Guardian Gaze Security – AI Based Malware Scanner, Firewall and Login Protection vs Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)

Guardian Gaze is a research-driven WordPress security plugin built by RedSecLabs to help website owners, developers, and agencies find and remove malware, hidden backdoors, injected database content, and unauthorized file changes — without slowing down your site. Unlike scanners that only check files, Guardian Gaze inspects both your WordPress files and your database, so malicious code hidden inside posts, options, postmeta, or comments doesn’t go unnoticed. Scanning works immediately after activation — there’s no mandatory account, license key, or registration wall blocking you from your first scan. Guardian Gaze focuses on: • WordPress malware and hidden backdoor scanning (core, plugins, themes, uploads) • Database malware scanning (options, posts, postmeta, comments) • File integrity monitoring for unauthorized changes • IP management, country blocking, and traffic filtering • Scheduled, automated scanning with email reports • Clear, centralized visibility into your site’s security posture Detection logic is backed by an ongoing threat intelligence feed. Guardian Gaze can run entirely with the malware definitions bundled in the plugin — optionally linking your site to our server keeps those definitions up to date automatically. Linking is free and takes seconds, but it is never required to scan. Why Guardian Gaze? • Scan first, decide later. No forced registration screen standing between you and a scan. • Database-aware. Most free scanners only check files. Guardian Gaze also scans wp_options, wp_posts, wp_postmeta, and wp_comments for injected iframes, base64 payloads, spam links, and eval()-based backdoors. • Lightweight by design. Scans are structured to avoid heavy resource usage on shared and managed hosting. • Built by security researchers. RedSecLabs maintains the detection patterns and threat intelligence behind Guardian Gaze. Key Features WordPress Malware & Backdoor Scanner A built-in scanner that checks WordPress core files, plugins, themes, and the uploads directory for suspicious or unauthorized code. • Full site, core-only, plugins-only, themes-only, or uploads-only scan modes • Detects modified or infected files and known malware/backdoor signatures • Highlights changes to WordPress core, plugin, or theme files • No registration required — scan immediately after activation • Designed for continuous monitoring, not just one-time checks Database Malware Scanner Scans your WordPress database directly for injected malicious content that file-only scanners miss. • Checks wp_options, wp_posts, wp_postmeta, and wp_comments • Flags hidden iframes, base64-encoded payloads, spam links, JavaScript redirects, and eval()/backdoor-style code • Severity-rated results (critical, high, medium, low) • One-click cleanup of flagged database records File Integrity Monitoring Tracks file changes across your WordPress installation over time. • Detects modified, newly added, or infected files • Highlights changes in WordPress core, plugin, or theme integrity • Lets you review findings before taking action IP Management & Firewall-Style Traffic Filtering Manage and reduce unwanted or abusive traffic at the IP level. • Manually block or allow specific IP addresses • Country-level blocking for geographic traffic filtering • Reduce bot noise, vulnerability scanners, and probing traffic Ideal for sites experiencing repeated probing or targeted attacks. Scheduled Scanning Automate malware scans and stay ahead of threats. • Daily or weekly scan schedules • Configure scan recipients and email reports • Review results from your dashboard or by email Security Notifications Get emailed the moment something worth knowing about happens, instead of having to check the dashboard. • Alert when an administrator account logs in • Alert when a plugin, theme, or WordPress core update becomes available (sent once per new version, no duplicates) • Set a custom alert recipient, or use the site admin email Central Security Dashboard One place to see your site’s current security posture: • Latest malware and database scan results • Site health overview (WordPress, PHP, plugin, and theme status) • Blocked and flagged IP addresses • Overall security score with a letter grade Continuous Threat Intelligence Updates Guardian Gaze ships with a bundled set of malware definitions, so scanning works out of the box. Optionally link your site to the Guardian Gaze Security Intelligence API to keep those definitions current automatically as new threats emerge. Privacy & Data Use Guardian Gaze only calls external services for functionality you’re actually using, such as fetching updated malware definitions or optional geolocation lookups. • No unnecessary data collection • No passwords or sensitive post/page content transmitted • Secure WordPress-native API communication (HTTPS) • Optional features (linking, geolocation) can be skipped or disabled • Only the security metadata required for the feature you’re using is processed Full details are listed under “External Services Used” below, as required for the WordPress.org plugin directory. Premium Add-On (Optional) Guardian Gaze is fully usable on its own — scanning, database malware detection, file integrity monitoring, IP management, and scheduled scans all work without upgrading. For teams who want additional hardening and automation, the separately-installed Guardian Gaze Premium add-on unlocks: • 🔒 AI/LLM-Assisted Backdoor Analysis — contextual AI review of suspicious files flagged during a scan, in addition to pattern-based detection • 🔒 Real-Time File Monitor — SHA-256 baseline snapshots that flag any file change the moment it happens • 🔒 Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) — TOTP support for Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, and similar apps • 🔒 Google reCAPTCHA Login Protection — reCAPTCHA v2 or v3 on the login form • 🔒 Brute-Force Login Lockout — automatic IP lockout after repeated failed login attempts • 🔒 One-Click Security Hardening — toggle common WordPress hardening rules without editing code • 🔒 Security Audit Log — a permanent log of important admin actions and events • 🔒 File Quarantine & Restore — isolate infected files safely, then restore or delete them Premium requires the free Guardian Gaze plugin to be active and is available at guardiangaze.com. External Services Used Guardian Gaze connects to the following services to provide security features and functionality: 1. Guardian Gaze API – wp-api.guardiangaze.com Used for license validation, malware pattern updates, threat intelligence updates, and optional email reporting. Data Sent: • Admin email • Site URL • API key • Plugin version and definitions version • IP addresses (for global blocking features) • Scan report data (if email reporting is enabled) Terms of Service: https://www.guardiangaze.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://www.guardiangaze.com/privacy-policy/ 2. Guardian Gaze API – www.guardiangaze.com Used for plugin registration. Data Sent: • Site URL Terms of Service: https://www.guardiangaze.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://www.guardiangaze.com/privacy-policy/ 3. WordPress.org API – api.wordpress.org Used for WordPress core file integrity checks and version validation. Data Sent: • WordPress version • Locale / language Terms of Service: https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/ Privacy Policy: https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/ 4. Guardian Gaze Country API – wp-api.guardiangaze.com/country.php Used for IP address geolocation. Data Sent: • Visitor IP address Terms of Service: https://www.guardiangaze.com/terms-of-service/ Privacy Policy: https://www.guardiangaze.com/privacy-policy/ Important Notes • All API calls use WordPress wp_remote_get() and wp_remote_post() • Data is transferred over HTTPS whenever available • No user passwords or sensitive content is collected or transmitted • Geolocation lookups are cached to limit external requests • Registering/linking your site is optional and only affects how current your malware definitions are — it does not gate scanning itself About RedSecLabs RedSecLabs is a cybersecurity company focused on threat research, detection engineering, and building defensive tools for real-world scenarios. Guardian Gaze reflects this philosophy by offering a transparent, research-backed WordPress security plugin built for long-term reliability and practical protection.

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!