WARRI/Nigeria: A Nigerian software developer, Omajemite Don, has launched a free WordPress security plugin designed to protect news websites and online publishers from malicious bot traffic, brute-force attacks, and rising server abuse.
The newly released plugin, BotFend Anti-Bot Firewall, is now available on the official WordPress.org
repository, offering publishers a comprehensive security solution aimed at reducing invalid traffic that could trigger Google AdSense ad-serving restrictions and inflate server costs.
BotFend comes equipped with a Web Application Firewall (WAF) that filters suspicious traffic at the server level before WordPress fully loads, helping to minimise server resource consumption and improve website performance during attacks.
The plugin also synchronises identified malicious actors with Cloudflare and features advanced security tools including bot detection, behavioural analysis, brute-force protection, XML-RPC blocking, geo-location filtering, and a dedicated File Guard system.
According to the developer, the File Guard feature monitors WordPress upload directories, detects unauthorised file permission changes, and automatically restores compromised permissions to strengthen website security.
BotFend operates with four distinct protection modes — Learning Mode, Standard Mode, Aggressive Mode, and Emergency Mode — allowing the firewall to intelligently adapt its defence level based on the nature of website visitors and potential threats.
The plugin also supports integration with external security services such as AbuseIPDB, Google reCAPTCHA, and IPHub through free API keys, although these features are disabled by default and require manual activation. Tor network blocking is equally available without the need for an API key.
Before its rebranding as BotFend Anti-Bot Firewall, the plugin was previously known as Safebot Defender. It is compatible with WordPress version 6.4 and above, as well as PHP 8.0 or higher.
Explaining the motivation behind the project, Omajemite Don said the solution was born out of firsthand experience managing high-traffic news platforms vulnerable to coordinated bot attacks.
“We built BotFend out of necessity. Having managed high-traffic news platforms myself, I saw how easily a bot attack could crash a server or get an ad account flagged,” he said.
Industry observers say the development could provide relief for independent publishers and digital media platforms struggling with increasing cybersecurity threats and advertising compliance challenges.
Publishers and website administrators can install the plugin directly from their WordPress dashboards or download it from the official WordPress plugin repository.
Download Link https://wordpress.org/plugins/botfend-anti-bot-firewall/
