments that plugin users have submitted for the Blog Defender product suite:
”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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”In the past month alone, I’ve had 3 niche blogs hacked, costing me hundreds of dollars in lost sales – all of which could have been avoided if I followed the steps in this training. I can tell you, there’s nothing worse than spending months building up a blog, adding posts every few days, and then finding it all gone in an instant. The great thing about these ‘over the shoulder’ videos is that you get to see exactly how to do everything, so it doesn’t matter if you’re technically challenged. Just copy what you see on the screen, and then relax knowing your blogs are safe. (Just one of the tips in the first video alone could probably have prevented my blogs getting hacked) I even noticed one or two tips in there that help with SEO too … so following these videos could even bring your blogs more traffic!” Richard Legg – www.richard-legg.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, no websites secured with the solution have been hacked since Blog Defender’s release in 2012.
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 is a constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers presently can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than most 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 no-risk, thirty day, full money-back 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.
Please Note: Price details for the Blog Defender product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the plugin retails for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the software developer when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
We Recommend
No matter what 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 very secure web platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WordPress core files, plugins and WordPress themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to attacks by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being hacked or compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the process of securing your WordPress installation easier.
For full details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender WordPress Security Suite
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