The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is increasing on a daily basis, and it’s only going to get worse.
It’s 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 reported that over 162,000 WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
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 WordPress web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a vulnerability offers some value to hackers. A vulnerable web site presents malicious users with a resource for distributed attacks, spreading malware and to engage in information theft.
If a hacker can discover a vulnerability in your security that allows them to gain stealth control of your blog, your site can then be employed as a “bot” in a planned cyber-attack against more valuable web sites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are very likely trying to break into your website or blog while you are reading this article. Whether they will break into your site or not, will depend on how hard or easy you can make things for them to keep trying until they find how to break in, or give up and go look for a less protected 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 site through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Scan Screenshot source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test will display a number of results and information about your website setup …
(website security check results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you can access all of this information, hackers can too.
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
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 all be useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about potential vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender
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 developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother got hacked into. This blog had literally no value to offer, yet it was still hacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being contacted by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside the server, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
This example should be enough to convince you that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for security weaknesses …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The product suite comes with three plugins:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud storage solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), automate complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides your WordPress web site with security …
(Source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 performs a range of file and site security functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” lets you scan your content and files to see if anything in your files has been found, and repair the problem …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
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 others benefit from your content without offering you any reciprocal benefit or value in return).
Step-By-Step Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes seven step-by-step video training modules plus downloadable documentation that will teach you exactly what you need to do to protect your site from malicious attacks …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Go here to learn more:
Benefits
Here 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 them to your Plugin folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a practical training product that takes you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free plugins you should install to get things done inexpensively.
Some additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Secure your website from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protect Your Info Products – If your site sells an information product (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Your Host – When a website has been hacked, you should expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. As a result, your, web presence can be closed by your webhost, or even blocked by search engines. And if this isn’t enough to have to deal with, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business or financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender offers a number of great features to web site owners.
Blog Defender covers the following issues:
- Host Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- 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
- File Monitoring
- Monitor Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process to help secure your site, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky themes and plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Source: BlogDefender website)
User Feedback
Here are just some testimonials that customers have submitted for Blog Defender:
”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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”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
Useful Tips
According to Matt Garrett’s site, since the release of Blog Defender, no Blog Defender-protected sites have been hacked.
The product developer 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 is a never-ending game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than many premium security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Plugin 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, 100% refund 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.
Note: Price details for the Blog Defender software can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing above was correct at the time this article was written. This may not be the actual pricing set by the software developer when you visit the product site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support 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 securing your websites.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress software, WP plugins and themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to malicious by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you learn what your 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 how to avoid major security risks without paying a lot of money.
To learn more, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender
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