The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and things are 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.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that over 162,000 WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(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)
As reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every blog with a vulnerability has some degree of value to hackers. No website or blog Large, medium and small business websites, personal blogs, government websites … even web sites owned by online security and anti-hacking experts can and have been targeted.
If a malicious user can discover a security vulnerability that lets them gain remote access of your blog, the website can then be used to target larger and more highly-valued websites.
The harsh reality is that brute-force software bots are probably trying to break into your website or blog right now. Whether they will achieve this or not, will depend on how challenging you can make it for them to keep persisting until they either can discover a way to get access, or give up and decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Check Screenshot: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test returns various results and details about your site …
(WP security scan results. Screenshot source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this scanning tool that if you can access all of this information about your blog, then so can hackers.
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
The ability 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 are all useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about any potential security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to hackers and bots.
Blog Defender
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 the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by the webhost. This particular blog had literally no value to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being contacted by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside his site, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
This simple example illustrates the fact that all websites have value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress installation for potential security holes …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
The Blog Defender security suite includes three plugins:
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Image source: BlogDefender website)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do secure site, file and data backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud-based backup solutions using a number of backup methods (including FTP and email backups), automate full or partial backups, exclude files or tables 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.
The second plugin provides WordPress security …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
The plugin provides a range of essential website protection functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan your plugins, themes, WordPress core files and content to detect if any of your files have been altered, and repair the problem …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious scripts have been added to your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes several video training guides and PDF/DOC documentation that will teach you exactly how to protect your site from malicious users …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
Go here to learn more about this plugin:
Benefits
Here are just a few of the benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Fast And Simple To Install And Use
The plugins install like any plugin. Just upload them to your Plugin folder via your administrator login and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow do-it-yourself training product that will walk 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 plugin benefits include:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Being Stolen – If you are a digital product author (e.g. downloadable ebooks, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a site is hacked, you can expect to go through a whole lot of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. During this time, your, blog could get suspended by your host, or even blacklisted by search engines. And if this isn’t enough to have to deal with, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business and financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender offers a number of features to web site owners.
The product covers the following security areas:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- WP Plugin Security Audits
- Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WP Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam Blocking
- Monitoring Files
- Link Tracking
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process for securing your web site, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Feedback From Users
Below are just some testimonials and comments that customers have provided for Blog Defender:
”This is probably one of those times you ask yourself ‘do I really need this product?’ Let’s face it, on the surface it’s not going to immediately put more money in your pocket or even add some cool new gizmo to your site… The truth is yes you do and you need it now. I’ve been in the online business for 10+ years and had my fair share of hacked sites which have cost me time and money (lots of it)…I’ve also seen a good number of people have their reputations and entire businesses left in tatters when their sites have been hacked. Right now is the time to act, because when it’s too late, well basically you’ll be screwed (and you’ll regret the day you passed over such a great opportunity to protect yourself for so little). And by the way, if you think your web host will come to your rescue think again, you’ll be on your own, paying to put things right and suffering the cost of lost sales and business. This is a seriously good product and if you rely on WordPress to make you money online then it’s nothing less than essential. Buy it, follow Matt’s expert advice and don’t end up another victim!” Simon Hodgkinson, www.hodgkinsonpublishing.com
***
”I discovered some incredible security tricks!” David Walker – www.inboxrockstar.com
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin developer, Matt Garrett, no sites using Blog Defender were hacked since Blog Defender’s release in 2012.
Matt Garrett 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 escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and technologies that developers currently can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, is quite inexpensive 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, complete money-back guarantee.
Software 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.
Please Note: Pricing for Blog Defender depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the price at the time this review was written. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the plugin developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing information here:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Install The Plugins
Regardless of the kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your sites is something you simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, plugins and themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting a security policy like the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what your security 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 WordPress website easier.
For full details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
***
***