annoying: “take a moment to optimize the Wordfence Web Application Firewall”

Hi @volkerforster,

Thanks for reaching out. Downgrading the license should not have impacted your firewall optimization at all. Are you able to optimize the firewall and several hours later it’s no longer optimized, or are you not able to optimize the firewall at all?

Can you send a diagnostic report to wftest @ wordfence . com? You can find the link to do so at the top of the Wordfence > Tools > Diagnostics page. Then click on “Send Report by Email”. Please add your forum username where indicated and respond here after you have sent it.

NOTE: It should look as follows – Screenshot of Tools > Diagnostic > Send by Email

Thanks,
Margaret

Report was sent.
Thank you.

Hi @volkerforster,

Thank you for sending the diagnostics. Are you able to optimize the firewall and several hours later it’s no longer optimized, or are you not able to optimize the firewall at all? On Cloudways, Cloudways Bot Protection will overwrite the auto_prepend_file directive, removing the Wordfence firewall optimization.

You can turn Cloudways Bot Protection off if you’d rather use Wordfence Extended Protection. There’s nothing we can do to prevent the overwrite from happening, so with Cloudways Bot Protection enabled, Wordfence will always return to Basic Protection.

Thanks,
Margaret

Thank you for explaining that. Yes, I can run the Wordfence firewall optimizer, and a few hours later it is asking again for it.
Then what is the better protection? Wordfence (basic) or Claudways bot protection?
Do you have a honest recommendation?

Hi @volkerforster,

I’m unable to recommend Cloudways Bot Protection as I’m unfamiliar with it, but I have full confidence in Wordfence’s ability to protect your site.

You can use Cloudways Bot Protection with Wordfence, but you won’t be able to optimize the firewall. Having the Wordfence firewall optimized allows the firewall protection to start before any other PHP scripts run. Cloudways Bot Protection offers a similar feature, which is why it overwrites the firewall optimization in Wordfence. The decision of which will be more beneficial for your site is ultimately up to you.

Please let me know if you have any other questions!

Thanks,
Margaret

But you did not explain why the problem only exist in your free version, but not with the paid version of Wordfence.

I am still waiting for an explanation.

Because for me it looks like a marketing move; and if it is indeed marketing-related, to sell your paid version, it would definitely ruin my trust in your company.

Hi @volkerforster,

That’s something you may need to talk to Cloudways about, as I have no way of knowing when Bot Protection was enabled on your account or if there was an issue with it before the license downgrade. Cloudways Bot Protection will overwrite the firewall optimization when enabled, no matter which license is used on the site.

Per the forum rules, we’re not allowed to discuss Premium here, but please reach out to us at presales @ wordfence . com if you have any questions about it.

Thanks,
Margaret

You are not getting it. I believe I explained it. We never changed any setting on Cloudways’ Bot Protection settings. It has been active for as long as the feature is available.

The problem started the exact day when my paid Wordfence subscription ended, and the application switched to the free version. Therefore, I am accusing your company to have something changed that now bothers me a few times every day until I re-subscribe. I have any reason to believe this is the case, because of my first-handed experience.

Hi @volkerforster,

Downgrading or upgrading a license does not affect the firewall optimization in Wordfence. It is possible the message for the firewall optimization was suppressed due to a plugin or theme conflict that has since been resolved, or the firewall has been optimized a majority of the time until a recent conflict with the Malcare plugin or Bot Protection setting.

Without the Malcare plugin in place and with the Bot Protection option disabled, you should be able to optimize the firewall and no longer see the notifications. This is a common issue on Cloudways due to the Bot Protection option and it prevents the firewall from staying optimized, causing the notification to appear frequently as the firewall optimization is removed.

Alternatively, you can dismiss the notification if you decide to continue with Bot Protection and don’t want to optimize the firewall.

Thanks,
Margaret