The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is massive, and things are getting worse.
You can safely assume that if your website or blog hasn’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com began reporting that over 160,000+ WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are hacked every year! Could yours be next?
(Image source: 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)
According to leading security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a well-known flaw to attack unsuspecting WP web sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service cyber attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your site offers little to no value to hackers, but the reality is that all websites have some value to a malicious user.
If a malicious user can find a software flaw in your security, the site can then be used to target larger and more valuable websites.
The truth is that hackers are searching for vulnerabilities and trying to break into your website or blog while you are reading this article right now. Whether they will successfully break in depends on how hard or easy you will make it for hackers to continue persisting until they find how to get access, or are forced to give up and go look for a less protected target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your Site?
If you visit Hackertarget.com and run your website through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Scan Product image source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test returns various results and details about your WordPress installation …
(Hackertarget – website security scan results. Screenshot image: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to see all of this information, hackers can too.
(Source: BlogDefender.com)
The ability 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 can all be valuable information to hackers, as this informs them about exploitable security weaknesses, especially in older versions.
Fortunately, there is a simple and inexpensive solution that will stop broadcasting all of this information about your web site and help to protect it against malicious attacks.
Blog Defender Security Product Suite
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the creator of BlogDefender developed BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended. This particular blog had practically nothing of value to offer, yet it was still attacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being contacted by his host and observing that a significant amount of unusual activity had taken place inside his site, as well as the addition of a number of phishing files by whoever had broken into his mother’s site.
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
Matt’s experience shows that that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender scans you web site for potential security holes …
And then shows you how to quickly fix these …
WordPress Plugins
The product suite comes with three plugins:
Pro Plugin # 1 in the Blog Defender product suite provides automated backups …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
The “Automated Backups” plugin lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, third-party servers and cloud-based solutions using different backup methods (e.g. FTP), automate full or partial backups, exclude files or tables from backups, restore backups, replace URLs (useful when migrating sites to new domains or server locations), do bulk text replacements in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 provides WordPress security …
(Source: BlogDefender website)
The “WordPress Security” plugin performs a range of vital site and file security functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Plugin #3 scans your WP plugins, WordPress themes, core files and content to see whether anything in your files has been tampered with, and fix problems …
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender website)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious content have been inserted into your site, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where people benefit from your hard work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Video Tutorials
In addition to plugins, the Blog Defender suite of products also includes seven step-by-step video training modules plus training documentation that will teach you exactly what you need to do to protect your site from malicious users …
(Screenshot image: BlogDefender website)
For more details go here:
Benefits
Here 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 site:
Really Easy To Install
The plugins included with Blog Defender install just like any regular WP plugin. Simply upload the plugin files to your Plugins folder via your WordPress admin user login and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow
Blog Defender can be used as a DIY step-by-step training product that will walk you through the website security process and show you exactly what to do, including how to set everything up, and even which WordPress plugins you can use for free to get things done.
Additional benefits of using the plugin include the following:
- Secure your site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users attempting to ruin your business for their own personal and financial gain.
- Helps Prevent Intellectual Property Theft – If you’re an information product creator (e.g. downloadable ebooks, video tutorials, etc.), your product can end up as freeware on free download sites.
- Avoid Getting Banned By Search Engines – When a website is hacked, you should 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. Your, blog can get closed by your webhost, or even deindexed in search engines. In addition, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business details or financial information, you could end up being fined or even charged with fraud, and much more.
Features
Blog Defender was created to locks down your site and keeps your business safe and secure 24/7.
Blog Defender helps you fix the following issues:
- Hosting Security Advisory
- Plugin Security Audits
- 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 Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Link Tracking
- Block Known Offenders
- Automate Core WordPress Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighter Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical process to help secure your your WordPress installation, addressing hosting security, using scanning and detection tools to identify risky WordPress themes and plugins, and then helping you implement website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender WordPress security process. Screenshot: Blog Defender)
Testimonials From Plugin Users
Below are a few of the testimonials that plugin users have published about the Blog Defender security products:
”Great way to secure your blog!” JohnThornhill – www.johnthornhill.com
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”Just one tip could have prevented my blogs getting hacked!” Richard Legg – www.richard-legg.com
Plugin Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, no websites using Blog Defender have been hacked since Blog Defender’s first release in 2012.
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 is a perpetual game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the knowledge and technologies that developers presently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, doesn’t cost a fortune and it’s as good if not better than most premium 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 no-risk, thirty day, full money-back guarantee.
Plugin Cost
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 for Blog Defender can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time specials being offered. Presently, the product is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual pricing charged by the software seller when you visit the product website and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for the current pricing here:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
Install The Plugins
No matter what kind of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, website security is something you simply cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, plugins and themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting security procedures such as the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your security responsibilities are as the website owner, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your websites are hacked or compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major security risks without paying for costly solutions.
For more details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender Security Suite For WordPress Websites
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