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NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall

By nintechnet

Security & Privacy / Security Scanning & Malware Protection

Reviewed by Omar Dabbas

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall Review - In-Depth Analysis

NinjaFirewall is a powerful Web Application Firewall designed to protect WordPress sites. It offers advanced security features typically found in dedicated security applications.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.82/10

User Rating

4.9/5 (based on 220+ reviews)

Active Installations

100,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

3 / 10 (Low Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) is a true Web Application Firewall. Although it can be installed and configured just like a plugin, it is a stand-alone firewall that stands in front of WordPress.

It allows any blog administrator to benefit from very advanced and powerful security features that usually aren’t available at the WordPress level, but only in security applications such as the Apache ModSecurity module or the PHP Suhosin extension.

NinjaFirewall can hook, scan, sanitise or reject any HTTP/HTTPS request sent to a PHP script before it reaches WordPress or any of its plugins. All scripts located inside the blog installation directories and sub-directories will be protected, including those that aren’t part of the WordPress package. Even encoded PHP scripts, hackers shell scripts and backdoors will be filtered by NinjaFirewall.

NinjaFirewall includes the most powerful filtering engine available in a WordPress plugin. Its most important feature is its ability to normalize and transform data from incoming HTTP requests which allows it to detect Web Application Firewall evasion techniques and obfuscation tactics used by hackers, as well as to support and decode a large set of encodings.

By processing incoming HTTP requests before your blog and any of its plugins, NinjaFirewall is the only plugin for WordPress able to protect it against very large brute-force attacks, including distributed attacks coming from several thousands of different IPs.

NinjaFirewall can alert you by email on specific events triggered within your blog. Some of those alerts are enabled by default and it is highly recommended to keep them enabled. It is not unusual for a hacker, after breaking into your WordPress admin console, to install or just to upload a backdoored plugin or theme in order to take full control of your website.

To get the most efficient protection, NinjaFirewall can automatically update its security rules daily, twice daily or even hourly. Each time a new vulnerability is found in WordPress or one of its plugins/themes, a new set of security rules will be made available to protect your blog immediately.

NinjaFirewall is very fast, optimised, compact, and requires very low system resources. It looks and feels like a built-in WordPress feature. It does not contain intrusive banners, warnings or flashy colors.

Comparing to Alternatives

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) is a robust security plugin with several notable alternatives in the WordPress firewall category.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Highly effective web application firewall with minimal server load
Strong protection against malicious bots and attacks
Responsive and professional developer support
Lightweight and easy to set up
Proven track record of preventing successful intrusions

Weaknesses

Logging interface could be improved with better sorting and export options
Known low-severity vulnerability fixed in recent update
Some users desire more advanced bot control features
Limited visibility into older log entries

User Sentiment Analysis

With an outstanding 4.9 rating from 220 reviews, users overwhelmingly praise NinjaFirewall for its effectiveness and reliability, with very few complaints noted.

Positive highlights

'One of THE MOST useful (and free!) plugins out there' – Mihail Bogatov
'Perfect safety record' – mschwehla
'An ACTUAL Firewall for WordPress' – CPX
'Fast, lightweight and simple to set up' – domzub
'Effective And Light' – JeffKeller

Common complaints

Weaknesses

Logging system lacks sorting and export capabilities
Limited visibility into older log entries
Some users want enhanced bot control features
Low-severity vulnerability fixed in version 4.3.4

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Website owners seeking a powerful, lightweight firewall with proven effectiveness and minimal performance impact will find NinjaFirewall an excellent choice.

Not ideal for

Users requiring advanced logging features or extensive bot management may find the plugin's current capabilities somewhat limited. Those concerned about past vulnerabilities should ensure they use the latest version.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers a comprehensive firewall protecting against malicious bots and attacks with minimal server load.

Pro version (49 - 245 USD / year)

The premium version typically includes advanced features such as enhanced firewall rules, priority support, and additional security modules.

Final Verdict

NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) stands out as a highly effective and lightweight WordPress firewall with excellent user satisfaction and strong protection capabilities. Its minimal impact on performance and responsive support make it a top choice for securing WordPress sites.

While the plugin has a minor history of vulnerabilities and some limitations in logging and bot control, these are addressed in updates and outweighed by its strengths. Users seeking a reliable and efficient firewall will benefit greatly from NinjaFirewall, especially when using the pro version for enhanced features.

Other Notable Features

Here are a few other notable features of this free NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall plugin.

Web Application Firewall

WordPress security

brute-force attack protection

Screenshots

FAQ

NinjaFirewall stands between the attacker and WordPress. It can filter requests before they reach your blog and any of its plugins. This is how it works :

Visitor -> HTTP server -> PHP -> NinjaFirewall #1 -> WordPress -> NinjaFirewall #2 -> Plugins & Themes -> WordPress exit -> NinjaFirewall #3

And this is how all WordPress plugins work :

Visitor > HTTP server > PHP > WordPress > Plugins -> WordPress exit

Unlike other security plugins, it will protect all PHP scripts, including those that aren’t part of the WordPress package.

Contributors and developers

“NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.

nintechnet

bruandet

Pro version Free Version Docs

WPS

6.82

Average

Pro version

Ratings

4.9 out of 5 | 220

Version

4.9.2

Last updated

6 days ago

Active installations

100,000+

WordPress version

7.1.2 or higher

PHP version

7.1 or higher

Languages

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NinjaFirewall (WP Edition) – Advanced Security Plugin and Firewall Review - In-Depth Analysis

Performance Overview

What It Does

Comparing to Alternatives

User Sentiment Analysis

Who Should Use This?

Pricing & Value

Final Verdict

Other Notable Features

Screenshots

FAQ

Contributors and developers

Ratings

Reviews (220)

Sort by:

Contributors & Developers

Interested in development?

Changelog

Security Status

Secure

No Unpatched Vulnerabilities

Known Vulnerabilities (1)

Previous Versions

WPS

6.82

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