Compatibility with other security plugins

Hi,

I’m not sure you need a WordPress plugin to edit .htaccess files – you really need a text editor for that and you’re much less likely to fry your websites. When it comes to .htaccess, I’d create a standard template and replicate it across your sites. Job done. No extra WordPress plugin.

How WPSF works with AIO I don’t know – I’ve never tested it and honestly I’m probably not going to because multiple fingers in the same WordPress pie is messy and I never want to support something as complex as that. If you want to run multiple security plugins together, and have them supported, then I honestly suggest you use AIO and not WPSF. I’m not sure AIO would support running itself alongside 2 other security plugins.

The reason I say this is that WordPress plugin interplay is messy at best and in terms of security etc., you’re likely going to hit problems.

Regarding intrusion detection, how does Wordfence cater for that exactly? When you have WPSF with login protection and user sessions management, it is, to my knowledge, impossible to run WordPress with administrative access without first creating a valid login session and running through two-factor authentication. The plugin will forcefully eject you.
Combine that with the admin access restriction that prevents unauthorized access to the actual plugin itself…

Your analogy for security assumes that 1 program is by-definition not enough. And while I can’t counter that assumption since there will never be any proof for that, the inverse is also true in that it is an assumption based on analogy.

That said though, you are absolutely right to focus down on your .htaccess, though I don’t feel you need a plugin to do it – which is why we don’t build that functionality into WPSF.

All I can say is that you’re likely to encounter issues by combining 2 and certainly 3 disparate security plugins.

A perfect example of bad plugin interplay is Akismet + WPSF Comments filtering. I get emails telling me it’s not working when they run both. This is normal, because you have 2 separate plugins trying to fiddle comments categorization at the same time. It’s a lottery what comes out the other end, especially given Akismet is a black box.

If WPSF lacks something, then I ask users to please request it. Otherwise, use the plugin that best fits your needs.

I’m not sure my comments help you, but hopefully it will deter others seeking to do this, if nothing else.

Good luck!
Paul.

Thanks for your response Paul.

From what I know of Wordfence, it scans for changes in files, as well as comparing files to what they’re supposed to look like, as well as scanning for known infections. This is a lot like having a burglar alarm, which, while very useful, cannot replace a locked door.

While I can edit .htaccess files manually, I’d rather start with a program that does it. I manage about 5 websites in my spare time, and managing all .htaccess files manually means I’m almost guaranteed to miss something, especially since I’m not a security expert, nor will I ever be one. If Bulletproof security hoses the .htaccess, I simply delete and recreate it. For me, I think it’s better having a program manage the .htaccess. I can still edit manually if needed. I still think Bulletproof will do a better job than me.

There’s also lots of little things that need to be done, such as file permissions, database prefix, bruteforce protection etc. Again, many of these things can be done manually, but I have better things to do, especially if I have to recreate things from near scratch when moving/updating/recovering the webserver. I’d like to find a program that does ALL these things, but it doesn’t look like it exists. Plan B is to find the best combination of plugins. Wordfence and Bulletproof seem like a good pair, as there is little if any overlap. Now I’m looking for the third, or perhaps fourth piece.

I’m not trying to disparage WPSF. In all the research I’ve done, I’ve narrowed the best of the best plugins down to 4, and WPSF is in there. I just don’t think it’s a complete solution. At least, not for me.

How would you say WPSF compares to AIO?