The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and it’s getting worse.
You can safely 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 web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could yours 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 security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your website or blog has no value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, all websites provide an opportunity to benefit or profit at your expense.
If a malicious user can find a way to break in and gain remote control of your blog, your site can then be used as a “bot” in a planned cyber-attack against more valued websites.
The truth is that software-driven bots are scouring for exploits and trying to break into your web site while you are reading these very words. Whether they can break into your site successfully or not, depends on how difficult you have made it for hackers to continue trying until they can find a way to get in, or decide to look for a less protected 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 …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Scan Screenshot: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test will return a number of results and details about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – website security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can see all of this information about your website, so can hackers.
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
Being able 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 this informs them about any potential vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to malicious attackers and botnets.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress Sites
Product Description
Blog Defender is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular blog was devoid of content and had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being suspended by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside his site, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files by whoever had broken into his mother’s site.
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience should be enough to illustrate the fact that every website has value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security holes in your web site are …
And let’s you easily fix these …
Plugins
The Blog Defender security suite comes with three plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Source: BlogDefender website)
This plugin lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud-based storage solutions using different backup methods (e.g. FTP), automate full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do mass text string replacements in databases, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides WordPress security …
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
The plugin provides a range of essential file and site protection functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” scans WordPress sites to detect if code in your files has been found, and repair any problems found …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
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 people benefit from your work without offering any benefit in return).
Blog Defender – Training Videos
In addition to the plugins, Blog Defender also includes video training guides plus PDF/DOC documentation that will teach you exactly how to protect your website from malicious users …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
More info:
Benefits
Below we have listed 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:
Be Up And Running In No Time
The plugins included with Blog Defender are really easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your WP administrator area and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a DIY training product that takes you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free WordPress plugins to install to get the job done.
Additional plugin benefits include:
- Protect your WordPress website from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Being Stolen – If your site sells info products (e.g. downloadable e-books, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a site gets hacked, you can expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. During this time, your, web presence could be closed by your host, or even blocked in search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal or financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender provides a number of features to site owners.
Blog Defender helps you fix all of the following issues:
- Host Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- 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 Blocking
- Monitoring Files
- Link Tracking
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process to help secure your site, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky themes and WP plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Source: Blog Defender)
Feedback From Plugin Users
Below are just a few of the testimonials and comments plugin customers have written about the Blog Defender security products:
“You are literally walked through the process!” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to the plugin’s website, since Blog Defender’s first release, no sites using Blog Defender have been hacked.
The product developer also states on his site …
“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 perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, won’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 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% refund guarantee.
Plugin Cost
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.
Note: Pricing details of Blog Defender can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Currently, the software sells for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product seller when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing here:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Buy This Product
Regardless of the type 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 website security.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like making sure that your WordPress installation, plugins and WP themes are kept updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to malicious by hackers and bots.
Adopting security procedures such as the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what’s going on in your site and where the security holes are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your websites are attacked, 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
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