Zero Budget Bot Shield
Zero Budget Bot Shield is a WordPress security plugin that provides country blocking and 404 abuse protection without using external APIs or services
Country Blocking Without External APIs
Most geo-blocking plugins depend on third-party IP lookup services. Zero Budget Bot Shield does not.
Instead, it reads country codes directly from:
- Cloudflare IP country headers
- Hosting provider GeoIP headers
- Standard server-level GeoIP integrations
This means:
- No API keys
- No outbound IP lookups
- No visitor data sent to external services
- No privacy policy complexity
Features
All features are available out of the box, with nothing locked behind a paywall.
- Country blocking using server-level GeoIP headers
- No external APIs, IP databases, or paid services
- Automatic detection and blocking of 404 abuse
- Configurable rate limits and time windows
- Admin dashboard with statistics and event logs
- Exportable logs for auditing and analysis
- Native WordPress admin interface
- No front-end scripts or styles
- Fully self-contained and privacy-friendly
How It Works
Zero Budget Bot Shield uses country codes provided by your server environment, such as:
- Cloudflare IP country headers
- Hosting provider GeoIP integrations
- Standard server-level GeoIP modules
No outbound IP lookups are performed, and no visitor data is sent outside your WordPress installation.
For 404 protection, the plugin monitors repeated not-found responses per IP address and automatically applies temporary blocks when thresholds are exceeded.
Privacy and Performance
- No user tracking
- No storage of personally identifiable information
- No external API calls or SaaS dependencies
- No background cron jobs
- No performance impact on normal visitors
All processing happens locally using infrastructure you already control.
Recommended For
- Small businesses and personal websites
- Non-profits and educational institutions
- Shared hosting environments
- Developers who want simple, dependency-free protection
- Sites that require country blocking without paid services
About WPNatives
WPNatives develops practical, security-focused tools for WordPress site owners who value stability, performance, and transparency.
Our plugins are designed to be lightweight, self-contained, and standards-compliant, with a focus on protecting WordPress sites without introducing unnecessary complexity, external dependencies, or recurring costs. We prioritize clean code, predictable behavior, and compatibility with common hosting environments.
Our goal is to help individuals, nonprofits, small businesses, and agencies improve their site security and resilience using solutions that are easy to understand and maintain.
Learn more at wpnatives.com and explore our latest plugins, guides, and support resources.