Yevhen Leonidov

Although we did not receive any additional technical information from you, we have released a quick fix that should help in such situations.

Please update to the latest version 1.6.12 of the plugin and check the settings:

Settings → Advanced Settings → BotBlocker Captcha → Image Delivery Mode: Inline Base64

We recommend setting Inline Base64 mode and clicking Save. In this option, images are not loaded with separate requests but are embedded directly into the page, which usually solves problems related to hosting restrictions.

This is very likely to solve your problem!

We would appreciate it if you could let us know the result after checking!

https://prnt.sc/eKTfhViRqvB6

I wanted to clarify: do other types of captchas on your server cause the same lag?

Perhaps the problem only occurs in a specific mode – Image captcha. Please note that alternative types of captchas are no less secure than the current version, and you can safely test them in the settings. Please see the screenshot. Image captcha is not the only one, but it is the only one that creates additional requests to the server, which can be blocked by SShield.

We would also like to inform you that we plan to expand compatibility with SShield, a malware and attack protection system built into ScalaHosting hosting. However, we are aware of cases of false positives on its part. Over the next week, we will try to further adapt the verification mechanisms to the specifics of its filtering in order to minimize possible conflicts.

I would also like to clarify whether you have any specific plugins in your browser? We would like to investigate the issue.

Thank you very much for your detailed review and for using BotBlocker Security.
We are very pleased to hear that you appreciate the core protection and the concept of the plugin itself.

Regarding the issues you described.

The behavior with non-displaying images (“Eagle” icons) is very similar to server configuration features. In particular, this may be due to settings such as fail2ban or other mechanisms that limit the number of requests from a single IP address. Our images in the challenge interface are loaded as separate streams (separate HTTP requests), and with aggressive limits, the server may partially block their loading, which is why a “broken” icon appears.

As for the “Checking your browser” screen freezing, a similar effect can also occur with:

– strict limits on the number of simultaneous connections,
– blocking of AJAX requests,
– an aggressive firewall or anti-DDoS module at the hosting level.

Please note that several types of captchas are available in the plugin settings, all of which are secure and do not require external connections:

– color selection
– mathematical conditions
– geometric shapes
– new “hold” captcha
– as well as the ability to use reCAPTCHA v2

The captcha type can be selected in the settings. All internal modes (except reCAPTCHA) work completely locally and do not generate additional external requests.

We also recommend checking the maximum time limit for solving captchas. If the user does not meet the set limit, they will have to repeat the captcha. Try increasing this value – this often reduces the feeling of “stuck” or repeated checks.

Additionally, we would like to inform you that yesterday we released an update that significantly redesigned the logic of various captcha types. We have enhanced their security and optimized the verification process, including improving the stability of resource loading.

We would be very grateful if you could try the updated version. If the problem persists, please write to us, if possible with information about your server environment (type of hosting, presence of fail2ban, firewall, etc.), and we will analyze the situation in detail.

Thank you for your constructive feedback and support for the project

Thank you very much for your feedback on our product! We strive to provide the best protection and user experience!

Hello,

Just a quick update – we’ve released a new update that improves handling of AI and LLM-based crawlers.

The plugin now includes extended detection and whitelist support for major AI bots such as GPTBot (OpenAI), ClaudeBot (Anthropic), Gemini (Google), and several other large language model crawlers. This allows you to explicitly allow them without relying on generic rules.

You can review and manage these bots directly in the updated bot rules section.

Thank you again for the suggestion – your feedback helped us prioritize this improvement.

Best regards,
BotBlocker Team

Hello,

Thank you for the kind words – we’re really glad to hear that BotBlocker helped you finally stop the attacks caused by bad bots. That kind of feedback honestly means a lot to us.

Regarding the captcha behavior you mentioned, please note an important detail.

Our captcha has a built-in timeout mechanism. If a user does not complete any action within 10 seconds, the captcha is automatically considered expired and will be triggered again. In this case, even if the captcha appears to be solved, the page will not proceed until the request is refreshed.

To resolve this, please try adjusting the Captcha Timeout (seconds) setting.
You can find it in the BotBlocker Captcha tab. Increasing this value usually fixes the issue for real users with slower interaction or network latency.

If you still notice any unusual behavior after changing this setting, feel free to let us know – we’ll be happy to take a closer look.

Best regards,
BotBlocker Team

We’re happy to help! Contact us!