Hristo Pandjarov

SiteGround

Elena Chavdarova

Stoyan Georgiev

Stanimir Stoyanov

Ignat Georgiev

<p><strong>Bulletproof your website security in a few clicks against a range of security breaches, including brute-force attacks, malware threats and bots, with our free WordPress security plugin – Security Optimizer.</strong></p>
<p>Proactively monitor your site’s security to detect any suspicious activity and take immediate actions to protect your site and prevent further damage with these essential features:</p>
<ul>
<li>Enable <strong>2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)</strong> for an extra layer of website security</li>
<li>Set <strong>Limit Login Attempts</strong> to deter malicious login attempts and brute-force attacks</li>
<li>Change your default login URL to <strong>Custom Login URL</strong> to avoid attacks</li>
<li>Activate <strong>Advanced XSS Protection</strong> to fortify your website against malicious attacks</li>
<li><strong>Lock and Protect System Folders</strong> to ensure no unauthorized or malicious scripts can be executed in your system folders</li>
<li><strong>Disable Themes & Plugins Editor</strong> to safeguard your website from unauthorized access via the WordPress editor</li>
<li><strong>Hide WordPress Version</strong> effortlessly, keeping it hidden from prying eyes</li>
<li>Use <strong>Activity Log</strong> to monitor your site and quickly prevent malicious actions</li>
<li><strong>Post-Hack Actions</strong> to take immediate actions and prevent further damages</li>
</ul>
<p>Developed by the website security experts at <a href="https://www.siteground.com/wordpress-plugins/siteground-security" rel="nofollow ugc">SiteGround</a> and trusted by over 900,000 webmasters for its robust security shield and ease of use to safeguard WordPress applications from possible attacks on any hosting platform.</p>
<h4>AWARDS:</h4>
<p><a href="https://www.templatemonster.com/awards/winners-2022/" rel="nofollow ugc">Monster Awards 2022</a>: Best WordPress Security Plugin 🥇<br />
<a href="https://www.templatemonster.com/awards/winners-2021/" rel="nofollow ugc">Monster Awards 2021</a>: Best WordPress Security Plugin 🥇</p>
<h4>Plugin Video</h4>
<span class="embed-youtube" style="text-align:center; display: block;"><iframe loading="lazy" class="youtube-player" width="750" height="422" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FOheCz7sm9A?version=3&rel=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1&fs=1&hl=en-US&autohide=2&wmode=transparent" allowfullscreen="true" style="border:0;" sandbox="allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox"></iframe></span>
<h4>Plugin Tutorial</h4>
<p>Unveil the vast array of features and unleash the full potential of our security plugin in our <a href="https://www.siteground.com/tutorials/wordpress/sg-security/" rel="nofollow ugc">Security Optimizer Tutorial</a>.</p>
<h3>SITE PROTECTION FEATURES</h3>
<p>Safeguard your WordPress application using our powerful site security toolset. Our comprehensive features are specifically designed to strengthen your website’s defenses against malware, exploits, and various malicious activities. With these tools at your disposal, you can ensure the utmost bot, malware and brute force protection for your website:</p>
<h4>Lock and Protect System Folders</h4>
<p>Ensure the maximum security for your application’s system folders by preventing the execution of any unauthorized or malicious scripts. The Lock and Protect System Folders feature acts as a powerful shield against potential threats.</p>
<h4>Hide WordPress Version</h4>
<p>Protect your website from mass attacks by hiding the WordPress version, which helps to mitigate version-specific vulnerabilities.</p>
<h4>Disable Themes & Plugins Editor</h4>
<p>Enhance the security of your WordPress admin area by disabling the Themes & Plugins Editor, preventing potential coding errors and unauthorized access through the editor.</p>
<h4>Disable XML-RPC</h4>
<p>Mitigate potential security risks by disabling the XML-RPC protocol, which has been exploited in various attacks. Please note that disabling XML-RPC will restrict WordPress from communicating with third-party systems. We recommend enabling this feature unless you have a specific need for it.</p>
<h4>Disable RSS and ATOM Feeds</h4>
<p>Prevent content scraping and specific attacks on your site by disabling RSS and ATOM feeds. Unless you have readers accessing your site via RSS readers, it is recommended to keep this feature enabled.</p>
<h4>Advanced XSS Protection</h4>
<p>Add an extra layer of website security against cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks by enabling Advanced XSS Protection, bolstering the overall security of your website.</p>
<h4>Delete Default Readme.html</h4>
<p>Eliminate potential vulnerabilities by deleting the default readme.txt file, which contains information about your website. By removing this file, you reduce the risk of your site being listed in vulnerable sites targeted by hackers.</p>
<h3>Login Security</h3>
<h4>Custom Login Url</h4>
<p>Personalize your login URL to thwart potential attacks and create a strong entry point. Bid farewell to the default login URL and embrace a bespoke path of your choosing. Additionally, you have the freedom to modify the default sign-up URL as well.</p>
<h4>Login Access</h4>
<p>Restrict login page access to specific IP addresses or IP ranges, effectively thwarting malicious login attempts and deterring brute force attacks.</p>
<h4>2FA (Two-Factor Authentication)</h4>
<p>Immerse your website in an impenetrable shield of security with 2FA. This formidable feature demands that all admin users furnish a unique token, generated exclusively through the Google Authentication application, during the login process.</p>
<h4>Disable Common Usernames</h4>
<p>Don’t fall victim to predictable security breaches! The use of common usernames, such as ‘admin,’ poses a significant threat to the integrity of your website. Activate this option to disable the creation of common usernames. If any weak usernames already exist, we’ll prompt you to provide new, stronger alternatives.</p>
<h4>Limit Login Attempts</h4>
<p>Maintain control over unauthorized access attempts with Limit Login Attempts. Set a specific threshold for the number of login failures users can endure before consequences arise. After reaching the limit, the IP address associated with the unsuccessful login attempts will be blocked for one hour. Persistent failures will result in longer restrictions, starting with 24 hours and escalating to a week.</p>
<h3>ACTIVITY MONITORING</h3>
<p>Monitor your website and login page for unauthorized visitors and brute force attempts to prevent malicious actions</p>
<h4>Activity Log</h4>
<p>The Activity Log page provides you with a comprehensive view of the activities performed by registered, unknown, and blocked visitors. It allows you to closely monitor any suspicious behavior and take appropriate actions in case of a compromised user, plugin, or hacking attempt. You can leverage the quick tools available to swiftly block future attempts.</p>
<h4>Weekly Security Reports</h4>
<p>Receive a weekly traffic summary for your website directly to your inbox. This <strong>Weekly Security Report</strong> compiles data on both bot and human traffic, along with details about blocked login and visit attempts to proactively monitor traffic and promptly identify suspicious activity.</p>
<h3>POST-HACK ACTIONS</h3>
<p>Take immediate measures to protect your website if you suspect a compromise and prevent further damage. Here, you’ll find convenient solutions to address the situation effectively:</p>
<h4>Reinstall All Free Plugins</h4>
<p>In the event of a hack, utilizing the Reinstall All Free Plugins feature can help mitigate potential harm. This action reinstalls all of your free plugins, reducing the likelihood of additional exploits or the reuse of malicious code.</p>
<h4>Log Out All Users</h4>
<p>To prevent any further unauthorized activities by users or attackers, you can choose to log out all users instantly using the Log Out All Users feature.</p>
<h4>Force Password Reset</h4>
<p>By enforcing a password reset, you can ensure that all users are prompted to change their passwords during their next login. This not only strengthens the security of their accounts but also immediately logs out all currently logged-in users.</p>
<h3>Requirements</h3>
<ul>
<li>WordPress 4.7</li>
<li>PHP 7.0</li>
<li>Working .htaccess file</li>
</ul>
<h3>Data Collection</h3>
<p>Collection of technical data is optional and is <a href="https://www.siteground.com/kb/what-information-wp-plugins-collect" rel="nofollow ugc">listed here</a>. This data is collected only for technical analysis, improvements and the possibility to contact the plugin user in case urgent issues need to be fixed (for example a critical security release that needs to be communicated to site owners). The plugin user can manage their preferences within the WP admin to control the collection of technical data. We advise opting in for this data collection, as it can enhance the plugin’s performance. You may find more information on data collection in our <a href="https://www.siteground.com/viewtos/siteground_plugins_privacy_notice" rel="nofollow ugc">Plugins Privacy Notice</a>.</p>


Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin

Yesterday I started researching a new security plugin that I could switch to for all my WordPress sites (about 50). Skimming the plugin directory I found SiteGround Security and I must say this is the most promising looking plugin I have ever encountered!

The biggest PRO for me: SiteGround is a professional hosting service and they are using this plugin on all WordPress sites they host, so they will have a strong motivation to keep sg-security as high-quality as possible, without the need to upsell it like so many other plugins are doing it.

I have two questions: 

1. Is there a place where you host the plugin's source publicly, like for example on GitHub? I couldn't find anything except a security warning about 2FA in an earlier version (1.2.5, can't post link here due to WP guidelines).

2. What was your reasoning behind not making the limit_login_attempts periods (1 hour, 1 day, 1 week) un-filterable? I wanted to immediately reduce the first period to something like 20 minutes, but those periods are hard-coded right now inside SG_Security\Login_Service\Login_Service->log_login_attempt( $error ) (Version 1.3.7).

Thanks again.

Wow!


Llevo decenas de webs de clientes y he encontrado muchas webs infectadas con plugins de seguridad premium. 



Tras instalar el plugin de seguridad de SiteGround y un buen cortafuegos nunca más he tenido problemas en ninguna web.


Sencillo y efectivo, mejor que el resto


Cannot unsubscribe from the emails without admin access. In my experience, this makes the plugin extremely annoying. They do not plan to fix this.


Cannot unsubscribe from the emails

Secure your WordPress site from brute-force attacks, threats, malware, and bots. Free to use and easy to set up.

Jeff Starr

Julio Potier

wp-website-mastery

John H

Aldo Latino

<blockquote>
<p>🔥 Install, activate, and done!<br />
  🔥 Powerful protection from WP’s <strong>fastest</strong> firewall plugin.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><a href="https://perishablepress.com/block-bad-queries/" rel="nofollow ugc">BBQ Firewall</a> is a lightweight, blazing-fast firewall plugin that protects your site against a wide range of threats. BBQ checks all incoming traffic and quietly blocks bad requests containing nasty stuff like <code>eval(</code>, <code>base64_</code>, and excessively long request-strings. This is a simple yet solid solution for sites that are unable to use a <a href="https://perishablepress.com/8g-firewall/" rel="nofollow ugc">strong Apache/.htaccess firewall</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>🔥 Adds a strong firewall to ANY WordPress site<br />
  🔥 Works with all WordPress plugins and themes</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Powerful Protection</strong></p>
<p>BBQ protects your site against many threats:</p>
<ul>
<li>SQL injection attacks</li>
<li>Executable file uploads</li>
<li>Directory traversal attacks</li>
<li>Unsafe character requests</li>
<li>Excessively long requests</li>
<li>PHP remote/file execution</li>
<li>XSS, XXE, and related attacks</li>
<li>Protects against bad bots</li>
<li>Protects against bad referrers</li>
<li>Protects against bad POST content</li>
<li>Protects against many other bad requests</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>🔥 Works great with <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/blackhole-bad-bots/" rel="ugc">Blackhole for Bad Bots</a> and <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/banhammer/" rel="ugc">Banhammer</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Awesome Features</strong></p>
<p>BBQ provides all the best firewall features:</p>
<ul>
<li>Rated <a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/block-bad-queries/#reviews" rel="ugc">5 stars</a> at WordPress.org</li>
<li>100% plug-&-play, zero configuration</li>
<li>100% focused on security and performance</li>
<li>Blocks a wide range of malicious URL requests</li>
<li>Fastest Web Application Firewall (WAF) for WordPress</li>
<li>Based on the <a href="https://perishablepress.com/7g-firewall/" rel="nofollow ugc">7G</a>/<a href="https://perishablepress.com/8g-firewall/" rel="nofollow ugc">8G Firewall</a></li>
<li>Scans all incoming traffic and blocks bad requests</li>
<li>Scans all types of requests: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, etc.</li>
<li>Protects against known bad bots and referrers</li>
<li>Works silently behind the scenes to protect your site</li>
<li>Hassle-free security plugin that’s easy to use</li>
<li>Thoroughly tested, error-free performance</li>
<li>Extremely low rate of false positives</li>
<li>Compatible with other security plugins</li>
<li>Regularly updated and “future proof”</li>
<li>Firewall < 10 kilobytes in size</li>
<li>Lightweight, fast and flexible</li>
</ul>
<blockquote>
<p>🔥 For advanced protection and features, check out <a href="https://plugin-planet.com/bbq-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">BBQ Pro »</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Exclusive Pro Version Features</strong></p>
<ul>
<li>Customize firewall via plugin settings</li>
<li>Easily add or remove firewall patterns</li>
<li>Easily add Jeff Starr’s <a href="https://perishablepress.com/ultimate-ai-block-list/" rel="nofollow ugc">AI Block List</a></li>
<li>Send Email Alerts for blocked requests</li>
<li>Quickly enable/disable firewall rules</li>
<li>Disable firewall for logged-in users</li>
<li>Block excessively long URI requests</li>
<li>Protect against XML-RPC exploits</li>
<li>Block any individual IP address</li>
<li>Block entire ranges of IP addresses</li>
<li>Protect against user-ID phishing</li>
<li>Redirect all blocked requests</li>
<li>Display a custom “blocked” message</li>
<li>Set your own response status code</li>
<li>Complete inline documentation</li>
<li>Statistics for blocked requests</li>
<li>Tools to reset options and patterns</li>
<li>Import and Export firewall patterns</li>
<li>One-click pattern testing</li>
<li>Whitelist IP addresses</li>
</ul>
<p>..plus everything the free version can do and more.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>🔥 Learn more and <a href="https://plugin-planet.com/bbq-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">get BBQ Pro »</a></p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Privacy</strong></p>
<p>This plugin does not collect or store any user data. It does not set any cookies, and it does not connect to any third-party locations. Thus, this plugin does not affect user privacy in any way.</p>
<p>BBQ Firewall is developed and maintained by <a href="https://x.com/perishable" rel="nofollow ugc">Jeff Starr</a>, 15-year <a href="https://plugin-planet.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">WordPress developer</a> and <a href="https://books.perishablepress.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">book author</a>.</p>
<blockquote>
<p>🔥 BBQ = Block Bad Queries</p>
</blockquote>
<p><strong>Support development</strong></p>
<p>I develop and maintain this free plugin with love for the WordPress community. To show support, you can <a href="https://monzillamedia.com/donate.html" rel="nofollow ugc">make a donation</a> or purchase one of my books:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wp-tao.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">The Tao of WordPress</a></li>
<li><a href="https://digwp.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">Digging into WordPress</a></li>
<li><a href="https://htaccessbook.com/" rel="nofollow ugc">.htaccess made easy</a></li>
<li><a href="https://wp-tao.com/wordpress-themes-book/" rel="nofollow ugc">WordPress Themes In Depth</a></li>
<li><a href="https://books.perishablepress.com/downloads/wizards-collection-sql-recipes-wordpress/" rel="nofollow ugc">Wizard’s SQL Recipes for WordPress</a></li>
</ul>
<p>And/or purchase one of my premium WordPress plugins:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://plugin-planet.com/bbq-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">BBQ Pro</a> – Blazing fast WordPress firewall</li>
<li><a href="https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">Blackhole Pro</a> – Automatically block bad bots</li>
<li><a href="https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">Banhammer Pro</a> – Monitor traffic and ban the bad guys</li>
<li><a href="https://plugin-planet.com/ga-google-analytics-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">GA Google Analytics Pro</a> – Connect WordPress to Google Analytics</li>
<li><a href="https://plugin-planet.com/head-meta-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">Head Meta Pro</a> – Ultimate Meta Tags for WordPress</li>
<li><a href="https://plugin-planet.com/simple-ajax-chat-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">Simple Ajax Chat Pro</a> – Unlimited chat rooms</li>
<li><a href="https://plugin-planet.com/usp-pro/" rel="nofollow ugc">USP Pro</a> – Unlimited front-end forms</li>
</ul>
<p>Links, tweets and likes also appreciated. Thank you! 🙂</p>


BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security


I have made a living as a WP developer for close to 20 years and have almost seen it all during that time.  I manage a lot of sites for myself and for clients.  This is one of the most useful plugins that I have come across in the security space.



I liked it so much, I sprung for the Pro version which adds a few extra features.



Certainly, you could get by with .htaccess rules (either yourself, or with what Jeff provides), but this makes it much easier to implement.  I really have made use of the adding custom patterns feature, and the tracking of blocked attempts shows that this is very effective.



It's a simple plugin, really, which is what I like most.  As a WP developer, I could have written my own, but for what Jeff charges for the Pro version, it makes more sense to just buy his.



For the clown who rated it 1 star - that guy didn't really have a clue what he was talking about, and appeared to be someone who thinks he knows what he's talking about but doesn't - that's the most dangerous kind of administrator.  Seriously, this is exactly what a WAF is and is supposed to be, and it works great for what it is.  



Yes, there are other means of intrusion, and this plugin doesn't address those - it's not a "end-all-be-all" which is what I like about it.  Those plugins that try to do it all usually end up being complex, bloated, intrusive, and an all-around a pain to work with.  Instead, Jeff has produced a plugin that does one thing and does it perfectly with clean code and very light overhead.


Great lightweight security


After discovering this plugin, I use it all the time for smaller projects and sometimes for larger projects - doesn't seem to add too much overhead but gives great piece of mind. 


Great plugin - very handy.


BBQ is a lightweight plugin, install it and forget it!


Great plugin and fast support

The fastest firewall plugin for WordPress. Protect against a wide range of threats with minimal performance impact.

Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin vs BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security