BotBlocker Security – Complete security platform vs Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin

BotBlocker Security is a complete security platform that blocks 99% of attacks before WordPress loads. Firewall, bot detection, rate limiting, CAPTCHA, 2FA, analytics, notifications, tools – one plugin replaces your entire security stack: no need for separate firewall, CAPTCHA, 2FA, and anti-spam plugins. No bloat, no monthly fees for core protection. If your site is hit by login brute force, spam comments, fake Googlebots, content scrapers, or XML-RPC floods, you are not alone: bots generate over 47% of all web traffic. Most security plugins react after WordPress boots, wasting CPU and memory on every bad request. BotBlocker stops them at the door – then gives you the analytics, alerts, and tools to understand exactly what it blocked and why. Because BotBlocker intercepts traffic before themes and plugins run, it also shields vulnerabilities in your entire plugin and theme stack. Zero-days in contact form plugins, unpatched slider code, outdated e-commerce extensions – attackers never reach the vulnerable code. BotBlocker is your first and last line of defense, every day. Why site owners switch to BotBlocker Faster than the competition. Runs on early init through three interception layers, before themes and plugins load. Server load drops during attacks instead of spiking. Zero database queries for returning visitors – 11 pre-generated PHP files with SHA-256 integrity, loaded via native include. One plugin, full security stack. Firewall, CAPTCHA, 2FA, anti-spam, rate limiting, bot detection – BotBlocker covers virtually every security need a WordPress site has. Most users uninstall 2-3 separate plugins after switching. PRO adds malware scanning, security headers, speed optimization, and behavioral analysis – still one plugin. Smarter bot detection. 2,899 User-Agent signatures – largest blacklist among WordPress plugins – plus 2,800+ additional bot signatures. 13 header checks including AdBlock detection, incognito mode detection, Canvas/WebGL fingerprinting, and device API verification. Anti-detect scoring with 9 weighted signals catches headless Chrome, Puppeteer, Selenium, and PhantomJS even when they spoof user-agent strings. Smarter CAPTCHA. 9 modes including Silent Auto-Verify – zero clicks for humans, hard wall for bots. Proprietary CAPTCHAs defeat AI-based solvers that crack reCAPTCHA for $2-3 per 1,000. Honest free version. Full firewall, all 9 CAPTCHA modes, full 2FA, full logging, full Multisite, Redis/Memcached, shortcodes, command palette, Telegram alerts, visual analytics, 15 diagnostic tools. No nag screens, no crippled features. Privacy-first. No visitor data leaves your server. GDPR and CCPA compliant out of the box. Works with everything. Cloudflare, WP Rocket, LiteSpeed, WooCommerce, Elementor, multisite, IPv6, PHP 7.4 to 8.5. 🛡️ Core Firewall (Free) Three-Layer Architecture – intercepts traffic at wp-config.php (before WordPress), MU-plugin phase, and main shield. The first layer blocks known threats before WordPress, plugins, or themes even load – saving 30-100ms and 5-20MB RAM per blocked request. This also means BotBlocker shields you from vulnerabilities in other plugins and themes: attackers exploiting a zero-day in a contact form or slider plugin never reach the vulnerable code. Web Application Firewall (WAF) with real-time rule updates via the BotBlocker Threat Defense Feed 2,899 User-Agent signatures – largest blacklist among WordPress plugins – covering Scrapy, Selenium, Puppeteer, PhantomJS, curl, wget, Python, Java, Perl, and SQL injection tools. Plus 2,800+ additional bot signatures. Brute force protection with progressive lockouts – 5 attempts per 15 minutes, escalating bans for repeat offenders Rate Limiting – sliding window velocity tracking per IP. 30 requests/minute triggers CAPTCHA challenge; 50 requests/minute blocks IP for 10 minutes. Subnet-level aggregation catches distributed attacks across /24 IPv4 or /64 IPv6 ranges. Floor protection prevents false positives at low thresholds. Anti-spam for comments, registration, contact forms – spammers blocked before they connect XML-RPC and REST API locked down by default with allowlist for trusted services HTTP method-level hardening – CONNECT and TRACE blocked (XST attack prevention). OPTIONS handled for CORS preflight. Explicit method allowlist. Fake crawler detection via FCrDNS (dual-direction DNS verification), ASN tokens, and published IP ranges – 95% effective, impossible to spoof without controlling the provider’s DNS zone. Multi-resolver DNS fallback. LLM / AI crawler management – allow or block GPTBot, ChatGPT-User, ClaudeBot, PerplexityBot, Bytespider via CIDR-verified IP ranges. 1,435 LLM source ranges synced from cloud. Trusted crawlers verified, impersonators blocked. Country, ASN, IP range, User-Agent, Referer blocking rules with instant enforcement. ASN database: 3.6M verified source records. Geo-blocking with visual country selector and import/export. Cloudflare-aware real-IP resolution and origin bypass protection TLS fingerprinting (JA3/JA4) – detects bots by TLS handshake signature, cross-validates against User-Agent. 189 JA3/JA4 signatures. Opt-in, requires server module. See docs/TLS-FINGERPRINTING.md RKN (Roskomnadzor) blocking – 852 CIDR ranges, cloud-synced, auto-updated with self-healing tamper recovery Full IPv6 support – separate tables and logic for IPv4 and IPv6, every feature works with both Live traffic monitor with attack map, country, ASN, device, browser, and exact block reason for every request Built-in caching via Redis and Memcached – free, auto-disable on connection failure 🔍 Bot Detection & Anti-Detect (Free) 13 HTTP header checks run on every visitor, catching bots that other plugins miss: Empty User-Agent / UA Anomalies / Empty Accept-Language PTR/DNS Mismatch – forward/reverse DNS mismatch, impossible to fake Geo vs Language Mismatch – visitor claiming one language from a different country Incognito/Private Mode detection AdBlock/uBlock detection in visitor’s browser Canvas & WebGL Fingerprinting – JS consistency verification WhatsApp Preview / OPTIONS Preflight – legitimate traffic whitelisted Anti-Detect Challenge Page activates when header checks raise suspicion – silent browser fingerprinting before any CAPTCHA appears: 9 weighted detection signals: navigator mismatch (×2), fake plugins (×3), font rendering mismatch (×2), WebGL mismatch (×2), Chromium-specific properties (×3), JS execution jitter, touch event mismatch (×2), language mismatch (×3), incognito detection (×2) Critical signal combinations trigger immediate block – e.g. navigator mismatch + fake plugins together Cookie capability test + sessionStorage retry counter HMAC-signed responses resist DDoS provider interference Circuit Breaker: 3 failures → 30-second cooldown → auto-retry CAPTCHA appears only if auto-verification fails – real users rarely see it 🎯 CAPTCHA System – All 9 Modes Free # Mode User Experience Best For 8 Silent Auto-Verify (Recommended) Zero clicks. JS fingerprint check passes silently. Default. Maximum UX. 0 Simple Button Single “I am not a robot” button Minimal friction 1 Color Buttons Click the matching color button Visual verification 2 Image CAPTCHA Click the image matching the category. 5 packs: Eagle, Horse, Raccoon, Dog, Cat Visual recognition 3 reCAPTCHA v2 + Button Google checkbox + BotBlocker button Google ecosystem users 4 reCAPTCHA v2 Standard Google reCAPTCHA Google ecosystem only 5 Dynamic Shapes 60fps Canvas with moving geometric figures. 5 shapes × 5 colors = 25 combinations. Maximum anti-AI protection 6 Dynamic Digits Animated math equation Math verification 7 Hold Button Hold and release in the green zone Physical interaction proof Hybrid Mode – combine any internal CAPTCHA with invisible reCAPTCHA v3 for two-layer defense DDoS Resilience Mode – HMAC-signed verification responses prevent forged challenge bypass Session Token Verification – cookie-less fingerprint for restricted hosting (no CAPTCHA loops for VPN/proxy users) CAPTCHA Diagnostics – failure reason codes (token decrypt, transient missing, hash mismatch, mode mismatch) for precise troubleshooting Image Delivery Modes: Inline Base64 (single request, recommended) or Separate Requests (cache-friendly) 🔒 Login Security & 2FA (Free) Two-Factor Authentication compatible with Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, Bitwarden – TOTP standard with 10 backup codes 9 CAPTCHA modes on login, registration, lost password, and custom forms Hybrid Mode – combine any internal CAPTCHA with reCAPTCHA v3 for two-layer invisible defense on login Hide login URL (PRO) Configurable lockout durations with escalation for repeat offenders – failed CAPTCHA triggers short ban, repeated failure triggers 24-hour ban 💳 Payment Gateway Bypass (Free) Auto-detects 25+ e-commerce platforms (WooCommerce, Easy Digital Downloads, SureCart, MemberPress, Paid Memberships Pro, Give, Dokan, CartFlows, FunnelKit, and more) and 150+ payment providers (Stripe, PayPal, Mollie, Adyen, Braintree, Square, Razorpay, Klarna, Paddle, Authorize.Net, 2Checkout, YooKassa, LiqPay, and more). Also auto-detects webhooks from form plugins (Contact Form 7, WPForms, Gravity Forms, Ninja Forms, Formidable Forms, Forminator, Fluent Forms). Four detection layers – 198 path patterns, 227 query keys, 360 action names, 114 signature headers – ensure zero false positives on payment traffic. Webhooks, IPN callbacks, and payment notifications never get blocked. 📊 Visibility & Control (Free) Visual dashboard with KPI cards – Requests today, Blocked today, Search engines passed, Protection score (0-100%). Hourly bar chart, distribution donut charts (Hosting, Device, Browser, OS) Dashboard social proof card – live WordPress.org rating (1-5 stars with half-star), active installs count, number of ratings, link to WP.org (cached 12 hours) Inline IP rule widget – add IP allow/block rules directly from dashboard via AJAX, no page reload. Bulk IP import with 4 one-click buttons (IPv4/IPv6 whitelist/blacklist). Protection Status Checklist – individual enable/disable toggles for all features with “Enable remaining” bulk action Health Score gauge – 44 parameters across 3 categories, 5 security levels from Critical (<25) to Secure (≥85). Real-time score updates as you change settings. 3 security presets – Light, Strong, Full – one-click configuration. Plus Default for new installs. Setup Wizard – 8 steps: welcome → protection level → compatibility check → exclusions → CAPTCHA → init mode → cache → finish with summary. Under 5 minutes. ⌘K Command Palette – press Ctrl+K / ⌘K on any admin page to instantly search and navigate every setting, tab, and action. 30+ quick-action shortcuts (“Block an IP address”, “Set up 2FA”, “Run malware scan”, “Clear visitor cookies”). Near-zero-click configuration. Interactive analytics – 8 KPI metrics, donut charts (Hosting, Device, Browser, OS), traffic line chart with time range, world map with country-level visualization, top IPs and top countries ranking tables 55 diagnostic event codes across 12 log categories – exact block reason for every single decision. 12 categories independently toggleable. Detailed event log with IP, country, ASN, User-Agent, browser type, OS type, device type, and exact block reason 17 interface languages – English, Deutsch, Español, Français, Polski, Русский, Українська, العربية, עברית, Italiano, 日本語, 한국어, Nederlands, Português, Svenska, Türkçe, 中文 + POT template Admin page header bar – “Blocked today: X · Total: Y” on every admin page without opening dashboard Admin bar WordPress toolbar node – protection status + Dashboard + Settings links Configurable retention with timezone and DST awareness. Daily Summary with incremental aggregation for fast multi-day analytics. X-Robots-Tag control – user-configurable SEO directives (noindex, nofollow, noarchive, nosnippet, noimageindex, notranslate, unavailable_after) on blocked/challenge pages – prevents search engines from indexing security barriers Clean uninstall – drops all 17 tables, removes 40+ options, clears 22+ transients, removes 12 cron hooks, deletes MU-plugin files and uploads/botblocker/ directory. Uninstall feedback dialog collects departure reason. Zero leftover data. 📬 Notifications & Alerts (Free) Email reports – daily / twice-weekly / monthly security summaries with key metrics. Critical server load warnings and Cloud API expiry alerts. Telegram Bot integration (add-on) – weekly security summaries via @BotFather-connected bot: total requests, allowed, blocked, suspicious, search bots, fake bots, timezone, protection mode, security score, block rate. Connection test button for setup verification. Configured in Add-ons → Telegram Notifications. Admin Dashboard Alerts (8 types) – cloud connection lost, missing runtime files, cloud API expired, cloud API hits exhausted, ASN database update failed, addon update failed, addon incompatible, cache plugin incompatibility 🧩 Shortcodes & Developer Tools (Free) 20 shortcodes for frontend dashboards, client portals, and status pages: Shortcode What It Displays [bbcs_counters_grid] Hits + blocked + search engine counters [bbcs_blocked_today] / [bbcs_blocked_total] Block counters [bbcs_health_gauge] Visual health score gauge chart [botblocker_generateSiteHealthList] Security recommendations checklist [bbcs_health_full] Full health assessment grid [bbcs_top_ips] / [bbcs_top_countries] Top IPs and countries (configurable count + days) [bbcs_top_devices] / [bbcs_top_browsers] Top devices and browsers [bbcs_latest_hits] Latest visitor hits table [botblocker_rules_stats] IPv4/IPv6 rules + paths + bots statistics [bbcs_database_update] / [bbcs_database_total] Cloud IP database stats [bbcs_system_status] Server info: OS, PHP, DB, WP versions [bbcs_botblocker_news] BotBlocker news feed [bbcs_lang_options] Language selector dropdown [bbcs_plugins_themes] Installed plugins and themes list [bbcs_cron_tasks] Scheduled cron tasks widget [bbcs_recommendations] Security improvement recommendations WP Connectors (WordPress 6.7+) – BotBlocker registers as a native WordPress Connector on the Connections admin page Custom verification endpoint (bbcs-verify) – decoupled from WordPress permalink structure WordPress Admin → Tools → Site Health → Info integration Plugin update changelog injection – changelog displayed directly in the WordPress plugin update screen Floating support widget on all admin pages – submit support tickets from dashboard without leaving site 🔧 Tools & Diagnostics (Free) 15 maintenance and diagnostic actions built into the admin panel: Tool Purpose Export Data & Settings Full JSON backup of settings, rules, IP lists, configuration Import Data & Settings Restore from JSON backup Reinstall Database Factory-reset all BotBlocker tables Repair & Optimize DB WordPress database repair and optimization Clear All Visitor Data Purge hits, counters, and statistics Clear Transients Remove expired WordPress transients Update ASN Database Download latest 3.6M-record ASN geolocation database Update RU-Gov List Download latest 852-range RKN CIDR blocklist Sync LLM Providers Refresh 1,435 AI crawler IP ranges from cloud Clear Visitor Cookies Reset all BotBlocker cookies – forces re-verification Reset URL Rewrite Rules Fix 404 errors after permalink changes Clear Object Cache Flush WordPress internal + Redis/Memcached caches Site Health Open WordPress Site Health diagnostic Clear Debug Log / Download Debug Log Purge or download wp-content/debug.log for support 🚀 PRO Adds (Premium / Pro / Ultimate) Cloud Threat Intelligence – 5M+ attack IPs cross-checked against global databases. Zero-day behavioral and heuristic detection catches unknown attack patterns before signatures exist. VPN, Tor, proxy, ASN, and hosting reputation checks. Early Init Mode – filtering before WordPress Core loads. Boot code in wp-config.php blocks threats at the earliest possible layer. Up to 30-100ms and 5-20MB RAM saved per blocked request. Multisite-aware, auto-disables if Cloud API inactive. Self-healing runtime files. Hide Login URL – custom admin URL slug. Four behaviors when default URL is accessed: 403 message, 404 page, …

Bulletproof your website security in a few clicks against a range of security breaches, including brute-force attacks, malware threats and bots, with our free WordPress security plugin – Security Optimizer. Proactively monitor your site’s security to detect any suspicious activity and take immediate actions to protect your site and prevent further damage with these essential features: Enable 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) for an extra layer of website security Set Limit Login Attempts to deter malicious login attempts and brute-force attacks Change your default login URL to Custom Login URL to avoid attacks Activate Advanced XSS Protection to fortify your website against malicious attacks Lock and Protect System Folders to ensure no unauthorized or malicious scripts can be executed in your system folders Disable Themes & Plugins Editor to safeguard your website from unauthorized access via the WordPress editor Hide WordPress Version effortlessly, keeping it hidden from prying eyes Use Activity Log to monitor your site and quickly prevent malicious actions Post-Hack Actions to take immediate actions and prevent further damages Developed by the website security experts at SiteGround and trusted by over 900,000 webmasters for its robust security shield and ease of use to safeguard WordPress applications from possible attacks on any hosting platform. AWARDS: Monster Awards 2022: Best WordPress Security Plugin 🥇 Monster Awards 2021: Best WordPress Security Plugin 🥇 Plugin Video Plugin Tutorial Unveil the vast array of features and unleash the full potential of our security plugin in our Security Optimizer Tutorial. SITE PROTECTION FEATURES Safeguard your WordPress application using our powerful site security toolset. Our comprehensive features are specifically designed to strengthen your website’s defenses against malware, exploits, and various malicious activities. With these tools at your disposal, you can ensure the utmost bot, malware and brute force protection for your website: Lock and Protect System Folders Ensure the maximum security for your application’s system folders by preventing the execution of any unauthorized or malicious scripts. The Lock and Protect System Folders feature acts as a powerful shield against potential threats. Hide WordPress Version Protect your website from mass attacks by hiding the WordPress version, which helps to mitigate version-specific vulnerabilities. Disable Themes & Plugins Editor Enhance the security of your WordPress admin area by disabling the Themes & Plugins Editor, preventing potential coding errors and unauthorized access through the editor. Disable XML-RPC Mitigate potential security risks by disabling the XML-RPC protocol, which has been exploited in various attacks. Please note that disabling XML-RPC will restrict WordPress from communicating with third-party systems. We recommend enabling this feature unless you have a specific need for it. Disable RSS and ATOM Feeds Prevent content scraping and specific attacks on your site by disabling RSS and ATOM feeds. Unless you have readers accessing your site via RSS readers, it is recommended to keep this feature enabled. Advanced XSS Protection Add an extra layer of website security against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by enabling Advanced XSS Protection, bolstering the overall security of your website. Delete Default Readme.html Eliminate potential vulnerabilities by deleting the default readme.txt file, which contains information about your website. By removing this file, you reduce the risk of your site being listed in vulnerable sites targeted by hackers. Login Security Custom Login Url Personalize your login URL to thwart potential attacks and create a strong entry point. Bid farewell to the default login URL and embrace a bespoke path of your choosing. Additionally, you have the freedom to modify the default sign-up URL as well. Login Access Restrict login page access to specific IP addresses or IP ranges, effectively thwarting malicious login attempts and deterring brute force attacks. 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication) Immerse your website in an impenetrable shield of security with 2FA. This formidable feature demands that all admin users furnish a unique token, generated exclusively through the Google Authentication application, during the login process. Disable Common Usernames Don’t fall victim to predictable security breaches! The use of common usernames, such as ‘admin,’ poses a significant threat to the integrity of your website. Activate this option to disable the creation of common usernames. If any weak usernames already exist, we’ll prompt you to provide new, stronger alternatives. Limit Login Attempts Maintain control over unauthorized access attempts with Limit Login Attempts. Set a specific threshold for the number of login failures users can endure before consequences arise. After reaching the limit, the IP address associated with the unsuccessful login attempts will be blocked for one hour. Persistent failures will result in longer restrictions, starting with 24 hours and escalating to a week. ACTIVITY MONITORING Monitor your website and login page for unauthorized visitors and brute force attempts to prevent malicious actions Activity Log The Activity Log page provides you with a comprehensive view of the activities performed by registered, unknown, and blocked visitors. It allows you to closely monitor any suspicious behavior and take appropriate actions in case of a compromised user, plugin, or hacking attempt. You can leverage the quick tools available to swiftly block future attempts. Weekly Security Reports Receive a weekly traffic summary for your website directly to your inbox. This Weekly Security Report compiles data on both bot and human traffic, along with details about blocked login and visit attempts to proactively monitor traffic and promptly identify suspicious activity. POST-HACK ACTIONS Take immediate measures to protect your website if you suspect a compromise and prevent further damage. Here, you’ll find convenient solutions to address the situation effectively: Reinstall All Free Plugins In the event of a hack, utilizing the Reinstall All Free Plugins feature can help mitigate potential harm. This action reinstalls all of your free plugins, reducing the likelihood of additional exploits or the reuse of malicious code. Log Out All Users To prevent any further unauthorized activities by users or attackers, you can choose to log out all users instantly using the Log Out All Users feature. Force Password Reset By enforcing a password reset, you can ensure that all users are prompted to change their passwords during their next login. This not only strengthens the security of their accounts but also immediately logs out all currently logged-in users. Requirements WordPress 4.7 PHP 7.0 Working .htaccess file Data Collection Collection of technical data is optional and is listed here. This data is collected only for technical analysis, improvements and the possibility to contact the plugin user in case urgent issues need to be fixed (for example a critical security release that needs to be communicated to site owners). The plugin user can manage their preferences within the WP admin to control the collection of technical data. We advise opting in for this data collection, as it can enhance the plugin’s performance. You may find more information on data collection in our Plugins Privacy Notice.