The scale of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is increasing on a daily basis, and it’s only going to get worse.
It’s probably safe to 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 160,000+ legitimate WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are hacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Image: 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 sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a security vulnerability presents an opportunity to hackers. No matter what type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, securing your web site is something you cannot afford to ignore. Business websites, personal blogs, government web sites … even sites owned by online security and anti-hacking experts can and have been targeted.
If a malicious user can exploit a software weakness in your web security and gain complete control of your blog, your blog can then be employed as a “bot” to attack larger and more valued websites.
The harsh reality is that brute-force software bots are probably trying to break into your web site at this very moment. Whether they can hack in or not, depends on how difficult you can make it for them to continue trying until they work out how to get in, or give up and go look for a more vulnerable target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Does your website run on WordPress? If so visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Check Image source: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the test will display various results and details about your website setup …
(WP security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this tool that if you are able to freely access all of this information about your WordPress website, so can hackers.
(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 are all useful information to hackers, as this informs them about any security vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive way to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and make your site invisible to malicious users and bots.
Blog Defender
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 BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother got hacked into. This particular blog was devoid of content and so had literally nothing to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being contacted by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred within his server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender site)
Matt’s experience demonstrates that every website has value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress installation for potential security weaknesses …
And let’s you fix these quickly and easily …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
Blog Defender comes with three plugins:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender product suite helps you schedule automated backups …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do automated site and file backups to your server, third-party servers and well-known cloud-based storage solutions using a number of backup methods, schedule full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text in your database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
Plugin #2 “WordPress Security” provides WordPress security …
(Image source: BlogDefender website)
The plugin provides a range of website security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” allows you to scan your WP website to see if any of your files have been modified, and repair any problems it uncovers …
(Source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #3 “WordPress 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 others benefit from your hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Videos
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes 7 step-by-step training modules (video) plus PDF/DOC guides that will teach you exactly how to protect your website from hackers and bots …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Learn more about the plugin here:
Plugin Benefits
Below 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 website:
Fast And Simple To Install And Implement
The Blog Defender plugins are really easy to install. Just upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your WP admin user section and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a do-it-yourself step-by-step training product that walks you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set things up, and even which WordPress plugins you can use for free to get the job done.
Additional benefits of using the plugin include the following:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Theft – If you are a digital product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Delisted By Search Engines – When a site is hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through any issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, website can get suspended by your webhost, or even blacklisted by search engines. Additionally, your personal contacts could be spammed, your subscriber list and financial details could be stolen, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender was created to keeps your site and your business safe and secure 24/7.
Blog Defender addresses the following issues:
- Hosting 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
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automating WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process to help secure your web site, addressing hosting security, using tools to quickly identify risky themes and WP plugins, and then helping you implement site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot: BlogDefender site)
User Testimonials
Below are some of the testimonials and comments customers have written about the Blog Defender product suite:
”This is a seriously good product!” Simon Hodgkinson, www.hodgkinsonpublishing.com
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“Sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently!” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Plugin Tips
According to the plugin developer, no sites protected with the solution were hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
Matt 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 an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and technologies that developers currently can harness. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’t cost you a fortune and it’s as good if not better than many premium security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
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, thirty day, complete money-back 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: Current pricing for the Blog Defender product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing at the time this content was published. This may not be the actual pricing charged by the product seller when you visit the plugin website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after you’ve purchased.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest pricing here:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer helpdesk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
What We Recommend
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, you cannot ignore the importance of website security.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting simple maintenance tasks like keeping your WP installation, WP plugins and themes up-to-date, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting a security policy such as the one Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what your security responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do to help prevent your sites being hacked, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major WordPress security holes without paying a lot of money.
To learn more, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress Web Sites
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