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Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 22.2.3 – WordPress Plugin

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning PRO

v22.0.5 ★★★★★4.8/5 (1,038) Updated 2 days ago Live Demo ↗
Download PRO v22.0.5 Download Free v22.2.3
PRO version v22.0.5 · free version v22.2.3 included

Description

At a glance

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning v22.2.3 is a free WordPress plugin, and the PRO v22.0.5 premium version is available on this page too — 30K+ active installs · 4.8/5 rating from 1,038 reviews · updated September 21, 2026 · requires WordPress 5.7+ & PHP 7.4+.

Most security plugins hand you a dashboard full of alerts and expect you to know what to do next. Shield works differently.

It blocks threats automatically, repairs what it can on its own, and then shows you exactly what still needs your attention — ranked by impact, not volume. Less noise. More action.

🤖 Security That Runs Itself

The most powerful thing Shield does is what it handles without you:

  • Automatic IP Blocking — every visitor is quietly scored as they interact with your site. Failed logins, firewall blocks, silentCAPTCHA failures, and other signals accumulate into a reputation score. When a visitor’s score crosses the threshold, Shield blocks them — automatically, without you lifting a finger
  • Automatic File Repair — when a file integrity scan finds a changed WordPress core file, Shield pulls the original from WordPress.org and restores it. Detected and fixed, without waiting for you to act
  • Automatic Bot Recognition — Shield identifies legitimate crawlers (Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, Yandex, Apple) and known services (ManageWP, Pingdom, Stripe, CloudFlare) and never blocks them. Your SEO and monitoring tools keep working

🧭 Guided Security, Not Just a Dashboard

Shield organises your security into four focused areas so you always know where to look:

  • Queue — things that need your attention, ranked by priority. Not everything at once — just what matters right now
  • Investigate — dig into blocked IPs, security events, and the specific signals that triggered each one
  • Configure — guided setup for each protection area, with clear recommendations matched to your site
  • Reports — a clear view of what Shield has blocked, detected, and repaired over time

The goal: guide you quickly towards action, not bury you in data.

🛡️ Free Protection

Bot Blocking & Firewall

  • silentCAPTCHA — blocks bad bots on login, registration, lost password, and comment forms using passive signals invisible to real visitors. No CAPTCHA keys. No external requests. No JavaScript that breaks your forms. Everything runs on your server (GDPR friendly).
  • Firewall rules blocking common WordPress attack patterns — SQL injection probes, known exploit signatures, suspicious request parameters
  • XML-RPC protection — disable or restrict entirely, including pingbacks and trackbacks
  • REST API firewall — block unauthenticated requests
  • Fake crawler detection — identifies bots spoofing legitimate search engines

Login & Account Security

  • Two-factor authentication (2FA) — email codes, Google Authenticator, or YubiKey OTP for all users
  • Brute force protection with configurable login attempt limits and cooldown
  • Session locking — tie sessions to a browser or IP to stop account theft after a successful login
  • User enumeration blocking — closes off ?author= probes used to harvest usernames before an attack

Scanning & Integrity

  • Core file scanning — compares WordPress core against official checksums and repairs changed files automatically
  • Suspicious PHP detection — flags PHP files in locations where they have no business being
  • Abandoned plugin detection — identifies unmaintained plugins most likely to carry unpatched vulnerabilities

Visibility & Control

  • Security Admin PIN — lock Shield’s own settings so other administrators cannot quietly weaken your configuration
  • Security activity log — logins, user changes, plugin and theme events, post edits, and suspicious requests: Everything in one clear view
  • IP Rules — automatic & manual block and bypass rules, CIDR range support, full per-IP request history

🤝 CrowdSec Integration

Shield is the only WordPress security plugin with a native CrowdSec integration. CrowdSec aggregates threat signals from millions of sites into a shared IP reputation network — your site blocks known attackers before they ever probe you, using intelligence far beyond your own traffic history.

ShieldBACKUPS Disaster Recovery

ShieldPRO includes ShieldBACKUPS: fast, off-site WordPress backups built for recovery after hacks, broken updates, or server failure.

Your backup is kept away from the site it protects, so you have a clean recovery path when WordPress itself is down, damaged, or under attack.

There are no cloud storage costs, backups are encrypted and copied securely, and there are no storage API keys or authentication details stored on your WordPress site.

✨ ShieldPRO

  • ShieldBACKUPS — off-site backups and disaster recovery for WordPress sites
  • Passkeys — phishing-resistant, passwordless login for users
  • Backup login codes — emergency 2FA access when a device is lost
  • AI-based malware scanner — detects known and unknown PHP malware
  • Plugin & theme file scanning — compares installed files against WordPress.org originals, flagging unauthorised changes
  • Vulnerability scanning — active checks across all installed plugins and themes
  • Broader spam protection — WooCommerce, EDD, Contact Form 7, Ninja Forms, Elementor, and more
  • Traffic rate limiting — cap request rates per IP to absorb high-volume bot floods
  • User suspension — manual or automatic suspension of idle accounts
  • MainWP integration
  • White Label — rename and rebrand Shield for client sites

Who It’s For

Shield suits site owners, agencies, and MSPs who want protection that runs itself — not a plugin that demands constant attention to be useful.

If you have been burned by security plugins that generate more noise than protection, or dashboards that tell you everything is wrong without telling you what to fix, Shield was built to be the alternative.

Partnerships & Integrations

We believe that silentCAPTCHA is one of the simplest and most powerful solutions available today for all WordPress site owners to block and eliminate automated bot spam.

That’s why we’ve started a collaboration campaign with other WordPress plugin developers to adapt their plugins to natively support Shield’s silentCAPTCHA solution, alongside Google reCAPTCHA & Cloudflare Turnstile.

When you use one of the products from any of our partners, you will be able to activate Shield’s silentCAPTCHA bot spam protection so that your forms are protected from automated spam. You won’t need any site/API keys, custom integrations, or JavaScript that can break your forms. It all works automatically for you when you enable the feature.

As of this release, we have partnered with the following WordPress form providers:

Frequently asked questions

What is Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning?

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning is a free WordPress plugin available under the GPL license. The current version is 22.2.3. It is active on over 30K websites.

Is Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning free to download?

Yes — Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 22.2.3 is a free GPL download with no hidden fees, no account needed, and no feature locked behind a paywall in this package. Users rate it 4.8 out of 5 based on 1,038 reviews. A premium PRO version with extra features is also available on this page.

How do I install Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 22.2.3?

Download the ZIP file from this page, then in your WordPress dashboard go to Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin, choose the file, click Install Now, then Activate. The plugin works immediately after activation — no license key or extra setup is required for the core features.

What are the requirements for Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning?

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning 22.2.3 requires WordPress 5.7 or higher and PHP 7.4 or higher. Most modern WordPress hosts already meet these versions. Running older versions may cause features to break, so update WordPress and PHP first if your site is behind.

When was Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning last updated?

Version 22.2.3 was last updated on September 21, 2026. This page is refreshed automatically, so the download here always matches the newest version we have verified.

Is the Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning download safe?

The file is sourced directly from the official WordPress.org repository — the same file the developer published. It is served unmodified, so what you install here is byte-identical to the official release.

Version: 22.2.3
Updated: October 1, 2026

Technical details

PRO version22.0.5
Free version22.2.3
Last updatedSeptember 21, 2026
Active installs30,000+
Rating★★★★★ 4.8/5 (1,038 reviews)
Requires WordPress5.7 or higher
Requires PHP7.4 or higher
AuthorPaul
Tags2fa, activity-log, bots, firewall, security
Demo Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning

Download Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning

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