Samuel Aguilera

There’s a lot of WordPress security plugins with many many options and pages to setup. And that is fine if you know what to do. 
But most of the times, you don’t need so much or simply you’re not sure about what to set or not.
This plugin adds some extra security to your WordPress with only one click. No options page, just activate it!
<h4>Features</h4>
Like many other security plugins SAR One Click Security adds well known .htaccess rules, but only the ones probed to be safe to use in almost any type of site (including WooCommerce stores), to protect your WordPress from common attacks. This allows you to have a safer WordPress without worries about what protection you should be using.
<ul>
<li>Turn off ServerSignature directive, that may leak information about your web server.</li>
<li>Turn off directory listing, avoiding bad configured hostings to leak your files.</li>
<li>Blocks public access (from web) to following files that may leak information about your WordPress install: .htaccess, license.txt, readme.html, wp-config.php, wp-config-sample.php, install.php</li>
<li>Blocks access to wp-login.php to dummy bots trying to register in WordPress sites that have registration disabled.</li>
<li>Blocks requests looking for timthumb.php, reducing server load caused by bots trying to find it. (*)</li>
<li>Blocks TRACE and TRACK request methods, preventing XST attacks.</li>
<li>Blocks direct posting to wp-comments-post.php (most spammers do this) and access with blank User Agent, reducing spam comments a lot and also server load.</li>
<li>Blocks direct access to PHP files in wp-content directory (this includes subdirectories like plugins or themes). Protecting you from a huge number of 0day exploits.</li>
<li>Blocks direct POST to wp-login.php and access with blank User Agent, preventing most brute-force attacks and reducing server load.</li>
<li>Blocks access to .txt files under any plugin/theme directory to prevent scans for installed plugins/themes.</li>
<li>Blocks any query string trying to get a copy of the wp-config.php file.</li>
<li>Blocks gf_page=upload query string argument, this was deprecated in Gravity Forms on May 2015, if your copy of Gravity Forms still uses it, update now!</li>
<li>Removes version information from page headers. This includes not only the page header (html or xhtml) but also feed headers (rss, rss2, atom, rdf) and opml comments. Only the version number is removed, not the entire generator information. </li>
</ul>
(*) If your theme uses TimThumb, you can disable that blocking rule, check FAQ before installing the plugin to see how.
<h4>Requirements</h4>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 3.9.2 or higher. (Works with WordPress network/multisite installation).</li>
<li>Apache 2.4.x web server</li>
</ul>
It has been tested in many servers including large providers like HostGator, Godaddy and 1&1 with optimal results, and it will work fine in any decent hosting service (that allows you to set options from .htaccess files).
Anyway, if you get any problem after activating the plugin, check FAQ for instructions on how to manually uninstall it.
If you’re not sure of which server is your hosting company using or if they allow to use custom .htaccess rules, I would recommend you to contact with your host support before installing the plugin.
<h4>Usage</h4>
To apply above mentioned security rules simply install and activate the plugin, no options page, no user setup!
If you need to remove the security rules for some reason, simply deactivate the plugin. If you want to add them again, activate the plugin again, that easy 😉
And remember, if your theme uses TimThumb, check FAQ before installing the plugin.

SAR One Click Security

Adds some extra security to your WordPress with only one click.

Marc Armengou

Security Hardener applies WordPress security best practices based on the <a href="https://developer.wordpress.org/advanced-administration/security/hardening/" rel="nofollow ugc">WordPress Advanced Administration / Security / Hardening</a> documentation and widely accepted hardening measures. It uses WordPress core functions and follows best practices without modifying core files.
<h4>Key Features</h4>
File Security: 
* Disable file editor in WordPress admin 
* Optionally disable all file modifications
XML-RPC Protection: 
* Disable XML-RPC completely 
* Remove pingback methods when XML-RPC is enabled
Pingback Protection: 
* Disable self-pingbacks 
* Remove X-Pingback header 
* Block incoming pingbacks
User Enumeration Protection: 
* Block <code>/?author=N</code> queries (returns 404) 
* Secure REST API user endpoints (require authentication) 
* Remove users from XML sitemaps 
* Prevent canonical redirects that expose usernames 
* Optionally block author feed pages (<code>/author/username/feed/</code>) 
* Optionally anonymize the author name in oEmbed responses
Login Security: 
* Generic error messages (no username/password hints) 
* Login honeypot 
* Block unsafe usernames 
* Application Passwords disabled by default 
* IP-based rate limiting with configurable thresholds 
* Security event logging
Security Headers: 
* <code>X-Frame-Options: SAMEORIGIN</code> (clickjacking protection) 
* <code>X-Content-Type-Options: nosniff</code> (MIME sniffing protection) 
* <code>Referrer-Policy: strict-origin-when-cross-origin</code> 
* <code>Permissions-Policy</code> (restricts geolocation, microphone, camera) 
* Optional HSTS (HTTP Strict Transport Security) for HTTPS sites — max-age set to 1 year
Additional Hardening: 
* Hide WordPress version (meta generator tag and asset query strings) 
* Remove obsolete wp_head items (RSD, WLW manifest, shortlink, emoji scripts) 
* System Status — monitors file permissions, WP_DEBUG, user registration, PHP version, administrator accounts, and database version
<blockquote>
⚠️ Important: Always test security settings in a staging environment first. Some features may affect third-party integrations or plugins.
</blockquote>
Privacy: This plugin does not send data to external services and does not create custom database tables. It stores plugin settings and a security event log in the WordPress options table, and uses transients for temporary login attempt tracking. All data is preserved on uninstall by default and only deleted if the “Delete all data on uninstall” option is explicitly enabled.

Security Hardener

Basic hardening: secure headers, login honeypot, user enumeration blocking, generic login errors, rate limiting, and more.

SAR One Click Security vs Security Hardener