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4 versions

Blackhole Pro history.

Every release of Blackhole Pro is archived here with its changelog, file size, and security scan result. Use the archive to roll back to a stable release or audit what changed between updates.

2 of 4 releases scanned clean
v3.6.1Latest
August 25, 20261.4 MBScanned
Requires PHP: 5.6.20 Text Domain: blackhole-pro Domain Path: /languages License: The Blackhole Pro license comprises two parts (see "License" section below) Blackhole Pro is a WordPress security plugin that detects and traps bad bots in a virtual black hole, where they are denied access to your site. == Description == > ✨ Trap bad bots in a virtual black hole __Important:__ Do NOT use this plugin on sites with caching. [Learn more »](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/important-do-not-use-on-sites-with-caching/) ### Bye bye bad bots.. ### Bad bots are the worst. They do all sorts of nasty stuff and waste server resources. Blackhole Pro helps to stop bad bots and save precious resources for legit visitors. ### How does it work? ### First the plugin adds a hidden trigger link to the footer of your pages. You then add a line to your robots.txt file that forbids all bots from following the hidden link. Bots that then ignore or disobey your robots rules will crawl the link and fall into the trap. Once trapped, bad bots are denied further access to your entire site. I call it the "one-strike" rule: bots have one chance to obey your site's robots.txt rules. Failure to comply results in immediate banishment. And if that seems too harsh, you can adjust the number of allowed "strikes" via the plugin's Threshold setting. The best part is that the Blackhole only affects bad bots: human users never see the hidden link, and good bots obey the robots rules in the first place. Win-win! :) ### Features ### Visit the [Blackhole Pro homepage](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro/) for features, screenshots, and details. ### Getting Started ### For help getting started, visit the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-quick-start/). ### Documentation ### Explore the Blackhole Pro documentation: * [Blackhole Pro Docs](https://plugin-planet.com/category/docs+blackhole-pro/) * [Blackhole Pro Tutorials](https://plugin-planet.com/category/tuts+blackhole-pro/) * [Blackhole Pro FAQs](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-faqs/) For complete documentation, visit the Help tab on any Blackhole screen in the WP Admin Area. ### Stay Current ### Stay current with Blackhole Pro: * [Blackhole Pro News](https://plugin-planet.com/category/news+blackhole-pro/) * [Grab the News Feed](https://plugin-planet.com/category/news+blackhole-pro/feed/) * [Grab the Tutorials Feed](https://plugin-planet.com/category/tuts+blackhole-pro/feed/) ### Downloads ### Learn how to [download your pro plugin](https://plugin-planet.com/download-purchased-plugin/). ### Account & License ### Check out [plugin license documentation](https://plugin-planet.com/documentation-plugin-licenses/). ### Privacy ### Check out [privacy and GDPR documentation](https://plugin-planet.com/gdpr-support/#plugin-blackhole-pro) for each of our pro plugins. ### Getting Help ### There are two channels for getting help: * [Ask a question in the Blackhole Pro Forum](https://plugin-planet.com/category/forum+blackhole-pro/) ([login required](https://plugin-planet.com/wp/wp-login.php)) * [Send an email via the contact form](https://plugin-planet.com/support/#contact) The contact form is best for direct support, bug reports, and feedback. ### Developer ### Blackhole Pro is developed and maintained by [Jeff Starr](https://x.com/perishable), 15-year [WordPress developer](https://plugin-planet.com/) and [book author](https://books.perishablepress.com/). == Installation == ### Installing Blackhole Pro ### 1. Deactivate free version of the plugin 2. Make sure your site is not running any cache plugin 3. Upload the plugin and activate via the WP Plugins screen 4. Visit Blackhole Pro > License to enter your license key Once Blackhole Pro is installed and active: * If your site is using the default robots.txt file that is automatically generated by WordPress, then you are done. No further steps are required. * __OR__ if your site is using a custom robots.txt file, visit the plugin settings > "Robots Rules", copy the provided rules, and paste them into your robots.txt file. Congrats! The plugin now is active, the [robots.txt rules](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-robots-txt/) are in place, and Blackhole Pro is protecting your site against bad bots. For more information on getting started, check out the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-quick-start/). For complete documentation, visit the Help tab on any Blackhole screen in the WP Admin Area. [More info on installing WP plugins](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/manage-plugins/#installing-plugins-1) ### How to use Blackhole Pro ### To use Blackhole Pro: 1. Install and activate the plugin as described above 2. Add the robots.txt rules to your site's robots.txt 3. To configure the plugin, visit the plugin Settings 4. To view and manage blocked bots, visit Bad Bots Links to reset the plugin options and Bad Bots Log are available in the plugin settings. Also check out the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro
v3.6
April 27, 20261.4 MBScanned
Requires PHP: 5.6.20 Text Domain: blackhole-pro Domain Path: /languages License: The Blackhole Pro license comprises two parts (see "License" section below) Blackhole Pro is a WordPress security plugin that detects and traps bad bots in a virtual black hole, where they are denied access to your site. == Description == > ✨ Trap bad bots in a virtual black hole __Important:__ Do NOT use this plugin on sites with caching. [Learn more »](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/important-do-not-use-on-sites-with-caching/) ### Bye bye bad bots.. ### Bad bots are the worst. They do all sorts of nasty stuff and waste server resources. Blackhole Pro helps to stop bad bots and save precious resources for legit visitors. ### How does it work? ### First the plugin adds a hidden trigger link to the footer of your pages. You then add a line to your robots.txt file that forbids all bots from following the hidden link. Bots that then ignore or disobey your robots rules will crawl the link and fall into the trap. Once trapped, bad bots are denied further access to your entire site. I call it the "one-strike" rule: bots have one chance to obey your site's robots.txt rules. Failure to comply results in immediate banishment. And if that seems too harsh, you can adjust the number of allowed "strikes" via the plugin's Threshold setting. The best part is that the Blackhole only affects bad bots: human users never see the hidden link, and good bots obey the robots rules in the first place. Win-win! :) ### Features ### Visit the [Blackhole Pro homepage](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro/) for features, screenshots, and details. ### Getting Started ### For help getting started, visit the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-quick-start/). ### Documentation ### Explore the Blackhole Pro documentation: * [Blackhole Pro Docs](https://plugin-planet.com/category/docs+blackhole-pro/) * [Blackhole Pro Tutorials](https://plugin-planet.com/category/tuts+blackhole-pro/) * [Blackhole Pro FAQs](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-faqs/) For complete documentation, visit the Help tab on any Blackhole screen in the WP Admin Area. ### Stay Current ### Stay current with Blackhole Pro: * [Blackhole Pro News](https://plugin-planet.com/category/news+blackhole-pro/) * [Grab the News Feed](https://plugin-planet.com/category/news+blackhole-pro/feed/) * [Grab the Tutorials Feed](https://plugin-planet.com/category/tuts+blackhole-pro/feed/) ### Downloads ### Learn how to [download your pro plugin](https://plugin-planet.com/download-purchased-plugin/). ### Plugin License ### Check out [plugin license documentation](https://plugin-planet.com/documentation-plugin-licenses/). ### Privacy ### Check out [privacy and GDPR documentation](https://plugin-planet.com/gdpr-support/#plugin-blackhole-pro) for each of our pro plugins. ### Getting Help ### There are two channels for getting help: * [Ask a question in the Blackhole Pro Forum](https://plugin-planet.com/category/forum+blackhole-pro/) ([login required](https://plugin-planet.com/wp/wp-login.php)) * [Send an email via the contact form](https://plugin-planet.com/support/#contact) The contact form is best for direct support, bug reports, and feedback. ### Developer ### Blackhole Pro is developed and maintained by [Jeff Starr](https://x.com/perishable), 15-year [WordPress developer](https://plugin-planet.com/) and [book author](https://books.perishablepress.com/). == Installation == ### Installing Blackhole Pro ### 1. Deactivate free version of the plugin 2. Make sure your site is not running any cache plugin 3. Upload the plugin and activate via the WP Plugins screen 4. Visit Blackhole Pro > License to enter your license key Once Blackhole Pro is installed and active: * If your site is using the default robots.txt file that is automatically generated by WordPress, then you are done. No further steps are required. * __OR__ if your site is using a custom robots.txt file, visit the plugin settings > "Robots Rules", copy the provided rules, and paste them into your robots.txt file. Congrats! The plugin now is active, the [robots.txt rules](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-robots-txt/) are in place, and Blackhole Pro is protecting your site against bad bots. For more information on getting started, check out the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-quick-start/). For complete documentation, visit the Help tab on any Blackhole screen in the WP Admin Area. [More info on installing WP plugins](https://wordpress.org/documentation/article/manage-plugins/#installing-plugins-1) ### How to use Blackhole Pro ### To use Blackhole Pro: 1. Install and activate the plugin as described above 2. Add the robots.txt rules to your site's robots.txt 3. To configure the plugin, visit the plugin Settings 4. To view and manage blocked bots, visit Bad Bots Links to reset the plugin options and Bad Bots Log are available in the plugin settings. Also check out the [Quick Start Guide](https://plugin-planet.com/blackhole-pro-qu
v3.5.3
December 4, 20251.4 MB
Other
  • Requires PHP: 5.6.20
  • Text Domain: blackhole-pro
  • Domain Path: /languages
  • License: The Blackhole Pro license comprises two parts (see "License" section below)
  • Blackhole Pro is a WordPress security plugin that detects and traps bad bots in a virtual black hole, where they are denied access to your site.
  • == Description ==
  • > ✨ Trap bad bots in a virtual black hole
  • __Important:__ Do NOT use this plugin on sites with caching. [Learn more »](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/important-do-not-use-on-sites-with-caching/)
  • ### Bye bye bad bots.. ###
  • Bad bots are the worst. They do all sorts of nasty stuff and waste server resources. Blackhole Pro helps to stop bad bots and save precious resources for legit visitors.
  • ### How does it work? ###
  • First the plugin adds a hidden trigger link to the footer of your pages. You then add a line to your robots.txt file that forbids all bots from following the hidden link. Bots that then ignore or disobey your robots rules will crawl the link and fall into the trap. Once trapped, bad bots are denied further access to your entire site.
  • I call it the "one-strike" rule: bots have one chance to obey your site's robots.txt rules. Failure to comply results in immediate banishment. And if that seems too harsh, you can adjust the number of allowed "strikes" via the plugin's Threshold setting.
  • The best part is that the Blackhole only affects bad bots: human users never see the hidden link, and good bots obey the robots rules in the first place. Win-win! :)
  • ### Features ###
  • The free version of Blackhole includes awesome features:
  • Easy to set up
  • Squeaky clean code
  • Focused and modular
  • Lightweight, fast and flexible
  • Built with the WordPress API
  • Works with other security plugins
  • Easy to reset the list of bad bots
  • Easy to delete any bot from the list
  • Plugin options configurable via settings screen
  • Hidden Blackhole link includes "nofollow" attribute
  • Works silently behind the scenes to protect your site
  • Optionally receive email alerts with WHOIS lookup for blocked bots
  • All major search engines are whitelisted so they never are blocked
  • Focused on flexibility, performance, and security
  • Block any specific user agent from site access
  • Whitelist any IP address or range
  • Whitelist bots via their user agent
  • Customize the message displayed to blocked bots ;)
  • One-click restore plugin default options
  • Does NOT use or require any .htaccess rules
  • ### Pro Features ###
  • Blackhole Pro includes all features of the free version, plus:
  • Customize Blackhole Warning message
  • Choose a custom blocked message for bad bots
  • Disable Blackhole for logged in users
  • Logs number of blocked hits for each bot
  • Set the number of hits before a bot is banned
  • Exclude Blackhole trigger link on specific posts/pages
  • Optionally use a transparent 1x1 pixel image for the trigger link
  • Customize the trigger link with any text-markup
  • Customize the trigger link URL
  • Optionally redirect all blocked bots
  • Optionally redirect all whitelisted bots
  • Choose a custom HTTP Status Code for blocked bots
  • Includes new email alert templates
  • Customize your own email alerts with shortcodes
  • Customize the From header for email alerts
  • Complete documentation available via the Help tab
  • Full-featured Bad Bots Log, where you can view and manage bad bots
  • Bad Bots Log includes refined search, custom sorting, and more
  • Bad Bots Log includes Geo/IP location lookups for bad bots
  • One-click restore of the Bad Bots Log
  • ### Whitelist ###
  • By default, this plugin does NOT block any of the major search engines (user agents):
  • AOL.com
  • Baidu
  • Bingbot/MSN
  • DuckDuckGo
  • Googlebot
  • Teoma
  • Yahoo!
  • Yandex
  • These search engines (and all of their myriad variations) are whitelisted via user agent. So are a bunch of other "useful" bots. They always are allowed full access to your site, even if they disobey your robots.txt rules. This list can be customized in the plugin settings. For a complete list of whitelisted bots, visit the Help tab in the plugin settings (under "Whitelist Settings").
  • ### Privacy ###
  • __User Data:__ Blackhole Pro automatically blocks bad bots. When bad bots fall into the trap, their IP address, user agent, and other request data are stored in the WP database. No other user data is collected by this plugin. At any time, the administrator may delete all saved data via the plugin settings.
  • __Services:__ Blackhole Pro makes outgoing HTTP requests to 3rd-party services to get information about visitors (e.g., Whois, GeoIP, host name). Blackhole Pro also connects to the home site, Plugin-Planet.com, in order to activate and/or deactivate the plugin license. No other third-party services are used by this plugin.
  • __Cookies:__ This plugin does not set any cookies.
  • ### Developer ###
  • Blackhole Pro is developed and maintained by [Jeff Starr](https://x.com/perishable), 15-year [WordPress developer](https://plugin-planet.com/) and [book author](https://books.perishablepress.com
Added
  • bots manually, directly via the Bad Bots screen
Removed
  • any bot or multiple bots with a click
v3.5.2Unavailable
December 4, 20251.4 MB
Other
  • Requires PHP: 5.6.20
  • Text Domain: blackhole-pro
  • Domain Path: /languages
  • License: The Blackhole Pro license comprises two parts (see "License" section below)
  • Blackhole Pro is a WordPress security plugin that detects and traps bad bots in a virtual black hole, where they are denied access to your site.
  • == Description ==
  • > ✨ Trap bad bots in a virtual black hole
  • __Important:__ Do NOT use this plugin on sites with caching. [Learn more »](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/important-do-not-use-on-sites-with-caching/)
  • ### Bye bye bad bots.. ###
  • Bad bots are the worst. They do all sorts of nasty stuff and waste server resources. Blackhole Pro helps to stop bad bots and save precious resources for legit visitors.
  • ### How does it work? ###
  • First the plugin adds a hidden trigger link to the footer of your pages. You then add a line to your robots.txt file that forbids all bots from following the hidden link. Bots that then ignore or disobey your robots rules will crawl the link and fall into the trap. Once trapped, bad bots are denied further access to your entire site.
  • I call it the "one-strike" rule: bots have one chance to obey your site's robots.txt rules. Failure to comply results in immediate banishment. And if that seems too harsh, you can adjust the number of allowed "strikes" via the plugin's Threshold setting.
  • The best part is that the Blackhole only affects bad bots: human users never see the hidden link, and good bots obey the robots rules in the first place. Win-win! :)
  • ### Features ###
  • The free version of Blackhole includes awesome features:
  • Easy to set up
  • Squeaky clean code
  • Focused and modular
  • Lightweight, fast and flexible
  • Built with the WordPress API
  • Works with other security plugins
  • Easy to reset the list of bad bots
  • Easy to delete any bot from the list
  • Plugin options configurable via settings screen
  • Hidden Blackhole link includes "nofollow" attribute
  • Works silently behind the scenes to protect your site
  • Optionally receive email alerts with WHOIS lookup for blocked bots
  • All major search engines are whitelisted so they never are blocked
  • Focused on flexibility, performance, and security
  • Block any specific user agent from site access
  • Whitelist any IP address or range
  • Whitelist bots via their user agent
  • Customize the message displayed to blocked bots ;)
  • One-click restore plugin default options
  • Does NOT use or require any .htaccess rules
  • ### Pro Features ###
  • Blackhole Pro includes all features of the free version, plus:
  • Customize Blackhole Warning message
  • Choose a custom blocked message for bad bots
  • Disable Blackhole for logged in users
  • Logs number of blocked hits for each bot
  • Set the number of hits before a bot is banned
  • Exclude Blackhole trigger link on specific posts/pages
  • Optionally use a transparent 1x1 pixel image for the trigger link
  • Customize the trigger link with any text-markup
  • Customize the trigger link URL
  • Optionally redirect all blocked bots
  • Optionally redirect all whitelisted bots
  • Choose a custom HTTP Status Code for blocked bots
  • Includes new email alert templates
  • Customize your own email alerts with shortcodes
  • Customize the From header for email alerts
  • Complete documentation available via the Help tab
  • Full-featured Bad Bots Log, where you can view and manage bad bots
  • Bad Bots Log includes refined search, custom sorting, and more
  • Bad Bots Log includes Geo/IP location lookups for bad bots
  • One-click restore of the Bad Bots Log
  • ### Whitelist ###
  • By default, this plugin does NOT block any of the major search engines (user agents):
  • AOL.com
  • Baidu
  • Bingbot/MSN
  • DuckDuckGo
  • Googlebot
  • Teoma
  • Yahoo!
  • Yandex
  • These search engines (and all of their myriad variations) are whitelisted via user agent. So are a bunch of other "useful" bots. They always are allowed full access to your site, even if they disobey your robots.txt rules. This list can be customized in the plugin settings. For a complete list of whitelisted bots, visit the Help tab in the plugin settings (under "Whitelist Settings").
  • ### Privacy ###
  • __User Data:__ Blackhole Pro automatically blocks bad bots. When bad bots fall into the trap, their IP address, user agent, and other request data are stored in the WP database. No other user data is collected by this plugin. At any time, the administrator may delete all saved data via the plugin settings.
  • __Services:__ Blackhole Pro makes outgoing HTTP requests to 3rd-party services to get information about visitors (e.g., Whois, GeoIP, host name). Blackhole Pro also connects to the home site, Plugin-Planet.com, in order to activate and/or deactivate the plugin license. No other third-party services are used by this plugin.
  • __Cookies:__ This plugin does not set any cookies.
  • ### Developer ###
  • Blackhole Pro is developed and maintained by [Jeff Starr](https://x.com/perishable), 15-year [WordPress developer](https://plugin-planet.com/) and [book author](https://books.perishablepress.com
Added
  • bots manually, directly via the Bad Bots screen
Removed
  • any bot or multiple bots with a click

Why archive

Sometimes the latest release isn't the one you need. The archive lets you pin Blackhole Pro to a known-good version, or roll back while a bug is investigated. Every release stays scanned and reachable.