WPIntell

Market

bots

Bots matters only if the evidence supports a paid workflow around keeping sites trusted, protected, and recoverable, not a list of isolated fixes. The current commercial thesis is: Security, spam, and trust failures create business risk that owners struggle to triage. The entry wedge is to turn security and abuse signals into prioritized actions, audit trails, and recovery-ready reporting.

Proof Health

Open evidence

Commercial opportunities need traceable source links before they are treated as build-worthy.

82 / 106 rows with source links

77.4% of this page's analysis has direct source links.

0 build-decision rows missing links

0 rows here require auditable proof before promotion.

24 rows with no attached evidence

0 rows have source counts but still need direct links.

Opportunity Summary

Full report

Build a trust and abuse-prevention operations plugin for site owners, agencies, and maintenance teams: Security, spam, and trust failures create business risk that owners struggle to triage. The first wedge is to turn security and abuse signals into prioritized actions, audit trails, and recovery-ready reporting.

The unmet need is not the individual complaint. It is the recurring business workflow: Security, spam, and trust failures create business risk that owners struggle to triage. Current stage: commercial plugin opportunity.

Competitors

16 shown
Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA 60.0K installs · 4.5
praise owner
-100.0%momentum 52.7weakness 14/25pain/praise

Pain still appears around security, compatibility despite praise for easy, reliable.

source 1 source 2
GM Block Bots 900 installs · 4.4
praise owner
-100.0%momentum 55.0weakness 5/20pain/praise

Pain still appears around security, setup despite praise for quality, easy.

source 1 source 2
Spider Blocker 20.0K installs · 4.0
praise owner
-100.0%momentum 52.6weakness 3/3pain/praise

Pain still appears around value, compatibility despite praise for quality, bugs.

source 1 source 2
Blackhole for Bad Bots 30.0K installs · 4.7
praise owner
-100.0%momentum 44.9weakness 6/25pain/praise

Pain still appears around compatibility, missing feature despite praise for quality, reliable.

source 1 source 2
reCAPTCHA Lite 100 installs · 0.0
watchlist
-100.0%momentum 39.0weakness 2/0pain/praise

Open gap: users report security, bugs without a matching collected praise theme.

source 1
EDH Bad Bots 30 installs · 5.0
praise owner
-100.0%momentum 17.0weakness 1/1pain/praise

Pain still appears around bugs, performance despite praise for easy, reliable.

source 1 source 2
WP Simple SpamCheck 200 installs · 0.0
watchlist
-100.0%momentum 33.9weakness 0/0pain/praise

Weakness evidence: stale update history.

source 1
Block Editor for ManyChat 100 installs · 0.0
watchlist
-100.0%momentum 33.3weakness 0/0pain/praise

Weakness evidence: stale update history.

Magic robots.txt 1.0K installs · 5.0
praise owner
-100.0%momentum 16.4weakness 0/1pain/praise

Owned praise to avoid copying: easy.

source 1
TrafficGuard PPC Fraud Prevention 100 installs · 0.0
watchlist
-100.0%momentum 14.0weakness 0/0pain/praise

Watch for positioning evidence as more conversations are collected.

Evidence

Open evidence explorer
complaint Malware file in Blackhole for Bad Bots plugin

Malware file in Blackhole for Bad Bots plugin: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Blackhole for Bad Bots · Malware file in Blackhole for Bad Bots plugin Godaddy sent me a notification of a malware file within the WordPress Blackhole For Bad Bots plugin. complaint Kindly Remove All Shield Security Branding from the access denied page.

Kindly Remove All Shield Security Branding from the access denied page.: users show security, bugs, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · Kindly Remove All Shield Security Branding from the access denied page. complaint I hate this expensive, complex plugin

I hate this expensive, complex plugin: users show security, bugs, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · I hate this expensive, complex plugin I’m so tired of visitors being locked out of client sites, clients being locked out. mixed Does not work on MultiSite!

Does not work on MultiSite!: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots · Does not work on MultiSite! complaint Installed correctly but still getting fake registrations

Installed correctly but still getting fake registrations: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Installed correctly but still getting fake registrations The plugin installed just fine. complaint Update to 1.1 Crashed Site

Update to 1.1 Crashed Site: users show bugs, compatibility, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Replytocom Controller · Update to 1.1 Crashed Site Both WP admin and www showed this message: Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ‘[‘ in -my directory- /blog/wp-content/plugins/replytocom-controller/replytocom-controller.php on line 59 Deleted plugin folder via FTP for now. complaint Shockingly Arrogant Support People

Shockingly Arrogant Support People: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · Shockingly Arrogant Support People Terrible attitude from Support – I reached out because I lost all my work and the response I got was complete and utter arrogance followed by a refund without even exploring the problem. complaint Support for WishList Member login forms

Support for WishList Member login forms: users show security, compatibility, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Support for WishList Member login forms Hi Mike here from WishList Member. complaint The backend may be unchecked.

The backend may be unchecked.: users show security, compatibility, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · This plugin may not perform checks using secret keys on the backend. complaint Be very careful …

Be very careful …: users show bugs, compatibility, performance pain that may indicate a product gap.

Blackhole for Bad Bots · Be very careful … I appreciate the protection Blackhole for Badbots has given me for a couple of years, but suddenly I’m getting emails from Google saying their crawlers have been blocked and, within two days, my ranking has plummeted. complaint The Free Version is Useless.

The Free Version is Useless.: users show security, bugs, pricing pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · The Free Version is Useless. complaint reCaptcha plugin uninstalled but Captcha box still there

reCaptcha plugin uninstalled but Captcha box still there: users show security, bugs, performance pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · reCaptcha plugin uninstalled but Captcha box still there I have recently installed this plugin to add Captcha to my registration and account page. mixed Position is not right.

Position is not right.: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Thank you for letting us to use this Recaptcha plugin for free. complaint SUPPORT REQUEST VERY IMPORTANT READ

SUPPORT REQUEST VERY IMPORTANT READ: users show security, compatibility, support pain that may indicate a product gap.

Ultimate Captcha reCAPTCHA Plugin for WordPress · SUPPORT REQUEST VERY IMPORTANT READ Hi, Thanks for checking this topic. complaint Recaptcha dont work on checkout

Recaptcha dont work on checkout: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Recaptcha dont work on checkout for now we disabled the plugin because it dont work on the checkout page so people cant checkout anymore if the plugin is enabled. complaint Broke Woocommerce Checkout page…

Broke Woocommerce Checkout page…: users show security, compatibility, support pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Broke Woocommerce Checkout page… Sadly the plugin broke the most important page of my website: the checkout page… I’m not leaving a bad “1-star” mark because I respect your work and guess it wasn’t supposed to do that, but it looks like your plugin somehow add a login.min.css style to the checkout page, breaking all the style and preventing the visitor from mixed Compatibility Issue with Shield Security and WordPress 6.7.1

Compatibility Issue with Shield Security and WordPress 6.7.1: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · Compatibility Issue with Shield Security and WordPress 6.7.1 Hello Shield Security Support, After updating to WordPress 6.7.1, I noticed that the customizer becomes unresponsive when Shield Security plugin is active—no sidebar options appear, and the blue pencil tool doesn’t work. mixed Does your plugin work with Siteground and Siteground Optimiser plugin

Does your plugin work with Siteground and Siteground Optimiser plugin: users show security, bugs, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Blackhole for Bad Bots · I see you don’t support cache with your plugin or does it cause issues? mixed Login problems Safari on Iphone

Login problems Safari on Iphone: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Login problems Safari on Iphone Hi! mixed Slowing site down

Slowing site down: users show security, bugs, performance pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · Slowing site down I’ve installed Shield Security on a few websites I maintain and have noticed slower site load speeds. mixed Hostname banning

Hostname banning: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots · Hostname banning Nice plugin but you should strongly consider banning entire hostnames because hackers often change IPs often than you change your socks and it would be extremely time consuming to ban all bad ips in this world individually! mixed robot txt

robot txt: users show security, bugs, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Blackhole for Bad Bots · I am still under attack from a bot and adding it to the list doesn’t help. mixed HOW TO BANNISH IP ?

HOW TO BANNISH IP ?: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots · it is well installed on my blog I explored the 3 headings but I can’t find any place to go back and ban the IP addresses of my stalker? mixed Does Banhammer have the function of blackhole?

Does Banhammer have the function of blackhole?: users show security, compatibility, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots · but I didn’t get reply. mixed Error for site owner: invalid site key

Error for site owner: invalid site key: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Error for site owner: invalid site key It used to work but now for some reason we get the ERROR for site owner: invalid site key – instead of the checkbox. mixed WordPress Customizer Issue??

WordPress Customizer Issue??: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · WordPress Customizer Issue?? mixed Supports Unsupported PHP version

Supports Unsupported PHP version: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security · Supports Unsupported PHP version Hi, would you like to consider deprecating support for php 5.6 – 7.3 or at-least upto 7.1 on BBQ plugin because the WordPress core itself doesn’t supports them. mixed Issue with CronJon After Installing BanHammer

Issue with CronJon After Installing BanHammer: users show bugs, compatibility, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots · Issue with CronJon After Installing BanHammer I am facing an issue since I installed banhammer on my wordpress+woocommerce website. mixed Interaction with Reval IDs plugin

Interaction with Reval IDs plugin: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Block Comment Spam Bots · Interaction with Reval IDs plugin Another issue I noticed is the IDs for comments reported by another plugin (‘Reveal IDs’ v 1.5.4, by Oliver Schlöbe) is not correct. mixed Minor issue: admin reply to comment didn’t work

Minor issue: admin reply to comment didn’t work: users show security, bugs, performance pain that may indicate a product gap.

Block Comment Spam Bots · Minor issue: admin reply to comment didn’t work I like this plugin as it seems to have stopped all spam dead, and yet real posters can still leave comments. mixed What does “Protect wp-login” mean?

What does “Protect wp-login” mean?: users show security, compatibility, performance pain that may indicate a product gap.

Banhammer – Monitor Site Traffic, Block Bad Users and Bots · Will the pro-version be faster when it comes to loading requests in the Armory? mixed Popularising this plugin – brainstorming ideas

Popularising this plugin – brainstorming ideas: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Block Comment Spam Bots · Change it as you see fit (as it sounds like me) but something like; cite: Philip – A simple to use plugin that stops automated spam. mixed Falsly treatment for AIOSEO Rest API requests

Falsly treatment for AIOSEO Rest API requests: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Blackhole for Bad Bots · Falsly treatment for AIOSEO Rest API requests Hello Jeff, First of all thank you for your work in keeping web security to a higher standard, this plugin and the others you have. mixed Deleting database tables

Deleting database tables: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · Deleting database tables Hello, I deleted Shield Security Plugin some months ago, but looking at the list of tables in phpMyAdmin, I see the following: https://pastebin.com/5hT0E5Hi They have a lot of rows/MB. mixed Deprecation Notice on PHP 8.1

Deprecation Notice on PHP 8.1: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Login No Captcha reCAPTCHA · Deprecation Notice on PHP 8.1 I see this plugin has not been tested on recent WordPress installs, so I’m not sure how active the development still is. mixed Solution for bunch of ?blackhole= backlinks generated in GSC

Solution for bunch of ?blackhole= backlinks generated in GSC: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Blackhole for Bad Bots · So any issue with otherwise “good” bots getting blocked suggests there may be some cache plugin or similar working on site. mixed Getting an error related to DB Snapshots

Getting an error related to DB Snapshots: users show security, bugs, compatibility pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · Getting an error related to DB Snapshots Hey, I am running a WordPress site with a decent memory limit, I happened to get this error when deleting a post: E_ERROR was caused in line 16 of the file /var/app/current/httpdocs/wp-content/plugins/wp-simple-firewall/src/lib/src/DBs/Snapshots/Ops/Record.php. question Disable Right Click – Content Protection

Disable Right Click – Content Protection: users show security, bugs, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · Disable Right Click – Content Protection Hello, Is there an option in the plugin to disable right click to avoid content theft ? mixed Latest version blocks pdf file download

Latest version blocks pdf file download: users show security, compatibility, missing feature pain that may indicate a product gap.

BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security · The download URL is for example: /wp-content/plugins/bonsai-ads/download.php?file=bonsai-kampan-189-1730442684.pdf The download.php script is not doing anything fancy: // Connect with WordPress require_once( __DIR__.'/../../../wp-config.php' ); require_once( __DIR__.'/../../../wp-includes/wp-db.php' ); require_once( __DIR__.'/../../../wp-includes/pluggable.p mixed wp_icwp_wpsf_req_logs – 300mb

wp_icwp_wpsf_req_logs – 300mb: users show security, bugs, performance pain that may indicate a product gap.

Shield Security – Smart Bot Blocking, Brute-Force Login Protection & File Scanning · And now after truncating a couple tables (and having the cron running again) it seems fine all – except for this table wp_icwp_wpsf_req_logs – which is still over 300mbs – and is unable to be truncated because of dependancies, and also i cannot find a setting in the plugin that cleans this from the plugin itself.