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Security Headers
Plug-in to ease the setting of TLS headers for HSTS and similar
The facts
- Rating
- 5★ from 8
- Active installs
- 3k+
- Price
- Free
- Last updated
- 26 Feb 2019
- Added
- Apr 2015
- Requires WP
- 3.8.1
- Tested up to
- WP 5.1.24
- Requires PHP
- 5.6
- Downloads
- 48,651
Our analysis
AI-assistedSecurity Headers is a WordPress plugin designed to help you manage HTTP headers related to security without needing direct access to your server's configuration. It provides controls for several important security features, including HSTS, HPKP, and protections against content sniffing and XSS attacks.
This plugin is suitable for users who need to enhance their site's security, particularly those operating on shared IP addresses or who lack access to .htaccess files. It is aimed at site administrators looking to implement specific security measures to protect their content and users.
Best for: This plugin is best for website administrators looking to enhance security without direct server access.
What it does well
- ✓Provides controls for important security headers
- ✓Helps manage security without server access
- ✓Supports multiple security features like HSTS and XSS protection
- ✓Free to use and available on WordPress.org
- ✓Active installation base of 3,000
Where it falls short
- •Last updated in February 2019
- •Limited information on additional features or support
- •Directory score of 52/100 indicates moderate performance
Verdict
Security Headers offers a straightforward solution for managing HTTP security headers, but its age and moderate directory score may be considerations for potential users.
From the developer
SimonRWaters's own description of Security Headers, lightly tidied.
TLS is growing in complexity. Server Name Indication (SNI) now means HTTPS sites may be on shared IP addresses, or otherwise restricted. For these servers it is handy to be able to set desired HTTP headers without access to the web servers configuration or using .htaccess file.
This plug-in exposes controls for:
- HSTS (Strict-Transport-Security)
- HPKP (Public-Key-Pins)
- Disabling content sniffing (X-Content-Type-Options)
- XSS protection (X-XSS-Protection)
- Clickjacking mitigation (X-Frame-Options in main site)
- Expect-CT
HSTS is used to ensure that future connections to a website always use TLS, and disallowing bypass of certificate warnings for the site.
HPKP is used if you don’t want to rely solely on the Certificate Authority trust model for certificate issuance.
Disabling content sniffing is mostly of interest for sites that allow users to upload files of specific types, but that browsers might be silly enough to interpret of some other type, thus allowing unexpected attacks.
XSS protection re-enables XSS protection for the site, if the user has disabled it previously, and sets the “block” option so that attacks are not silently ignored.
Clickjacking protection is usually only relevant when someone is logged in but users requested it, presumably they have rich content outside of WordPress authentication they wish to protect.
Expect-CT is used to ensure Certificate Transparency is configured correctly.
Tagged as
quality
Security
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