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 (blocks updates – use with caution)
XML-RPC Protection: 
* Disable XML-RPC completely (enabled by default) 
* 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>)
Login Security: 
* Generic error messages (no username/password hints) 
* Login honeypot — silently blocks bots before any credential check 
* IP-based rate limiting with configurable thresholds 
* Security event logging (last 100 events) 
* Automatic blocking after failed attempts
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) 
* Security event logging system 
* Optionally disable Application Passwords for API authentication
<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.

Iridium Intelligence

Bad IP WP is a modern, developer-focused firewall plugin that protects your WordPress site by blocking malicious IP addresses, brute-force login attempts, TOR exit nodes, and known threat actors. It integrates with the centralized bad_ip database (https://bad-ip.iridiumintel.com) to automatically sync and apply updated IP blocklists in real-time.
Key features: 
– Real-time detection and blocking of malicious visitors 
– TOR network endpoint detection and blocking 
– Brute-force login protection 
– Dashboard-based IP control and analytics 
– API integration with centralized threat database 
– Lightweight and built for performance (no bloat) 
– Ideal for agencies, sysadmins, and developers
This plugin is part of the broader <a href="https://bad-ip.iridiumintel.com" rel="nofollow ugc">bad_ip ecosystem</a> and provides synergy with server-level defenses and other CMS platforms.
<h3>Libraries</h3>
To make development and maintaining of our plugin as easy as possible, current version uses next public libraries and plugins:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://getbootstrap.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">Bootsrtap</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.chartjs.org/" rel="nofollow ugc">Chart.js</a></li>
<li><a href="https://jquery.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">jQuery</a></li>
<li><a href="https://jqueryui.com/easing/" rel="nofollow ugc">jQueryUI</a></li>
</ul>

bad_ip WP

Lightweight WordPress firewall plugin to block malicious IPs, TOR nodes, and brute-force attacks with real-time sync and control.

Security Hardener vs bad_ip WP