The sheer number of attacks on websites and blogs around the world is rising, and things are getting worse.
It’s safe to assume that if you haven’t been hacked yet, then it’s only a matter of time.
On March 11, 2014, technology sites like Cnet.com reported that 162,000 WordPress-powered sites had been hacked.
Thousands of websites are attacked every year! Could your website 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 WordPress sites and direct a distributed-denial-of-service attack (DDoS) towards another popular website.
You may think that your website or blog is of no interest to hackers, but the reality is that to a hacker, every website provides an opportunity to gain some benefit at your expense.
If a hacker can find a web software flaw, that blog can then be used to attack other valuable sites.
The truth is that brute-force software bots are most likely trying to hack into your web site at this very moment. Whether they can achieve this depends on how difficult you will make it for hackers to keep persisting until they either discover a way to get access, or are forced to decide to look for a less secure target.
How Much Information Are You Broadcasting To Hackers About Your WordPress Site?
Do you own a WordPress site? If so, visit Hackertarget.com and run your site through their WordPress security scan …
(Hackertarget – Website Security Scan Screenshot source: https://hackertarget.com/wordpress-security-scan)
You will see that the test will display various results and details about your site …
(WordPress security scan results. Source: Hackertarget.com)
It should be obvious after using the tool shown above that if you are able to access all of this information about your site, 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 all be potentially useful information to hackers, as this can inform them about any exploitable 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 website and make your site invisible to hackers and botnets.
Blog Defender
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 developing BlogDefender after noticing that a WordPress-driven blog he set up for his mother got hacked into. This particular blog was devoid of content and had literally nothing of value to offer, yet it still was hacked.
Matt only became aware of the event after being informed by his host and observing that a significant amount of suspicious activity had taken place within the site, as well as the addition of several phishing files by whoever had broken into his site.
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
This simple example provides the valuable lesson that every website is valuable to hackers.
Blog Defender shows you where the security weaknesses in your WordPress site are …
And then shows you how to fix these quickly …
Blog Defender – Plugins
The product suite includes 3 WordPress plugins:
Plugin #1 in the product suite provides automated backups …
(Image source: BlogDefender.com)
This plugin lets you do secure site and file backups to your server, third-party servers and popular cloud solutions using different backup methods (e.g. FTP), schedule full or partial backups, exclude tables or files from backups, restore previous backups, replace URLs (for site migrations), do bulk text replacements in your WordPress database, perform malware scans and blacklist checks automatically, and more.
The second plugin provides WordPress security …
(Product image source: Blog Defender)
Plugin #2 provides a range of essential site security functions (see “Plugin Features” section below).
The third plugin allows you to scan your files and content to see whether anything in your files has been modified, and repair the problem …
(Product image: Blog Defender)
Pro Plugin # 3 also scans content to see if any malicious URLs have been inserted into your site files, bans bad bots, blocks brute force attacks and detects any content leeching (where others benefit from your work without reciprocating the favor).
Blog Defender – Training Videos
In addition to the plugins, the Blog Defender security suite also includes step-by-step training in video format plus PDF/DOC documentation that teach you exactly how to protect your site from hackers …
(Product image source: BlogDefender.com)
More info:
Benefits Of Using Blog Defender
Here 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 with Blog Defender are quite easy to install. Simply upload them to your Plugin folder via your administrator section and activate.
Really Simple And Easy To Follow Training
Blog Defender is an easy-to-follow DIY 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 free plugins you should use to get things done inexpensively.
Additional plugin benefits include:
- Protect your WordPress site from hackers, spammers, botnets, data miners and malicious users whose aims is to exploit your site for their own personal and financial gain.
- Secure Your Info Products – If you’re an info product creator (e.g. downloadable e-books, videos, etc.), your work can be stolen and end up becoming freeware on free downloading sites.
- Avoid A Nightmare Situation – When a website gets hacked, you can expect to go through a whole lot of inconvenience and aggravation. It can take days to uncover the problem and sort through any issues these have caused. In the meantime, your, site could get closed by your host, or even blacklisted by search engines. Additionally, 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.
Plugin Features
Blog Defender offers a number of features to website owners.
The product helps you fix all of the following areas:
- Webhost 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
- Monitoring Links
- Known Offender Blocking
- Automating WP Updates
- WordPress Security Audit
- Tighten Server Security
- Kick Out Policy
- Online Reputation Checking
- And More …
Blog Defender provides a logical sequence of steps to help protect your your WordPress installation, addressing potential hosting security issues, using tools to quickly identify risky WP themes and WordPress plugins, and then implementing website-wide security using the tools and plugins provided.
(Blog Defender security process. Screenshot image: BlogDefender site)
Feedback From Users
Here are a few of the testimonials that users have provided for Blog Defender:
“You are literally walked through the process!” Nikki Stephens, www.nikkistephens.com
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”A top level force against hacker attacks!” Micheal Nicholas, Impact Info Marketing
Useful Tips
According to Matt Garrett, the plugin developer, no websites protected with the product have been hacked since Blog Defender’s original release.
Matt 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 ever-escalating arms race and all security solutions are only as good as the information and tools that developers can access. The latest release of Blog Defender provides users with an easier WordPress security solution that doesn’t require constant attention, doesn’t cost you 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 risk-free, 30 day, full money-back guarantee.
Product License 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 cost of purchasing the Blog Defender plugin depends on whether there are any promotions or limited-time special offers. The pricing above was correct at the time this article was written. This may not be the actual price set by the plugin developer when you visit the product site and there may be additional upsells or one-time offers after purchasing.
Check the plugin’s website for current pricing details:
Additional Info
For installation instructions and tutorials, FAQs, customer help desk, contact details and more, visit the Blog Defender website.
What We Recommend
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 ignore.
WordPress is a very secure web platform, but neglecting basic maintenance tasks like updating your WordPress software, plugins and WP themes, tightening file and data security and taking other necessary precautions can have disastrous consequences.
Blog Defender helps you learn what’s going on in your site and where the vulnerabilities are, what hosting companies can and can’t do if the security on your site is compromised, what security features to look for in a webhost, and how to avoid major security risks without paying a lot of money.
For complete details, visit the plugin website: Blog Defender WordPress Security Suite
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