Trusted Countries
A trusted country is a country from which login activity is expected for a WHMCS Client Account context.
Extendy GeoShield uses trusted-country rules when deciding whether a completed client-area login should require a security alert. Trusted countries do not bypass WHMCS authentication, do not approve a login, and do not block or allow access by themselves.
Extendy GeoShield is a monitoring and notification addon. It is not a login firewall.
What trusted country means
When Extendy GeoShield receives a completed login event, it can resolve the client IP address, perform a GeoIP country lookup, and compare the detected country with the trusted-country model for that event.
If the detected country is trusted for the current alert mode and login context, the event is still logged, but an alert may be suppressed.
A trusted country is not a trusted IP address.
Country trust is based on GeoIP country detection and alert rules. It does not prove that a visitor, IP address, device, or network is safe.
Trusted-country sources
Extendy GeoShield currently uses these trusted-country sources.
| Source | How it works | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Global Trusted Countries | Administrator-entered ISO alpha-2 country codes in the addon settings | Applies wherever the configured alert mode checks global trusted countries |
| WHMCS Client Profile country | The current country stored on the WHMCS Client Profile | Applies dynamically to the resolved Client Account context |
| Smart Mode known countries | Countries confirmed through Smart Mode trust flow | Used by Smart Mode only, and applies only to the exact WHMCS User and Client Account context that was trusted |
Global Trusted Countries
Global Trusted Countries are configured in the Extendy GeoShield settings page.
Use comma-separated ISO alpha-2 country codes, for example:
JO, SA, AE
The addon stores these values internally as uppercase country codes.
Global Trusted Countries are useful for countries that are broadly expected across your WHMCS client base or operational model. Use them carefully: a globally trusted country can suppress alerts in modes that evaluate trusted countries.
WHMCS Client Profile country
When a login event has a safely resolved Client Account context, Extendy GeoShield treats the current country on that WHMCS Client Profile as trusted for that client.
This value is read dynamically from WHMCS. If an administrator changes the country on the Client Profile later, the new profile country is used by future login evaluations.
If no safe Client Account context is available for a login event, the addon cannot use a Client Profile country for that event.
Smart Mode known countries
Smart Mode known countries are not the same as Global Trusted Countries.
In Smart Mode, a country can become known only after an authenticated trust action is completed through a valid Smart Mode trust link. A country is not automatically trusted merely because a login occurred.
Smart Mode known countries are scoped to the login context:
- if the event has a specific Client Account context, the known country applies to that WHMCS User, that Client Account, and that country;
- if the event has no Client Account context, the known country applies only to future no-client-context events for that WHMCS User and country.
Known countries with no Client Account context are not automatically trusted for all Client Accounts linked to the same WHMCS User.
For more detail, see Smart Mode.
Trusted countries and alert modes
Trusted-country sources affect alert decisions differently depending on the selected Alert Mode.
- Notify on Every Login does not suppress alerts simply because a country is trusted.
- Outside Trusted Countries sends an alert when the detected country is outside the Global Trusted Countries list and does not match the current WHMCS Client Profile country for the resolved Client Account context.
- Smart Mode sends an alert when the detected country is new for the WHMCS User and Client Account context after checking Global Trusted Countries, the current Client Profile country, and Smart Mode known countries.
For the full mode behaviour, see Alert Modes.
Trusted countries and GeoIP providers
Trusted countries do not replace the GeoIP provider.
The GeoIP provider resolves a public client IP address into country information. Trusted-country rules then decide how that country affects the alert decision.
If country detection fails, Extendy GeoShield follows the Alert When Country Detection Fails setting instead of treating the country as trusted.
For provider configuration, see GeoIP Providers Overview.
Security boundaries
Trusted-country behaviour has deliberate limits:
- trusting a country does not trust a specific IP address;
- trusting a country does not bypass WHMCS login;
- trusting a country does not create a magic login link;
- trusted-country logic does not block or allow authentication;
- trusted-country logic affects notification decisions only;
- Smart Mode trust is scoped to the exact user/client context.
Continue to protect WHMCS with normal authentication controls, secure passwords, MFA where available, trusted proxy configuration, and appropriate operational monitoring.