The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and it’s only going to get worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if your website or blog hasn’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 160,000+ WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Screenshot image: 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 cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that the information in your website or blog is of little value to hackers, but the reality is that every website is valuable to a malicious user.
If a malicious user can exploit a security weakness in your system and gain stealth control of your web site, your website can then be used as part of a larger network of “bots” to target larger and more highly-valued websites.
The truth is that software-driven bots are probably trying to hack into your web site at this very moment. Whether they can be successful will depend on how challenging you will make things for hackers and botnets to keep persisting until they work out how to break in, or are forced to give up and decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
If you visit Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – WP Security Check Product image source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the check returns various results and details about your website setup …
(website security scan results. Source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can access all of this information, so can hackers.
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
Being able to see what 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 on your server are all potentially useful information to hackers, as this informs them about potential holes or weaknesses, especially where the owners haven’t updated their files.
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 users and bots.
Blog Defender Security Suite
Product Description
The product is a package 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 got hacked into and suspended. This blog was fairly new and so had literally nothing to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being contacted by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place inside the site, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files designed to drive unsuspecting victims to the site and steal their Paypal account information.
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience provides the valuable lesson that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for potential security vulnerabilities …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly …
WP Plugins
The product suite includes three plugins:
Pro Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do secure backups to your server, external servers and well-known cloud solutions using a number of backup methods (including FTP and email backups), schedule complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do bulk text string replacements in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
The second plugin provides your WP web site with security …
(Product image: BlogDefender website)
The “WordPress Security” plugin performs a range of essential site security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Plugin #3 lets you scan your site to detect if anything in your files has been found, and repair the problem …
(Product image: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin # 3 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 others benefit from your hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Videos
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes several training videos plus PDF/DOC documentation that show you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Learn more here:
Plugin Benefits
Below are just some of the many benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Fast And Simple To Install And Configure
The Blog Defender plugins install like any plugin. Simply upload them to your Plugin folder via your WordPress administrator area and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow DIY step-by-step 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 free WordPress plugins you should use to get the job done without paying for unnecessary costs.
Some additional benefits include the following:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protect Your Info Products From Being Shared Around The Net – If you are an info product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, video training, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Deindexed By Search Engines – When a website gets hacked, expect to go through a great deal of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, website can get suspended by your webhost, or even blacklisted by search engines. Additionally, your personal contacts could be spammed, your customer list and financial details can be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender was created to keeps your site and your business safe and secure 24/7.
Blog Defender helps you fix all of the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Host Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- WP 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
- Monitor Files
- Track Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps to help protect your site, addressing hosting security, using 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. Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
User Feedback
Here are some of the testimonials and feedback users have written about the Blog Defender solution:
“You are literally walked through the process!” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
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”I sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently. Okay, it was my fault for not securing things more, BUT… I didn’t have a handy, current reference like this to turn to for quick help either.;)” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin’s site, no Blog Defender-secured websites or blogs were hacked since Blog Defender’s release in 2012.
Matt 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 never-ending game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than many 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, complete refund guarantee.
Product 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.. Price = $47.00.
Note: The cost of purchasing the Blog Defender product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. When we last checked, the plugin sells for the amounts shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the software developer when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
We Recommend
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 simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, WP plugins and themes, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to malicious by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you learn 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 hacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major WordPress security holes without investing in expensive solutions.
To learn more, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender
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