=== SF GeoGuard ===
Contributors: olehsf
Tags: geo block, country blocker, ip blocking, wordpress security, firewall, geo firewall, block countries, cloudflare
Requires at least: 6.0
Tested up to: 6.9
Requires PHP: 8.0
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Country-based access control for WordPress. Restrict access by country, whitelist IP addresses and reduce unwanted traffic.

== Description ==

SF GeoGuard is a lightweight country-based access control plugin for WordPress.

It allows you to restrict website access by visitor country using simple ISO country codes (US, CA, GB, etc.), helping reduce unwanted traffic, bot activity, and unnecessary server load.

Main features:
* Allow access only from selected countries
* Whitelist IP addresses
* Cache IP → country lookups for better performance
* Customize the block message (HTML supported)
* Choose what happens if the geo service is unavailable (allow or block)
* Support for sites behind reverse proxies (Cloudflare, Nginx)

SF GeoGuard focuses on doing one thing well: restricting access by country.
It does not modify WordPress core files and does not load unnecessary scripts on the frontend.

By default, geo checks are applied only to frontend requests. You can optionally
enable restrictions for wp-admin and wp-login.php in the plugin settings.

== External Services ==

This plugin connects to a third-party IP geolocation service to determine
the visitor’s country based on their IP address.

Service used:
IP-API (https://ip-api.com/)

Purpose:
The service is used to detect the visitor’s country in order to apply
country-based access rules configured in the plugin settings.

Data sent:
- Visitor IP address

When data is sent:
- On frontend page load when geo-based access control is enabled
- Only if the visitor IP address cannot be resolved from the local cache

Note:
The free IP-API endpoint does not support HTTPS. The plugin uses the HTTP
endpoint provided by IP-API unless a paid HTTPS plan is used.

Privacy & Terms:
- Privacy Policy: https://ip-api.com/docs/legal
- Terms of Service: https://ip-api.com/docs/legal

No personally identifiable information other than the IP address
is stored, logged, or shared by the plugin.

== Installation ==

1. Upload the plugin folder to `/wp-content/plugins/` or install it via the Plugins menu.
2. Activate **SF GeoGuard**.
3. Go to **Settings → SF GeoGuard**.
4. Enable protection and set the allowed countries.

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Will this work with Cloudflare or other proxies? =
Yes. If your site is behind a reverse proxy (Cloudflare, Nginx, etc.), configure
**Trusted Proxies** so the plugin can safely trust forwarded IP headers.

= Can I lock myself out of wp-admin? =
If you enable **Apply to wp-admin and login**, make sure your own country
is allowed or your IP address is whitelisted to avoid being locked out.

= What happens if the geo service is unavailable? =
You can choose what to do if the geo service fails: allow access (recommended)
or block access.

== Screenshots ==

1. Main settings: enable protection, allowed countries and IP whitelist.
2. Trusted proxies configuration for Cloudflare and reverse proxies.
3. Test panel showing detected IP, country, and final access decision.
4. Example 403 blocked access page.

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
Initial release.

== Upgrade Notice ==

= 1.0.0 =
Initial public release.