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.

squishit

Squish Site Patrol gives your WordPress site a complete health check — security hardening, malware scanning, login protection, and page speed in a single clean dashboard.
Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) 
* TOTP-based 2FA with QR code setup (Google Authenticator, Authy, etc.) 
* Custom branded interstitial login page — replaces the default wp-login.php flow 
* Per-user 2FA enrollment with recovery options
Login Protection 
* reCAPTCHA v3 on the login page (free tier, no checkbox required) 
* Geo IP country blocking — restrict logins by country via ipapi.co 
* Magic link login — send a one-time signed login link to your admin email (Patched) 
* Failed login attempt monitoring and alerts (Patched) 
* Detects predictable “admin” username
Security Checks 
* WordPress core version check 
* Plugin update status — flags outdated plugins 
* SSL / HTTPS detection 
* File editor status check (wp-admin editor) 
* wp-config.php permissions check (Patched) 
* XML-RPC status check (Patched) 
* Debug mode detection (Patched) 
* Admin account audit — flags inactive admin accounts (Patched) 
* Database prefix check — flags default wp_ prefix (Patched) 
* Directory listing detection (Patched) 
* HTTP security headers check (Patched)
Malware Scanner 
* Verifies all 3,000+ WordPress core files against official checksums 
* Detects PHP files hidden in your uploads folder 
* Scans for dangerous file types (.exe, .sh, .bat) in uploads 
* User enumeration vulnerability check 
* Flags any modified core files 
* Real-time file change monitoring with baseline comparison (Patched)
Email Breach Detection 
* Checks admin email addresses against HaveIBeenPwned (Patched) 
* Alerts you if any admin account appears in a known breach
Audit Log 
* Tracks logins, failed login attempts, plugin installs, settings changes, and scans 
* 90-day retention with full event history 
* Filter by event type — login, scan, settings, plugin activity and more 
* Recent activity strip on the main dashboard
Page Speed & Core Web Vitals 
* Live Google PageSpeed Insights score 
* Core Web Vitals — LCP, FCP, and CLS 
* Mobile performance scoring 
* Scan any public URL 
* Inline metric explanations
Reporting 
* Weekly HTML email reports with a full scan summary (Patched) 
* Scheduled automatic daily scans (Patched) 
* Email alerts when issues are detected (Patched) 
* SSL certificate expiry alerts (Patched)
Dashboard & UX 
* Clean two-panel layout — Security on the left, Scans & hardening on the right 
* Hardening tab consolidates all Patched checks in one place 
* Issues-only toggle on both panels — hide passing checks, focus on what needs fixing 
* Rescan button with toast notification (no page reload) 
* Dark mode toggle 
* Scan spinner and auto-scan status badge 
* Score cards hidden by default until first scan runs 
* Inline metric tooltips
Performance 
* Aggressive transient caching (12–24hr TTL) across all check classes 
* Zero front-end footprint — all scans run in wp-admin only
<h4>Squish Site Patrol Patched — $15/mo</h4>
Upgrade to Patched for automatic monitoring and advanced protection:
<ul>
<li>Scheduled automatic daily scans</li>
<li>Weekly HTML email reports</li>
<li>Email alerts when issues are found</li>
<li>Magic link login — passwordless one-time login links</li>
<li>Failed login attempt monitoring</li>
<li>SSL certificate expiry alerts</li>
<li>Real-time file change monitoring with baseline comparison</li>
<li>Reset file monitoring baseline after legitimate updates</li>
<li>wp-config.php permissions check</li>
<li>XML-RPC status check</li>
<li>Debug mode detection</li>
<li>HTTP security headers check</li>
<li>Admin account audit — flags inactive admin accounts</li>
<li>Database prefix check — flags default wp_ prefix</li>
<li>Directory listing detection</li>
<li>Email breach check via HaveIBeenPwned</li>
</ul>
<h3>External Services</h3>
<h4>Google PageSpeed Insights API</h4>
Used to analyze page speed and Core Web Vitals for any URL entered by the user. Data sent: the URL being scanned. This call is only made when the user clicks “Run scan”. 
* Service: https://developers.google.com/speed/docs/insights/v5/about 
* Privacy: https://policies.google.com/privacy 
* Terms: https://developers.google.com/terms
<h4>WordPress.org Checksums API</h4>
Used to verify the integrity of WordPress core files by comparing them against official checksums. No user data is sent — only the WordPress version number and locale. 
* Service: https://api.wordpress.org/core/checksums/1.0/ 
* Privacy: https://wordpress.org/about/privacy/
<h4>ipapi.co</h4>
Used to determine the country of origin for login attempts when Geo IP country blocking is enabled. Data sent: the visitor’s IP address. This check only runs on the login page when the feature is active. 
* Service: https://ipapi.co 
* Privacy: https://ipapi.co/privacy/
<h4>HaveIBeenPwned API (Patched only)</h4>
Used to check if admin email addresses appear in known data breach databases. Requires a valid HIBP API key configured in settings. 
* Service: https://haveibeenpwned.com/API/v3 
* Privacy: https://haveibeenpwned.com/Privacy 
* Terms: https://haveibeenpwned.com/API/v3#license
<h4>Freemius</h4>
Used to manage the Patched premium subscription, licensing, and payments. Data sent upon upgrade: site URL, WordPress version, plugin version, and user email if the user opts in. 
* Service: https://freemius.com 
* Privacy: https://freemius.com/privacy/ 
* Terms: https://freemius.com/terms/

Squish Site Patrol

Complete WordPress security, malware scanning, login protection, and performance monitoring in one clean dashboard.

Security Hardener vs Squish Site Patrol