The scale of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and this is getting worse.
It’s probably safe to 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 web sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Will yours be one of them?
(Source: BlogDefender site)
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.
You may think that your site offers no value to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, all websites are an opportunity to benefit at your expense.
If a malicious user can exploit a security flaw in your system and control your blog, your web site can then be employed as a “bot” to attack larger and more valuable websites.
The harsh reality is that malicious bots are probably scouring for weaknesses and trying to hack into your website or blog while you are reading this at this very moment. Whether they can do this successfully or not, will depend on how difficult you can make it for hackers and botnets to continue trying until they can find how to break in, or give up and go look for a less protected target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
If you visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(WordPress Security Check Screenshot: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test returns various results and information about your website setup …
(WP security scan results. Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you can see all of this information, then so can hackers.
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
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 can be valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about any exploitable security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution that can stop broadcasting all of this information about your site and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender WordPress Security Plugin
Product Description
The product is a package 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 blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This particular site had practically no value to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being contacted by his host and seeing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within his site, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to lure unsuspecting visitors to the site and hijack financial information.
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
This simple example shows that all websites are valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for potential security holes …
And then shows you how to quickly and easily fix these …
Plugins
Blog Defender includes three plugins for WordPress:
The first plugin in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Image source: BlogDefender website)
Plugin #1 lets you do automated site, file and data backups to your server, third-party servers and popular cloud-based solutions using different backup methods, automate complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to different domains or server locations), do bulk text replacements in databases, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides WordPress security …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
This plugin provides a range of site and file security functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Plugin #3 lets you scan your content and files to see whether code in your files has been changed, and repair problems …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been inserted into your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your work without providing anything of value in return).
Step-By-Step Training Videos
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes 7 step-by-step training modules (video) and written documentation that will teach you exactly how to protect your site from hackers and bots …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your web site:
Be Up And Running In Minutes
The plugins are very easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a practical DIY training product that will walk you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which free WordPress plugins to use to get the job done inexpensively.
Additional plugin benefits include the following:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protect Your Info Products From Being Shared Around The Net – If you are an information product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a website gets hacked, expect to go through a serious amount of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, account can get closed by your host, or even blocked in search engines. In addition, 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 provides a number of features to WP users.
The product helps you fix the following issues:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- MySQL Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- Monitor Files
- Track Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process to help protect your site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
User Testimonials
Below are a couple of the testimonials plugin customers have written about the Blog Defender plugin:
”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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”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 the plugin’s website, no sites using Blog Defender have been hacked since Blog Defender’s release in 2012.
The product developer 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.”
Cybersecurity is is a perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers presently 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.
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 risk-free, 30 day, full 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.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: The cost to purchase the Blog Defender product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the product is selling for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product seller when you visit the product website 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, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Use These Plugins
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you simply cannot ignore the importance of website security.
WordPress is a very secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, plugins and themes, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security policies like the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what your security responsibilities are as the website owner, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your websites are hacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your WordPress website easier.
For more details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
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