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Free Plugin by drew010 v1.3.12

VigilanTor

Add a layer of security to your WordPress site with the ability to block Tor users from commenting, registering, logging in and more.

VigilanTor

The facts

Rating
5★ from 12
Active installs
400+
Price
Free
Last updated
19 Oct 2023
Added
Oct 2015
Requires WP
4.0
Tested up to
WP 6.3.10
Requires PHP
5.6
Downloads
12,382

Our analysis

AI-assisted

VigilanTor is a WordPress plugin designed to manage and block certain activities from Tor users on your site. It allows you to block registrations, logins, and comments from Tor IP addresses, helping to prevent spam and brute force attacks. The plugin also offers features like real-time blocking using the Tor DNS exit list service and custom blocklist support.

This plugin is suitable for website owners who wish to enhance their site's security against potential threats posed by Tor users while still supporting privacy and free speech. It includes statistics on blocked actions and provides shortcodes for displaying messages to Tor and non-Tor users.

Best for: Website owners looking to secure their sites against potential abuse from Tor users.

What it does well

  • Blocks Tor users from registering and logging in
  • Real-time blocking using Tor DNS exit list service
  • Custom blocklist support for IP addresses
  • Statistics on blocked Tor actions
  • Compatible with BuddyPress and hCaptcha

Where it falls short

  • Limited feature information provided
  • Requires hCaptcha for CAPTCHA functionality

Verdict

VigilanTor offers useful features for managing Tor user activity on WordPress sites, making it a practical choice for enhancing security.

From the developer

drew010's own description of VigilanTor, lightly tidied.

Tor is an invaluable tool for protecting free-speech, privacy, and preventing surveillance but when abused it can protect the identity of malicious users and make tracking their activities more difficult. “Hackers” might use Tor to run security scans on your website or spam websites with comments and fake registrations.

The purpose of this plugin is to give you the power to block certain Tor activity from your WordPress site.

Features include:

  • Block Tor users from registering on your site
  • Allow Tor registrations, but flag them for review
  • Block logins from Tor (useful for preventing brute force attacks and securing your admin panel)
  • Block Tor users from posting comments to your site
  • Block spammy pingbacks & trackbacks from Tor IP addresses
  • Block Tor users from your entire WordPress site
  • Permit access after solving a CAPTCHA (requires hCaptcha for WordPress plugin)
  • Real-time blocking using the Tor DNS exit list service
  • Near real time blocking using a cached blocklist which can be updated every 10 minutes or more
  • Custom blocklist support. Block IP addresses or host networks.
  • Statistics to show how many Tor actions have been blocked by this plugin

This plugin is compatible with BuddyPress, the popular Login With Ajax plugin, and hCaptcha.

If there is a feature missing that you would like, request it!

If you opt to use the real-time blocking, each IP address looked up is cached for 5 minutes for efficiency.

The Tor IP lists that are downloaded only contain “exit node” IP addresses so it is relatively small and the list is searched using a binary search so the plugin is very fast!

This plugin also adds two shortcodes which can be used to display specific content to Tor or non-Tor users. Shortcode usage:

[tor_users]Hi, I see you're using Tor.  I support privacy and free-speech too! Visitors not using Tor will not see this message.[/tor_users]
[non_tor_users]Defend yourself against tracking and surveillance. Circumvent censorship. Visit torproject.org to learn more. Visitors already using Tor will not see this message.[/non_tor_users]

Support Tor

Tor is a great thing. If you agree, consider volunteering, donating to the Tor project, or expand the Tor network by sponsoring a Tor relay which will be maintained by the plugin author.

Support this plugin

The author of this plugin values Tor as well as the security of your website. Considerable effort went into the development of this plugin as well as the code and infrastructure that provides you with the up-to-date exit lists.

You can support this plugin by installing it, rating it positively, donating to the author, or sponsoring a Tor relay which will be operated by the plugin developer in your honor.

Read the full description on the official page →

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