The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs worldwide is massive, and the situation is only going to get worse.
It’s probably safe to 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 began reporting that 160,000+ WordPress sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Could yours 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 sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a security vulnerability can be seen as a potential opportunity to hackers. A vulnerable web site provides hackers with a valuable resource for launching distributed attacks, spreading malware and as a source of information theft.
If someone can discover a flaw in your security setup, your website or blog can then be used as a “bot” to attack more valuable websites.
The reality is that brute-force software bots are most likely trying to hack into your website or blog as you are reading this article at this very moment. Whether they can do this successfully depends on how difficult you have made it for hackers to continue trying until they discover a way to get access, or are forced to 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 Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security check …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Check Product image: Hackertarget.com)
You will see that the check returns various results and details about your website setup …
(website security scan results. Product image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you are able to access all of this information, hackers can too.
(Image source: Blog Defender)
Being able to see what version of WordPress you are using, which plugins and themes you have installed, and which files have been uploaded to certain directories in your site can all be useful information to hackers, as these can inform them about exploitable security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple way you can stop broadcasting all of this information about your website and make your site invisible to malicious attackers and botnets.
Blog Defender
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 the BlogDefender security suit developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother had been hacked into and suspended by its webhost. This particular site was quite new and had practically nothing to offer, yet it still was attacked.
Matt only became aware of what had happened after being contacted by his host and noticing that a significant amount of unusual activity had occurred inside his site, as well as the addition of several phishing files by whoever had broken into the site.
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
This example shows that every website has some value to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you website for potential security vulnerabilities …
And let’s you fix these quickly, easily and inexpensively …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The product suite includes 3 WordPress plugins:
Plugin #1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
The plugin lets you do secure backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud 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 (useful when migrating websites to different domains or server locations), search and replace text in your database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 “WP Security” provides your website or blog with security …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 “WordPress Security” provides a range of vital file and site protection functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Pro Plugin #3 “WordPress Scan & Repair” lets you scan WordPress sites to see if anything unusual in your source code or files has been altered, and fix problems …
(Screenshot: BlogDefender site)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been added to your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your content without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender security product suite also includes step-by-step training videos plus PDF/DOC guides that will show you exactly what you need to do to protect your website from malicious users …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
For more details, visit the plugin site here:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Below we have listed 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:
Quick And Easy To Install And Set Up
The Blog Defender plugins install like any other WP plugin. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugin folder via your administrator area and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is a do-it-yourself step-by-step training product that takes you through the website security process and shows you what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can install for free to get the job done without incurring extra costs.
Additional benefits and advantages include the following:
- Secure your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, bad bots, data miners and malicious users attempting to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Being Stolen – If you sell information products (e.g. downloadable e-books, video training, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up as freeware on download sharing sites.
- Avoid Getting Blocked By Your Web Host And Deindexed By Search Engines – When a website has been hacked, expect to go through a whole lot of frustration and heartache. It can take days to uncover problems and sort through the issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, websites can get suspended by your host, or even blocked in search engines. In addition, your personal contacts can be spammed, your subscriber list and financial details could be stolen, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender provides many features to website owners.
The product provides fixes for all of the following security areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- WordPress Plugin Security Audits
- WordPress Theme Security Audits
- Anti Brute Force Security
- Anti Cross-Site Scripting
- WordPress Database Security
- Nefarious Traffic Blocking
- Hiding WordPress ‘Tell Tale’ Signs
- Anti-Comment Spam
- File Monitoring
- Monitor Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating Core 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 web site, addressing potential hosting security issues, using scanning and detection tools to quickly identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then implementing site-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender website security process. Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
Testimonials From Customers
Here are some of the testimonials plugin users have provided for the Blog Defender security suite:
”This is a seriously good product!” Simon Hodgkinson, www.hodgkinsonpublishing.com
***
“Sure wish I’d had this before I lost over a dozen blogs just recently!” Kathe Lucas – www.wackycentral.com
Useful Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, no Blog Defender-secured websites were hacked since Blog Defender’s release in 2012.
Matt Garrett, the product developer 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 an escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools developers can currently get their hands on. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’t cost a fortune and it’s as good if not better than many web security products or services currently being offered at a higher price.
Blog Defender 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, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
Plugin Price
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.. Cost = $47.00.
Note: The price of Blog Defender depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The above reflects the current pricing when this content was written. This may or may not be the actual price set by the product developer when you visit the product website and you may be shown additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the latest price here:
Additional Info
For help documentation and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Our Recommendation
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, web security is something you cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting essential maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, plugins and WordPress themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can expose your website to attacks by hackers and bots.
Blog Defender helps you understand what your 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 which tools can make the process of securing your WordPress website easier.
For full details, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender Security Suite For WordPress
***
***