The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and things are only going to get worse.
You can safely assume that if you haven’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 over 162,000 legitimate WordPress-powered web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Image 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 described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your site has no value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, every website provides an opportunity to gain some benefit at your expense.
If a hacker can exploit a vulnerability in the setup, your site can then be employed to target larger and more valuable web sites.
The reality is that software-driven bots are trying to hack into your website at this very moment. Whether they can hack in successfully depends on how challenging you have made it for hackers or bots to continue trying until they work out how to get in, or give up and go look for a less secure target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
If you visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Scan Image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the scan will return a number of results and details about your site …
(website security scan results. Screenshot source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this tool that if you are able to see all of this information about your site, then so can hackers.
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
The ability 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 in your site are all useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about potentially exploitable security vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their software versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution that can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender began developing BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven site he set up for his mother had been hacked into. This particular site had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside his server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
This simple example shows that that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for potential security holes …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
The product suite includes three plugins for WordPress:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
This plugin lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, third-party servers and leading cloud-based solutions using a number of backup methods (e.g. Email), schedule complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating websites to new domains or server locations), do bulk text string replacements in databases, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
The second plugin provides your site with security …
(Source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 performs a range of file and site protection functions (see “Features” section below).
The third plugin scans your files and content to see if any code in your files has been modified, and fix any problems it detects …
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
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 work without offering you anything of value in return).
Tutorials Videos
In addition to the plugins, Blog Defender also includes 7 video training modules plus printable guides that show you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from malicious users …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
To learn more about the plugin go here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Below are just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your website:
Be Up And Running In No Time
The plugins included with Blog Defender are quite easy to install. Just upload a zip folder containing the plugins to your Plugins folder via your admin user section and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow DIY 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 free plugins you should use to get things done.
Some additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Secure Your Info Products – If you are a digital product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Search Engines – When a site has been hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. As a result, your, website or blog can be closed by your webhost, or even blocked in 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.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender was created to locks down your site and keeps your business safe and secure 24/7.
The product addresses the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Webhost 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
- File Monitoring
- Monitoring Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help protect your website, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Product image: Blog Defender)
Feedback From Users
Below are some of the testimonials and feedback that users have written about the Blog Defender product:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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”In the past month alone, I’ve had 3 niche blogs hacked, costing me hundreds of dollars in lost sales – all of which could have been avoided if I followed the steps in this training. I can tell you, there’s nothing worse than spending months building up a blog, adding posts every few days, and then finding it all gone in an instant. The great thing about these ‘over the shoulder’ videos is that you get to see exactly how to do everything, so it doesn’t matter if you’re technically challenged. Just copy what you see on the screen, and then relax knowing your blogs are safe. (Just one of the tips in the first video alone could probably have prevented my blogs getting hacked) I even noticed one or two tips in there that help with SEO too … so following these videos could even bring your blogs more traffic!” Richard Legg – www.richard-legg.com
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, no websites using Blog Defender were hacked since Blog Defender was first released back in 2012.
Matt Garrett, 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 an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers presently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, won’t cost a fortune and it’s as good if not better than most 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, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
Plugin Price
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.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: Pricing for the Blog Defender plugin can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. Presently, the product is being retailed for the pricing shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the product developer when you visit the plugin site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after your purchase.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Plugin Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Install These 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 web sites is something you simply cannot ignore.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WordPress installation, plugins and themes are kept up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to malicious by hackers and bots.
Adopting security policies like the one Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what your security responsibilities are as the site owner, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your sites are attacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major security risks without costly solutions.
For more information, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender
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