The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is increasing on a daily basis, and the situation is getting worse.
It’s probably safe to 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 reported that over 160,000+ WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Screenshot 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 flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your website has nothing to offer to hackers, but the reality is that every website is valuable to a malicious user.
If a malicious user can find a vulnerability in the setup that allows them to take over your website, the website or blog can then be used to attack larger and more valuable sites.
The harsh reality is that brute-force software bots are very likely trying to break into your web site right now. Whether they will break in successfully will depend on how challenging you will make things for hackers or bots to continue persisting until they discover how to get in, or give up and decide to 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 a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WP Security Scan Image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test returns various results and details about your WordPress site …
(Hackertarget – WordPress security scan results. Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can freely access all of this information about your website, hackers can too.
(Source: BlogDefender website)
The ability 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 on your server can all be useful information to hackers, as this can inform them about potentially exploitable security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and protect against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender Security Suite For WordPress Websites & Blogs
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 creator of the BlogDefender security suit began looking for a way to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended. This particular site was new and so had literally no value to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being contacted by his host and seeing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had occurred inside the server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack their financial details.
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience shows that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress installation for security weaknesses …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
The product suite includes 3 plugins for WordPress:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, third-party servers and leading cloud backup solutions using a number of backup methods, schedule complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 provides your website or blog with security …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #2 performs a range of site and file security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” lets you scan your plugins, WordPress themes and WP core files to see if any of your files have been found, and fix the problem …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
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 hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Training Videos
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes seven step-by-step video training modules plus training guides that will teach you exactly what you need to do to protect your site from hackers …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
For more details, visit the plugin site 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:
Fast And Easy To Install And Implement
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product install like every plugin. Just upload a zip file that contains the plugins to your Plugins folder via your admin user section and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a practical and useful 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 plugins you can use for free to get things done inexpensively.
Some additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protect Your Info Products From Being Freely Distributed – If your site sells a digital product (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Banned By Search Engines – When a website has been hacked, you can expect to go through a great deal of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. During this time, your, website or blog can be suspended by your host, or even blocked by search engines. In addition, your contacts could end up being spammed, your subscriber list and financial details can be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Features
Blog Defender was designed to keep your sites and your business safe and secure 24/7.
Blog Defender provides fixes for all of the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Host Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WP Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Link Monitoring
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online 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 WordPress themes and WP plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Image source: BlogDefender website)
User Feedback
Below are a couple of the testimonials and feedback that plugin users have published about 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
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“Sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently!” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin developer, no Blog Defender-protected sites have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
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 an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools that developers currently can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than many web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Blog Defender 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, 30 day, complete money-back guarantee.
Software Pricing
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.. Price = $47.00.
Please Note: Current pricing for the Blog Defender product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the software is selling for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the product author 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 latest price here:
Additional Plugin Information
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
In Conclusion
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your website or blog is something you simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WordPress core files, plugins and themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you learn what’s going on in your site and where the security holes are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if the security on your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major WordPress security holes without costly solutions.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
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