The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, 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.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that over 160,000+ WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Image: 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 WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your website or blog has no value to hackers, but the reality is that all websites have some value to a malicious user.
If a hacker can exploit a vulnerability in your security system that allows them to remotely control your website or blog, your site can then be used as a “bot” in a planned cyber-attack against other valued web sites.
The truth is that hackers are probably trying to break into your web site as you are reading these very words. Whether they will get into your site will depend on how challenging you can make it for hackers to continue persisting until they discover a way to get in, or decide to look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information About Your WordPress Site Are You Broadcasting To Hackers?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Website Security Check Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check will yield various results and information about your site setup …
(Hackertarget – WordPress security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the scanning tool that if you can access all of this information about your site, hackers can too.
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
The ability 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 on your server can be useful information to hackers, as this can inform them about exploitable security vulnerabilities, especially where site owners haven’t updated their files.
Fortunately, there is a simple way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and make your site invisible to malicious users and bots.
Blog Defender Security Plugin For WordPress
Product Description
The product is a suite of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender began looking for a way to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This particular blog had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it was still targeted by hackers.
Matt only became aware of the event after being contacted by his host and noticing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within the server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files designed to lure unsuspecting visitors to the site and hijack financial details.
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Matt’s experience shows that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress site for security weaknesses …
And then shows you how to quickly and easily fix these …
WP Plugins
Blog Defender comes with three plugins:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #1 “Automated Backups” lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, external servers and popular cloud solutions using a number of backup methods, perform complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text in your database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides WordPress security …
(Source: BlogDefender site)
Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides a range of essential file and site security functions (see “Features” section below).
Plugin #3 allows you to scan your files and content to detect if anything in your files has been modified, and fix the problem …
(Source: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” also scans content to see if any malicious content 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 offering you anything of benefit in return).
Blog Defender – Tutorials Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes seven step-by-step video training modules plus training guides that will show you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
To learn more about this plugin go here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Below we have listed just some of the many benefits of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Be Up And Running In Very Little Time
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product suite install like every other WP plugin. Just upload them to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user login and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as a step-by-step training product that will guide 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 install to get things done inexpensively.
Some additional benefits of using this plugin include the following:
- Secure your WordPress website from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Prevent Your Info Products From Being Freely Distributed – If you are a digital product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid A Tragic Situation – When a website is hacked, you can expect to go through a whole lot of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through the issues these have caused. During this time, your, sites can be closed by your host, or even deindexed by search engines. And if this isn’t painful enough, your personal contacts can end up being spammed, your subscriber list and financial details can be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender was designed to keeps your site and your business safe and secure 24/7.
The product provides fixes for the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Host Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- WP Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WordPress Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hide WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- File Monitoring
- Monitor Links
- Block Known Offenders
- Automate Core WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps to help secure your web site, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Product image: BlogDefender site)
Feedback From Users
Below are just a few of the testimonials that plugin users have published about Blog Defender:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
***
”I sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently. Okay, it was my fault for not securing things more, BUT… I didn’t have a handy, current reference like this to turn to for quick help either.;)” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin developer, since Blog Defender was first released, no sites using Blog Defender were hacked.
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.”
The war on hackers is is a never-ending game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers can currently get their hands on. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’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.
Blog Defender Plugin 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 refund guarantee.
Software Pricing
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.. Price = $47.00.
Please Note: Price details for this product depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. The above reflects the pricing at the time this review was published. This may or may not be the actual pricing set by the product author when you visit the site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price:
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 type 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 securing your websites.
WordPress is a secure platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like ensuring that your WordPress installation, WP plugins and themes are kept up-to-date, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security procedures like the one Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what’s going on in your site and where the vulnerabilities are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if the security on your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major security risks without paying a lot of money.
To learn more, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender Security Solution For WordPress
***
***