The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and the situation is only going to get worse.
It’s safe to assume that if you haven’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 web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Source: BlogDefender website)
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 attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every web site with a security vulnerability can can provide an opportunity to hackers. All websites have some value to hackers. Large, medium and small sites, personal blogs, government web sites … even web sites owned by online security and anti-hacking experts can and have been targeted.
If someone can find a way to control your web site, the website or blog can then be used to target larger and more valuable web sites.
The reality is that software-driven bots are most likely trying to hack into your blog at this very moment. Whether they can successfully break in will depend on how challenging you have made things for hackers and bots to continue persisting until they work out how to get access, or are forced to decide to look for a less protected target.
How Much Information About Your Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
If you visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(WP Security Scan Screenshot source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan will display various results and information about your WordPress installation …
(Hackertarget – WP security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the scanning tool that if you are able to see all of this information, then hackers can too.
(Source: Blog Defender)
Being able to see which 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 in your site are all valuable information to hackers, as these can inform them about any potential vulnerabilities, especially where the owners haven’t updated their files.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and protect against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Solution For WordPress
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the developer of the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by its webhost. This blog had literally nothing to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside the site, as well as the addition of several malicious files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Product image: BlogDefender.com)
Matt’s experience illustrates the fact that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your WordPress installation are …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Blog Defender – WordPress Plugins
Blog Defender includes three plugins for WordPress:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Plugin #1 lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud storage solutions using different backup methods (including FTP and email backups), schedule full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Plugin #2 “WordPress Security” provides WordPress security …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
This plugin provides a range of essential site protection functions (see “Features” section below).
Pro Plugin # 3 allows you to scan your plugins, themes, WordPress core files and content to detect whether anything has been found, and fix any problems detected …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious scripts have been inserted into your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your content without providing anything of benefit in return).
Blog Defender – Step-By-Step Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender security product suite also includes seven video training modules and downloadable documentation that teach you exactly what to do to protect your site from hackers …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
For more details go here:
Plugin Benefits
Here we have listed just a few of the benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Quick And Simple To Install And Set Up
The plugins included with Blog Defender install just like any WP plugin. Just upload a zip folder that contains the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your dashboard and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow do-it-yourself step-by-step training product that guides you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set things up, and even which free plugins to install to get the job done without paying for additional or unnecessary expenses.
Additional benefits of the plugin include the following:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Avoid Intellectual Property Theft – If you sell digital products (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a website gets hacked, expect to go through a serious amount of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. During this time, your, sites could get closed by your host, or even deindexed by search engines. In addition, your contacts could be spammed, your customer list and financial details can be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender was designed to keeps your site and your business safe and secure 24/7.
Blog Defender addresses the following areas:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- 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
- File Monitoring
- Monitor Links
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical process to help protect your your WordPress installation, 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. Product image source: BlogDefender website)
Feedback From Plugin Customers
Here are a couple of the testimonials that plugin users have submitted regarding 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
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”I discovered some incredible security tricks!” David Walker – www.inboxrockstar.com
Useful Tips
According to the plugin developer, no websites secured by the solution have been hacked since Blog Defender was first released in 2012.
Matt 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 constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than many web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
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, full money-back guarantee.
Product Cost
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.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: Pricing details of the Blog Defender software can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. When we last checked, the plugin sells for the pricing shown above. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin seller when you visit the website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Use These Plugins
No matter what 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 making sure that your WP software, WordPress plugins and WP themes are kept updated to their latest versions, 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 your sites are hacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major security risks without investing in expensive solutions.
For full details, visit the plugin website here: Blog Defender
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