Dear author, blogger and website owner,
Did you know that 4 out of 5 sites today are setup such that they are ripe for theft?
Think about it, your carefully crafted copy is replaced by adds selling everything from sunglasses to Viagra.
Your users could be infected by malware when they visit your site and your hard-earned trust dissolve within hours.
You Would Never Treat Your Real-Life Friends Like This
Imagine that you are a homeowner. You invite some friends over and when they come, the ceiling falls in injuring them. The same thing happens when say FedEx comes in to deliver a package etc.
Websites using WordPress and other content management systems are like prefabricated houses. They are easy to setup, but you need to do a tiny bit more to strengthen them.
This is not your fault; you are not a bad person. All you wanted to do was to carve out your niche on the Internet and to do that, you put something up.
However, the rules in cyber space are different. It is a harsh environment much like outer space. You cannot stroll into outer space, nor can you do so in cyber space as the below tale shows.
| Hi, I am Pranav Lal. I have been dabbling with technology since the peak of personal technology was a Walkman. I have over a decade of experience in cyber security. |
|
Meet “Joe Smith”
Joe is a writer who has a list of 100 readers. He has setup a blog and has published 2 clean romance novellas and has broken into dragon romance.
Joe’s list keeps climbing steadily for a month and then suddenly, he begins receiving angry messages on his social media accounts.
His ISP blacklists him and he loses access to his website. He continues to engage readers over social media, but his efforts fall flat.
As one reader puts it, “Why did you start selling Viagra?”
Joe is unable to defend himself. Readers keep sending him screen shots of his site. He finally goes to the library and loads his website.
The library computer shows him the ads and then the screen goes blank.
A man in a tea shirt walks over and says, “You have just infected our systems.”
Joe is given a stern warning and his library privileges are suspended for a month.
What happened to Joe?
Evil Max is young, in his 20s and has just become a father. He and his girlfriend live in a swanky apartment in the city center. He drives a series of fancy sports car and is one of the largest clients of Super Tours Inc.
Max’s girlfriend does not know what he does but she is happy since he loves her, and she is having too much fun.
Max is OK with computers. He and two other friends have setup a service where they loan websites to people who want to sell illegal goods.
Max scans the Internet looking for sites that they can exploit. He then takes them over and sells them to his clients.
Joe’s site was one such site.
Joe meets Tom, his neighbor, who works for a cyber security company.
Tom sees Joe’s website and explains that he can get it back. They agree on a fee, which is the last of Joe’s savings. Tom is as good as his word.
Joe is more careful, keeps his site secure. Many readers have not forgiven him, but his list has begun to grow once again.
How Do You Keep Your Blog Safe?
My point is that you need to know how to drive safely on the Internet which is what I am going to tell you.
I have run blogs for over 5 years and so far, have not had malware strike at least directly because of a flaw in the blog or a plugin.
My steps are as close to set and forget as you will get.
You can configure your website and or blog yourself.
There are several high-quality tutorials available on the Internet to secure your WordPress installation.
However, how do you want to spend your time? Would you write or configure your blog?
How will you determine which steps to prioritize?
You could also hire specialists to help but they do not come cheap.
You could of course elect to do nothing. Be aware though that you are on borrowed time.
Remember Joe?
Introducing outsmart Blog Hijackers
I have compiled a booklet titled Outsmart Blog Hijackers which gives you actionable steps to follow to lock down your blog such that attackers find it a hard target to penetrate.
They will have to expend time and energy to break into your blog.
They want the maximum return on investment of time and resources and hence will leave your blog alone.
In addition, many attacks that can be made on your blog when it is not hardened will not be possible to do causing the attacker to switch to easier pickings.
This will lead to the following happy outcomes:
- Your customers will begin to trust you because your site is clean.
- Your list will grow faster due to the increased trust.
- You get to try more products which could potentially increase your income faster.
- You have a safe space to run experiments.
- You can deploy new features faster without fear of interference.
- Search engines love you increasing that juicy traffic to your site. This helps with search engine optimization which again leads to more customers coming.
Is Your Blog Really at Risk?
I can hear you saying “Hmm, you will naturally inflate these numbers, or the wheels of ecommerce will grind to a halt if attacks were so frequent.”
I have taken my statistics from a few sources which I will list in just a minute. The thing is that website owners have applied the steps mentioned in outsmart blog hijackers and have been able to prevent their websites from being hacked.
However, the statistics for vulnerable websites make grim reading.
Notable numbers include 98% of WordPress vulnerabilities are related to plugins. These are not plugins written by Richard from his bedroom but plugins with installed bases of 21 million.
If you have read this far, you could think, all this is too much, I will pay someone to do this, I don’t know technology, this will take too much time, what if I mess something else? What if my site does not work after the changes I have made?
The Good News Is That You Don’t Need to Hire Anyone
The administrative interface of WordPress is very easy to use.
If you can operate a light switch, you can click options in the interface to secure your site.
Most options dealing with security are binary so they can be either on or off.
Think of it, only 15 minutes of pointing and clicking can lead to fame and fortune at zero cost. That security professional is expensive. Why not spend on “two cups of coffee” and invest in a secure future?
A secure blog equates to rapid posting
You get an idea while walking, you take a few pictures, dictate some text and bingo! you have a new blog post up.
Or, you get this great survey idea for your readers at 04:00 AM, you login, type the idea in 10 minutes and by the time you have completed your morning chores your readers have answered.
Your reader numbers swell, and you are now being invited to events and are sitting at that conference with hordes of writers asking you, “How did you grow so fast?”
Yee, I know, you say but—, see the cost. Read poor Joe’s story. Do you really want all that lost add revenue, or climb that list building mountain with the added load of a bad reputation?
All you need to do to not let the above pass is to invest $12.75 in the report and to act!
Please do the following.
- Click the “Add to Cart” button to add the report to the shopping cart
- Hit the “Checkout” button and follow the prompts.
You are now Ten seconds from achieving your writing dream!
P.S. I cannot guarantee that your site will not be hacked however, the steps in the booklet will minimize the chances that an attacker can hack your site. If you are dissatisfied with the report, please contact me within 30 days of purchase and I will refund your fee.