The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and things are getting worse.
It’s 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 160,000+ WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot image: 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)
As reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every site with a security vulnerability offers potential value to hackers. A vulnerable blog not only provides wannabe hackers opportunities to improve their skills and win “respect” amongst their peers, but it can also be a valuable resource for launching distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, distributing malware and defrauding visitors through information theft.
If hackers can break in and take over your website, your site can then be used as part of a larger network of “bots” to target more highly-valued websites.
The harsh reality is that hackers are very likely trying to break into your site right now. Whether they will do this successfully depends on how hard or easy you will make things for hackers and bots to continue persisting until they find a way to get access, or decide to 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 website through their WordPress security scan …
(WordPress Security Check Source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the check returns a number of results and information about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – website security check results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you can see all of this information, then so can hackers.
(Source: BlogDefender website)
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 on your server are all potentially useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any potential holes or weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to hackers and bots.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress
Product Description
Blog Defender 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 BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended by its hosting company. This site had practically no value to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being informed by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within his server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack financial details.
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience demonstrates that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for security holes …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The product suite includes three plugins for WordPress:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
This plugin lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud-based backup solutions using different backup methods, perform full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides your site with security …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #2 provides a range of site protection functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Plugin #3 allows you to scan your files and content to see if your source code has been altered, and repair any problems it finds …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious content have been inserted into your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your hard work without providing anything of value in return).
Video Tutorials
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes step-by-step training in video format and printable documentation that show you exactly how to protect your website from hackers …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits
Below we have listed just a few 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 Implement
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product suite install just like any other WordPress plugin. Simply upload them to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow do-it-yourself step-by-step training product that will guide you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free plugins you should install to get the job done without paying additional costs.
Some additional benefits of this plugin include the following:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Theft – If you sell info products (e.g. downloadable e-books, video training, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a website gets hacked, you can expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. As a result, your, account can be suspended by your host, or even deindexed in search engines. In addition, your personal 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 much more.
Features
Blog Defender provides a number of great features to WordPress users.
The product helps you fix all of the following security areas:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- 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
- Monitoring Links
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps for securing your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Product image source: BlogDefender website)
Testimonials From Plugin Users
Below are just a few of the testimonials and feedback that users have published about the Blog Defender solution:
”Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re too small or not important enough to be hacked! I’ve found out that I’ve had bots in the backend of my sites, making alterations and changing things around, so there’s no telling what damage they’ve caused. I’ve had my main blog for over 3 years now, and the thought of losing all the hard work I’ve put into it is just devastating, not to mention costly! I have a shared hosting plan, so of course once they can get into one site, they can also access the others. Luckily, I now have the procedures detailed within Blog Defender in place so that I can prevent the majority of this ever happening again. Once you’ve secured one site it gets a lot quicker to secure all subsequent sites. With Blog Defender, you get easy-to-follow videos, along with a detailed checklist that you can downloadf. You are literally walked through the process of securing your blog against hackers, which has given me real peace of mind. This is a growing issue that all website owners are facing; so it isn’t going to go away. Prevention is better than cure, particularly as some of the nastier hacks around can literally ruin your business. So do yourself a favour – get your sites protected now, before it’s too late.” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, no Blog Defender-protected websites were hacked since Blog Defender was first released in 2012.
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.”
The war on hackers is is a never-ending game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and technologies that developers currently can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier 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.
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 no-risk, thirty day, complete refund guarantee.
Product License 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.
Note: Current pricing for Blog Defender depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the plugin sells for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the software author when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Install The Plugins
Regardless of the kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot ignore the importance of web security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like making sure that your WP installation, plugins and themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you learn what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being hacked or compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your WordPress website easier.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender
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