Protect Uploads

Overview

Protect Uploads is a comprehensive WordPress security plugin that prevents unauthorized access to your media files. It’s designed for businesses that need to protect premium content, sensitive documents, or prevent bandwidth theft from hotlinking.

Technical Challenges

WordPress media protection is notoriously difficult because files are served directly by the web server, bypassing PHP entirely. The solution needed to:

• Intercept file requests at the server level
• Validate user permissions in real-time
• Work across different hosting environments
• Not impact site performance

Solution

A multi-layered protection system:

• .htaccess rules for Apache/LiteSpeed servers
• Nginx configuration generation for Nginx servers
• Signed URLs with expiration for temporary access
• Watermarking using GD Library
• Role-based access integrated with WordPress permissions

Key Features

• Hotlink protection
• Direct download prevention
• User role restrictions
• Automatic watermarking
• Signed temporary URLs
• CDN compatibility
• Detailed access logs