=== Carticy Checkout Shield for WooCommerce ===
Contributors: carticy, alikhallad
Donate link: https://alikhallad.com/donations/donation-form/
Tags: woocommerce, checkout, security, fraud, bot protection
Requires at least: 6.0
Tested up to: 6.9
Requires PHP: 8.0
WC requires at least: 8.0
WC tested up to: 10.4.3
Stable tag: 1.0.0
License: GPLv2 or later
License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html

Protect your WooCommerce store from card testing attacks and automated checkout bots using stateless detection.

== Description ==

**Carticy Checkout Shield** stops card testing attacks and fake orders that bypass your CAPTCHA.

Card testing bots don't fill out your checkout form. They send requests directly to WooCommerce's Store API, completely skipping any reCAPTCHA or hCaptcha you've set up. That's why CAPTCHA alone doesn't stop them.

This plugin intercepts those API requests and verifies they come from real browser sessions. Automated scripts that can't prove they're human get blocked before WooCommerce processes them.

= Why This Plugin? =

* **Catches what CAPTCHA misses** - Blocks bots hitting your API directly
* **Works with any caching** - LiteSpeed, Cloudflare, WP Rocket, W3TC - no conflicts
* **Zero configuration** - Activate and you're protected
* **No external services** - Everything runs locally on your server
* **No performance impact** - Validation adds microseconds, not seconds

= Features =

* **4 Protection Modes** - Learning, Permissive, Balanced, and Strict
* **Activity Log** - See blocked attempts with timestamps, reasons, and IPs
* **IP Whitelist** - Whitelist trusted IPs with CIDR notation support
* **API Key Authentication** - For headless and custom checkout setups
* **Proxy Support** - Works behind Cloudflare, load balancers, reverse proxies
* **Block Checkout Ready** - Supports both classic and block-based checkout
* **HPOS Compatible** - Works with High-Performance Order Storage
* **WooCommerce Logging** - Full integration with WooCommerce Status logs

== Installation ==

1. Upload the plugin files to `/wp-content/plugins/carticy-checkout-shield-for-woocommerce/`
2. Activate the plugin through the 'Plugins' menu in WordPress
3. That's it. Protection is active immediately.

Optional: Go to WooCommerce → Settings → Advanced → Checkout Shield to adjust settings or view blocked attempts.

= Requirements =

* WordPress 6.0+
* WooCommerce 8.0+
* PHP 8.0+

== Frequently Asked Questions ==

= Does this slow down checkout? =

No. Validation happens locally in microseconds. No external API calls, no waiting on third-party services.

= Will this block real customers? =

Very unlikely. The default Balanced mode is tuned to avoid blocking legitimate orders. If you're cautious, start with Learning mode - it logs what would be blocked without actually blocking anyone.

= Does it work with Block Checkout? =

Yes. Works with both classic checkout and the newer block-based checkout.

= What about PayPal, Stripe, and other payment gateways? =

All major gateways work normally. Payment confirmations from gateways aren't affected by checkout validation.

= I run a headless store. Will this break my setup? =

Not if you configure it. Add your frontend's server IP to the whitelist, or use API key authentication. Both options let legitimate automated requests through.

= Do I still need CAPTCHA? =

Up to you. This plugin catches bots that CAPTCHA misses (the ones hitting your API directly). You can use both, or drop CAPTCHA entirely and reduce checkout friction.

= How do I know it's working? =

Check the Activity Log in the plugin settings. You'll see every blocked attempt with the reason, timestamp, and IP address.

== Screenshots ==

1. Settings page - Configure protection mode and options
2. Dashboard widget - Monitor blocked and passed requests
3. Orders column - View shield status for each order

== Changelog ==

= 1.0.0 =
* Initial release
* Stateless bot detection with double-submit cookie
* Four protection modes (learning, permissive, balanced, strict)
* IP whitelist with CIDR support
* API key authentication for headless checkout
* Proxy/CDN support (Cloudflare, etc.)
* WooCommerce logging integration
* Dashboard statistics widget
* Orders list shield status column
* HPOS compatibility
* Block checkout compatibility