The scale of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and it’s 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 reported that over 162,000 legitimate WordPress websites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites and blogs are attacked every year! Could your website 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 reported by security firm Sucuri, hackers had leveraged a flaw to attack unsuspecting WP websites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
Every website with a vulnerability provides some degree of opportunity to hackers. An unsecured site not only provides hackers opportunities to improve their hacking skills and win “respect” among their peers, but it can also be a valuable resource for DDoS attacks, distributing malware and engaging in information theft.
If hackers can find a way to break in and take over your blog, that website or blog can then be used as part of a larger network of “bots” to target other valued websites.
The truth is that hackers are probably trying to break into your web site while you are reading this article at this very moment. Whether they will get into your site successfully depends on how difficult you can make it for hackers and bots to keep trying until they can work out how to get in, or decide to look for a less protected target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit a site like Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – WordPress Security Scan Source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test will display a number of results and information about your WordPress site …
(Hackertarget – WordPress security check results. Product image source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the above tool that if you can see all of this information, so can hackers.
(Screenshot source: BlogDefender.com)
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 can be valuable information to hackers, as these can inform them about any vulnerabilities, especially where the 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 botnets.
Blog Defender Security Plugin For WordPress Websites
Product Description
Blog Defender is a package of WordPress security video tutorials, WordPress plugins and tools, plus WordPress security documentation in PDF and DOC formats.
Matt Garrett, the developer of BlogDefender began to develop BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress blog he set up for his mother got hacked into and suspended. This blog was almost brand new and had practically nothing to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of this after being suspended by his host and observing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place inside his server, as well as the addition of a number of malicious files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Screenshot: BlogDefender website)
This example should be enough to illustrate the fact that all websites have value to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security holes in your web site are …
And then shows you how to quickly and easily fix these …
Blog Defender – WP Plugins
Blog Defender comes with three plugins:
The first plugin 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 well-known cloud-based backup solutions using different backup methods, automate complete or partial backups, exclude tables or files from your backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), search and replace text in your WordPress database, perform auto database scans and repairs, and more.
Plugin #2 “WordPress Security” provides WordPress security …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
This plugin performs a range of site and file security functions (see “Product Features” section below).
Plugin #3 lets you scan your files and content to see if any code in your files has been altered, and fix any problems found …
(Image source: BlogDefender website)
Plugin #3 “WP Scan & Repair” 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 others benefit from your work without reciprocating the favor).
Videos
In addition to plugins, Blog Defender also includes a number of training videos plus printable guides that will teach you exactly how to protect your site from malicious users …
(Screenshot image: Blog Defender)
Learn more about this plugin here:
Plugin Benefits
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 web site:
Quick And Simple To Install And Configure
The plugins included with Blog Defender are really easy to install. Just upload a zip file that contains the plugins to your Plugins folder via your admin user area and activate.
Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender can be used as an easy-to-follow do-it-yourself 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 install for free to get things done inexpensively.
Additional benefits of using this plugin include the following:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data mining tools and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for personal and financial gain at your expense.
- Protects Intellectual Property From Theft – If you are an info product author (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your product can end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid Getting Suspended By Your Web Host And Deindexed By Search Engines – When a site gets 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. During this time, your, website could get suspended by your host, or even blocked in search engines. Additionally, hackers can spam your contact list and steal your business and financial information, you could be fined or even charged with fraud, and more.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender provides many features to WP users.
The product addresses the following areas:
- Host Security Advisory
- 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 Blocking
- File Monitoring
- Monitoring Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automate Core Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tightening Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender uses a logical sequence of steps to help protect your site, addressing hosting security, using tools to identify risky themes and WP plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Image source: Blog Defender)
Testimonials
Here are just some testimonials and comments users have provided for the Blog Defender product suite:
”Don’t make the mistake of thinking you’re too small or not important enough to be hacked! I’ve found out that I’ve had bots in the backend of my sites, making alterations and changing things around, so there’s no telling what damage they’ve caused. I’ve had my main blog for over 3 years now, and the thought of losing all the hard work I’ve put into it is just devastating, not to mention costly! I have a shared hosting plan, so of course once they can get into one site, they can also access the others. Luckily, I now have the procedures detailed within Blog Defender in place so that I can prevent the majority of this ever happening again. Once you’ve secured one site it gets a lot quicker to secure all subsequent sites. With Blog Defender, you get easy-to-follow videos, along with a detailed checklist that you can downloadf. You are literally walked through the process of securing your blog against hackers, which has given me real peace of mind. This is a growing issue that all website owners are facing; so it isn’t going to go away. Prevention is better than cure, particularly as some of the nastier hacks around can literally ruin your business. So do yourself a favour – get your sites protected now, before it’s too late.” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
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”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, Matt Garrett, no websites or blogs using Blog Defender were hacked since Blog Defender was first released.
The product developer 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 constant game of cat and mouse and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers currently have access to. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t need constant attention, doesn’t cost a fortune 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 risk-free, thirty day, full refund guarantee.
Product 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.. Cost = $47.00.
Please Note: The cost to purchase Blog Defender can vary, depending on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. When we last checked, the software is being retailed for the prices shown above. This may or may not be the actual price charged by the plugin seller 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 pricing details here:
Additional Plugin Information
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, support help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
We Recommend
Regardless of the type of business you run or plan to run online and how small you think your web presence is, website security is something you cannot afford to ignore.
WordPress is a secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress installation, plugins and themes, tightening file and data protection and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Adopting a security policy like the one that Blog Defender provides, will help you understand what your responsibilities as a website owner are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if your websites are compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid all the major WordPress security holes without costly solutions.
For more details, check out the plugin here: Blog Defender
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