The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is increasing on a daily basis, and this is 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 began reporting that over 162,000 WordPress sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Image source: 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 reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every web site with a security vulnerability provides an opportunity to hackers. No site Large, medium and small business websites, personal blogs, government sites … even sites owned by online security experts can and have been targeted.
If someone can hack and compromise the control of your website or blog, your web site can then be employed as part of a larger network of “bots” to target more highly-valued sites.
The harsh reality is that hackers are looking for weaknesses and trying to hack into your website right now. Whether they will get in or not, will depend on how challenging you can make things for hackers to keep trying until they discover a way to get access, or are forced to give up and go look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(Website Security Check Image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check will display a number of results and details about your site …
(Hackertarget – website security check results. Image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this tool that if you can see all of this information, then so can hackers.
(Source: BlogDefender website)
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 in your site can all be useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about potentially exploitable security vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their files.
Fortunately, there is a way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect 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 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 and suspended. This particular site was new and so had literally nothing to offer, yet it still was targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of this after being contacted by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside his server, as well as the addition of several malicious files designed to lure unsuspecting victims to the site and steal Paypal account details.
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
Matt’s experience is evidence that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security holes in your web site are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly and easily …
WP Plugins
The product suite comes with three WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, external servers and well-known cloud-based storage solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), automate 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 database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 provides WordPress security …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
The “WordPress Security” plugin performs a range of site and file protection functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan your website to see if any of your files have been tampered with, and fix problems …
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been added to your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your hard work without providing anything in return).
Videos
In addition to the plugins, Blog Defender also includes a number of video training guides plus downloadable documentation that show you exactly what to do to protect your website from malicious users …
(Product image source: BlogDefender site)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
The plugins included with Blog Defender are quite easy to install. Just upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your administrator area and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a do-it-yourself training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you exactly what to do, including how to set things up, and even which WordPress plugins you can use for free to get the job done.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Helps Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If your site sells digital products (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Closed By Your Web Host And Banned By Search Engines – When a site gets hacked, you should expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. Your, websites can be closed by your webhost, or even blacklisted in search engines. Additionally, your contacts could end up being spammed, your customer list and financial details could be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender provides many unique features to web site owners.
Blog Defender helps you fix all of the following issues:
- Host Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- WP 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
- Monitoring Files
- Link Monitoring
- Block Known Offenders
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps for securing your web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky WP themes and WordPress plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
User Feedback
Here are a couple of the testimonials and comments that plugin customers have published about the Blog Defender security suite:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to the product’s website, since Blog Defender was first released, no websites or blogs using Blog Defender have been hacked.
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 constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools that developers can get their hands on. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require 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 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, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
Product Price
Blog Defender is normally available with a personal license only for use 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: The cost of purchasing the Blog Defender software can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the plugin is being retailed for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin author 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 current pricing here:
Additional Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
What We Recommend
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 cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, WP plugins and WP themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to attacks by hackers and bots.
Adopting security policies like the one Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being hacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the process of securing your site easier.
For complete details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender
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