Before you spend your time reading this post, I will warn you, we’re discussing a topic many bloggers prefer not to think about. I’ll leave it up to you to decide if you want to read this post, or just move on.
You see, we’re talking about making our blogs, “our babies”, safe and secure.
Continue reading, or not….
*******

I can still remember when I crashed my blogs.
I stared at the error message on the screen and got sick to my stomach.
Being new to blogging, I didn’t know what to do so I kept refreshing the page thinking it would correct itself.
It didn’t.
In all honesty, I knew it was what I had done behind the scenes that created that error. I “thought” I knew what I was doing.
I didn’t.
Today’s Lesson
It’s one thing when we mess around behind the scenes and crash our blogs. We know who to blame. We know what we did. And we know we can either reverse what we did or call someone and have them fix it.
But, what happens if someone else does that to us?
What happens if someone hacks our blog?
That’s different as we don’t know what “they” did, nor do we necessarily know how to fix “it”.
Hackers will hack any ‘ole blog, because they can. No blog is exempt. Not mine, not yours, not anyone’s.
When his wife’s online jewelry site was hacked and her monthly sales dropped from $1000 to zero, John Hoff of WP Blog Host made it his mission to learn everything about hackers; how they think, how they hack and most importantly, how to secure a WordPress blog against them. With Lindsey’’s site being her “baby”, and her online income helping to support their family, John vowed he would never let that happen again. Not to Lindsey. Not to him. Not to you.
John spent months studying everything he could find. As he learned, he documented his findings.
It is from the knowledge he gained and the lessons John learned, how the “WORDPRESS DEFENDER” ebook was born.
This 150 page guide is like no other. John includes hints, tips, tweaks and plugins we can use to secure out site, all written in an easy to understand language. To make things even easier, he includes 14 step-by-step bonus videos to keep those hackers at bay.
An example of the topics he covers include such things as
- How to easily back up all of your files
- WordPress upgrades and how to deal with them
- Picking, protecting and managing your passwords
- The truth about plugins
- The best form of FTP (File Transfer Protocol) to use
- Login lock downs and firewalls
- Writing and using a .htacess file
- How intruders find blogs to hack via search engines
- What a hack might look like
- Plus much more
Although this security guide and videos will set you back $39, it’s a small price to pay when we consider the alternative.
When I crashed my blogs, I lost a day getting my blog back online. When Lindsey’s blog was hacked, it took John, who knows what he’s doing, nearly a week (in his free time) just to figure out where the hack was located. From there, he recreated the site, but before it could be reactivated, he also needed to reload all of the products onto the newly rebuilt site. In the meantime, Lindsey’s page rank plummeted to zero, as did her sales.
Many of us bloggers prefer not to even think about our blog being hacked, let alone having to learn how to secure it. But as our blogs grow, and our traffic and page rank increases, it becomes imperative we either learn to protect our investment, or hire someone to do it for us.
Like many of you, this is an area I also avoid, but with the “WORDPRESS DEFENDER” in my library, I know my blogs will soon be safe, secure and locked down.
For all the work John has done on the ebook and videos, I’ll be forever grateful.
Thank you, John.
Today’s Assignment
Have you ever crashed or had your blog hacked? If so, how did you get it back up and running?
If not, how do you think you would react?
If you’re not a WordPress blogger, how do you secure your blog?
And finally, how often are you backing up your database and/or files? (You are doing backups, right?)
Care to share?
.
As a final note. When John emailed this book and video series to me, I told him I’d take a look at it, but wouldn’t commit to an endorsement as I feel the best way to find what works for each of us is to be a smart, informed consumer. However, this book and video series far exceeded my expectations. In fact, when I opened it and started reading, I sent John an email which in part said,
HOLY CRAP! [excuse the language]
I was just reading/skimming your ebook. It’s phenomenal, and I haven’t even gotten to the videos.
All I can say is WOW! WOW! WOW!
P.S.S. Although the links to Wordpress Defender are affiliate links, I would have no problem endorsing this book for free. For all you WordPress bloggers out there, why not buy the book, use some of the hints and tips to begin securing your blog, sign up to become an affiliate, and write a review on your site. With just a few sales, you will have earned the cost of the book back. How cool is that?








Hi. I'm Barbara Swafford & I'd like to welcome you to Blogging Without A Blog. Grab a seat, share your thoughts and join in the conversation. 

Take for example, actors.
They crave to to see their name up in lights, make big bucks like their peers or predecessors, and may want a life of luxury where anything they ever wanted is well within their reach. In fact, if they achieve fame, materially they can have it all.
But…there’s a flip side to fame.
When an actor becomes well known, others want a piece of them.
Maybe it’s a photo, compromising or other. Maybe it’s their money. Or their friendship.
After awhile, some begin to wonder, whom they can trust. Where they can go to have a moment of peace.
All of a sudden, that which they wished for, becomes more than they can handle and they begin to yearn for the days when life was simple.
Today’s Lesson
When we discussed wanting more comments on our blogs, I remember when I received none, and wished for more.
When readers began to show up and comment, I was elated. In fact, comments are one of the things I enjoy most about blogging. Not just receiving them, but leaving them too.
Comments connect bloggers, reveal more about us as people, help as a learning/teaching aid, and are often the start of a cyber friendship.
In fact, as I’ve shared in the sidebar, it’s in the comment section of this blog where the value truly lies. You, who comment here, have made this blog what it is.
However, with receiving additional comments, comes with what I see as an added responsibility.
What I’ve found is each comment requires an average of six minutes of my time. That includes reading the comment, thinking about a reply and then typing it out.
When I see 20 comments on a post, I know I need to set aside two hours to answer them.
If I visit another blog, and don’t skim the post, I can spend up to spend 20 minutes reading and then constructing a comment. If that’s the case, I know I’ll have less time to spend visiting others.
I’ll be the first to admit, I struggle with finding that balance. Some days I steal minutes from my real life, other days, I have no time for blogging. I now limit the time I spend on Twitter and Facebook, publish less, let emails stack up in my inbox and postpone the launch of my next project.
With a business, a family, a life, and only 24 hours in a day, I know some things will fall by the wayside. I’m okay with that.
Because I enjoy challenges and get so much pleasure from blogging, I don’t yearn for the days when blogging was simple, but from experience, I do know receiving more comments means how we once viewed blogging, changes.
Today’s Assignment
How much time do you spend answering comments?
If the time is excessive, do other parts of blogging suffer?
If you’re not receiving a lot of comments now, but hope for more, have you contemplated where the time will come from to answer them?
I’m looking forward to your answer.
Care to share?