The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and things are only going to get 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 reported that over 160,000+ WordPress-powered web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Screenshot 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)
According to leading security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every blog with a vulnerability presents an opportunity to hackers. An unsecured blog not only presents new hackers opportunities to improve their skills and claim “bragging rights” amongst their peers, but it can also be a resource for denial of service attacks, distributing malware and engaging in information theft.
If a malicious user can find a security flaw in your system that allows them to access and take over your website or blog, that site can then be employed to attack other valuable web sites.
The truth is that malicious bots are very likely trying to hack into your web site at this very moment. Whether they can do this successfully or not, will depend on how challenging you can make things for hackers and bots to continue trying until they discover how to get access, or are forced to decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(WP Security Check Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check returns a number of results and details about your website …
(Hackertarget – WP security scan results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can freely access all of this information, then hackers can too.
(Image source: Blog Defender)
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 security weaknesses, especially where site owners haven’t updated their sites.
Fortunately, there is a solution that will stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to hackers and bots.
Blog Defender
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular site had practically nothing to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being contacted by his host and seeing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within the site, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
This example demonstrates that all websites have value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security weaknesses in your WordPress installation are …
And let’s you fix these quickly and easily …
Blog Defender – WordPress Plugins
The product suite includes 3 plugins for WordPress:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 lets you do secure backups to your server, external servers and well-known cloud-based storage solutions using a number of backup methods, schedule complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to new domains or server locations), do mass text string replacements in databases, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides your web site with security …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides a range of vital site security functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” allows you to scan your plugins, WordPress themes and core files to detect whether anything in your files has been altered, and fix the problem …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious content have been added to your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your content without offering anything of value in return).
Blog Defender – Training Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender security suite also includes seven videos plus written documentation that will show you exactly how to protect your site from hackers and bots …
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
More info:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Here we have listed just some of the many benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your web site:
Be Up And Running In Very Little Time
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product install just like any regular plugin. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your admin user area and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a useful DIY training product that will take you through the website security process and show you what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free WordPress plugins you should use to get the job done without paying additional expenses.
Additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Secure your website from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If your site sells information products (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blacklisted By Your Host – When a site is hacked, expect to go through a great deal of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. During this time, your, website could get closed by your webhost, or even blocked by search engines. And if that isn’t painful enough, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender provides many great features to WP users.
Blog Defender helps you fix the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WP 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
- Monitoring Links
- Block Known Offenders
- Automating Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help protect your site, addressing hosting security, using 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. Image source: Blog Defender)
Feedback From Plugin Customers
Here are a couple of the testimonials that customers have provided 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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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, no sites using Blog Defender have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
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 constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers can harness. 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 web 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 risk-free, 30 day, full money-back 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.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: The price of the Blog Defender plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the software sells for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set by the plugin seller when you visit the product site and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
In Conclusion
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, web security is something you cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like making sure that your WP installation, WP plugins and WordPress themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to malicious by hackers and bots.
Adopting a security procedure such as the one that 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 the security on your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your WordPress installation easier.
For full details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Plugin
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