ShieldPRO 22.3 Upgrade Guide

ShieldPRO 22.3 is our main release. It introduces fixes, improvements, and a new added Cookie-Free silentCAPTCHA feature.

This guide outlines what have been added, improved and what fixes we've made.

Firstly, we're going to explain what major changes are made and which options you'd need to review.

Note: This is the last major release that supports PHP 7.4, 8.0 and 8.1. Shield v23+ will require PHP 8.2+

New Added Features

For 22.3 release we added

This new option runs silentCAPTCHA without setting a visitor cookie, while Shield's server-side bot checks stay fully in force. Visitors whose IP address changes are re-checked promptly. Purge your page cache after switching this option.

Access to Cookie-free silentCAPTCHA option

Improvements

For 22.3 release we've made the following improvements

  • More Dependable silentCAPTCHA

Fewer genuine visitors are asked to repeat silentCAPTCHA checks unnecessarily. If a check result can't be saved, Shield keeps protection in place and tries again, rather than losing track of the visitor.

  • Fewer False File Scan Alerts

File scans verify plugin and theme files against trusted references for the exact versions you have installed, so more genuine files are recognised and fewer are flagged for review. Plugins and themes that include icons, translation files and other binary files now verify correctly.

  • Stronger File Fingerprints

New plugin and theme file snapshots use stronger SHA-256 fingerprints. Your existing snapshots keep working.

  • Backup Security

New safeguards help protect your backup data, including the ability to pause Shield backups quickly if there's a security incident.

  • File Locker Changes Are Critical

Changes to locked files are now treated as critical in the Actions Queue and on the dashboard.

  • Anonymous REST API Exclusions

The setting now shows every REST namespace that's excluded, including those added by other plugins.

Fixes

For 22.3 release we've made the following fixes

  • Custom Hosting Layouts

Scans work fully on sites whose files are reached through symlinked folders, such as Bedrock or Deployer setups. Shield finds its cache folder and checks root-level files correctly on hosts that install WordPress at the filesystem root.

  • Complete, Reliable Backups

Backups no longer miss files or fail to finish when files change during a backup. Database exports no longer retry endlessly after a failure. Backup activity is now recorded in the Activity Log.

  • Fewer Errors and General Improvements

Certain unusual requests no longer cause a PHP fatal error. Plus other smaller fixes and quality-of-life improvements.