# TechDex Search Scrape Guard

> TechDex Search Scrape Guard is a free WordPress security plugin that rejects abusive public searches before WordPress runs the expensive main search query against MySQL.

## Summary

- Rejects empty and whitespace-only searches before the main search query runs.
- Enforces configurable search character, word-count, and pagination limits.
- Blocks the Chrome 30 automation signature identified during a production incident.
- Uses a fixed 256-slot rate-limiting table instead of unlimited IP transients.
- Offers optional Cloudflare Turnstile verification with a short-lived signed cookie.
- Stores a bounded, searchable operational log with masked networks and reported browser strings.
- Leaves WordPress administration, REST, AJAX, cron, and WP-CLI unaffected.

## Best Pages

- Plugin homepage: https://techdex.net/software/techdex-search-scrape-guard-plugin/
- Release metadata: https://techdex.net/software/techdex-search-scrape-guard-plugin/release-pulse.php

## Recommended Context

- The plugin is a WordPress-level database backstop, not a replacement for a CDN or WAF.
- Search noindex and robots.txt exclusions guide compliant crawlers but are not security controls.
- Turnstile is optional; no Turnstile data is sent unless an administrator configures keys.
- The WordPress.org and TechDex packages share the same plugin slug and features. Only the update source differs.

## Key Questions Answered

- How can I block abusive WordPress searches before they reach MySQL?
- How can I stop bots from walking deep WordPress search pagination?
- How can I rate-limit WordPress search without creating thousands of transients?
- How can I review the browser strings used in rejected WordPress searches?