=== Block Bad Bots and Stop Bad Bots Crawlers and Spiders and Anti Spam Protection ===
Contributors: sminozzi
Donate link: http://stopbadbots.com/donate/
Tags: Bad Bots, block bots, fail2ban, Stop Bots, AI Spider
Requires at least: 4.0
Tested up to: 6.9
Requires PHP: 5.6 
Stable tag: 11.77
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html


Stop Bad Bots Protection, Block SPAM bots, Crawlers and spiders and botnets. Save bandwidth, avoid server overload and content steal. Blocks by IP.

== Description ==
**STOP BAD BOTS**
★★★★★<br>


### **🚀 In a Hurry? See the Essentials and Get Protected in Less than 2 Minutes.**

**What it does:**
Protects your WordPress site from bad bots, crawlers, spam, and malicious traffic. It also prevents **server overload and safeguards your SEO** (avoid delay in loading the page and it doesn't allow content theft, preventing duplications of your content).

**Why it matters:**
Roughly 30% of all internet traffic is from bots, and 2.5% is malicious (data theft, brute-force attacks, slowing down sites). According to **Cloudflare, that's nearly 2 million attacks every second**.

**Main Protections:**
* **Blocks bad bots**, fake Google/Microsoft bots, scrapers, and spammers.
* **No DNS, Cloud, or external API required** → The plugin is self-contained, fast, and lightweight.
* **Doesn't block legitimate bots from Google, Bing, Yahoo, Twitter, or Facebook.

**Features:**
* **Quick Start:** Install in under 2 minutes (**smart installer**). Just a few clicks and your site is protected.
* **Visits Log:** See who's visiting your site.
* **Real-time Analytics:** Get detailed insights, with traffic neatly separated into bots and humans.
* **Attack Charts:** Visualize blocked threats with daily charts showing the number of blocks by type.
* **Instant Support:** Get **24/7 AI-powered support** (included in the free version).
* **Intuitive Dashboard:** A clear, user-friendly interface to manage your security.
* **Languages:** Available in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese.


### **🔎 Want All the Details? Read the Full Explanation Below**
**Bad Bots: A Growing Danger**

>Can you imagine the sheer volume of data crossing the internet every second? It's truly monstrous, isn't it? Millions of interactions, searches, and transactions...
>Well, brace yourself for a staggering statistic: according to Cloudflare, the online security giant, about **one-third (approximately 30-33%) of all this global traffic is generated by bots** – that is, by computer programs, not humans.
>And even more alarming: from this immense volume of bot traffic, Cloudflare identified that **8.6% have malicious purposes** (Q1 2024 data). This means that approximately 2.5% of ALL internet traffic consists of malicious bots constantly active, searching for loopholes, **stealing data**, or trying to take down sites!  **That’s nearly 2 million attacks every second sweeping across the web.** 
>But the news doesn't stop there: this **malicious bot activity is constantly evolving and increasing.** A key reason for this alarming trend is that: Artificial Intelligence (AI) is empowering even less-skilled attackers to create bots to steal information, while ready-made attack kits are sold on the dark web, amplifying both the volume and sophistication of threats.
>Furthermore, the emergence of many **new Artificial Intelligence websites** means they now deploy their own bots for web crawling and data gathering, contributing significantly to overall bot traffic.


>Bots can have a **negative impact on your website in a number of ways**. They can **overload your server**, which can cause performance problems such as **slowness and longer response times**. They can also look for vulnerabilities in your website and **steal your content**, which can **damage your SEO**.

>**Amplify Your Server's Defenses!** Optional. When StopBadBots blocks a threat, it **automatically sets up Fail2Ban** to intercept and block that IP on all **future attempts before they even reach your WordPress site**. So, if you manage your own VPS, Cloud, or Dedicated server with Fail2Ban installed, **this is a game-changer!**
> **Optional Fail to ban Monitor with GUI**: The SBB Fail2Ban Monitor brings your server's powerful Fail2Ban protection into a clear, visual WordPress dashboard – the user-friendly **GUI many have been waiting for!**
>Currently, you can track key Fail2ban details like the offending IP, when the last attempt occurred, the specific Security Rule (jail) triggered, the number of attempts, and how long the ban lasts. This is your first step towards richer insights like daily totals, activity graphs, and more detailed ban reasons.

>Stop Bad Bots, SPAM bots, Crawlers and spiders without DNS Cloud or API (EndPoint) Traffic Redirection and without slow down your site. **No google penalties**. Multilanguage ready. Included also Dutch, French, Germany, Italian, Spanish and Portuguese language files.



**Get Stop Bad Bots protecting your site in moments!**
 Our easy installer handles everything, configuring essential settings so your site is secured instantly. Even first-time users can launch their protection with just a few clicks.
[youtube https://www.youtu.be/P--H7gY4w38?si=o48Az_Ddu99wj3SW autoplay=0]


**Introducing our new comprehensive visits log page with Ajax-powered traffic monitoring. Analyze and dive deep into the visits your website receives, including hack attempts. And yes, you will know when Googlebot visits you (googlebot, big, Twitter, Facebook and other bots). Take full control by effortlessly adding visitors to the blacklist or whitelist with a single click when needed.**

**New Feature: Our plugin now offers a comprehensive set of analytics tools, providing insightful data on your website's performance. With daily and monthly visit counts, referral sources, page visit metrics, and visitor engagement statistics, you gain a clear understanding of your site's traffic patterns and user behavior. Additionally, interactive charts and summaries highlight the reasons behind blocked attempts, empowering you with actionable insights. Explore our analytics suite to track human visitors and distinguish them from bots, providing a holistic view of your website's performance and ensuring an accurate assessment of its impact.**

**With the exponential increase of AI tools, expect the increase of sophisticated bot attacks. Protect your site from advanced bots and AI-powered attacks with our comprehensive bot protection solution.**

Stop Bad Bots is completely self-contained and does not need to connect to any outside API or service. No DNS, API or Cloud Traffic Redirection. No Slow Down Your Site!

No .htaccess neither robots.txt required.

When a bad bot try to open any your WordPress page we show a 403 Forbidden page. Then, in your statistics like webalizer or visitor metrics, for example, you can see status 403 (forbidden) and 0 bytes. For more details, visit our online guide and FAQ page.

You don't need create robots.txt neither touch your .htaccess file.

Easily integrated with our anti hacker plugin to add an extra layer of protection and prevent also **hacker bots**. You can find more details about Anti Hacker below.<ul>
<li>Not using WordPress? Check out the free <a href="http://stopbadbots.com" >standalone PHP version of StopBadBots (also Docker) </a></li> 
<li>Your Bad Bots Table is updated with periodic free online automatic updates</li>
<li>Premium Option with Firewall protection.</li> 
<li>Premium Option with weekly automatic table updates from our server instead 3x year in free version.</li> 
<li>Included also Bad Bots IP Table. The plugin can block also the bat bots by IP using fake or blank User Agent.</li> 
<li>Included also Bad Bots Referer/Referral spam Table. More than 8.400 bad bots included</li> 
<li>Included also Visits Log with Whitelist and Blacklist Buttons</li> 
<li>Anti Hacker: Protect also Against Hacker Attacks (with free Anti Hacker Plugin extension)</li>
<li>Anti Spam: Protect also Comments Form from bad bots</li>
<li>Anti Spam: Protect also Contact Form 7 and WP Form Plugins from bad bots</li>
<li>Protect Login Form Against Bots and Brute force Attacks</li>
<li>Stop Data Thieves From Stealing You and harm your SEO</li> 
<li>list of bad bots</li>
<li>More than 4800 Bots, 8400 bad referer/referral and 3300 bad IPs Included!</li>
<li>You Can Add more ...</li>
<li>**No DNS or Cloud Traffic Redirection. No Slow Down Your Site! No Google penalties for slow sites.**
</li>
<li>Block User Enumeration</li>
<li>Block PingBack Request</li>
<li>Limit Bot Visits (Rate Limiting) (Premium)</li>
<li>Whitelist Table (Premium)</li>
<li>Block HTTP tools table (Premium)</li>
<li>**The Plugin doesn't block main Google, Yahoo and Bing (Microsoft), twitter and Facebook bots.**</li>
<li>Easy to manage the list. You can add more bots, IPs and referrer or deactivate any bot</li>
<li>Save bandwidth.</li>
<li>Optionally receive an email alert</li>
<li>Block False Google/Microsoft (Fake Google Bot) Bots  (Premium Version)</li>
<li>Block ahrefs bot</li>
<li>Block semrush bot</li>
<li>Block Screaming Frog</li>
<li>Block Moz</li>
<li>Block IA powered bots</li>
<li>Spider blocker</li>
</ul>


== Supercharge and update Your ModSecurity Comodo WAF 2025 with Free StopBadBots Custom Rules ==
Optional.
<a href="https://stopbadbots.com/sbb-waf-rules/">Learn More...</a>

== Get Real: Unleash the Power of Bot-Free Visitor Analytics: ==
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_FlZ0IRg40 autoplay=0]


<a href="https://stopbadbots.com/demo-video/">Demo Video</a>
<a href="https://youtu.be/4egX32aSZQc/">Demo Video Ajax-powered Traffic Monitoring</a>
<a href="https://stopbadbots.com/help/">Online Documentation</a>
<a href="https://stopbadbots.com/integrating-antihacker-stopbadbots-with-fail2ban/">Fail2Ban Automatic Integration</a>
<a href="https://stopbadbots.com/guide/">StartUp Guide</a>
<a href="https://stopbadbots.com/faq/">FAQ Page</a>
<a href="https://stopbadbots.com/">Plugin Site</a>
<a href="https://antihackerplugin.com/">Compatible With Anti Hacker Plugin</a>


== Check Page Load Time (speed test website) ==
This plugin allows you to monitor the average load time for each page (page speed test) on your site, generate a chart showcasing the load times for the past 7 days, and identify the 20 slowest-loading pages.
<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wptools/">wpTools free plugin</a> 

== reCAPTCHA V3 (and Turnstile Cloudflare) for all pages of your site ==
If you want protect ALL pages of yoursite with invisible reCAPTCHA or Turnstile Cloudflare, try this new free plugin:
<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/recaptcha-for-all/">reCAPTCHA For All free plugin</a> 
Block spammers, hackers, crawlers, spiders and malicious traffic.

== Block visitors from China, Cuba and North Korea ==

If you are getting a lot of spam and malicious traffic from China, Cuba and North Korea, with our plugin 
you can block them without worry about install (and mantain) huge databases of IP address.
Just let our plugin take care that (Premium).

== Optional Fail2ban integration with GUI ==
[youtube https://youtu.be/qpRrbjj63P8 autoplay=0]
Please ensure Fail2Ban is installed and operational on your server, VPS or Cloud VPS for this monitor to function. Our support doesn't include the installation or configuration of Fail2Ban on your server.All Fail2ban features are available only in our Pro (or premium) version.


== Ban spammers, crawlers, spiders, hackers and bad behavior==
This plugin let you ban users by IP, user agent and referrer url.


== Anti Hacker Protection ==
If you want protect ALL pages of yoursite against hackers and their bots, try this free plugin: 
<a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/antihacker/">Anti Hacker free plugin</a> 
We recommend and facilitate the installation of this free plugin, with just one click, on our plugin dashboard, visible immediately after installing Stop Bad Bots.

* Prevent unauthorized access to your account by protect your login page also against bots and brute force.
* Firewall to Block Malicious Requests, Queries, User Agents and URLS. **100% Plug-n-play**, no configuration required.
* View Table of the Blocked Visits and add IP to Whitelist from table and logs failed login attempts. 
* Option to disable Json WordPress Rest API (also new WordPress 4.7 Rest API) or disable WordPress Rest API (disable WordPress API)
* You can also disable the  WordPress xml-rpc (xmlrpc) (or disable only Pingback) API with just one click.
* WordPress Debug enabled warning.
* Disable file editing within the WordPress dashboard.
* Replace insecure login error message.
* Hide WordPress version number.
* Disable Application Passwords: Block external applications to request permission to connect to a site and generate a password (WordPress 5.6 new feature)
* Limit Visits, Limit Bots Attempts (Premium Version)
* limit only 404 requests (Premium Version)
* Check Google Safe Browsing Blacklist
* Multilingual ready.
* Disable Wordpress native sitemap (for user's) creation.
* Disable xml-rpc
* Disable Pingback

 Malware Scanner 
* Security Malware scanner (one click scan) for **797 malwares** also in free version (unlimited files).
* Scans every folder and inspects every file on a website (deep scanner) for traces of malware, exploits, trojans, worms, viruses, backdoors as well as JavaScript code obfuscation, exploits, malicious iframes, malicious code injection, malicious code obfuscation, auto-generated malicious content, redirects, hidden eval code and more.
* Scan all Pages, Posts and Comments against malwares.
* Alert for plugins and themes without updates for long time or with old versions.
* Scan your site now before Google blacklists it or your web host takes it down.

==Block==
* User enumeration. (is one of the most popular attacks to identify the valid user names)
* Comments in media page.
* Bad Queries.* Block All Feeds  (Optional).
* Creation of new Administrators from plugins and themes with vulnerabilities.
* Fake Google and Bing (MSN) bots (Premium Version)
* Search for Theme's vulnerabilities (Premium Version)
* Search for Plugin's vulnerabilities (Premium Version)
* Tor (The Onion Router) Traffic - Optional -  (Premium Version) Tor anonymity provides value to online attackers. 
* HTTP Tools (you can manage the strings)
* Blank User Agent
* Spider (Spider Block)
* AI Crawl
* LLM Bot
* User Agent
* Scraper
* Indexing Bot
* AI Traffic
* Health Check
* Content Harvester
* Referral
* Generative Bot



==Analytics Spam Referrals==
This plugin is not about Analytics Spam referrals. 
For more details about that, please, visit our FAQ page:
http://stopbadbots.com/faq/
and look for Analytics SPAM referral


Free plugins from the same author:
<ul>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-memory/" target="_self">WordPress Memory Management </a></li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/antihacker/">Anti Hacker and Security</a> </li>
<li><a href="https://wordpress.org/plugins/wptools/">WordPress Tools</a>  </li>
</ul> 



== Installation ==
1) Install via wordpress.org
2) Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
or
Extract the zip file and just drop the contents in the wp-content/plugins/ directory of your WordPress installation and then activate the Plugin from Plugins page.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==
** How to Install? **
1) Install via wordpress.org
2) Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
or
Extract the zip file and just drop the contents in the wp-content/plugins/ directory of your WordPress installation and then activate the Plugin from Plugins page.

** Where is the Startup Guide?  **
http://stopbadbots.com/guide/

** Where is the OnLine Manual?  **
http://stopbadbots.com/help/

** Where is the Faq page? **
http://stopbadbots.com/faq/

** How can i get support? **
http://stopbadbots.com/dove/

** Where is the demo video? **
<a href="http://stopbadbots.com/demo-video/">Demo Video</a>


**How does the plugin handle scanners and scrapers?**
The plugin effectively detects and blocks scanners and scrapers. It monitors incoming traffic and identifies patterns typical of scanning and scraping activities, using traps and blockers to deny access and protect your site.

**Is my website safe from attacks with this plugin?**
Yes, the plugin enhances your website's security by detecting and blocking various types of attacks. It prevents overload by managing excessive requests and forbids access to malicious entities.

**Can the plugin remove malicious traffic?**
Absolutely. The plugin identifies and removes malicious traffic, ensuring that only legitimate users can access your website. It also uses fake user agent detection to catch and block scrapers.

**How does the plugin monitor traffic to detect threats?**
The plugin continuously monitors all incoming traffic for suspicious behavior. It uses advanced algorithms to detect and respond to potential threats in real-time, ensuring your website remains secure.

**What should I do if a legitimate user is blocked by the plugin?**
If a legitimate user is blocked, you can adjust the plugin settings or whitelist their IP address. For further assistance, you can contact support through the provided contact form.

**Does the plugin provide protection against overload attacks?**
Yes, the plugin is designed to protect against overload attacks by limiting the number of requests a single user can make in a short period, thus preventing denial of service.

**How does the plugin handle fake user agents?**
The plugin detects and blocks requests with fake user agents, which are commonly used by scrapers and other malicious tools to bypass security measures.


**How do I know if the plugin is effectively protecting my site?**
The plugin provides detailed logs and reports on detected threats and blocked attempts. You can review these reports to ensure your site is being protected effectively.

**What steps should I take if I notice unusual activity on my site?**
If you observe unusual activity, review the plugin's logs to identify detected threats. You can blacklist the malicious IP address with just one click directly from the visit logs. Adjust security settings as needed and feel free to contact support for additional help.

= How can I block bots and protect my WordPress site? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: best wordpress bot blocker plugin, wordpress bot blocker, bot protection for wordpress, anti-bot plugin wordpress, bad bot blocker, block bad bots wordpress, against bad bots, block all bots, how to block bad bots, how to block bots from wordpress site, how to stop bots from accessing wordpress site, how to prevent bots from attacking wordpress site, block bots htaccess, deny bots, forbids bots

Our "Stop Bad Bots" plugin provides comprehensive protection to block bots and safeguard your WordPress site effectively.

= How can I prevent DDoS attacks and enhance security on WordPress? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: prevent ddos attacks on wordpress, wordpress security plugin, wordpress security plugin for beginners, protect content, how to keep wordpress site safe from bots, how to configure wordpress bot protection plugin, how to monitor wordpress bot activity

The "Stop Bad Bots" plugin is designed to prevent DDoS attacks and enhance the overall security of your WordPress site.

= How do I manage crawlers and spiders on my WordPress site? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: sstop scraping bots, top crawlers, block crawlers, stop spiders, block spiders, how to stop spiders from accessing wordpress site, how to prevent crawlers from attacking wordpress s, best wordpress crawler protection plugin, how to configure wordpress crawler protection plug, how to block crawlers from wordpress site

Our "Stop Bad Bots" plugin offers effective management of crawlers and spiders to protect your WordPress site.

= How can I prevent spam on my WordPress site? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: wordpress spam comment blocker, stop spam bots wordpress, reduce comment spam wordpress, block comment spam bots, anti spam blocker, anti-spam, anti spam contact form wordpress, anti spam for wordpress, best free anti spam software, best anti spam software, anti spam download free, best free anti spam plugin for, anti spam elementor form

The "Stop Bad Bots" plugin provides robust spam prevention features to keep your WordPress site free from unwanted spam.

= How can I detect and monitor bot activity on my WordPress site? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: detect bots, how to identify and remove bots from wordpress sit, how to monitor wordpress bot activity

Our "Stop Bad Bots" plugin includes advanced detection and monitoring tools to keep track of bot activity on your WordPress site.

= How do I protect my content from being stolen by bots? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: block content steal, stop content steal, trap bots, traps bots

The "Stop Bad Bots" plugin helps protect your content from being stolen by bots through effective trapping mechanisms.

= How can I optimize my WordPress site for better performance? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: improve wordpress speed, reduce server load, optimize wordpress for search engines

Our "Stop Bad Bots" plugin aids in optimizing your WordPress site for better performance by reducing server load and improving speed.

= How do I prevent bots from crawling my website? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: stop bots on wordpress, how to stop bots from crawling my website

The "Stop Bad Bots" plugin effectively prevents bots from crawling your website, ensuring your site's security.

= What free and best solutions are available for bot protection on WordPress? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: free wordpress bot protection, best wordpress bot protection plugin

Our "Stop Bad Bots" plugin offers the best free solutions for bot protection on WordPress.

= How can I manage fake user agents on my WordPress site? =

This FAQ page also addresses the following questions: fake user agent list

The "Stop Bad Bots" plugin provides tools to manage and block fake user agents on your WordPress site.

= How can I easily integrate Fail2Ban with my WordPress site and manage its settings without complex command-line work? =
This answer also addresses the following questions: Fail2Ban WordPress integration, WordPress Fail2Ban plugin, Connect Fail2Ban to WordPress, Configure Fail2Ban WordPress, Setup Fail2Ban WordPress, Install Fail2Ban WordPress plugin, Fail2Ban WordPress tutorial, Fail2Ban WordPress guide, Using Fail2Ban with WordPress, WordPress Fail2Ban setup.
Integrating Fail2Ban with WordPress can seem daunting if you're not comfortable with server configurations. While direct Fail2Ban setup offers powerful protection, managing it and understanding its actions often requires technical expertise. That's where our StopBadBots plugin significantly simplifies things. StopBadBots seamlessly integrates with your existing Fail2Ban setup, or helps you leverage its principles, by providing a user-friendly GUI dashboard directly within your WordPress admin area. You can easily see blocked IPs, understand attack patterns, and manage security settings with clear visuals and charts, making Fail2Ban's power accessible to everyone. Consider installing StopBadBots to get the benefits of Fail2Ban with an intuitive WordPress interface.

= How can Fail2Ban effectively protect my WordPress site from common attacks like brute force and malicious bots? =
This answer also addresses the following questions: Fail2Ban and WordPress security, WordPress block IP with Fail2Ban, WordPress brute force protection Fail2Ban, Fail2Ban WordPress login protection, Block WordPress login attempts Fail2Ban, Fail2Ban protect WordPress wp-login, Fail2Ban WordPress XML-RPC protection, Automate WordPress IP blocking Fail2Ban, WordPress IP ban Fail2Ban, Real-time WordPress blocking Fail2Ban, Fail2Ban WordPress firewall.
Fail2Ban is excellent at protecting your WordPress site by monitoring server logs for malicious activity, such as repeated failed login attempts (brute force attacks), attempts to exploit vulnerabilities in wp-login.php or xmlrpc.php, and other suspicious bot behaviors. When it detects such patterns, Fail2Ban automatically blocks the offending IP addresses at the server level. Our StopBadBots plugin enhances this by not only working with your Fail2Ban but also by providing a comprehensive dashboard where you can see these blocked IPs, the reasons for the blocks, and the overall effectiveness of your protection. This allows you to visualize the threats Fail2Ban is mitigating and understand your site's security posture better, all from within WordPress. For robust protection and clear insights, StopBadBots is an ideal companion.

= Is there a way to see what Fail2Ban is doing on my WordPress site through a dashboard or get clear reports on blocked IPs and security events? =
This answer also addresses the following questions: Monitor Fail2Ban WordPress, WordPress logs for Fail2Ban, Manage Fail2Ban from WordPress, WordPress security logs Fail2Ban, Fail2Ban stats WordPress, View Fail2Ban logs WordPress.
Yes, absolutely! While Fail2Ban itself operates at the server level and its logs can be technical, understanding its activity is crucial. The StopBadBots plugin is designed precisely for this. It provides a comprehensive and intuitive GUI dashboard directly in your WordPress admin area. This dashboard visualizes key Fail2Ban metrics, shows lists of blocked IPs, provides graphical representations of attack attempts, and offers detailed security event logs. Instead of sifting through raw server logs, StopBadBots gives you actionable insights and a clear overview of how Fail2Ban (and our plugin's own advanced blocking mechanisms) are protecting your site, allowing you to make informed decisions.

= I'm having trouble with my Fail2Ban and WordPress setup, or I want to fine-tune its rules. Can a plugin help simplify this? =
This answer also addresses the following questions: Fail2Ban WordPress not working, Troubleshoot Fail2Ban WordPress, Fail2Ban WordPress filter, Fail2Ban WordPress jail configuration, WordPress Fail2Ban regex, Optimize Fail2Ban for WordPress, Fail2Ban WordPress log path.
Troubleshooting and fine-tuning Fail2Ban often involves editing configuration files and understanding regular expressions, which can be challenging. While StopBadBots doesn't directly modify your core Fail2Ban configuration files (as this is server-specific), it greatly aids in understanding if your setup is effective by showing you what's being blocked and why through its dashboard. For many common WordPress-related attack vectors, StopBadBots offers its own robust protection layers that complement Fail2Ban. If you're looking for an easier way to manage and monitor the IP blocking aspects and gain insights that can help you adjust your Fail2Ban strategy (or rely on our plugin's comprehensive features), StopBadBots provides the necessary visibility and control from a user-friendly interface within WordPress. It simplifies seeing the results of your security efforts.

= What is Fail2Ban for WordPress, and why is it important for my site's security if I'm already using other security measures? =
This answer also addresses the following questions: Fail2Ban WordPress, Server-level WordPress security Fail2Ban, WordPress security plugins with Fail2Ban.
Fail2Ban is a log-parsing application that monitors server logs for suspicious activity (like too many failed login attempts) and triggers actions, typically blocking the offending IP address at the server firewall level. This is crucial for WordPress because it helps prevent brute-force attacks, denial-of-service attempts, and other bot-driven malicious activities before they can even significantly load your WordPress application. While other security plugins might focus on application-level threats, Fail2Ban adds a vital server-level defense. Our StopBadBots plugin enhances this by integrating with Fail2Ban's principles and providing a powerful GUI dashboard. This allows you to see exactly who is being blocked, why, and how often, giving you a clearer picture of your server-level defenses directly within WordPress. StopBadBots makes the power of Fail2Ban more accessible and understandable, working alongside your other security measures for a layered defense strategy.



== Screenshots ==
1. Dashboard
2. Dashboard
3. Settings Page
4. Default Bot Table
5. Visitors Log Ajax Page
6. Visitors Chart

=== Stop == Changelog.txt ===
The changelog.txt contains changelog entries, so we can keep the size of the standard WordPress readme.txt file reasonable.


== External service (1) ==
If the settings is "Standard or Maximum Block", we can test some visitors Ip 
from the RIPE database. We send only the IP number of your visitor.
The RIPE will provide information about your visitor's IP that will allow us to identify their hosting.
This is free. Ripe is a not-for-profit association.

RIPE NCC Privacy Statement:
https://www.ripe.net/about-us/legal/ripe-ncc-privacy-statement
domain: https://rdap.db.ripe.net/ip/

== External service (2) ==
If the 'Receive bot's table updates by participating in the Real-Time Bad Bots Security Network'
option in the StopBadBots plugin settings is enabled, your site can share information about bots with StopBadBots. 
In return, your site will receive bot's table updates.

The collected data includes: bot ip, bot user agent, time
Domain: https://stopbadbots.com/api/httpapi.php

We will update our database with bot information and release it to you by updating your database every 4 months.

This plugin is a service. If you choose the premium version, your site will receive weekly updates for tables. 
Only in this case, when applying your purchase code, it will be sent to our server, which will return whether it is valid.

== External service (3) ==
When using our chat, only some information about issues, such as your language and data from the Diagnose tab, may be sent to our server. We do not share, publish, or disclose any information with third parties.
domain: https://BillMinozzi.com/chat/api/api.php

== External service (4) ==
The Stop Bad Bots plugin will retrieve tips and news from BillMinozzi.com. This information will be displayed in the plugin dashboard, under the title "Tips and News." No data is sent to our server. Learn about the terms of use for our plugins and themes at this link:
https://siterightaway.net/terms-of-use-of-our-plugins-and-themes/
domain: https://billminozzi.com/API/bill-api.php


== Advanced Site Health ==

WordPress’s built-in Site Health feature provides a great baseline for your site’s well-being. However, in today’s digital landscape, true “health” goes beyond server configuration. A site can have a perfect score and still be slow, vulnerable, or plagued by critical errors.

Our plugin extends the core Site Health concept to provide a truly holistic analysis of what keeps your site fast, stable, and secure. We don’t just check the basics; we diagnose critical issues that directly impact your visitors’ experience and your site’s operational integrity.

Our enhanced checks include:Performance & Memory Analysis, Proactive Error Detection, Modern Security Monitoring.
That  involves querying public, authoritative services like rdap.db.ripe.net with visitor IP addresses for security analysis.
domain: https://rdap.db.ripe.net/ip/
and
domain: https://BillMinozzi.com/API/api.php
info send: Domain, plugin and WordPress version, status (string) 98.

For a complete overview of all features, our data handling practices, and the full terms governing our software, please visit our official website: 
https://siterightaway.net/terms-of-use-of-our-plugins-and-themes/

To learn more details and look the bots table, visit the <a href="https://stopbadbots.com">plugin site</a>.

