Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL) vs Custom PHP Settings

This plugin can be used to customize php settings for you WordPress installation. The plugin will modify either the .htaccess file or .user.ini file in order to change the current php settings directly from within the settings page. Since the configuration file needs to be modified this file must be writable for this plugin to work as expected. Apache module When PHP is running as an Apache module the .htaccess file will be used to set customized settings; make sure so that this file exists and is writable by the webserver. CGI/Fast-CGI If instead PHP is running in CGI/Fast-CGI mode then a custom INI file will be used. The name of this file depends on the value of user_ini.filename in the php configuration, by default it is .user.ini. You can check the name of you custom INI file in the PHP Information table. The custom INI file should be placed under the root folder and most be writable by the webserver. Notice that there is also a User INI file cache TTL value in the information table, this value tells how long the custom INI file will be cached before it gets reloaded. For instance, if this value is set to 300 then any changes to your custom INI file will not be reflected for up to 5 minutes. The name for this setting in the php configuration is user_ini.cache_ttl. One important thing is to make sure that your .user.ini file is blocked by your webserver. If you are running NGINX this can be done by adding: location ~ /\.user\.ini { deny all; } to your server configuration. The same thing using Apache is done by adding the following to the configuration if not already done: order allow,deny deny from all Available Settings The settings table will display all non-system php settings that can be customized by the plugin. All modified settings will be displayed in red in this table. Some settings might be displayed in red because they are changed somewhere else, perhaps through a customized php.ini file, by WordPress itself, a plugin or in some other way. For instance if you have enabled WP_DEBUG in your wp-config.php file the error_reporting setting will turn red. If you have questions or perhaps some idea on things that should be added you can also try slack. Multiple Configurations The premium version adds support for creating multiple named configurations which all can hold their own custom PHP settings. You will then be able to easily switch between the different configurations entries applying them to you configuration file. Environment Variables In the premium version, when running PHP as an apache module and using an .htaccess file for configuration, you are able to add custom environment variables. These will be accessible by using the super global $_SERVER array. In order for this to work you will need to have the mod_env module enabled in your apache setup. Resources A complete list of settings that can be modified can be found here: List of php.ini directives Notice that directives marked as PHP_INI_SYSTEM can not be modified. Warning Make sure you know how a value should be configured and what different settings do before changing anything. This is important since some settings might render your page inaccessible, depending on what value you are using. A good example of this is the variables_order configuration: Sets the order of the EGPCS (Environment, Get, Post, Cookie, and Server) variable parsing. For example, if variables_order is set to “SP” then PHP will create the superglobals $_SERVER and $_POST, but not create $_ENV, $_GET, and $_COOKIE. Setting to “” means no superglobals will be set. If this value would be configured to EPCS then no $_GET superglobal would be set which would make your page inaccessible. Another example is setting the post_max_size to a very low value so that no form data is sent to the server, which in turn would result in that form data is never saved. If you by mistake changed some value and your site is now inaccessible you could simply manually remove everything from between the plugin markers in your .htaccess file: # BEGIN CUSTOM PHP SETTINGS PRO php_value variables_order EPCS <-- Remove # END CUSTOM PHP SETTINGS PRO If you are running PHP in CGI/Fast-CGI mode then instead remove everything between the plugins markers in your .user.ini file: ; BEGIN CUSTOM PHP SETTINGS php_value variables_order EPCS <-- Remove ; END CUSTOM PHP SETTINGS Support If you run into any trouble, don’t hesitate to add a new topic under the support section: https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/custom-php-settings/ You can also try contacting me on slack.

Easily improve site security with WordPress Hardening, Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), Login Protection, Vulnerability Detection and SSL certificate. Really simple, Effective and Performant WordPress Security Really Simple Security is the most lightweight and easy-to-use security plugin for WordPress. It secures your WordPress website with SSL certificate generation, including proper 301 https redirection and SSL enforcement, scanning for possible vulnerabilities, Login Protection and implementing essential WordPress hardening features. We believe that security should have the absolute minimum effect on website performance, user experience and maintainability. Therefore, Really Simple Security is: Lightweight: Every security feature is developed with a modular approach and with performance in mind. Disabled features won’t load any redundant code. Easy-to-use: 1-minute configuration with short onboarding setup. Security Features Easy SSL Migration Migrates your website to HTTPS and enforces SSL in just one click. 301 redirect via PHP or .htaccess Secure cookies Let’s Encrypt: Install an SSL Certificate if your hosting provider supports manual installation. Server Health Check: Your server configuration is every bit as important for your website security. WordPress Hardening Tweak your configuration and keep WordPress fortified and safe by tackling potential weaknesses. Prevent code execution in the uploads folder Prevent login feedback and disable user enumeration Disable XML-RPC Disable directory browsing Username restrictions (block ‘admin’ and public names) and much more.. Vulnerability Detection Get notified when plugins, themes or WP core contain vulnerabilities and need appropriate action. Login Protection Allow or enforce Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for specific user roles. Users receive a two-factor code via Email. Improve Security with Really Simple Security Pro Protect your site with all essential security features by upgrading to Really Simple Security Pro. Advanced SSL enforcement Mixed Content Scan & Fixer. Detect files that are requested over HTTP and fix them to HTTPS, both Front- and Back-end. Enable HTTP Strict Transport Security and configure your site for the HSTS Preload list. Firewall Really Simple Security Pro includes a performant and efficient WordPress firewall, to stop bots, crawlers and bad actors with IP and username blocks. 404 blocking – Blocks crawlers as they trigger unusual numbers of 404 errors. Region blocking – Only allow/block access to your site from specific regions. Automated and customisable Firewall rules. IP blocklist and allowlist. Security Headers Security headers protect your site visitors against the risk of clickjacking, cross-site-forgery attacks, stealing login credentials and malware. Independent of your Server Configuration, works on Apache, LiteSpeed, NGINX, etc. Protect your website visitors with X-XSS Protection, X-Content-Type-Options, X-Frame-Options, a Referrer Policy and CORS headers. Automatically generate your WordPress-tailored Content Security Policy. Vulnerability Measures When a vulnerability is detected in a plugin, theme or WordPress core you will get notified accordingly. With Vulnerability Measures, you can configure simple but effective measures to make sure that a critical vulnerability won’t remain unattended. Force update: An update process will be tried multiple times until it can be assumed development of a theme or plugin is abandoned. You will be notified during these steps. Quarantine: When a plugin or theme can’t be updated to solve a vulnerability, Really Simple Security can quarantine the plugin. Advanced Site Hardening Choose a custom login URL Automated File Permissions check and fixer Rename and randomize your database prefix Change the debug.log file location to a non-public folder Disable application passwords Control admin creation Disable HTTP methods, reducing HTTP requests Login Protection Secure your website’s login process and user accounts with powerful security measures. Two-Step verification (Email login) 2FA (two factor authentication) with TOTP Passwordless login with passkey login Enforce strong passwords and frequent password change Limit Login Attempts With Limit Login Attempts you can configure a threshold to temporarily or permanently block IP addresses or (non-existing) usernames. You can also throw a CAPTCHA after a failed login (hCaptcha or Google reCaptcha) Access Control Restrict access to your site for specific regions. Add specific IP addresses or IP ranges to the Blocklist or Allowlist. Useful Links Documentation Security Definitions Translate Really Simple Security Issues & pull requests Feature requests Love Really Simple Security? If you want to support the continuing development of this plugin, please consider buying Really Simple Security Pro, which includes some excellent security features and premium support. About Really Simple Plugins Our mission is to make complex WordPress requirements really easy. Really Simple Security is developed by Really Simple Plugins. For generating SSL certificates, Really Simple Security uses the le acme2 PHP Let’s Encrypt client library, thanks to ‘fbett’ for providing it. Vulnerability Detection uses WP Vulnerability, an open-source initiative by Javier Casares. Want to join as a collaborator? We’re on GitHub as well!