Bot Lockout vs CHEQ Essentials

Bot Lockout is a security plugin that implements a lightweight cryptographic challenge system to distinguish between real browsers and automated bots. Unlike traditional CAPTCHA systems, it uses JavaScript-based cryptographic operations that are easy for humans but difficult for most bots to solve. Key Features Lightweight Protection: Uses minimal resources and doesn’t impact site performance Cryptographic Challenges: SHA-256 hashing with date and user agent binding Smart Whitelisting: Allow trusted bots (Google, Bing, etc.) and IP addresses Flexible Configuration: Exclude specific pages and customize block messages Comprehensive Logging: Track blocked attempts for analysis Custom Styling: Add custom CSS to match your site’s design Daily Token Expiration: Prevents long-term bypass attempts How It Works Initial Request: When a visitor accesses your site, the plugin checks for a valid challenge token JavaScript Challenge: If no token exists, a cryptographic challenge is presented Token Generation: The challenge combines the current date with the user agent string and creates a SHA-256 hash Secure Storage: The hash is base64 encoded, truncated, and stored as a secure cookie Validation: Subsequent requests are validated against the stored token Security Features Cryptographically Secure: Uses SHA-256 hashing algorithm Time-Bound: Tokens expire daily to prevent long-term bypass Browser-Specific: User agent binding prevents token sharing Secure Cookies: Implements proper cookie security settings Whitelist Support: Allow trusted services and IP addresses Multi-Site Support Bot Lockout supports WordPress Multi-Site installations with both network-wide and site-specific configurations: Network Activation: Apply settings to all sites in the network Site-Specific Activation: Independent settings for each site Mixed Configuration: Network-wide defaults with site-specific overrides Security Advisory Bot Lockout is one layer in a broader security strategy, not a silver bullet. While Bot Lockout is designed to deter automated bots and AI scrapers through cryptographic JavaScript challenges, no single solution can offer complete protection. Web scraping technologies continue to evolve, and determined actors may find ways to bypass front-end defenses. This plugin should be used as part of a multi-layered approach to website security. For best results, we recommend combining Bot Lockout with additional tools such as server-level firewalls, rate limiting, CAPTCHA systems, behavior-based threat detection, and CDN-level bot mitigation. Kognetiks makes no guarantee that this plugin will block all unwanted bot traffic. It is intended as a proactive, lightweight defense mechanism—not a comprehensive security system. Users are responsible for evaluating their own threat model and deploying appropriate complementary protections. Support For support, please visit the WordPress.org support forums or check the plugin documentation. Credits Developer: Kognetiks This plugin is licensed under the GPL v3 or later.

As a website owner, one of the biggest challenges you face is dealing with invalid traffic. Invalid traffic (27% of direct and organic traffic on average in 2022) refers to any non-human or fraudulent activity, such as bots, click farms, and other forms of automated traffic. This can not only damage your site’s reputation but also result in lost revenue, slow performance, and skewed data that damage your decision-making. CHEQ Essentials is here to help. We use advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyze user behavior and distinguish between legitimate and invalid traffic. With this plugin, you can automatically monitor your website traffic in real time and identify any suspicious patterns or behavior. The plugin also provides detailed reports and analytics that can help you better understand your traffic and identify any potential issues. Once the plugin detects invalid traffic, it can take immediate action to prevent further damage. This may include blocking IP addresses on Google Ads, redirecting traffic to a 403 page, or implementing other measures to prevent bots and other automated traffic from accessing your site. Overall, this is an essential tool for any website owner who wants to secure and protect their site from fraudulent activity and ensure a safe and reliable user experience. With CHEQ Essentials, you can rest assured that your site is protected from invalid traffic and other forms of online fraud. You will need an active CHEQ Essentials subscription to use this WordPress plugin.