The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and the situation is 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 162,000 legitimate WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could yours 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)
According to leading security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber-attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your site has no value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, all websites provide an opportunity to gain some benefit at your expense.
If a malicious user can discover a way to gain control of your web site, the website can then be employed as a “bot” to attack more valuable sites.
The harsh reality is that hackers are probably scouring for security exploits and trying to break into your web site at this very moment. Whether they can hack into your site successfully depends on how difficult or easy you can make it for hackers to keep persisting until they find a way to get in, or are forced to give up and go look for a less protected target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
If you visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Scan Product image: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the check will yield a number of results and details about your site setup …
(WordPress security check results. Screenshot: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to freely access all of this information about your website, so can hackers.
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
The ability to see what version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories can be valuable information to hackers, as these can inform them about any potential vulnerabilities, especially where the owners haven’t updated their software versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution that can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to malicious users and botnets.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress Websites
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package 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-driven site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This blog had practically nothing to offer, yet it still was targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of this after being contacted by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had occurred within the server, as well as the addition of several malicious files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack their financial information.
(Image source: BlogDefender site)
Matt’s experience illustrates the fact that all websites have some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress site for potential security weaknesses …
And let’s you quickly and easily fix these …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
Blog Defender comes with three WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
This plugin lets you do secure backups to your server, external servers and cloud backup solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), automate full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do mass text replacements in databases, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides a range of vital site and file protection functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 scans your website to detect if your source code has been altered, and repair the problem …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious scripts 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 the plugins, the Blog Defender security product suite also includes 7 training modules in video format plus PDF/DOC documentation that will teach you exactly how to protect your website from malicious users …
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
More info:
Benefits
Below are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Ready To Go To Work In Minutes
The plugins included with Blog Defender install just like any regular WP plugin. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your WP dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is a training product that will take you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set things up, and even which WordPress plugins you can install for free to get things done.
Additional benefits of this plugin include the following:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, 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 – If you’re an information product author (e.g. downloadable ebooks, videos, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Host – When a website gets hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, websites could be closed by your webhost, or even deindexed in search engines. And if that isn’t enough to have to deal with, your personal contacts can end up being spammed, your subscriber list and financial details could be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Features
Blog Defender offers many great features to web site owners.
Blog Defender provides fixes for the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WordPress Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Link Tracking
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps to help secure your your WordPress installation, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky themes and plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Source: BlogDefender website)
User Feedback
Below are a couple 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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”Just one tip could have prevented my blogs getting hacked!” Richard Legg – www.richard-legg.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin’s site, no websites using Blog Defender were hacked since Blog Defender’s release.
Matt 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 developers presently can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, won’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than many web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Product 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, 100% money-back 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.. Price = $47.00.
Note: The cost of purchasing the Blog Defender plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the product is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin developer when you visit the product site and you may be shown 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 helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
What We Recommend
Regardless of the kind 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 securing your website.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress installation, WP 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 understand what’s going on in your site and where the vulnerabilities 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 how to avoid major WordPress security holes without paying a lot of money.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender Security Plugin For WordPress
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