BBQ Firewall – Fast & Powerful Firewall Security

BUJ

How to test that the plugin is working?

Visit the plugin settings page and click the “Test Firewall” link.

Do you offer any other security plugins?

Yes, three of them:

• BBQ Firewall for blazing-fast firewall security
• Blackhole for Bad Bots to protect your site against bad bots
• Banhammer to monitor and ban any user or IP address

Pro versions with more features available at Plugin Planet.

Do I need to do anything else for BBQ to work?

Nope, just install and relax knowing that BBQ is protecting your site from bad URL requests.

Where are the plugin settings?

No settings needed for BBQ! Everything is done automatically behind the scenes. Zero configuration required. The free version of BBQ is strictly plug-n-play, set-it-and-forget-it, with no settings to configure whatsoever. Just install, activate, and enjoy better security and robust protection against malicious requests. The Pro version is just as fast and simple to use, but is much more powerful and includes robust settings to customize and fine-tune your firewall.

Is BBQ free version compatible with Wordfence?

Does it makes sense to use both? Yes BBQ free and BBQ Pro are both compatible with any plugin written according to WP APIs. And yes, there is benefit to using BBQ with any other security plugin, including Wordfence. They protect against different threats, so using both provides additional protection.

Does BBQ make changes to my .htaccess file?

Absolutely not. Unlike other security/firewall plugins, neither BBQ (free version) nor BBQ Pro make any changes to any .htaccess file.

Does BBQ make any changes to my WP database?

Only two tiny options are stored in the database; one option for the plugin version, and another option that stores an expiration date for the banner ad on the plugin settings page. Everything else happens at runtime. No other options are stored in the database. Also, both options are removed completely when the plugin is uninstalled via the WP Plugins screen.

Does BBQ block malicious strings included in arrays?

Yes, BBQ scans any arrays that are included in the URI request. If any matching patterns are found, the request is blocked.

My PHP scanner/checker plugin says there is an error?

If some PHP scanner is reporting an error or bad string in BBQ, it’s a false positive and safe to ignore. Why? Because the PHP checker is finding the static strings/patterns that BBQ uses to identify and block bad requests. In other words, the PHP scanner is finding a static string thinking it is live code. It’s not. If possible, please take a moment to report this to the developers of your PHP scanner. They should be happy to improve the accuracy and quality of their plugin. More info.

Can I use BBQ and 7G/8G Firewall at the same time?

Full question: “Except most of the rules overlapping, is it counter productive (site slowing down for example, potential conflicts, bugs) or is there any risks using 7G/8G Firewall + BBQ at the same time?”

Answer: It’s fine to run both BBQ and 7G/8G Firewall at the same time. Both firewalls are super fast, so they won’t slow things down. In other words the two firewalls play well together. The only downside is that some of the rules will be redundant, but there should be no negative impact on performance. The upside is that you get extra protection when using both, as there are variations in the firewall rules and patterns, etc.

How to enable logging?

You can use a free addon to display the total number of blocked requests on the BBQ settings page. Here is a guide that explains how to set it up.

Alternately, BBQ can be configured to log the matching pattern for each blocked request. When match-logging is enabled, BBQ will add a log entry in the site’s default error log. To enable match logging, use the free customize plugin.

Note that the Pro version of BBQ displays the current block count for each firewall rule, like this. All automatic, fiddling with code NOT required 🙂

Got a question?

Send any questions or feedback via my contact form.