The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is rising, and it’s getting worse.
It’s probably safe to assume that if you haven’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 160,000+ legitimate WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(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)
As reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a security vulnerability provides some degree of opportunity to hackers. A vulnerable blog presents malicious users with a valuable resource for launching stealth attacks, spreading malware and engaging in information theft.
If a malicious user can exploit a security vulnerability, the web site can then be used as a “bot” in a planned cyber attack against larger and more highly-valued websites.
The harsh reality is that software-driven bots are very likely looking for vulnerabilities and trying to break into your web site as you are reading this. Whether they will do this successfully or not, will depend on how difficult you will make things for hackers or botnets to keep persisting until they discover a way to get access, or decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – WP Security Scan Image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan will yield a number of results and details about your website …
(Hackertarget – website security check results. Source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this scanning tool that if you are able to access all of this information about your site, hackers can too.
(Screenshot image: 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 are all valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about any vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and protect against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of the BlogDefender security suit began developing BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother got hacked into. This particular blog was quite new and had practically no value to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within his server, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to drive visitors to the site and hijack their Paypal account information.
(Source: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience illustrates the fact that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where potential security holes in your web site are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The Blog Defender security product includes 3 WordPress plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender site)
Plugin #1 lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, third-party servers and well-known cloud-based solutions using different backup methods (e.g. FTP), perform full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to new domains or server locations), do mass text replacements in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Plugin #2 “WordPress Security” provides your web site with security …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 performs a range of vital website protection functions (see “Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan WordPress sites to detect if code in your files has been modified, and repair the problem …
(Product image: BlogDefender website)
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 work without providing you anything in return).
Step-By-Step Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes a number of video training guides plus written guides that will teach you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from hackers …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
More info:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
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 web site:
Very Easy To Install
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product suite are very easy to install. Simply upload them to your Plugin folder via your admin area and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a step-by-step 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 plugins you can use for free to get the job done without paying additional expenses.
Some additional benefits include:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Shared Around The Net – If you sell an information product (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Suspended By Your Web Host And Deindexed By Search Engines – When a site has been 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, sites could be closed by your webhost, or even blacklisted by search engines. In addition, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender provides many features to website owners.
Blog Defender addresses the following areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress 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 Monitoring
- Block Known Offenders
- Automate Core WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical process for securing your your WordPress installation, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials plugin customers have published about 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
***
”My business is built around the WordPress platform and I’m embarrassed to admin I’ve been slack in the security department. However, Matt’s training soon put that right! I followed each detailed video to the letter and discovered some incredible security tricks and plugins I’d never heard of before. Better still, all the plugins were free to download too! The end result? My WordPress membership site is now locked down tighter than Parkhurst at midnight and if anybody tries hacking it, I’ll be the first to know! thanks again Matt, I’m off to secure the rest of the blogs in my portfolio!” David Walker – www.inboxrockstar.com
Useful Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, no websites using Blog Defender have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
Matt Garrett 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 an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and technologies that developers currently can access. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier 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.
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, 100% money-back guarantee.
Plugin 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 to purchase Blog Defender 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 not be the actual pricing charged by the product author when you visit the plugin website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Download This Product
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your website or blog is something you simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like keeping your WP software, WordPress plugins and WordPress themes up-to-date, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can expose your site to malicious by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your security responsibilities are as the site owner, 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 how to avoid major security risks without paying for costly solutions.
For full details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender WordPress Security Suite
***
***