Specification
Ten modules, no external dependencies
Built as an agency tool for the sites we look after, which is why it behaves like one: it assumes nothing, it switches everything off individually, and it has a kill switch for the day a security plugin is the thing breaking your site.
- Access
- Login throttling per IP, user enumeration blocked, and a hidden login URL.
- Two-factor
- TOTP built to RFC 6238 — works with any standard authenticator app, with no third-party service involved.
- Hardening
- XML-RPC, the file editor and PHP execution in uploads, plus security headers. Each one switchable, none of them assumed.
- Integrity
- WordPress core verified file by file against the official wordpress.org checksums.
- Detection
- Signature scanning triggered by uploads, updates and plugin activation, deferred to cron so the page request stays fast.
- Firewall
- Request inspection running in monitor mode, so you see what it would have blocked before it blocks anything.
- Reporting
- Activity log with email alerts, plus update and vulnerability notices for what you actually have installed.
- Escape hatch
- A single constant in wp-config disables the whole plugin, for when you are locked out and need the site back now.
The stance
What it will not do
A security plugin has more power to break a site than most attacks do. These are the limits it holds to, on purpose.
- No deletion
- It never removes or quarantines a file on its own. A false positive that deletes a theme file costs more than the malware would have.
- No lock-in
- No external service is required for it to work. Nothing phones home to make a decision about your site.
- No silent blocking
- The firewall starts in monitor mode. You see what it would have stopped before you let it stop anything.
- No scare screens
- No red banners selling an upgrade. A finding is reported once, with the file and the reason.
Where it stands. Aegis is version 0.4.6 and runs on live client sites, but it has not been released publicly and has not been through the WordPress.org review. Known work before release: the firewall does not inspect POST bodies yet, and integrity checking covers WordPress core but not plugins and themes.
How these are built
Three rules that do not bend
Scope
Fewer features, all of them working
Reliability is the feature. In security especially, a tool you switch off because it keeps crying wolf protects nothing at all.
Licensing
A lapsed licence never breaks a store
When a licence expires you stop receiving updates and support. Nothing that was already running switches off.
Disclosure
The gaps are published too
The limitations above are on this page before you install anything, not discovered afterwards in production.