by Jeff Starr 4.7 (148 reviews)

Blackhole for Bad Bots

Name: Blackhole for Bad Bots
Rating: 4.7 (148 reviews)
Author: Jeff Starr

Blackhole is a WordPress security plugin that detects and traps bad bots in a virtual black hole, where they are denied access to your entire site.

Blackhole for Bad Bots ranks #1,000 among WordPress.org plugins with 30,000+ active installations, is #120 of 4,499 in the Security category, a 4.7/5 rating from 148 reviews, and was last updated Aug 21, 2026. Data from WordPress.org, refreshed twice daily — see methodology.

Compatible with WP 7.1

v3.8.4 Current Version v3.8.4

Updated 3 weeks ago Last Update on 21 Aug, 2026

Refreshed 6 hours ago Last Refreshed on

#120 of 4,499 in Security Top 5% by installs Downloads -36.7% this week Actively maintained

View on WordPress.org

Rank

#1,000

— No change

Active Installs

30K+

-20.5%

KW Avg Position

37.2

0.2 better

Downloads

981.4K

+2 today

Support Resolved

100%

— No change

Rating

94%

Review 4.7 out of 5

4.7 (148 reviews)

Next Milestone 40K

Total Progress 52.4%

30K+ 40K+

Ranks to Climb

Growth Needed

8,000,000

Active Installs

Pro

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Need 4,755 more installs to reach 40K+

Rank Changes

Current #1,000

Change

Best #

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Active Installs Growth

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Active Installs 0,000,000+

Growth +0.0%

Peak 0,000,000

Downloads Growth

Downloads

Growth

Peak

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Reviews & Ratings

4.7

148 reviews

Overall 94%

134 (91%)

3 (2%)

4 (3%)

1 (1%)

6 (4%)

Support Threads Overview

Resolved

Unresolved

Total Threads

Resolved

Unresolved

100%

Resolution Rate

Security History

Source: WPVulnerability

3 known vulnerabilities on record · 1 in the last 24 months · checked 1 week ago

Mar 25, 2026

Blackhole for Bad Bots [blackhole-bad-bots] < 3.8.1

CVE-2026-4329 · Fixed in v3.8.1
Jan 31, 2022

Blackhole for Bad Bots [blackhole-bad-bots] < 3.3.2

CVE-2022-1165 · Fixed in v3.3.2
Jan 31, 2022

Blackhole for Bad Bots [blackhole-bad-bots] < 3.3.2

Fixed in v3.3.2

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Plugin Details

Version: 3.8.4
Last Updated: Aug 21, 2026
Requires WP: 4.7+
Tested Up To: 7.1
PHP Version: 5.6.20 or higher
Author: Jeff Starr

Support & Rating

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 4.7
Reviews: 148
Support Threads: 1
Resolved: 100%

Keywords

anti-spam blackhole bots honeypot security

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TL;DR

AI summary of the plugin's readme

This plugin is for WordPress site owners who want to protect their site from bad bots, scrapers, and scanners. It works by adding a hidden trap link that only disallowed bots will follow, then banning any bot that ignores the site's robots.txt rules.

Adds hidden trigger link
Whitelists major search engines
Email alerts with WHOIS lookup
Whitelist IP addresses
Customizable bad bot message
One-click restore default options
No .htaccess rules required
Settings screen configuration

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Blackhole for Bad Bots

Yes, three of them: BBQ Firewall for super-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.

Blackhole uses its own "smart bot technology" that only blocks bots if they have demonstrated bad behavior. Firewalls typically are "static" and block requests based on a predefined set of patterns. That means that firewalls sometimes block legitimate visitors. Blackhole never blocks regular visitors, and only it blocks bots that disobey your site's robots.txt rules. So the rate of false positives is close to zero.

In order for the plugin to add the trigger link to your pages, your theme must include the template tag, wp_footer(). This is a recommended tag for all WordPress themes, so your theme should include it. If not, you can either add it yourself or contact the theme developer and ask for help. Here is more information about wp_footer(). Once the footer tag is included, the plugin will be able to add the trigger link to your pages.

No. Never. All the major search engine bots are whitelisted and will never be blocked. Unless you remove them from the whitelist setting, which is not recommended.

Impossible because the plugin never blocks by user agent. It only blocks by IP address. No other criteria are used to block anything.

Answer: Not possible with the free version, but the Pro version includes an easy way to add bots manually (via the Bad Bots Log).

Visit the plugin settings and add to the list.

Visit the plugin settings and click the button.

Not possible with the free version, but can do with the Pro version.

Visit the plugin settings and click the button.