What happens if I update the plugin without checking anything? Will it break the site?
You are not clear in the statement about updating to version 5. How does one knows if filters need updating before upgrading to version 5?
If I’ve been using fail2ban as is without changes. I mean, I created the droplet in Digital Ocean, and I’ve never touched anything about the plugin. Do I have to worry about issues going from version 4 to 5?
Also, what do you mean by updating filters before updating? What needs to change to make it compatible with version 5?
Thanks for the question. TL;DR: I think I’ve found the source of the confusion and clarified it.
The filters come with the plugin so you can’t update them before you update the plugin; of course, if you’ve never updated them before you wouldn’t know that. I hope the blog post is a little clearer now.
While I was developing v5 I realised that most people using a DO droplet have probably never updated the filters - WordPress doesn’t make the “Upgrade Notice” particularly obvious so it’s only to be expected.
I’ve tried to keep the filters backward compatible for as long as possible, but eventually they had to change and v5 was the right time to do it.
That’s why I spent a lot of time integrating the Site Health Tool - it should make all of this much simpler in future.
Thanks for the reply, but the blog post link you posted that’s the source of the confusion because it’s not clear.
The thing I need to know with more clarity is what will happen when I update the plugin. Will the website break? Will it be immediately vulnerable?
In the post, you said: “especially if you are using any of the “extra” comment logging as the message format has changed and will not be matched by the old filters; it has also been moved to the “soft” filter.” I have never touched the free plugin filters, so do I need to worry about this?
What else needs to be considered specifically to check when using the plugin on a DO droplet where the plugin filters were never touched?
I’m sorry, but there is a lack of information here. This feels like having a car, you know how to use it, one may know the basics of the mechanics and how it works, but then you say there could be a problem with the motor, which a normal person wouldn’t know how to fix, but it could be as simple adding an extra washer or something of that sort that with the right information, one can do it without having spending extra time, worrying, or bothering other people.