=== Banhammer Pro === Plugin Name: Banhammer Pro Plugin URI: https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro/ Description: Monitor traffic and ban unwanted visitors. Tags: security, ban, block, bots, users Author: Jeff Starr Author URI: https://plugin-planet.com/ Donate link: https://monzillamedia.com/donate.html Contributors: specialk Requires at least: 4.7 Tested up to: 7.0 Stable tag: 3.0 Version: 3.0 Requires PHP: 5.6.20 Text Domain: banhammer-pro Domain Path: /languages License: The Banhammer Pro license is comprised of two parts (see "License" section below for details) Monitor traffic and ban unwanted visitors. == Description == > Protect your site from enemy hordes! [Banhammer Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro/) gives you complete control over who and what may access your site. Visit the Armory to monitor traffic and review suspicious visitors. If you find some user or bot that is causing problems, you can ban them with a click. Or if you just want to keep an eye on someone, you can flag them with a warning. Any banned users will be denied access to your site, until you restore access via the Tower. Banhammer Pro gives you many advanced features not available in the free version. https://youtu.be/0t4qBH0TuW0 ### Features ### Visit the [Banhammer Pro homepage](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro/) for features, screenshots, and details. ### Getting Started ### For help getting started, visit the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro-quick-start/). ### Documentation ### Explore the Banhammer Pro documentation: * [Banhammer Pro Armory](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro-armory/) * [Banhammer Pro Tower](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro-tower/) * [Banhammer Pro Docs](https://plugin-planet.com/category/docs+banhammer-pro/) * [Banhammer Pro Tutorials](https://plugin-planet.com/category/tuts+banhammer-pro/) * [Banhammer Pro FAQs](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro-faqs/) For complete documentation, visit the Help tab on any Banhammer screen in the WP Admin Area. ### Stay Current ### Stay current with Banhammer Pro: * [Banhammer Pro News](https://plugin-planet.com/category/news+banhammer-pro/) * [Grab the News Feed](https://plugin-planet.com/category/news+banhammer-pro/feed/) * [Grab the Tutorials Feed](https://plugin-planet.com/category/tuts+banhammer-pro/feed/) ### Downloads ### Learn how to [download your pro plugin](https://plugin-planet.com/download-purchased-plugin/). ### Plugin License ### Check out [plugin license documentation](https://plugin-planet.com/documentation-plugin-licenses/). ### Privacy ### Check out [privacy and GDPR documentation](https://plugin-planet.com/gdpr-support/#plugin-banhammer-pro) for each of our pro plugins. ### Getting Help ### There are two channels for getting help: * [Ask a question in the Banhammer Pro Forum](https://plugin-planet.com/category/forum+banhammer-pro/) ([login required](https://plugin-planet.com/wp/wp-login.php)) * [Send an email via the contact form](https://plugin-planet.com/support/#contact) The contact form is best for direct support, bug reports, and feedback. ### Developer ### Banhammer Pro is developed and maintained by [Jeff Starr](https://x.com/perishable), 15-year [WordPress developer](https://plugin-planet.com/) and [book author](https://books.perishablepress.com/). == Installation == ### Important: PHP Requirement ### Before installing, make sure your server has either `cURL` or `file_get_contents()` enabled (common for most servers). Banhammer requires at least one of these functions to work properly. ### Installing Banhammer Pro ### 1. Deactivate free version of the plugin 2. Upload the plugin and activate via the WP Plugins screen 3. Visit Banhammer Pro > License to enter your license key Done. Banhammer Pro is now ready for use. For more information on getting started, check out the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro-quick-start/). For complete documentation, visit the Help tab on any Banhammer screen in the WP Admin Area. [More info on installing WP plugins](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/manage-plugins/#installing-plugins-1) ### How to use Banhammer Pro ### 1. Configure the plugin settings as desired (optional) 2. Visit the Armory to monitor traffic and ban/warn any unwanted visitors 3. Visit the Tower to manage any banned/warned targets Also check out the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro-quick-start/). For complete documentation, visit the Help tab on any Banhammer screen in the WP Admin Area. ### With great power.. ### Please be careful not to ban any important IP addresses. Before banning some target, verify the IP and host name. Verifying the IP address is important because you do not want to accidentally ban major search engines and services. A good way to verify any IP address is to do a reverse lookup. The result should match the host name. For an example of how to verify a bot, check out [this article](https://perishablepress.com/spoofed-search-engine-bot/) at Perishable Press. _Pro Tip: In the Armory, you can click on the IP Address or Host Name to do a quick whois lookup._ ### Important! Don’t ban yourself! ### Please be careful not to ban yourself when using Banhammer. The Basic Settings are powerful; use them wisely. Here are some things that can help mitigate any accidents: * Be mindful when monitoring traffic; always know your own IP address and WP username. * Disable the setting "Login Page", so you always have access to the Login Page. * Enable the setting "Ignore Users", so you always can access the Tower, and your own visits will not be logged in the Armory. ### Whoops! How do I get back in? ### It's almost inevitable. Worst-case scenario say you accidentally ban yourself. As site admin, it is easy to restore access. Follow [these steps](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-restore-access/). ### Upgrades ### Your purchase of Banhammer Pro includes free upgrades according to the purchased license (Yearly or Lifetime). Plugin upgrades include new features, bug fixes, and other improvements. When an upgrade is available, WordPress will notify you in the Admin Area. When you see that there is an update available, just click "Update" and WordPress will perform the upgrade automatically. Alternately, you can [download the latest version](https://plugin-planet.com/download-purchased-plugin/) and upgrade manually. [More info](https://plugin-planet.com/upgrade-plugin/) ### Restore Default Options ### To restore default plugin options, visit "Reset Options" in the plugin settings. ### Uninstalling ### This plugin cleans up after itself. All plugin settings and collected data will be removed from the WordPress database when the plugin is deleted via the WP Plugins screen. ### License for Sound Effects ### Audio used in plugin * [Explosion sound by steveygos93](https://freesound.org/s/80401/): [Attribution 3.0 Unported (CC BY 3.0)](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/) * [Inception Horn sound by Kubatko](https://freesound.org/s/196584/): [CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) * [Shield Guard sound by nekoninja](https://freesound.org/s/370203/): [CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) * [Lettuce Chopping sound by danloss](https://freesound.org/s/412531/): [CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) Audio used in promos * [War Drum Loop by limetoe](https://freesound.org/s/274223/): [CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) * [Warrior Drums by Sclolex](https://freesound.org/s/209546/): [CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) ### Like the plugin? ### If you like Banhammer Pro, please take a moment to [give a 5-star rating](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/banhammer/reviews/?rate=5#new-post). It helps to keep development and support going strong. Thank you! == Upgrade Notice == This plugin has been tested and is 100% current with the latest version of WordPress. == Frequently Asked Questions == Check out the [Banhammer Pro FAQs](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro-faqs/) at Plugin Planet. ### Questions? Feedback? Bugs? ### There are two channels for getting help: * [Ask a question in the Banhammer Pro Forum](https://plugin-planet.com/category/forum+banhammer-pro/) ([login required](https://plugin-planet.com/wp/wp-login.php)) * [Send an email via the contact form](https://plugin-planet.com/support/#contact) The contact form is best for direct support, bug reports, and feedback. == Screenshots == Screenshots and more available at [Plugin-Planet.com](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro/#screenshots). == License == The Banhammer Pro license comprises two parts: * __Part 1:__ Its PHP code is licensed under the GPL (v2 or later), like WordPress. [More info](https://www.gnu.org/licenses/). * __Part 2:__ Everything else (e.g., CSS, HTML, JavaScript, images, design) is licensed according to the purchased license. [More info](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro/). Without prior written consent from Monzilla Media, you must NOT directly or indirectly: license, sub-license, sell, resell, or provide for free any aspect or component of Part 2. Further license information is available in the plugin directory, `/license/`, and [online](https://plugin-planet.com/wp/files/banhammer-pro/license.txt). Copyright 2026 Monzilla Media. All rights reserved. == More from Jeff Starr == Premium WordPress plugins: * [Banhammer Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/banhammer-pro/) - Monitor traffic and ban bad users and bots * [BBQ Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/bbq-pro/) - Fastest firewall plugin for WordPress * [Blackhole Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro/) - Block bad bots in a virtual black hole * [GA Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/ga-google-analytics-pro/) - Connect WordPress to Google Analytics * [Head Meta Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/head-meta-pro/) - Ultimate Meta Tags for WordPress * [REST Pro Tools](https://plugin-planet.com/rest-pro-tools/) - Awesome tools for managing the WP REST API * [SAC Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/simple-ajax-chat-pro/) - Unlimited chat rooms for WordPress * [USP Pro](https://plugin-planet.com/usp-pro/) - Advanced front-end forms Quality WordPress books: * [The Tao of WordPress](https://wp-tao.com/) * [Digging into WordPress](https://digwp.com/) * [.htaccess made easy](https://htaccessbook.com/) * [WordPress Themes In Depth](https://wp-tao.com/wordpress-themes-book/) * [Wizard's SQL Recipes for WordPress](https://books.perishablepress.com/downloads/wizards-collection-sql-recipes-wordpress/) More awesome stuff on the way :) == Changelog == If you like Banhammer Pro, please take a moment to [give a 5-star rating](https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/banhammer/reviews/?rate=5#new-post). It helps to keep development and support going strong. Thank you! **3.0 (2026/04/22)** * Fixes bug with banhammer-process requests * Improves accuracy of GeoIP lookups * Fixes bug with reset options * Updates plugin settings page * Updates Help tab information * Improves readme.txt documentation * Tests on WordPress 7.0 Full changelog @ [https://plugin-planet.com/wp/changelog/banhammer-pro.txt](https://plugin-planet.com/wp/changelog/banhammer-pro.txt)