lunexiait

Lunexia .htaccess Shield is a comprehensive security plugin that helps harden your website by automatically applying proven .htaccess security rules. The latest release includes a modern WordPress 7.0-ready admin interface, a polished dashboard, and premium workflow improvements for Firewall and Malware Scan access.
Key Features:
<ul>
<li>Redesigned Security Dashboard: Four separate protection score widgets for rule coverage, module coverage, malware scanning, and threat monitoring.</li>
<li>Premium Admin Tabs: Firewall and Malware Scan tabs now display premium badges like Advanced Settings.</li>
<li>Plugin Layout Centering: Admin screens are centered at 80% width for a clean, modern WordPress 7.0 experience.</li>
<li>Enterprise Protection Status Cards: View active/inactive protection modules such as bot protection, rate limiting, live traffic monitoring, and quarantine system status.</li>
<li>Security Statistics Panel: Track successful logins, failed logins, blocked IPs, pending approvals, and firewall protection status in one place.</li>
<li>Security Intelligence Dashboard: View malware detections, blocked attacks, IP reputation, and threat intelligence in a single admin experience.</li>
<li>One-Click Security Rules: Enable or disable security rules with a simple toggle interface.</li>
<li>Security Score: Visual protection score meter for instant status awareness.</li>
<li>Automatic .htaccess Management: Safely apply rules without manual editing.</li>
<li>Backup & Restore: Create backups before changes and restore if needed.</li>
<li>Admin Approval Workflow: Require admin approval for new Administrator/Editor accounts before login.</li>
<li>OTP Login Protection: Add one-time password verification for selected user roles.</li>
<li>Backend Access Protection: Restrict access to <code>wp-admin</code> and <code>wp-login.php</code> for blocked IPs.</li>
<li>Feature Preview: Preview recommended premium hardening features before enabling them.</li>
<li>System Status: Monitor your server’s security readiness.</li>
<li>Malware Scanner and Quarantine Manager: Premium scanner with quarantine controls, findings refresh, and scan actions.</li>
<li>WordPress 7.0 Compatible: Designed to look great in the new Modern admin theme.</li>
</ul>
Security Rules Included:
<ul>
<li>Disable directory browsing</li>
<li>Protect wp-config.php and .htaccess files</li>
<li>Block access to sensitive files</li>
<li>Disable XML-RPC for improved security</li>
<li>Prevent PHP execution in uploads folder</li>
<li>Malicious query string protection</li>
<li>Security headers (XSS, CSRF, HSTS, etc.)</li>
</ul>
Safe & Reliable: 
* Uses core functions for .htaccess manipulation 
* Creates automatic backups before changes 
* Checks file permissions before applying rules 
* Non-destructive – rules are wrapped in markers for easy removal
<h3>External Services</h3>
This plugin connects to external services as follows:
Google Sheets API Service 
This plugin uses the Google Sheets API (via Google Apps Script) to validate license keys when users activate a license. This is an optional feature and is only used when a user voluntarily attempts to activate a license key.
<ul>
<li>Purpose: Validates license key authenticity and domain binding</li>
<li>When it’s used: Only when users click “Activate License” in the plugin settings</li>
<li>What data is sent: License key and website domain name</li>
<li>Service provider: Google (Google Sheets / Google Apps Script)</li>
<li>Terms of Service: https://policies.google.com/terms</li>
<li>Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy</li>
<li>Data retention: License validation data is stored only on the user’s Google Sheet, which they control</li>
</ul>
<h3>Support</h3>
For support, please visit the plugin forum or check the documentation.
<h3>License</h3>
This plugin is licensed under the GPLv2 or later.
<h3>Credits</h3>
Developed with security best practices in mind.

Lunexia .htaccess Shield

Professional website security hardening with IP blocking system by automatically applying common .htaccess security rules safely.

sweetwatermedia

Steel Security & Hardening – Site Audit Tools focuses on practical security hygiene for WordPress administrators.
The free plugin provides:
<ul>
<li>on-demand security scans</li>
<li>risk summaries grouped by severity and category</li>
<li>checks for common WordPress hardening gaps</li>
<li>checks for exposed root-level artifacts such as <code>.env</code>, SQL dumps, <code>phpinfo</code> files, and backup archives</li>
<li>a quarantine vault for operator-reviewed file isolation</li>
<li>uploads PHP execution blocking on supported server environments</li>
<li>manual guidance when automatic server hardening is not safely supported</li>
</ul>
This plugin is positioned as an auditing and hardening tool. It helps surface risk and apply selected preventive controls, but it does not promise malware removal, incident response, or complete server protection.
<h4>Included checks</h4>
The scan currently looks for items such as:
<ul>
<li>PHP error display exposure</li>
<li><code>WP_DEBUG</code> and <code>debug.log</code> exposure</li>
<li>XML-RPC availability</li>
<li>author and REST user enumeration exposure</li>
<li>theme/plugin file editor availability</li>
<li>WordPress generator meta output</li>
<li>comments enabled by default</li>
<li>uploads PHP execution hardening status</li>
<li>root-level sensitive files and archives</li>
</ul>
<h4>Server-aware behavior</h4>
This plugin only auto-applies server config changes where it can do so in a scoped and reversible way.
<ul>
<li>Apache and LiteSpeed: uploads PHP blocking is managed through a Steel Security-marked <code>.htaccess</code> block</li>
<li>IIS: uploads PHP blocking is managed through a Steel Security-marked <code>web.config</code> section</li>
<li>Nginx and unsupported environments: Steel Security provides manual guidance instead of claiming automatic protection</li>
</ul>
<h4>Pro companion</h4>
This plugin can work with a separate Pro companion plugin that adds features such as scheduled scans, scan history, reports, and managed server-level controls such as directory listing protection and baseline security headers. The free plugin remains usable on its own.

Steel Security & Hardening – Site Audit Tools

High-signal WordPress security auditing and hardening with practical site audit tools for administrators.

Lunexia .htaccess Shield vs Steel Security & Hardening – Site Audit Tools