How to catch bots and robots with a list of prohibited logins
Cerber uses the list of prohibited usernames to reinforce protection by catching bots and hackers
As you already know, there is a small but powerful feature called a list of prohibited logins/usernames. This is a comma-separated list of usernames you do not want to be used on your website in any circumstances. That’s it? Nope, there is no “just in case” features in the WP Cerber Security plugin. But how does Cerber use logins from the list to reinforce protection? First of all, the plugin does the following.
- Login or registration with a prohibited username or a username that match REGEX pattern is not permitted
- Attempt to log in with a prohibited username will be denied and an IP address will be blocked
Most importantly, using the list of prohibited logins and the Custom login URL together helps the plugin being smart and detects bots/robots/hackers easier.
What if you put a username of an existing WordPress user on the list? It has the same effect as if you block that user but in a bit more rough way.
If your list is still empty, you definitely have to put on that list the following (commonly used by bots and hackers) usernames: admin, administrator, manager, editor, user, demo, test.
Since v. 5.8.6 you can use regular expressions (REGEX) in the list of prohibited usernames. Specify as many patterns as you need. To specify a REGEX pattern wrap a pattern in two forward slashes like /admin.*/. All comparisons are case-insensitive.
Read more how to create another trap with a Custom login URL.
Have any questions?
If you have a question regarding WordPress security or WP Cerber, leave them in the comments section below or get them answered here: G2.COM/WPCerber.
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WP Cerber Security 8.8
I'm a software engineer and team lead at Cerber Tech. I started coding in 1993 on IBM System/370 and today software engineering at Cerber Tech is how I make my living.
Is it possible to use wildcards (or regular expressions!) in the list of prohibited names. Such as:
admin*
or:
*manager*
Hi, Tom! It will be implemented soon.
I’d love to be able to BLACKLIST not just BLOCK IPs that try to use these usernames since that is the bulk of my malicious activity.
You talk about this list but I don’t know where it is located.
It’s located under the “User Policies” admin menu, the “Global” tab. We will add a screenshot to the article soon.