The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and it’s only going to get worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if you haven’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 sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot: 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)
According to security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every blog with a vulnerability can can provide an opportunity to hackers. An unsecured website or blog not only offers hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and win “respect” amongst their peers, but it can also acts as a valuable platform for DDoS attacks, spreading malware and as a source for creating information theft.
If hackers can hack into and remotely control your web site, your website can then be employed as a “bot” to attack larger and more valuable web sites.
The truth is that software-driven bots are probably scouring for exploits and trying to break into your website or blog right now. Whether they can get in successfully depends on how hard you will make things for hackers and botnets to keep persisting until they either work out a way to get access, or give up and go look for a more vulnerable 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 check …
(WP Security Check Screenshot: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check will yield a number of results and details about your website …
(Hackertarget – WP security check results. Image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you are able to see all of this information about your WordPress website, then hackers can too.
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
The ability 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 potential vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their software versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and protect against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender
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 BlogDefender began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This particular site was new and so had literally no value to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being informed by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside the server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files designed to drive visitors to the site and steal their Paypal account details.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience shows that every website has value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for potential security weaknesses …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
Plugins
Blog Defender includes 3 plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender site)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do automated backups to your server, external servers and cloud solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), perform full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text in your database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 provides your site with security …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
The “WordPress Security” plugin performs a range of vital website security functions (see “Features” section below).
Plugin #3 allows you to scan your WordPress website to see if any of your files have been changed, and fix problems …
(Source: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin # 3 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 hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Video Training
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender security product suite also includes video training guides plus downloadable documentation that teach you exactly how to protect your site from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Go here to learn more:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Here are just some of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Fast And Simple To Install And Set Up
The plugins included with Blog Defender are quite easy to install. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a 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 things up, and even which WordPress plugins you can use for free to get things done without paying additional or unnecessary costs.
Additional benefits include:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Avoid Intellectual Property Theft – If your site sells an info product (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blacklisted By Search Engines – When a website is hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. During this time, your, blog could get closed by your webhost, or even blocked in search engines. And if this is not enough to have to deal with, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender make your your web site invisible to hackers and malicious botnets.
Blog Defender covers the following issues:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- WP 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
- Monitoring Files
- Monitoring Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical sequence of steps to help protect your website, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials that customers have provided for the Blog Defender product:
”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
***
”I sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently. Okay, it was my fault for not securing things more, BUT… I didn’t have a handy, current reference like this to turn to for quick help either.;)” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin developer, since Blog Defender’s first release in 2012, no websites protected by the solution were 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 ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, won’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.
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, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
Software Price
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.
Please Note: The cost of purchasing Blog Defender can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the software is selling for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin seller when you visit the plugin website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Our Recommendation
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, web security is something you simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, WP plugins and WP themes, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to attacks by hackers and bots.
Adopting a security policy like the one Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your website is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major WordPress security holes without paying a lot of money.
For complete details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
***
***