The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and this is getting worse.
You can safely assume that if your website or blog hasn’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 reported that over 162,000 WordPress-powered websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could your website be next?
(Image 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)
As described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a security vulnerability presents an opportunity to hackers. A compromised web site provides hackers with a platform for denial of service attacks, spreading malware and to engage in information theft.
If a hacker can exploit a security flaw and gain control of your web site, that blog can then be used to attack larger and more highly-valued web sites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are probably trying to break into your website at this very moment. Whether they will get in successfully will depend on how difficult or easy you will make it for hackers to continue persisting until they find how to break in, or are forced to give up and decide to look for an easier target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Scan Image source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test will display various results and details about your website setup …
(Hackertarget – WP security check results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this tool that if you can freely access all of this information, hackers can too.
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Being able 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 in your site are all useful information to hackers, as this informs them about potentially exploitable security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and make your site invisible to hackers and bots.
Blog Defender
Product Description
The product is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended by the webhost. This particular blog was quite new and so had literally nothing to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had occurred inside the site, as well as the addition of several phishing files designed to lure unsuspecting victims to the site and hijack Paypal account details.
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
This simple example demonstrates that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for potential security vulnerabilities …
And then shows you how to easily fix these …
Blog Defender – WordPress Plugins
Blog Defender includes three WordPress plugins:
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” in the Blog Defender suite provides automated backups …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud-based storage solutions using different backup methods, schedule complete or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides your WP website with security …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
This plugin provides a range of vital site protection functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Plugin #3 lets you scan your content and files to see if anything unusual in your files or source code has been modified, and fix any problems found …
(Source: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs 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 offering anything of benefit in return).
Step-By-Step Tutorial Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes step-by-step tutorial videos and PDF/DOC guides that show you exactly what you need to do to protect your site from malicious users …
(Product image: BlogDefender site)
Go here to learn more:
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 site:
Quick And Easy To Install And Implement
The Blog Defender plugins are very easy to install. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your dashboard and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a 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 use to get things done inexpensively.
Additional benefits include:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Avoid Intellectual Property Theft – If you sell information products (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a website has been hacked, expect to go through a great deal of frustration and aggravation. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, web presence could get suspended by your host, or even blacklisted in search engines. Additionally, 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.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender provides many great features to website owners.
Blog Defender helps you fix the following areas:
- Webhost Security Advisory
- 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
- File Monitoring
- Track Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical process to help protect your your WordPress installation, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky themes and WordPress plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
User Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials plugin users have published about Blog Defender:
”I’ve had to go through the inconvenience of a hacked blog before and let me tell you it’s not nice. With online security becoming an increasing problem, especially with WordPress, this is a great way to secure your blog. I’ll be following Matt’s training and securing all my blogs…Great job.” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.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
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, since Blog Defender’s first release, no Blog Defender-protected sites have been hacked.
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.”
Cybersecurity is an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and technologies that developers can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, won’t cost you 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 risk-free, 30 day, 100% refund guarantee.
Plugin Price
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: Pricing details of the product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing shown above was current when this content was published. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the software author 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 the latest pricing here:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
What We Recommend
No matter what type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot afford to ignore the importance of securing your sites.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like keeping your WordPress core files, plugins and WP themes updated to their latest versions, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your security 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 WordPress security holes without paying a lot of money.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Plugin
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