Joomla 3 parity and differences

v3.3.1 is a full port of the Pro v5.3.1 feature set to Joomla 3, not a cut-down edition. The differences below are the complete list; everything else behaves identically.

Parity table

FeatureJoomla 4+ (v5.3.1)Joomla 3 (v3.3.1) Threat Monitor, grade, clean banner, PHP banner✅✅ identical Upload lockdown and PHP-in-uploads watch✅✅ identical Fake search-bot blocking, firewall exceptions✅ Shield 2.2.0 and later✅ identical, Shield 2.4.0 and later Local country database, Trusted proxy IPs, scan and Shield security fixes✅✅ identical Admin LockdownInstaller, Joomla Update uploads, template file editing, new users from the backend or the Web Services API✅ the same, without the API (Joomla 3 has no Web Services API) Upload name checksForm uploads and Media Manager uploads✅ form uploads (Joomla 3's Media Manager uses them too) UpdatesComponent and Shield each in Joomla's updater✅ the same: the component and the Shield each have a channel in Joomla's updater, and the Shield also updates with the package Core file checksumsJoomla 4.4.14, 5.4.7, 6.0.0, 6.1.2, 6.2.0Joomla 3.10.10, 3.10.11, 3.10.12 Installer minimumsPHP 8.1, Joomla 4.4PHP 7.4, Joomla 3.9 PHP2Shell check and Upload lockdown notice✅ asks for PHP 8.2.35, 8.3.36, 8.4.27, 8.5.12 or newer✅ asks your host for a patched PHP build or a security backport (Joomla 3 does not move to newer PHP branches) Scheduled-scan (webcron) addressAdministrator address (administrator/index.php?option=com_ajax…)Site-side address (index.php?option=com_ajax…): Joomla 3 sends every signed-out administrator request to the login page PHP configuration audit, weak administrator password check✅✅ identical (passwords are verified with Joomla 3's own user helper) Backup freshness check✅ Akeeba Backup✅ Akeeba Backup 7 (and newer table names) Alert rules, scheduled client report✅✅ identical Joomla Action Log review✅✅ needs Joomla 3.9+ (User Actions Log) Update audit end-of-life statusJoomla 3 and 4 marked end of lifeJoomla 3 marked end of life Content scan (SEO spam, planted scripts in articles and their options)Articles, article options + Custom HTML modules✅ identical (Pro) Scheduler audit✅Not available: Joomla 3 has no Scheduler component, and its Analysis menu entry is hidden automatically Configuration audit16 rows plus the com_api row16 rows (no com_api on Joomla 3; cookie flags report "verify" when the framework cannot confirm them) Shield virtual patch (SP Page Builder, Helix, EasyStore, SP Property)— (Joomla 4+ builds are patched by updates)✅ included in Shield

Versions

Joomla 3 ships as component 3.3.1 + Shield plugin 2.5.1 in one package (pkg_muruguard-3.3.1-j3.zip). Joomla 4+ ships as component 5.3.1 + Shield 2.3.1.