# Outbound Connections

The **Outbound Connections** feature monitors and logs all network requests made by your website’s plugins, themes, and WordPress core files to external servers.

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**Important Note:** This feature operates in **watch-only mode**. It records connections for your review, but **nothing is blocked or restricted**.

![Outbound Connections in ultimate security](https://docs.wpultimatesecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Outbound-Connections-in-ultimate-security.png)

**How to Use It**

- Navigate to **Monitoring & Diagnostics** > **Outbound Connections** in your WordPress dashboard.

- Switch the **Watch outbound connections** toggle to **ON**.

- Review the connection log table to view all recently detected external connections.

- Click **Save Changes** at the bottom of the page to apply your settings.

**Settings & Controls Explained**

- **Watch outbound connections (Toggle):** Turn **ON** to enable external request logging, or turn **OFF** to stop recording outbound connections.

- **Refresh (Button):** Click to update the table with the latest connection data without refreshing your browser page.

- **Clear list (Button):** Click to permanently remove all logged entries and reset the connection history.

## Connection Table Breakdown

![Connection Table Breakdown in the outbound connection in ultimate security](https://docs.wpultimatesecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Connection-Table-Breakdown-in-the-outbound-connection-in-ultimate-security.png)

- **Host:** The destination domain or web address your site is contacting. A **“New”** badge highlights addresses detected for the first time.

- **Contacted by:** The specific plugin, theme, or WordPress core component that started the connection.

- **First seen / Last seen:** The exact dates and timestamps showing when the connection was first recorded and when it was most recently active.

- **Last status:** The HTTP response code returned by the destination server (for example, code `200` means the connection was successful).

### 💡 Important Notes & Limitations

- **Log Capacity:** The system stores up to **500 unique host and plugin pairs** before automatically removing older entries to make room for new data.

- **Direct Requests:** Network calls made directly through server tools (such as cURL or custom SDKs) bypass native WordPress functions and will not appear in this log.

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Source: https://docs.wpultimatesecurity.com/docs/outbound-connections/outbound-connections/