Disable WordPress Updates – Version Locker vs Really Simple Security – Simple and Performant Security (formerly Really Simple SSL)

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!

Version Locker is an update manager that lets you disable automatic updates in WordPress and keep any plugin, theme, or WordPress core itself on the version you are running today. Turn off updates for one plugin, for every plugin at once, for themes, or for WordPress core. Once something is locked it will not update automatically, and the one-click update button is withheld until you unlock it. Every switch is reversible in one click. Stop Automatic Updates, Without Losing Track of Them Most plugins that disable updates simply hide them, and six months later you have no idea how far behind you are. Version Locker still shows you the update it is holding, including the new version number and whether it is a major, minor, or patch release. You can add a note explaining why something is pinned, and set a date for the lock to release itself. Downgrade WordPress Core to a Specific Version Pick the release you want and Version Locker offers it under Dashboard > Updates. Nothing is installed until you start it there yourself, and once the site is on that release, further core updates are held back. You can downgrade WordPress to an earlier version, or hold WordPress on the version you have tested, without editing files over FTP or hunting for an old ZIP. Only releases published on WordPress.org are offered, and the package always comes from WordPress.org in your site’s own language. Going backwards across a major version has to be confirmed first, because WordPress upgrades the database as it goes and cannot migrate it back. What Makes This Different Four things you will not find together anywhere else: Roll back to an earlier version. Something broke after an update? Reinstall any version still published on WordPress.org and pin it there, from inside your dashboard. No FTP, no hunting for old ZIP files. Roll back WordPress core, not just plugins. Choose a specific WordPress version and stay on it. Hold new releases for a few days. Set a waiting period and every new release is held for that many days before WordPress offers or installs it. Let other people find the bugs first. It only ever delays an update, it never starts one. Copy your setup between sites. Save your locks and settings to a file and load them on another site. You see exactly what will change before anything is applied. Who This Is For Agencies and freelancers managing client sites. Anyone running a customized or patched plugin. Production and eCommerce sites that update on a schedule. Sites on older PHP or an older WordPress version. Common Problems It Solves Stop WordPress from automatically updating plugins in the background. Prevent a specific plugin from updating while every other update keeps working normally. Keep a customized plugin from being overwritten by a new release. Go back to the version that worked before an update broke your site. Freeze a whole site’s versions before a migration, audit, or busy trading period. Block WordPress core updates until you have tested the new version on staging. Downgrade WordPress to a specific version after a core update broke the site. Hold WordPress on an older version while a theme or plugin catches up. Delay WordPress updates for a few days so someone else hits the bugs first. Stop someone else with admin access from updating a plugin you deliberately pinned. Keep an eye on which updates you are holding, and how far behind you have fallen. Full Feature List Disable automatic updates for individual plugins Disable automatic updates for individual themes Turn off all plugin updates at once Turn off all theme updates at once Turn off WordPress core updates Downgrade WordPress core to a specific version, or hold it on the one you are running Roll back a plugin or theme to any earlier version on WordPress.org Hold new releases for a set number of days before they are offered Block new plugin or theme installs, including ZIP uploads Automatically lock anything you newly install Save your locks and settings to a file, and load them on another site Lock or unlock without a page reload Bulk lock or unlock many items at once “Update available” indicator on locked items, without enabling the update See the pinned version and how far behind you are (major, minor, or patch) Add a note to any lock, and set it to unlock itself on a date Search and filter your plugins and themes Activity log showing who changed what and when, with CSV export Works on Multisite How It Works Version Locker uses WordPress filters to hide update notices and refuse update attempts. Locking never touches your files: nothing is added, changed, or removed on disk. The one exception is Roll Back, which only runs when you ask for it. It downloads the version you pick from WordPress.org and replaces the installed files, exactly as a normal update would. You are warned and asked to confirm first. No account, no API key, no external service. Nothing is sent anywhere.