The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, 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 inevitable that at some point in time someone will attempt to hack into your site.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that 160,000+ WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Screenshot 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 security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every web site with a vulnerability can be an opportunity to hackers. A compromised blog offers hackers with a valuable resource for launching denial of service attacks, spreading malware and engaging in information theft.
If hackers can discover a web security flaw that allows them to control your website, that web site can then be employed as part of a larger network of “bots” to target other highly-valued websites.
The harsh reality is that brute-force software bots are trying to break into your site as you are reading this page. Whether they will hack into your site or not, will depend on how hard you will make it for them to continue trying until they work out a way to get access, or decide to look for a less protected target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(WP Security Check Source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test returns various results and information about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – website security scan results. Source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to freely access all of this information, so can hackers.
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
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 on your server are all potentially useful information to hackers, as this can inform them about any potential security vulnerabilities, especially where the owners haven’t updated their files.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution that will stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to hackers and botnets.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product 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 the BlogDefender security suit began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by the hosting company. This site had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it still was targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being suspended by his host and seeing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within the server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience should be enough to illustrate the fact that all websites have value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress site for potential security weaknesses …
And let’s you easily fix these …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The product suite comes with three WordPress plugins:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
This plugin lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud storage solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), perform complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
The “WordPress Security” plugin performs a range of essential website security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Plugin #3 scans your files and content to see whether anything in your files has been found, and fix any problems it uncovers …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
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 others benefit from your hard work without offering you anything in return).
Blog Defender – Video Training
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender WordPress security suite also includes seven video training modules and PDF/DOC documentation that teach you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
More info:
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 site:
Fast Installation
The Blog Defender plugins install like any WP plugin. Simply upload a zip file that contains the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a DIY step-by-step training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free WordPress plugins you should use to get things done inexpensively.
Some additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If you are a digital product author (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Search Engines – When a site is hacked, you can expect to go through a great deal of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. As a result, your, sites can be suspended by your webhost, or even blocked by search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal 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.
The product addresses the following areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- WP 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
- File Monitoring
- Link Tracking
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps to help secure your website, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot: BlogDefender.com)
Testimonials
Below are a few of the testimonials that users have provided for Blog Defender:
“You are literally walked through the process!” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
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”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
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett’s site, since Blog Defender was first released back in 2012, no Blog Defender-secured sites were hacked.
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 is a never-ending game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools that developers can currently harness. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, won’t cost 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, complete refund guarantee.
Software Pricing
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.. Price = $47.00.
Please Note: Price details for this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the plugin retails for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the product author when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for the current price:
Additional Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Our Recommendation
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 web security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WP software, WP plugins and WordPress themes are kept up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if the security on your website is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the process of securing your installation easier.
To learn more, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
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