The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, 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 only a matter of time before someone attempts 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 are hacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Image source: 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)
According to security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every blog with a vulnerability offers some value to hackers. An unsecured web site not only presents wannabe hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and win “respect” from their peers, but it can also serve as a resource for launching distributed denial of service attacks, spreading malware and participating in information theft.
If hackers can discover a way to gain any form of control of your website, that web site can then be employed to attack more valued sites.
The harsh reality is that hackers are very likely looking for security weaknesses and trying to break into your website or blog as you are reading this article at this very moment. Whether they can be successful or not, will depend on how hard you have made it for them to keep trying until they work out a way to get in, 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 a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(WordPress Security Scan Screenshot source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan will return a number of results and information about your site setup …
(WordPress security check results. Screenshot: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you are able to access all of this information about your WordPress website, then so can hackers.
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
The ability 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 useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any potential vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their software versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution that can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress 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 site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This site was fairly new and so had literally nothing of value to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within his server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and steal their financial details.
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
This example demonstrates that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your WordPress site are …
And then shows you how to quickly fix these …
Blog Defender – Plugins
Blog Defender includes 3 plugins for WordPress:
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” in the product suite provides automated backups …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
The plugin lets you do secure backups to your server, external servers and cloud solutions using a number of backup methods, automate complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” performs a range of essential website security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” allows you to scan WordPress sites to detect if code in your files has been changed, and repair any problems detected …
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious content have been added to your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your work without offering you any benefit in return).
Videos
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes seven step-by-step video training modules plus printable guides that will show you exactly how to protect your website from malicious users …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Go here to learn more about the plugin:
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 web site:
Installation Is Easy
The plugins included with Blog Defender are very easy to install. Just upload the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your admin user account and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a practical and useful DIY training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set things up, and even which WordPress plugins you can install for free to get things done.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Secure your WordPress website from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Theft – If your site sells information products (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Search Engines – When a site is hacked, you can expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, web presence could get closed by your host, or even blacklisted by search engines. And if this isn’t painful enough, your personal 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 make your your website or blog invisible to hackers and botnets.
The product helps you fix all of the following issues:
- Host Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WordPress Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- File Monitoring
- Monitor Links
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process for securing your your WordPress installation, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky WP themes and WP plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
Feedback From Users
Here are some of the testimonials and comments plugin users have provided for Blog Defender:
”I’ve had to go through the inconvenience of a hacked blog before and let me tell you it’s not nice. With online security becoming an increasing problem, especially with WordPress, this is a great way to secure your blog. I’ll be following Matt’s training and securing all my blogs…Great job.” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
***
”I discovered some incredible security tricks!” David Walker – www.inboxrockstar.com
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett’s site, no Blog Defender-protected websites have been hacked since Blog Defender’s release.
Matt Garrett 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 perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers can currently harness. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t need 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.
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 risk-free, 30 day, complete refund guarantee.
Product 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.. Price = $47.00.
Note: The price of the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The pricing above was current at the time this article was published. This may not be the actual price set by the product author when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Use This Product
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, website security is something you simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting essential 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 expose your website to malicious by hackers and bots.
Adopting a security policy such as the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the process of securing your website easier.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender Security Plugin For WordPress Websites & Blogs
***
***