The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and it’s 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 began reporting that 162,000 legitimate WordPress web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked 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 flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every site with a vulnerability provides some type of opportunity to hackers. An unsecured blog provides malicious users with a valuable resource to launch DDoS attacks, spread malware and engage in information theft.
If someone can discover a web software flaw, that website or blog can then be employed as part of a larger network of “bots” to target larger and more highly-valued web sites.
The truth is that software-driven bots are trying to break into your site while you are reading this. Whether they can get in will depend on how hard you have made things for hackers or bots to continue trying until they can discover a way to break in, or decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Website Security Scan Source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the scan returns various results and information about your website …
(Hackertarget – website security scan results. Image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to see all of this information, hackers can too.
(Screenshot: 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 can all be valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about any potential security vulnerabilities, especially where the owners haven’t updated their software versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress Sites
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This blog was quite new and had practically no value to offer, yet it still was targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of the event after being contacted by his host and observing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within his server, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to lure visitors to the site and hijack their financial information.
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
This simple example illustrates the fact that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress installation for potential security holes …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly and easily …
WordPress Plugins
The product suite comes with three plugins for WordPress:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 lets you do automated backups to your server, external servers and cloud solutions using a number of backup methods (e.g. Email), schedule full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to different domains or server locations), do bulk text replacements in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides your web site with security …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #2 “WordPress Security” provides a range of vital site and file protection functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 lets you scan your site to detect whether any of your files have been found, and fix any problems detected …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been inserted into your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your work without offering you anything in return).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes a number of training in video format plus written guides that show you exactly what you need to do to protect your site from malicious users …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits
Below are just some of the many benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Quick Installation
The Blog Defender plugins are quite easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a DIY training product that walks you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free plugins to install to get the job done.
Some additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protect Your Info Products From Being Stolen – If your site sells an info product (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a website is hacked, you should expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, blog could get closed by your webhost, or even blocked in search engines. And if this isn’t painful enough, your personal contacts can be spammed, your customer list and financial details can be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Features
Blog Defender hide your website or blog from hackers and botnets.
The product helps you fix all of the following security areas:
- Webhost 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
- Monitoring Files
- Track Links
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help protect your your WordPress installation, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials customers have published about 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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”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 the plugin developer, no Blog Defender-secured websites have been hacked since Blog Defender’s release.
Matt Garrett, the product developer 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.”
The war on hackers is is a constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and technologies that developers currently can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, won’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than most web 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 risk-free, 30 day, complete refund guarantee.
Plugin 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: Pricing for Blog Defender depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing above was correct when this article was written. This may or may not be the actual price set by the plugin developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing information:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
The Bottom Line
No matter what type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you simply cannot ignore the importance of web security.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress installation, 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 attacks by hackers and bots.
Adopting a security procedure like the one Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what’s going on in your site and where the vulnerabilities are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your sites are hacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your site easier.
For full details, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender
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