Block Bad Bots
Blackhole Pro is a WordPress security plugin that automatically detects and traps bad bots in a
virtual blackhole,
where they are blocked from your site.
Bad bots are the worst. They do all sorts of nasty stuff and waste server resources. Blackhole Pro helps to stop bad bots and save precious resources for legit visitors. In the words of Admiral Ackbar:
It’s a Trap!
Bye bye bad bots..
Blackhole Pro blocks bad bots. Benefits include:
- Stops leeches, scanners, and spammers
- Saves server resources for humans and good bots
- Improves traffic quality and overall site security
- Prevents bad bots from besmudging your brand
- Works silently and effectively behind the scenes
- It’s fun to watch bad bots fall into the trap 😎
Full Control
Customize just about everything:
- Threshold level
- Email notifications
- Warning & blocked messages
- Blackhole trigger link
- Custom redirects
- HTTP status codes
Complete Inline Docs
Get complete information with a click:
- Instant access to plugin information
- Plugin documentation on every screen
- Easily access information via the Help tab
- Every plugin option fully documented
- Keeps plugin pages nice and tidy
- Complete docs at your fingertips
Bad Bot Log
Full-featured UI for managing blocked bots:
- Complete bot data: IP, request, user agent, etc.
- Filterable search, custom sorting, paged results
- Automatic Geo/IP location lookups for each bot
- Displays total number of blocked hits
- Delete selected bots with a click
- Add bots manually via IP address
Email Alerts
Stay aware with Blackhole email alerts:
- Receive an alert for every blocked bot
- Choose from several types of alert messages
- Alerts include IP and complete Whois Lookup
- Receive an email alert for each blocked bot
- Customize the email template with shortcodes
- Set adresses for both “To” and “From” headers
Set the Trap
Customize how your site responds to bad bots:
- Choose the Warning Message or create your own
- Choose the Blocked Message or create your own
- Choose a custom URL to redirect blocked bots
- Exclude the trigger link on any post or page
- Customize the hidden Blackhole trigger link
- Disable the trigger link (advanced use)
Whitelist Good Bots
Advanced control over whitelisted (allowed) bots:
- Popular search engines always allowed access
- Choose a custom URL for whitelisted bots
- Whitelist good bots based on user agent
- Whitelist good bots based on IP address
- Whitelist entire ranges of IP addresses
- Blacklist bots based on user agent
More Features
Blackhole Pro is meticulously crafted:
- Built with WordPress APIs
- Works with other security plugins
- Protects automatically, silently
- Automatic honeypot spider trap
- Developed for optimal performance
- One-click restore default plugin options
- Records number of times each bot is blocked
- Set how many warnings before bots are blocked
- Auto-import data from free version of Blackhole
- Read what users say about Blackhole Pro »
Use a caching plugin? Check the list of compatible cache plugins »
Check out full screenshots of Blackhole Pro:
Check the Blackhole Pro readme.txt for more details.
Free vs Pro
What’s the difference between Blackhole Bad Bots (the free version) and Blackhole Pro?
| Feature | Free | Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Strong protection against bad bots | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works with SSL/HTTPS | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works on any server (e.g., Apache, Nginx, Windows) | ✓ | ✓ |
| No Apache/.htaccess required | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works great with Banhammer Pro and BBQ Pro | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lightweight, fast and flexible | ✓ | ✓ |
| Works with other security plugins | ✓ | ✓ |
| One-click restore default settings | ✓ | ✓ |
| Compatible with a growing list of cache plugins | ✓ | ✓ |
| Option to disable for logged-in users | ✓ | |
| Threshold control (number of allowed hits) | ✓ | |
| Custom email alerts | ✓ | |
| Custom messages for blocked bots | ✓ | |
| Custom redirect for blocked bots | ✓ | |
| Custom blackhole trigger links | ✓ | |
| Complete inline documentation | ✓ | |
| Blacklist/block bots based on user agent | ✓ | |
| Blacklist/block bots by IP address | ✓ | |
| Whitelist/allow bots by user agent | ✓ | |
| Whitelist/allow bots by IP address | ✓ | |
| Redirect whitelisted bots | ✓ | |
| Set custom HTTP Status Code | ✓ | |
| Full-featured Bad Bot Log with paging, sorting, and field search | ✓ | |
| Manually add bad bots to the Bad Bot Log | ✓ | |
| Geo/IP location lookups for each bad bot | ✓ | |
| Logs number of blocked hits for each bot | ✓ | |
| Extensive documentation and tutorials | ✓ | |
| Priority plugin help and support | ✓ | |
| No advertisements | ✓ |
Ready to go pro? Get Blackhole Pro ↓
