The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and the situation is only going to get 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 162,000 WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
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 security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your site has no significant value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, all websites are an opportunity to gain some advantage at your expense.
If hackers can discover a security flaw, the site can then be employed as part of a larger network of “bots” to target more valued websites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are probably looking for security exploits and trying to hack into your website while you are reading this article at this very moment. Whether they can get in will depend on how difficult you can make it for hackers or botnets to keep persisting until they discover how to get access, or decide to look for an easier target.
How Much Information About Your 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 …
(Hackertarget – WP Security Check Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check will display a number of results and details about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – WordPress security check results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you can access all of this information, so can hackers.
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Being able to see which version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories are all useful information to hackers, as this can inform them about potential vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a solution that will stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Plugin
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular site was almost brand new and so had literally nothing to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within the server, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to lure unsuspecting visitors to the site and hijack financial details.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
This simple example is evidence that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security weaknesses in your WordPress site are …
And let’s you fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
WordPress Plugins
The Blog Defender security suite of products includes 3 WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
Plugin #1 lets you do automated backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud backup solutions using different backup methods (e.g. Email), schedule full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Plugin #2 provides your web site with security …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides a range of file and site protection functions (see “Product Features” section below).
The third plugin lets you scan your content and files to detect whether your source code has been tampered with, and fix problems …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious scripts have been added to your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your work without reciprocating the favor).
Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes 7 video training modules and printable guides that teach you exactly how to protect your website from malicious users …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Learn more here:
Plugin Benefits
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 website:
Ready To Start Using In No Time
The Blog Defender plugins are quite easy to install. Simply upload a zip folder containing the plugins to your Plugins folder via your administrator account 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 everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can install for free to get the job done inexpensively.
Some additional benefits of using the plugin include:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Being Stolen – If you sell an information product (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Banned By Search Engines – When a site gets hacked, you should expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. During this time, your, sites can get closed by your webhost, or even blacklisted in search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Features
Blog Defender was created to locks down your site and keeps your business safe and secure 24/7.
Blog Defender provides fixes for the following issues:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WP 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
- File Monitoring
- Link Monitoring
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help protect your website, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Source: BlogDefender.com)
Testimonials
Below are a couple of the testimonials and comments that users have submitted regarding Blog Defender:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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”I discovered some incredible security tricks!” David Walker – www.inboxrockstar.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, Matt Garrett, since Blog Defender was first released back in 2012, no websites or blogs using Blog Defender have been hacked.
Matt Garrett, 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.”
Cybersecurity is an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, doesn’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.
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, 30 day, full refund guarantee.
Software Cost
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.
Please Note: Price details for Blog Defender can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the software is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may not be the actual pricing set by the plugin developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
In Conclusion
No matter what kind 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 very secure platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress installation, WordPress plugins and themes are kept up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting a security policy such as the one that Blog Defender provides, will help 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 installation easier.
For more details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender
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