WordPress plugin
Blackhole Pro
Blackhole Pro is a WordPress security extension that targets bots that ignore your robots.txt rules. It adds a hidden trigger link to the page footer, and robots.txt tells bots not to follow it. A bot that follows the forbidden link can be recorded and denied further access under the add-on’s one-strike approach. Human users do not see the link.
How the bot trap works
Blackhole Pro is a WordPress security extension that targets bots that ignore your robots.txt rules. It adds a hidden trigger link to the page footer, and robots.txt tells bots not to follow it. A bot that follows the forbidden link can be recorded and denied further access under the add-on’s one-strike approach. Human users do not see the link.
The link appears when the active theme calls wp_footer(). Major search engines and other useful bots are whitelisted by visitor agent by default. You can tailor the whitelist and add IP addresses. Blackhole Pro does not require .htaccess rules.
Controls for blocking and allowing bots
Pro settings let you disable the plugin for logged-in users and set an allowed-hit threshold. You can also choose how blocked bots are handled:
- Send custom email alerts or display a custom message.
- Redirect blocked bots and set a custom HTTP status code.
- Use a custom trigger link.
- Block or allow bots by user agent or IP address.
- Redirect whitelisted bots when needed.
Bad Bot Log and saved data
The Bad Bot Log works with paging, sorting, and field search. You can add bots manually, review each bot’s blocked-hit count, and look up geo/IP information for individual entries. The plugin stores IP addresses, user agents, and other request data for trapped bots in the WordPress database. You can delete saved data in the settings. The plugin does not set cookies or connect to third-party services.
Setup and compatibility
- Install and activate Blackhole Pro in WordPress, then review the settings and Help tab.
- Make sure the required Blackhole rules are present in robots.txt. For a physical robots.txt file, add the rules manually. When WordPress serves its generated virtual file, the plugin adds the required rules automatically. The plugin does not make a physical robots.txt file.
- Adjust the whitelist, thresholds, alerts, responses, and logging settings for your site.
Important: Do not use Blackhole Pro on a site with caching. The Help tab includes setup guidance. Settings also let you restore defaults, reset the bot list, or delete individual entries.
