The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and this is getting worse.
It’s safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that over 162,000 WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Screenshot: 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 security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a security vulnerability presents an opportunity to hackers. A compromised website offers hackers with a valuable platform for launching denial of service attacks, spreading malware and engaging in information theft.
If someone can discover a software security flaw that allows them to access and take over your web site, the website or blog can then be employed to target larger and more valuable websites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are trying to break into your website or blog at this very moment. Whether they will do this successfully depends on how hard you have made it for them to continue trying until they find how to get in, or give up and decide to look for an easier 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 website through their WordPress security scan …
(Website Security Scan Screenshot image: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the scan will return a number of results and information about your site …
(WordPress security check results. Screenshot image: 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 WordPress site, so can hackers.
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
The ability 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 on your server can be potentially useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any potential security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to malicious attackers and bots.
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 developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular site was not being used and had literally no value to offer, yet it was still hacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being contacted by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within his site, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack their financial details.
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience shows that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for security weaknesses …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The Blog Defender security product suite includes 3 plugins:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Product image source: BlogDefender website)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do secure backups to your server, third-party servers and well-known cloud storage solutions using different backup methods, automate full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to new domains or server locations), search and replace text in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
This plugin provides a range of vital file and site security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan your files and content to see whether code in your files has been altered, and fix any problems it uncovers …
(Source: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been added to your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your hard work without providing any reciprocal value in return).
Blog Defender – Video Training
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes videos and training documentation that show you exactly what to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Ready To Start Using In Very Little Time
The plugins included with Blog Defender are quite easy to install. Just upload a zip file that contains the plugins to your Plugin folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow step-by-step training product that will guide you through the website security process and show you what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can install for free to get the job done.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Being Stolen – If you’re an info product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blacklisted By Your Host – When a site gets hacked, you should expect to go through a serious amount of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, website or blog can get suspended by your webhost, or even blacklisted in search engines. And if this is not enough to have to deal with, your personal contacts can 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.
Features
Blog Defender make your your WordPress website or blog invisible to hackers and bots.
The product helps you fix the following areas:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress 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
- Monitor Links
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps for securing your website, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
Feedback From Users
Here are a few of the testimonials and feedback plugin users have published about the Blog Defender product:
”This is a seriously good product!” Simon Hodgkinson, www.hodgkinsonpublishing.com
***
”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
Useful Tips
According to the product’s site, no Blog Defender-protected websites were hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
Matt Garrett, the product developer 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 an ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and technologies that developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than most 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 money-back guarantee.
Product License Pricing
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 the product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the plugin is selling for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the product developer when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Use These Plugins
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 afford to ignore the importance of securing your website or blog.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, 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.
Blog Defender helps you learn what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your website is attacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major WordPress security holes without paying for costly solutions.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender WordPress Security Suite
***
***