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.

wtbplugins

WTB Firewall is a lightweight but powerful WordPress firewall plugin designed to help you protect your site from unwanted visitors, brute-force attacks and malicious traffic.
The plugin allows you to define clear access rules, automatically block suspicious behaviour, and correctly detect real visitor IP addresses even when your site is behind a proxy or CDN.
<h4>Core Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Manual IP allow and block rules</li>
<li>Country-based access control</li>
<li>Automatic blocking after repeated authentication failures</li>
<li>Built-in rate limiting to protect your site from excessive requests and abuse</li>
<li>404 monitoring to detect and block traffic generating repeated missing-page errors</li>
<li>Proxy support with trusted header detection</li>
<li>Lightweight design with minimal performance impact</li>
<li>Clean WordPress-native admin interface</li>
</ul>
<h4>Why use WTB Firewall?</h4>
Many WordPress security plugins include dozens of features that add complexity and overhead. WTB Firewall focuses on essential firewall functionality so you can:
<ul>
<li>Stop brute-force login attempts</li>
<li>Restrict access from unwanted regions</li>
<li>Block abusive visitors quickly</li>
<li>Ensure accurate IP detection behind proxies or CDNs</li>
<li>Keep your site fast while improving security</li>
</ul>
<h4>Designed for Performance</h4>
WTB Firewall is built with performance and reliability in mind. Rules are processed efficiently, unnecessary background tasks are avoided, and the plugin integrates cleanly with WordPress without slowing down your site.

WTB Firewall

Easy to use Firewall for securing your site. IP blocking, geo blocking, brute-force protection and rate limiting.

Security Hardener vs WTB Firewall