Adam Greenwell

Guard Dog is a comprehensive security plugin designed to protect your WordPress site from unauthorized access and brute-force attacks. With features like custom login URLs, two-factor authentication, and multiple CAPTCHA providers, Guard Dog provides enterprise-level security for any WordPress site.
Key Features:
<ul>
<li>Custom Login URLs – Hide your wp-admin and wp-login.php from attackers</li>
<li>Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) – TOTP-based authentication with recovery codes</li>
<li>Multiple CAPTCHA Providers – Support for Google reCAPTCHA v2/v3, hCaptcha, and Cloudflare Turnstile</li>
<li>Login Attempt Limiting – Prevent brute-force attacks with intelligent lockout</li>
<li>Access Control – IP-based whitelist/blacklist protection</li>
<li>Activity Monitoring – Comprehensive logging of security events</li>
<li>Temporary User Access – Create temporary WordPress users with time-limited, secure access</li>
<li>User Management – Advanced user permission controls</li>
</ul>
Why Choose Guard Dog?
<ul>
<li>Privacy-Focused – Multiple CAPTCHA options including privacy-first providers</li>
<li>WordPress.org Compliant – Built following WordPress coding standards</li>
<li>Enterprise-Ready – Scalable features suitable for any site size</li>
<li>User-Friendly – Intuitive interface with helpful documentation</li>
<li>Regular Updates – Actively maintained and updated</li>
</ul>
Perfect For:
<ul>
<li>Business websites requiring enhanced security</li>
<li>WordPress sites handling sensitive data</li>
<li>Multi-user sites with complex access requirements</li>
<li>Anyone wanting comprehensive protection without complexity</li>
</ul>
<h3>Additional Information</h3>
Support: 
For support questions, please use the WordPress.org support forums.
Privacy: 
Guard Dog respects user privacy and offers multiple privacy-focused CAPTCHA options. No data is transmitted to third parties except for CAPTCHA verification when enabled.
Security: 
Guard Dog follows WordPress security best practices and undergoes regular security audits. All user input is sanitized and all output is escaped.
<h3>Third-Party Services</h3>
Guard Dog integrates with the following third-party services to provide CAPTCHA protection. These services are optional and only used when CAPTCHA features are enabled.
<h3>Google reCAPTCHA (v2 and v3)</h3>
What it is: Google’s CAPTCHA service that helps protect websites from spam and abuse.
What it’s used for: 
– Verifying that login, registration, and password reset attempts are made by humans 
– Preventing automated bot attacks on your WordPress forms
What data is sent and when: 
– User interaction data (mouse movements, time spent on page) when CAPTCHA is solved 
– IP address of the user 
– Site domain for verification 
– CAPTCHA response token
Privacy and Terms: 
– <a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" rel="nofollow ugc">Google reCAPTCHA Privacy Policy</a> 
– <a href="https://policies.google.com/terms" rel="nofollow ugc">Google reCAPTCHA Terms of Service</a> 
– <a href="https://developers.google.com/recaptcha/docs/v3#data_usage" rel="nofollow ugc">Google reCAPTCHA Data Usage</a>
<h3>Cloudflare Turnstile</h3>
What it is: Cloudflare’s privacy-first CAPTCHA alternative that doesn’t require user interaction.
What it’s used for: 
– Invisible verification of human users during login, registration, and password reset 
– Privacy-focused protection without tracking or cookies
What data is sent and when: 
– Non-interactive browser signals when forms are submitted 
– IP address for verification 
– Site domain for validation
Privacy and Terms: 
– <a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/privacypolicy/" rel="nofollow ugc">Cloudflare Privacy Policy</a> 
– <a href="https://www.cloudflare.com/terms/" rel="nofollow ugc">Cloudflare Terms of Service</a> 
– <a href="https://developers.cloudflare.com/turnstile/" rel="nofollow ugc">Turnstile Documentation</a>
<h3>hCaptcha</h3>
What it is: A privacy-focused CAPTCHA service that doesn’t track users across websites.
What it’s used for: 
– Human verification during login, registration, and password reset forms 
– Privacy-conscious alternative to Google reCAPTCHA
What data is sent and when: 
– User interaction with CAPTCHA challenge 
– IP address for verification 
– Site domain for validation
Privacy and Terms: 
– <a href="https://www.hcaptcha.com/privacy" rel="nofollow ugc">hCaptcha Privacy Policy</a> 
– <a href="https://www.hcaptcha.com/terms" rel="nofollow ugc">hCaptcha Terms of Service</a> 
– <a href="https://www.hcaptcha.com/data-processing" rel="nofollow ugc">hCaptcha Data Processing</a>
<h3>TOTP (Time-based One-Time Password) Standard</h3>
What it is: An open standard (RFC 6238) for generating time-based one-time passwords used in two-factor authentication.
What it’s used for: 
– Generating secure, time-limited authentication codes for 2FA 
– Providing backup authentication when primary 2FA methods are unavailable 
– Enabling compatibility with popular authenticator apps (Google Authenticator, Authy, Microsoft Authenticator, etc.)
What data is sent and when: 
– No external data transmission – TOTP codes are generated locally using the TOTP algorithm 
– Secret key generation – A unique secret key is generated locally when 2FA is enabled for a user 
– QR code generation – QR codes are generated locally for easy setup with authenticator apps 
– Code verification – Generated codes are verified locally against the stored secret key
Privacy and Terms: 
– <a href="https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6238" rel="nofollow ugc">RFC 6238 – TOTP Standard</a> 
– <a href="https://policies.google.com/privacy" rel="nofollow ugc">Google Authenticator Privacy Policy</a> (if using Google Authenticator app) 
– <a href="https://authy.com/privacy/" rel="nofollow ugc">Authy Privacy Policy</a> (if using Authy app) 
– <a href="https://privacy.microsoft.com/en-us/privacystatement" rel="nofollow ugc">Microsoft Authenticator Privacy Policy</a> (if using Microsoft Authenticator app)
<h3>Data Handling Summary</h3>
When CAPTCHA is disabled: No data is sent to any third-party services.
When CAPTCHA is enabled: Only the specific provider you choose receives verification data. Data is not shared between providers or stored by Guard Dog beyond the verification process.
When 2FA is disabled: No external data transmission occurs.
When 2FA is enabled: 
– All TOTP operations (code generation, verification) happen locally on your server 
– No data is transmitted to external services for 2FA functionality 
– Authenticator apps only receive the initial setup QR code or secret key 
– Recovery codes are generated locally and stored securely
User control: Users can choose which CAPTCHA provider to use, or disable CAPTCHA entirely. 2FA can be enabled/disabled per user, and users can choose their preferred authenticator app. All security features are optional and configurable.

Guard Dog

Comprehensive WordPress security plugin with custom login URLs, two-factor authentication, CAPTCHA protection, event and activity logging, as well as  …

Sully

A simple, lightweight, yet effective plugin to enable two factor (2FA) authentication via email. You can enable this on an individual user basis, for all administrators, editors, or all accounts with one line of code in your <code>wp-config.php</code> file.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Two-Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email Plugin for WordPress" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/GgOAcwK_4m4?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS), with over 40% of all websites running on it. As such, it has become a prime target for hackers looking to exploit vulnerabilities to gain unauthorized access to websites. One of the best ways to enhance the security of a WordPress site is to enable two-factor authentication (2FA) for administrators.
<ul>
<li>Simply enable the plugin then edit a user account to enable 2FA for that individual user.</li>
<li>Please make sure your WordPress website sends and receives emails correctly. The best way is to use a SMTP plugin.</li>
</ul>
Check out our other plugins:
<ul>
<li>🎉 <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/media-library-file-size/" rel="ugc">Media Library File Size</a></li>
<li>✨ <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/single-post-page-export/" rel="ugc">Export Single Post Page</a></li>
<li>🙍‍♂️ <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/view-user-metadata/" rel="ugc">View User Metadata</a></li>
<li>🔠 <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/enable-turnstile-cloudflare-for-gravity-forms/" rel="ugc">Enable Turnstile (Cloudflare) for Gravity Forms</a></li>
<li>⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ <a href="https://ss88.us/plugins/gravity-forms-freescout?utm_campaign=OtherPlugins" rel="nofollow ugc">Gravity Forms to FreeScout</a></li>
</ul>

Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email

Enable one-click login with this WordPress Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) plugin, utilizing email for added security.

Guard Dog vs Two Factor (2FA) Authentication via Email