Joseph Brzezowski

Header Junk Remover is a lightweight, no-settings plugin that cleans up the <code><head></code> section and headers of your WordPress site.
It removes outdated tags, redundant links, bloated scripts, and unnecessary headers that WordPress adds by default. The result: cleaner source code, faster page loads, less information leakage, and fewer HTTP requests.
What gets removed (and why it matters):
<ul>
<li>
RSD Link 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘rsd_link’); 
Used for Really Simple Discovery (old remote editing). Not needed anymore.
</li>
<li>
WordPress Generator 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_generator’); 
Hides your WP version. Avoids advertising it to bots/hackers.
</li>
<li>
Feed Links 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘feed_links’, 2); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘feed_links_extra’, 3); 
Removes auto-added RSS/Atom feed links. If you don’t use feeds, these are pointless.
</li>
<li>
Relational Links (index, start, parent, adjacent posts) 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘index_rel_link’); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘start_post_rel_link’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘parent_post_rel_link’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘adjacent_posts_rel_link’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘adjacent_posts_rel_link_wp_head’, 10, 0); 
Removes old “previous/next” link metadata almost no browsers or crawlers use.
</li>
<li>
Windows Live Writer Manifest 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wlwmanifest_link’); 
Dead tool support. Safe to remove.
</li>
<li>
Shortlink Tags/Headers 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_shortlink_wp_head’, 10, 0); 
 remove_action(‘template_redirect’, ‘wp_shortlink_header’, 11); 
Shortlink system is obsolete. Removing reduces clutter.
</li>
<li>
REST API Discovery Link 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘rest_output_link_wp_head’, 10); 
REST API still works, but no longer broadcast in headers.
</li>
<li>
oEmbed Discovery + Scripts 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_oembed_add_discovery_links’, 10); 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_oembed_add_host_js’); 
Prevents WordPress from advertising oEmbed endpoints and loading extra JS.
</li>
<li>
Resource Hints (dns-prefetch, preconnect) 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_resource_hints’, 2); 
Stops WP from auto-inserting DNS hints you may not control.
</li>
<li>
Emoji Scripts and Styles 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘print_emoji_detection_script’, 7); 
 remove_action(‘wp_print_styles’, ‘print_emoji_styles’); 
Removes redundant emoji JS/CSS. Browsers already handle emojis natively.
</li>
<li>
Global Styles (Block Editor/Gutenberg) 
 remove_action(‘wp_head’, ‘wp_enqueue_global_styles’, 1); 
Prevents WP from injecting default CSS that bloats your source.
</li>
</ul>
Extra Hardening:
<ul>
<li>
Disable XML-RPC 
 add_filter(‘xmlrpc_enabled’, ‘__return_false’); 
Blocks XML-RPC protocol (commonly abused in brute force/DDoS attacks).
</li>
<li>
Remove X-Pingback Header 
 add_filter(‘wp_headers’, function($headers) { unset($headers[‘X-Pingback’]); return $headers; }); 
Stops WP from advertising its pingback URL.
</li>
<li>
Turn off PHP Exposure (optional) 
 @ini_set(‘expose_php’, ‘off’); 
Prevents PHP version disclosure in server headers.
</li>
</ul>
Why this matters:
<ul>
<li>Less clutter in your <code><head></code> </li>
<li>Fewer HTTP requests and faster load times </li>
<li>Less information leakage for bots/hackers </li>
<li>Cleaner source code when you “View Source” </li>
<li>Safer defaults without touching your theme files </li>
</ul>
If you find this plugin useful, consider supporting my work: 
👉 <a href="https://buymeacoffee.com/avocadowebservices" rel="nofollow ugc">Buy Me a Coffee</a>

Header Junk Remover

Short Description: Remove unnecessary meta tags and junk from your WordPress header for faster load times and cleaner code.

Blobfolio

CAPTCHA fields inhibit both human and robot participation in important kitty-related discussions. Sock’Em SPAMbots exists to take a more seamless approach to SPAM blocking, placing the burden on the robots, not the humans. Any combination of the following can be enabled:
<ul>
<li>Javascript: require basic Javascript support, and in the process prove the user visited the actual comment form (instead of just submitting straight to WP).</li>
<li>Cookies: require basic cookie support, and again, prove the user visited the site before submitting a comment.</li>
<li>Honeypot: generic formbots will often populate all form fields with gibberish, so we can assume that if text is added to an invisible field, something robotic is happening!</li>
<li>Speed: automated scripts complete comment forms with inhuman speed, thus if submissions happen really quickly, we can assume it is a robot doing the submitting!</li>
<li>Links: reject comments with excessive number of links.</li>
<li>Disable trackbacks or pingbacks independently of one another.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Requirements</h3>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 3.6 or later.</li>
<li>PHP 7.3 or later.</li>
</ul>
Please note: it is not safe 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. 🙂
<h3>Privacy Policy</h3>
This plugin makes use of the same “Personal Data” WordPress does when parsing comment form submissions.
When the optional debugging mode is enabled — which should never be the case on a public-facing site! — all comment form submissions are logged to a file on the local server.
When the optional cookie requirement test is enabled, a small cookie will be placed on each visitor’s machine. These cookies are not personally identifiable or used for any kind of tracking purposes; they merely enable the plugin to answer the question, “Do you support cookies?”

Sock'Em SPAMbots

A more seamless approach to deflecting the vast majority of SPAM comments.

Header Junk Remover vs Sock'Em SPAMbots