The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and the situation is only going to get worse.
It’s 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 reported that 162,000 WordPress sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Image: 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 described by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WordPress websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyberattack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a security vulnerability provides an opportunity to hackers. No site Corporate websites, personal blogs, government web sites … even sites owned by online security experts can and have been targeted.
If a malicious user can exploit a software weakness in your security that allows them to gain control of your website, that web site can then be employed as part of a larger network of “bots” to target more valuable sites.
The harsh reality is that software-driven bots are most likely looking for exploits and trying to hack into your website or blog as you are reading this article. Whether they can hack into your site successfully will depend on how challenging you will make it for hackers or botnets to keep trying until they work out how to get access, or are forced to give up and go 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 Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – WP Security Scan Screenshot image: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the scan will yield a number of results and information about your website …
(WordPress security scan results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using this scanning tool that if you are able to freely access all of this information about your blog, hackers can too.
(Source: BlogDefender site)
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 any potential security vulnerabilities, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple solution to stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and protect against other malicious threats.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite For WordPress Blogs
Product Description
The product is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus a WordPress security PDF/DOC file.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress site he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended. This particular blog had literally no value to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place within his server, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
This simple example provides the valuable lesson that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you WordPress site for potential security weaknesses …
And let’s you quickly fix these …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
The Blog Defender security product comes with 3 WordPress plugins:
Plugin #1 in the product suite provides automated backups …
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
Plugin #1 lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, external servers and leading cloud-based backup solutions using a number of backup methods, perform full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text strings in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Pro Plugin # 2 provides your website or blog with security …
(Screenshot: Blog Defender)
The plugin provides a range of file and site security functions (see “Blog Defender Features” section below).
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” scans your files and content to see whether anything unusual in your files has been modified, and repair the problem …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender.com)
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” 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 people benefit from your content without offering you anything of value in return).
Blog Defender – Step-By-Step Tutorial Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender security suite also includes step-by-step training videos and written documentation that will teach you exactly how to protect your website from malicious users …
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Plugin Benefits
Below we have listed just some of the many benefits and advantages of using Blog Defender to make your WordPress site invisible to hackers and botnets on your site:
Installation Is Easy
The plugins included in the Blog Defender product install just like any regular plugin. Just upload a zip folder that contains the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your WordPress dashboard and activate.
Very Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender is a DIY training product that will guide 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 inexpensively.
Additional benefits include the following:
- Protect your site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data mining tools and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Helps Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If your site sells an information product (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Closed By Your Web Host And Banned By Search Engines – When a site has been 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 any issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, site can be suspended by your webhost, or even deindexed in search engines. In addition, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your personal details or financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and a whole lot more.
Blog Defender Features
Blog Defender was designed to locks down your site and keeps your business safe and secure 24/7.
The product helps you fix the following security areas and vulnerabilities:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- 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
- Monitoring Files
- Link Tracking
- Blocking Known Offenders
- Automate WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender follows a logical process to help protect your website, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to identify risky WP themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Here are a couple of the testimonials and comments that plugin customers have published about the Blog Defender product suite:
“You are literally walked through the process!” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.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 the plugin developer, since Blog Defender’s first release, no websites using Blog Defender were hacked.
Matt Garrett also 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 is a perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and tools developers can access. The latest release of Blog Defender creates an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, is quite inexpensive and it’s as good if not better than most web 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, thirty 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.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: The price of the product can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Currently, the software sells for the amounts shown above. This may not be the actual price charged by the software 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 Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
We Recommend
Regardless of the kind 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 securing your sites.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, WP plugins and themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security policies like the one Blog Defender provides, will help you learn what’s going on in your site and where the security holes are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and which tools can make the task of securing your installation easier.
For more information, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender WordPress Security Suite
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