WPMU DEV - Your All-in-One WordPress Platform

<p><strong>Defender adds the best in WordPress plugin security to your website with just a few clicks, including malware scanner, firewall, password protection, and login security features. Stop brute force login attacks, weak password usage, SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), and other WordPress security vulnerabilities and hacks with Defender’s malware scanner, providing antivirus scans, IP blocking, firewall, activity log, security log, and two-factor authentication (2FA) login security.</strong></p>
<p>No more complex security settings, Defender’s malware scanner, firewall, and login security features add all the hardening and security you need.</p>
<p>Defender is brought to you by the WordPress speed specialists that created Smush image optimization, now active on more than +1 million websites.</p>
<p>Plus, connect for free to WPMU DEV’s AntiBot Global Firewall to block harmful IPs with data from over 500,000 sites.</p>
<p><strong>Enjoy complete site protection from malware, vulnerabilities, bot attacks, and session hijacking from the start with <a href="https://wpmudev.com/project/wp-defender/?utm_source=wordpress.org&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=defender-readme-above-the-fold&utm_content=wp_defender_pro" rel="nofollow ugc">Defender Pro</a>.</strong></p>
<p>Level up security immediately with exclusive Pro features like scheduled malware scanning, Safe Repair for suspicious files, and known WordPress vulnerability detection. <a href="https://wpmudev.com/project/wp-defender/?utm_source=wordpress.org&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=defender-readme-above-the-fold&utm_content=wp_defender_pro" rel="nofollow ugc">Learn more about Pro</a>.</p>
<h3>Security Recommendations</h3>
<p>Defender’s one-click security hardening recommendations instantly adds layers of protection and security to your site.</p>
<h3>Enhance Security and Block Hackers At Every Level:</h3>
<ul>
<li><strong>Malware Scanner</strong> – Scan WordPress core files for modifications and unexpected changes which may be caused by malware. Scan for malware and tighten up the security of your files.</li>
<li><strong>Outdated & Removed Plugins</strong> – Scans for plugins removed from WordPress.org or not updated in 2+ years.</li>
<li><strong>AntiBot Global Firewall</strong> – Connect for free to WPMU DEV to block harmful IPs with data from over 500,000 sites.</li>
<li><strong>WordPress Security Firewall</strong> – Block or allowlist IPs, implement IP blocking, and Geo IP blocking, user agent banning and protect against brute force attacks.</li>
<li><strong>Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)</strong> – Easily set up better security with 2FA to prevent most login attacks such as brute force, App verification, backup codes, lost device email, WooCommerce 2FA, and Web Authentication.</li>
<li><strong>Login Masking</strong> – Change the location of WordPress’s default login area to improve login security.</li>
<li><strong>Login Lockout</strong> – Failed login attempts lockout for even more security assurance.</li>
<li><strong>User Agent Banning</strong> – Fortify security by blocking bad bots and user agents from accessing your site.</li>
<li><strong>Security Headers</strong> – Add an extra layer of defense security and protect against common attacks like: XSS, code injection, and more.</li>
<li><strong>404 Detection Security</strong> – Automated block of bot IPs.</li>
<li><strong>Security Configs</strong> – Create your ideal Defender security plugin settings and export / import saved configs to any other site.</li>
<li><strong>Geolocation IP Lockout Security</strong> – Block users based on location and country (IP blocking).</li>
<li><strong>Disable Trackbacks And Pingbacks</strong> – Disable these notifications to enhance spam protection and site security.</li>
<li><strong>Core And Server Update Security Recommendations</strong> – Stay on top of your system security.</li>
<li><strong>Antivirus Scan</strong> – Scan for active security threats, viruses, and other malware.</li>
<li><strong>Disable File Editor</strong> – If they get in, they won’t get far.</li>
<li><strong>Hide Error Reporting</strong> – Hide code errors on the frontend so hackers can’t exploit site security.</li>
<li><strong>Update Security Keys</strong> – Update old WordPress security keys to be more encrypted and provide better security.</li>
<li><strong>Prevent Information Disclosure</strong> – Improve server security and protect sensitive files by locking down specific file types.</li>
<li><strong>Prevent PHP Execution</strong> – Defender bolsters security by automatically preventing any PHP code from being executed.</li>
<li><strong>Bulk Apply Security Recommendations</strong> – Apply multiple recommended security improvements at once for quicker site hardening.</li>
<li><strong>Google reCAPTCHA Security</strong> – Easy to add, stop fraud and abuse – including BuddyPress and WooCommerce.</li>
<li><strong>Cloudflare Turnstile</strong> – Protect your site from spam and automated attacks without annoying captchas.</li>
<li><strong>Pwned Password Check</strong> – Increase security by protecting against compromised passwords.</li>
<li><strong>Force Password Reset</strong> – Force users with selected roles to reset passwords.</li>
<li><strong>Force Strong Passwords</strong> – Ensure users create secure credentials by enforcing robust password requirements.</li>
<li><strong>User Agent Blocklist Presets</strong> – Easily block unwanted bots and scripts using curated user agent presets.</li>
<li><strong>Known Vulnerability & Suspicious Code Scan (Pro Only)</strong> – Scan WordPress core, themes, and plugins for vulnerabilities and harmful code.</li>
<li><strong>Malicious Bot Detector (Pro Only)</strong> – Block malicious bots with layered defenses, including traps for bots that ignore robots.txt and checks for fake crawlers posing as search engines.</li>
<li><strong>Google Blocklist Monitoring (Pro Only)</strong> – Get instant alerts if your site is flagged by Google.</li>
<li><strong>Session Protection (Pro Only)</strong> – Stop session hijacking and prevent unauthorized account access.</li>
<li><strong>Safe Repair For Suspicious Files (Pro Only)</strong> – Restore or replace compromised files safely with a single click.</li>
<li><strong>Automated Reports (Pro Only)</strong> – Receive scheduled security reports straight to your inbox.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Learn The Ropes With These Hands-On Defender Security Plugin Tutorials</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wpmudev.com/blog/how-to-get-the-most-out-of-defender-security/" rel="nofollow ugc">How to Get the Most Out of Defender Security</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wpmudev.com/blog/stop-hackers-with-defender-wordpress-security-plugin/" rel="nofollow ugc">How to Stop Hackers in Their Tracks with Defender Security</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wpmudev.com/blog/delete-suspicious-code-defender/" rel="nofollow ugc">Find Out if You’re Hacked: How to Find and Delete Suspicious Code with Defender Security</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wpmudev.com/blog/defender-ip-address-lockout-firewall/" rel="nofollow ugc">How to Create a Powerful and Secure Customized Firewall with Defender Security</a></li>
</ul>
<h3>WordPress Security Scans</h3>
<p>Defender’s malware scanner security checks for suspicious code and malware. It also compares your WordPress install with the WP directory master copy, and reports any changes so you can restore the original file with a click.</p>
<h3>Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) Security</h3>
<p>Easily add an extra layer of protection and security to your WordPress sites with Defender’s two-factor authentication (2FA) features. Including: mobile app verification (Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, Authy), backup code generation, lost device emails, WooCommerce 2FA, Biometric Authentication (fingerprint/facial recognition), and Hardware Key Authentication (USB security keys). Easily prevent brute force attacks and login security vulnerabilities.</p>
<h3>Login Protection</h3>
<p>Brute force attacks are no match for Defender’s login security. Limit login attempts so hackers can’t guess passwords. Permanently ban IPs or trigger a timed lockout after a set number of failed login attempts. Use Geo IP blocking to ban users from specific countries or locations.</p>
<h3>Firewall Security and IP Manager</h3>
<p>Improve your website security with Defender’s IP manager and firewall. Manually block specific IPs, import a list of banned IPs, and set automated timed and permanent lockouts. Defender makes it easy to block and unblock specific locations quickly thanks to its advanced firewall security(WAF) offering Geographical IP blocking.</p>
<h3>User Agent Banning</h3>
<p>Add user agents to the block or allowlist and stop bad bots from spamming and scraping your site. All major search engines and special network bots are allow-listed out of the box. Easy to set up, Defender’s user agent banning tool now includes built-in bot and script presets to help you quickly block malicious traffic. It does all the security work for you—no editing of the .htaccess file required.</p>
<h3>Google reCAPTCHA Integration</h3>
<p>Add reCAPTCHA security to your login / registration pages, lost password forms, and post comments in a couple of steps to up security and help protect from fraud and abuse. Select reCAPTCHA type, language, location, and style to suit. As well as Google, Defender also supports the following reCAPTCHA types:</p>
<ul>
<li>BuddyPress reCAPTCHA</li>
<li>WooCommerce reCAPTCHA</li>
</ul>
<h3>Login Screen Masking</h3>
<p>Defender makes it easy to move your login screen to a custom URL. Not only does login screen masking improve security, but it also lets you white label your login user experience and improves branding.</p>
<h3>Force Password Reset</h3>
<p>Enhance site security by forcing all users with selected roles to reset their password at any time. Especially helpful if you suspect a possible data breach on your site.</p>
<h3>Security Headers</h3>
<p>Protect your site against common attacks, such as: XSS, code injection, cross site scripting, and more. Enable the following security headers:</p>
<ul>
<li>X-Frame-Options</li>
<li>X-XSS-Protection</li>
<li>X-Content-Type-Options</li>
<li>Strict Transport</li>
<li>Referrer Policy</li>
<li>Permissions-Policy</li>
</ul>
<h3>404 Limiter</h3>
<p>Detect when bots are being used to scan your site for security vulnerabilities and shut them down. The 404 limiter lets you stop the scan by detecting when a bot keeps visiting pages that do not exist, which can also save you from a giant strain on your site’s performance.</p>
<h3>Security Notifications and Reports</h3>
<p>Defender runs surveillance and sends security notifications with information that matters. All activity and notifications are recorded in the activity log to let you see at a glance the website security actions that have been taken by the Defender security plugin.</p>
<h3>Reduce Security Setup Time With Saved Configs</h3>
<p>Save your Defender security plugin configurations and reapply them to your other sites in just a few clicks. You can create and save an unlimited number of security configurations.</p>
<h3>Pwned Password Check</h3>
<p>Entered passwords are checked against public database breach records to further boost security. If a password is identified as compromised, the user will be asked to change it.</p>
<h3>Custom IP Block/Allowlist</h3>
<p>Create your IP block/allow list once, then apply and automatically sync it to all your other sites with just a single click. Save hours by not having to manually add IPs to each individual site. *Note: a [free WPMU DEV account] (https://wpmudev.com/register) is required to access this feature.</p>
<h3>What Do People Say About Defender?</h3>
<p>★★★★★<br />
“I found other pro security plugins a bit too fiddly for my taste…I’m delighted with Defender” – <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/keithadv" rel="nofollow ugc">KeithADV</a></p>
<p>★★★★★<br />
“Thank you for bringing back a free and easy to use 2-Factor Authentication after Clef! Defender helps keep me aware of my site’s security.” – <a href="https://wordpress.org/support/users/awijasa/" rel="ugc">awijasa</a></p>
<p>★★★★★<br />
“Defender’s interface is very intuitive with warnings that are very helpful” – <a href="https://wpmudev.com/profile/djohns" rel="nofollow ugc">djohns</a></p>
<p>★★★★★<br />
“Defender Recently blocked over 3000 attacks in one week without any noticeable impact on the website. WPMUDEV knocking it out of the park on this one.” – <a href="https://wpmudev.com/profile/davidoswald/" rel="nofollow ugc">David Oswald</a></p>
<h3>Secure Websites, More Trust, Better Profit</h3>
<p>If you’re running a business website or eCommerce store, privacy, security, uptime and trust are essential.</p>
<p>The Defender security plugin is here to help you: it’s a one of a kind WordPress security plugin that makes web security easy for anyone, for free!</p>
<ul>
<li>Malware scanner</li>
<li>Google two-factor authentication (2FA)</li>
<li>Web Authentication</li>
<li>Firewall setup and configuration</li>
<li>One-click site hardening and security tweaking</li>
<li>WordPress core file scanning and repair</li>
<li>Ongoing firewall security</li>
<li>Google reCAPTCHA</li>
<li>Security headers</li>
<li>One-click security configs</li>
<li>Login Screen Masking</li>
<li>Pwned Password Check</li>
<li>IP Blocklist manager and logging</li>
<li>Geo IP blocking</li>
<li>User agent banning</li>
<li>Unlimited file scans</li>
<li>Timed Lockout brute force login attack shield for login security</li>
<li>404 limiter for blocking vulnerability scans</li>
<li>IP lockout notifications and security reports</li>
</ul>
<p>All the above is free and will enhance WordPress security for you. If you need extra security for your WordPress site, <a href="https://wpmudev.com/?utm_source=wordpress.org&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=defender-readme&utm_content=you_should_get_wpmudev_membership#trial" rel="nofollow ugc">you should get a WPMU DEV Membership</a>.</p>
<p>Our Membership gives you access to Defender Pro – which security features include automated scanning, scheduled malware scans for Core, themes, plugins and other files, audit logs, firewall protection, Safe Repair, Blocklist monitoring – alongside Snapshot Pro cloud backups, the Hub with automated plugin, theme and core updates and safe-upgrade scans, all our premium WordPress plugins, 24/7 WordPress support and if your sites already been hacked our team of security experts will clean it up at no additional cost.</p>
<p><a href="https://wpmudev.com/?utm_source=wordpress.org&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=defender-readme&utm_content=and_you_can_find_out_more_here#trial" rel="nofollow ugc">It’s an incredible deal, and you can find out more here</a>.</p>
<h3>About Us</h3>
<p>WPMU DEV is a premium supplier of quality WordPress plugins and themes. For premium support with any WordPress-related issues you can join us here:<br />
<a href="https://wpmudev.com/?utm_source=wordpress.org&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=defender-readme&utm_content=wpmu_dev_link" rel="nofollow ugc">https://wpmudev.com/</a></p>
<p>Don’t forget to stay up to date on everything WordPress from the Internet’s number one resource:<br />
<a href="https://wpmudev.com/?utm_source=wordpress.org&utm_medium=readme&utm_campaign=defender-readme&utm_content=wpmu_dev_blog_link" rel="nofollow ugc">WPMU DEV Blog</a></p>
<p>Hey, one more thing… we hope you <a href="https://profiles.wordpress.org/WPMUDEV/" rel="nofollow ugc">enjoy our free offerings</a> as much as we’ve loved making them for you!</p>


Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall

WordPress security plugin with malware scanner, IP blocking, audit logs, antivirus scans, firewall, 2FA, brute force login security, and more.

Blobfolio

<p>Apocalypse Meow’s main focus is addressing WordPress security issues related to user accounts and logins. This includes things like:</p>
<ul>
<li>Brute-force login-in protection;</li>
<li>Customizable password strength requirements;</li>
<li>XML-RPC access controls;</li>
<li>Account access alerts;</li>
<li>Searchable access logs (including failed login attempts and temporary bans);</li>
<li>User enumeration prevention;</li>
<li>Registration SPAM protection;</li>
<li>Miscellaneous Core and template options to make targeted hacks more difficult;</li>
<li>Anonymize/scrub leaky remote request headers;</li>
</ul>
<p>Security is an admittedly technical subject, but Apocalypse Meow strives to help educate “normal” users about the nature of common web attacks, mitigation techniques, etc. Every option contains detailed explanations and links to external resources with additional information.</p>
<p>Knowledge is power!</p>
<h3>Requirements</h3>
<p>Due to the advanced nature of some of the plugin features, there are a few additional server requirements beyond what WordPress itself requires:</p>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 4.4+.</li>
<li>PHP 7.3 or later.</li>
<li>PHP extensions: (bcmath or gmp), date, filter, json, pcre.</li>
<li><code>CREATE</code> and <code>DROP</code> MySQL grants.</li>
<li>Single-site Installs (i.e. Multi-Site is not supported).</li>
</ul>
<p>Please note: it is <strong>not safe</strong> to run WordPress atop a version of PHP that has reached its <a href="http://php.net/supported-versions.php" rel="nofollow ugc">End of Life</a>. Future releases of this plugin might, out of necessity, drop support for old, unmaintained versions of PHP. To ensure you continue to receive plugin updates, bug fixes, and new features, just make sure PHP is kept up-to-date. 🙂</p>
<h3>Log Monitoring</h3>
<p>Some robots are so dumb they’ll continue trying to submit credentials even after the login form is replaced, wasting system resources and clogging up the log-in history table.  One way to mitigate this is to use a server-side log-monitoring program like <a href="http://www.fail2ban.org/" rel="nofollow ugc">Fail2Ban</a> or <a href="https://ossec.github.io/" rel="nofollow ugc">OSSEC</a> to ban users via the firewall.</p>
<p>Apocalypse Meow produces a 403 error when a banned user requests the login form. Your log-monitoring rule should therefore look for repeated 403 responses to <code>wp-login.php</code>.  Additionally, some robots are unable to follow redirects; if your login form requires SSL, you should also ban repeated 301/302 responses to catch those fools.</p>
<p>If you have enabled user enumeration protection with the <code>die()</code> option, requests for <code>?author=X</code> will produce a 400 response code which can be similarly tracked.</p>
<h3>Privacy Policy</h3>
<p>When active, this plugin retains security logs of every sign-in attempt made to the CMS backend. This information — including the end user’s public IP address, username, and the status of his or her attempt — is used to help prevent unauthorized system access and maintain Quality of Service for all site visitors.</p>
<p>This information resides fully on the hosting web site and is not shared with any third parties.</p>
<p>Data retention is entirely up to the site operator, but by default old records are automatically removed after 90 days.</p>
<p>Please note: Apocalypse Meow <strong>DOES NOT</strong> integrate with any WordPress GDPR “Personal Data” features. (Selective erasure of audit logs would undermine the security mechanisms provided by this plugin. Haha.)</p>


Apocalypse Meow

Works nicely to protect from brute force logins, and the developer is fantastic!

great protection

A simple, light-weight collection of tools to harden WordPress security and help mitigate common types of attacks.

Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall vs Apocalypse Meow