{"id":252690,"date":"2025-10-20T06:32:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T06:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/country-block\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T22:08:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T22:08:15","slug":"vpndeals-country-block","status":"publish","type":"plugin","link":"https:\/\/frp.wordpress.org\/plugins\/vpndeals-country-block\/","author":23298092,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","version":"1.0.2","stable_tag":"trunk","tested":"6.9.4","requires":"5.8","requires_php":"7.4","requires_plugins":null,"header_name":"VPNDeals Country Block","header_author":"vpndeals","header_description":"An exceptionally user-friendly, powerful, and modern IP geolocation blocking experience for WordPress.","assets_banners_color":"699bc2","last_updated":"2026-02-03 22:08:15","external_support_url":"","external_repository_url":"","donate_link":"https:\/\/vpndeals.com\/","header_plugin_uri":"https:\/\/vpndeals.com\/wordpress-plugins\/country-block\/","header_author_uri":"https:\/\/vpndeals.com","rating":5,"author_block_rating":0,"active_installs":50,"downloads":492,"num_ratings":4,"support_threads":0,"support_threads_resolved":0,"author_block_count":0,"sections":["description","installation","faq","changelog"],"tags":[],"upgrade_notice":[],"ratings":{"1":0,"2":0,"3":0,"4":0,"5":4},"assets_icons":{"icon-128x128.png":{"filename":"icon-128x128.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"128x128","location":"assets","locale":""},"icon-256x256.png":{"filename":"icon-256x256.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"256x256","location":"assets","locale":""}},"assets_banners":{"banner-1544x500.png":{"filename":"banner-1544x500.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"1544x500","location":"assets","locale":""},"banner-772x250.png":{"filename":"banner-772x250.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"772x250","location":"assets","locale":""}},"assets_blueprints":{},"all_blocks":[],"tagged_versions":[],"block_files":[],"assets_screenshots":{"screenshot-1.png":{"filename":"screenshot-1.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"1","location":"assets","locale":""},"screenshot-2.png":{"filename":"screenshot-2.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"2","location":"assets","locale":""},"screenshot-3.png":{"filename":"screenshot-3.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"3","location":"assets","locale":""},"screenshot-4.png":{"filename":"screenshot-4.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"4","location":"assets","locale":""},"screenshot-5.png":{"filename":"screenshot-5.png","revision":3381065,"resolution":"5","location":"assets","locale":""}},"screenshots":{"1":"Onboarding Wizard - Geolocation Source Step","2":"Main Settings Tab (Blocking Mode and Block Actions)","3":"Whitelisting Rules Tab (IPs, Roles, and URL Path Exclusions)","4":"Tools &amp; Logs Tab (Activity Logging and Block Log Table)","5":"Help &amp; System Info Tab (FAQ and System Diagnostics)"},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"plugin_section":[],"plugin_tags":[2155,1220,3751,2591,600],"plugin_category":[49],"plugin_contributors":[244351],"plugin_business_model":[],"class_list":["post-252690","plugin","type-plugin","status-publish","hentry","plugin_tags-ban","plugin_tags-block","plugin_tags-country","plugin_tags-geo","plugin_tags-security","plugin_category-maps-and-location","plugin_contributors-vpndeals","plugin_committers-vpndeals"],"banners":{"banner":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/banner-772x250.png?rev=3381065","banner_2x":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/banner-1544x500.png?rev=3381065","banner_rtl":false,"banner_2x_rtl":false},"icons":{"svg":false,"icon":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/icon-128x128.png?rev=3381065","icon_2x":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/icon-256x256.png?rev=3381065","generated":false},"screenshots":[{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/screenshot-1.png?rev=3381065","caption":"Onboarding Wizard - Geolocation Source Step"},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/screenshot-2.png?rev=3381065","caption":"Main Settings Tab (Blocking Mode and Block Actions)"},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/screenshot-3.png?rev=3381065","caption":"Whitelisting Rules Tab (IPs, Roles, and URL Path Exclusions)"},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/screenshot-4.png?rev=3381065","caption":"Tools &amp; Logs Tab (Activity Logging and Block Log Table)"},{"src":"https:\/\/ps.w.org\/vpndeals-country-block\/assets\/screenshot-5.png?rev=3381065","caption":"Help &amp; System Info Tab (FAQ and System Diagnostics)"}],"raw_content":"<!--section=description-->\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/vpndeals.com\/wordpress-plugins\/country-block\/\">Country Block<\/a> provides an exceptionally user-friendly, powerful, and modern IP geolocation blocking experience for WordPress. Our mission is to offer incredible value for free, helping you secure your website and control access with precision and ease.<\/p>\n\n<p>Whether you want to block traffic from specific countries to reduce spam and malicious activity, or ensure your content is only accessible to visitors from designated regions, Country Block offers a flexible and robust solution.<\/p>\n\n<p><strong>Core Features:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Effortless Country Blocking<\/strong>: Easily block or allow access from multiple countries or pre-defined groups like the European Union.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Compatibility &amp; Real IP Detection<\/strong>: <strong>Fully compatible with CDNs and reverse proxies<\/strong> like <strong>Cloudflare, Varnish, and Nginx<\/strong>. Includes an advanced setting to ensure the visitor's <em>real<\/em> IP address is always detected, even behind proxy layers.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Express Onboarding Setup<\/strong>: A guided wizard gets you up and running in minutes upon activation.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Modern \"2030 Era\" UI<\/strong>: Enjoy an intuitive, clean, and responsive admin interface that's a pleasure to use.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Flexible Geolocation Source<\/strong>:\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Free Local Database (GeoLite2 by MaxMind)<\/strong>: High-performance, reliable country-level blocking using a local MaxMind GeoLite2 database, <strong>updated automatically every day<\/strong> to ensure maximum accuracy. Requires a free MaxMind account for database updates.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n<li><strong>Whitelisting<\/strong>: Exempt specific IP addresses\/CIDR ranges, user roles, or URL paths from blocking rules.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Customizable Block Actions<\/strong>:\n\n<ul>\n<li>Show a customizable message (supports basic HTML).<\/li>\n<li>Redirect blocked visitors to a specific WordPress page.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n<li><strong>Detailed Logging &amp; Statistics (Opt-in)<\/strong>:\n\n<ul>\n<li>Keep track of blocked requests (IP, country, reason, timestamp).<\/li>\n<li>View statistics on blocked activity.<\/li>\n<li>Option to anonymize logged IPs for privacy.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Looking to block VPNs, Proxies, or TOR users?<\/strong> For an additional layer of security and anonymity control, check out our companion plugin: <a href=\"https:\/\/wordpress.org\/plugins\/vpn-guard\/\">VPN Guard<\/a>!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3>External Services<\/h3>\n\n<p>This plugin utilizes external services for its functionality.\nWhen you use features that rely on these services, this plugin may send data, including the visitor's IP address, to the respective third-party service.<\/p>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MaxMind (GeoLite2 Database)<\/strong>\n\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Purpose:<\/strong> Used to download the local geolocation database.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Data Sent:<\/strong> Your MaxMind License Key is sent to download the database.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Links:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maxmind.com\/en\/company\/legal\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maxmind.com\/en\/company\/legal\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<!--section=installation-->\n<ol>\n<li>In your WordPress admin panel, go to Plugins &gt; Add New.<\/li>\n<li>Search for \"VPNDeals Country Block\".<\/li>\n<li>Click \"Install Now\" and then \"Activate\".<\/li>\n<li>You'll be guided through the Express Onboarding wizard!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<!--section=faq-->\n<dl>\n<dt id=\"how%20do%20i%20get%20a%20maxmind%20license%20key%3F\"><h3>How do I get a MaxMind License Key?<\/h3><\/dt>\n<dd><p>You need a free MaxMind GeoLite2 account.\n1. Sign up at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.maxmind.com\/en\/geolite2\/signup\">MaxMind's GeoLite2 Sign Up Page<\/a>.\n2. Log in and navigate to \"Manage License Keys\".\n3. Generate a new license key.\n4. Copy the key and paste it into the Country Block settings.\n<strong><em>NOTE: If your key shows as invalid immediately after creation, please wait 5 minutes and try the database download again, as activation takes a moment to propagate on MaxMind's side.<\/em><\/strong><\/p><\/dd>\n<dt id=\"which%20geolocation%20source%20should%20i%20choose%3F\"><h3>Which Geolocation Source should I choose?<\/h3><\/dt>\n<dd><ul>\n<li><strong>Local Database (GeoLite2)<\/strong>: Recommended for all users. It's fast, free, and provides reliable country-level blocking.<\/li>\n<\/ul><\/dd>\n<dt id=\"is%20it%20compatible%20with%20caching%20plugins%3F\"><h3>Is it compatible with caching plugins?<\/h3><\/dt>\n<dd><p>Country Block hooks in early (<code>wp_loaded<\/code>). For <code>wp_die<\/code> actions, this usually occurs before a cached page is served.\nHowever, aggressive caching setups may require testing. Whitelisting your caching service's IP addresses may be necessary.<\/p><\/dd>\n\n<\/dl>\n\n<!--section=changelog-->\n<h4>1.0.2<\/h4>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Compatibility: Full support verified for WordPress 6.9.1 and PHP 8.3+.<\/li>\n<li>Security: Hardened internal access checks to prevent unauthorized settings modifications.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h4>1.0.1<\/h4>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Redirect Loop Fix: Implemented a more robust method to prevent infinite redirect loops when blocking traffic and using the 'Redirect to a WordPress page' action. The redirect target is now automatically whitelisted by URL path.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h4>1.0.0<\/h4>\n\n<ul>\n<li>Initial public release.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","raw_excerpt":"\ud83d\ude80 INSTANT, 100% FREE &amp; PRECISE: The Essential Geo Blocker! 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