The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is increasing on a daily basis, and it’s getting worse.
It’s probably safe to 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 reported that 160,000+ WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(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 sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every web site with a vulnerability can present an opportunity to hackers. A compromised web site not only provides hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and win “respect” from their peers, but it can also acts as a valuable platform for DDoS attacks, distributing malware and engaging in information theft.
If hackers can discover a vulnerability in your security that allows them to gain control of your website, the website can then be employed to target other valued sites.
The harsh reality is that brute-force software bots are most likely trying to hack into your blog as you are reading this article right now. Whether they will hack in successfully will depend on how difficult you have made it for them to keep trying until they work out how to get access, or give up and go look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(Website Security Scan Image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test returns a number of results and details about your site …
(Hackertarget – website security check results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you are able to freely access all of this information about your site, so can hackers.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
The ability to see what version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories can be useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any exploitable vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their sites.
Fortunately, there is a solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress
Product Description
Blog Defender is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender began looking for a way to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This site was almost brand new and had literally nothing of value to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside the site, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to lure unsuspecting visitors to the site and steal their financial information.
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
This simple example illustrates the fact that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for potential security holes …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly …
Blog Defender – WordPress Plugins
Blog Defender includes three plugins for WordPress:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, third-party servers and well-known cloud-based backup solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), automate complete 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 malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
The second plugin provides WordPress security …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
The plugin provides a range of vital site protection functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” lets you scan your content and files to see whether code in your files has been altered, and fix the problem …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been added to your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your work without offering anything of benefit in return).
Video Training
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes seven step-by-step video tutorial modules plus training documentation that will show you exactly how to protect your site from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Below we have listed 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:
Be Up And Running In No Time
The plugins are very easy to install. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your admin section and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow DIY 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 free plugins to install to get the job done inexpensively.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Secure your WordPress website from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Avoid Intellectual Property Theft – If you’re an info product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Suspended By Your Web Host And Delisted By Search Engines – When a website gets hacked, you should expect to go through a great deal of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. As a result, your, web presence can be closed by your webhost, or even deindexed by search engines. Additionally, your contacts can end up being spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender hide your website or blog from hackers and malicious bots.
Blog Defender addresses the following security areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WP 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
- Track Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate Core WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process to help protect your your WordPress installation, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky WordPress themes and WP plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Source: Blog Defender)
User Feedback
Here are just a few of the testimonials and comments users have published about Blog Defender:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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”Since working with blogs, I… like many others, have been concerned about how to handle the constant threat of blog attacks. After having a look at Blog Defender you can’t help but become most aware of the vulnerable areas all bloggers need to protect. Blog Defender is viable WordPress blog security prevention system that offers video instruction along with 3 software plugins that are free to download. The instruction shows the optimum settings on how to use the free plugins that will allow you top level force against blog hacker attacks.” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett’s site, since Blog Defender was first released, no websites protected by the product have been 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.”
Cybersecurity is an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers currently can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’t cost 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, thirty day, full money-back guarantee.
Plugin 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.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: Pricing details of the Blog Defender software can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The price shown above was current when this content was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the software seller when you visit the site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
We Recommend
Regardless of the kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your site is something you cannot ignore.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, plugins and WP 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 which tools can make the task of securing your website easier.
For more details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender Security Suite For WordPress Websites & Blogs
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