diff --git a/lib/config/config_test.go b/lib/config/config_test.go
index 3b32d59..790f990 100644
--- a/lib/config/config_test.go
+++ b/lib/config/config_test.go
@@ -22,6 +22,9 @@ func TestDefaults(t *testing.T) {
 	if !cfg.GuestUploadsEnabled || !cfg.APIEnabled || !cfg.ZipDownloadsEnabled || !cfg.OneTimeDownloadsEnabled {
 		t.Fatal("expected default guest/API/download toggles to be enabled")
 	}
+	if !cfg.SecurityEnabled {
+		t.Fatal("expected security features to be enabled by default")
+	}
 	if cfg.AdminUsername != "admin" {
 		t.Fatalf("unexpected admin username: %s", cfg.AdminUsername)
 	}
@@ -39,6 +42,7 @@ func TestEnvironmentOverrides(t *testing.T) {
 	t.Setenv("WARPBOX_BOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS", "2000")
 	t.Setenv("WARPBOX_ADMIN_USERNAME", "root")
 	t.Setenv("WARPBOX_ONE_TIME_DOWNLOAD_RETRY_ON_FAILURE", "true")
+	t.Setenv("WARPBOX_SECURITY_ENABLED", "false")
 
 	cfg, err := Load()
 	if err != nil {
@@ -63,6 +67,9 @@ func TestEnvironmentOverrides(t *testing.T) {
 	if !cfg.OneTimeDownloadRetryOnFailure {
 		t.Fatal("expected one-time retry-on-failure env override to be applied")
 	}
+	if cfg.SecurityEnabled {
+		t.Fatal("expected security features toggle from environment to be applied")
+	}
 	if cfg.Source(SettingAPIEnabled) != SourceEnv {
 		t.Fatalf("expected API setting source to be env, got %s", cfg.Source(SettingAPIEnabled))
 	}
@@ -191,6 +198,7 @@ func clearConfigEnv(t *testing.T) {
 		"WARPBOX_BOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS",
 		"WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_BATCH_SIZE",
 		"WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_INTERVAL_SECONDS",
+		"WARPBOX_SECURITY_ENABLED",
 	} {
 		t.Setenv(name, "")
 	}
diff --git a/lib/config/definitions.go b/lib/config/definitions.go
index f4aba9f..ff67ead 100644
--- a/lib/config/definitions.go
+++ b/lib/config/definitions.go
@@ -21,6 +21,7 @@ var Definitions = []SettingDefinition{
 	{Key: SettingThumbnailBatchSize, EnvName: "WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_BATCH_SIZE", Label: "Thumbnail batch size", Type: SettingTypeInt, Editable: true, Minimum: 1},
 	{Key: SettingThumbnailIntervalSeconds, EnvName: "WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_INTERVAL_SECONDS", Label: "Thumbnail interval seconds", Type: SettingTypeInt, Editable: true, Minimum: 1},
 	{Key: SettingActivityRetentionSeconds, EnvName: "WARPBOX_ACTIVITY_RETENTION_SECONDS", Label: "Activity retention seconds", Type: SettingTypeInt64, Editable: true, Minimum: 60},
+	{Key: SettingSecurityEnabled, EnvName: "WARPBOX_SECURITY_ENABLED", Label: "Security features enabled", Type: SettingTypeBool, Editable: true},
 	{Key: SettingSecurityIPWhitelist, EnvName: "WARPBOX_SECURITY_IP_WHITELIST", Label: "Security IP whitelist", Type: SettingTypeText, Editable: true},
 	{Key: SettingSecurityAdminIPWhitelist, EnvName: "WARPBOX_SECURITY_ADMIN_IP_WHITELIST", Label: "Security admin IP whitelist", Type: SettingTypeText, Editable: true},
 	{Key: SettingTrustedProxyCIDRs, EnvName: "WARPBOX_TRUSTED_PROXY_CIDRS", Label: "Trusted proxy CIDRs", Type: SettingTypeText, Editable: true},
diff --git a/lib/config/load.go b/lib/config/load.go
index 08e37a7..cdf6acf 100644
--- a/lib/config/load.go
+++ b/lib/config/load.go
@@ -27,6 +27,7 @@ func Load() (*Config, error) {
 		ThumbnailBatchSize:            10,
 		ThumbnailIntervalSeconds:      30,
 		ActivityRetentionSeconds:      7 * 24 * 60 * 60,
+		SecurityEnabled:               true,
 		SecurityLoginWindowSeconds:    10 * 60,
 		SecurityLoginMaxAttempts:      8,
 		SecurityBanSeconds:            30 * 60,
@@ -91,6 +92,7 @@ func Load() (*Config, error) {
 		{SettingOneTimeDownloadRetryFail, "WARPBOX_ONE_TIME_DOWNLOAD_RETRY_ON_FAILURE", &cfg.OneTimeDownloadRetryOnFailure},
 		{SettingRenewOnAccessEnabled, "WARPBOX_RENEW_ON_ACCESS_ENABLED", &cfg.RenewOnAccessEnabled},
 		{SettingRenewOnDownloadEnabled, "WARPBOX_RENEW_ON_DOWNLOAD_ENABLED", &cfg.RenewOnDownloadEnabled},
+		{SettingSecurityEnabled, "WARPBOX_SECURITY_ENABLED", &cfg.SecurityEnabled},
 	}
 	for _, item := range envBools {
 		if err := cfg.applyBoolEnv(item.key, item.name, item.target); err != nil {
@@ -209,6 +211,7 @@ func (cfg *Config) captureDefaults() {
 	cfg.captureDefaultValue(SettingThumbnailBatchSize, strconv.Itoa(cfg.ThumbnailBatchSize))
 	cfg.captureDefaultValue(SettingThumbnailIntervalSeconds, strconv.Itoa(cfg.ThumbnailIntervalSeconds))
 	cfg.captureDefaultValue(SettingActivityRetentionSeconds, strconv.FormatInt(cfg.ActivityRetentionSeconds, 10))
+	cfg.captureDefaultValue(SettingSecurityEnabled, formatBool(cfg.SecurityEnabled))
 	cfg.captureDefaultValue(SettingSecurityIPWhitelist, cfg.SecurityIPWhitelist)
 	cfg.captureDefaultValue(SettingSecurityAdminIPWhitelist, cfg.SecurityAdminIPWhitelist)
 	cfg.captureDefaultValue(SettingTrustedProxyCIDRs, cfg.TrustedProxyCIDRs)
diff --git a/lib/config/models.go b/lib/config/models.go
index 7397733..367cb4f 100644
--- a/lib/config/models.go
+++ b/lib/config/models.go
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ const (
 	SettingThumbnailIntervalSeconds  = "thumbnail_interval_seconds"
 	SettingDataDir                   = "data_dir"
 	SettingActivityRetentionSeconds  = "activity_retention_seconds"
+	SettingSecurityEnabled           = "security_enabled"
 	SettingSecurityIPWhitelist       = "security_ip_whitelist"
 	SettingSecurityAdminIPWhitelist  = "security_admin_ip_whitelist"
 	SettingTrustedProxyCIDRs         = "trusted_proxy_cidrs"
@@ -108,6 +109,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	ThumbnailBatchSize          int
 	ThumbnailIntervalSeconds    int
 	ActivityRetentionSeconds    int64
+	SecurityEnabled             bool
 	SecurityIPWhitelist         string
 	SecurityAdminIPWhitelist    string
 	TrustedProxyCIDRs           string
diff --git a/lib/config/overrides.go b/lib/config/overrides.go
index 17387b2..0bb2f55 100644
--- a/lib/config/overrides.go
+++ b/lib/config/overrides.go
@@ -95,6 +95,8 @@ func (cfg *Config) assignBool(key string, value bool, source Source) {
 		cfg.RenewOnAccessEnabled = value
 	case SettingRenewOnDownloadEnabled:
 		cfg.RenewOnDownloadEnabled = value
+	case SettingSecurityEnabled:
+		cfg.SecurityEnabled = value
 	}
 	cfg.setValue(key, formatBool(value), source)
 }
diff --git a/lib/server/admin.go b/lib/server/admin.go
index 4c36de6..1f95896 100644
--- a/lib/server/admin.go
+++ b/lib/server/admin.go
@@ -64,11 +64,11 @@ func (app *App) handleAdminLoginPost(ctx *gin.Context) {
 	}
 	ip := app.clientIP(ctx)
 	guard := app.securityGuard
-	if guard == nil {
+	if app.securityFeaturesEnabled() && guard == nil {
 		guard = security.NewGuard()
 		app.securityGuard = guard
 	}
-	if !guard.IsAdminWhitelisted(ip) && guard.IsBanned(ip) {
+	if app.securityFeaturesEnabled() && guard != nil && !guard.IsAdminWhitelisted(ip) && guard.IsBanned(ip) {
 		app.logActivity("auth.admin.block", "high", "Blocked admin login from banned IP", ctx, nil)
 		ctx.HTML(http.StatusTooManyRequests, "admin/login.html", gin.H{
 			"ErrorMessage": "Too many failed attempts. Try again later.",
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@ func (app *App) handleAdminLoginPost(ctx *gin.Context) {
 	password := ctx.PostForm("password")
 
 	if username != app.config.AdminUsername || password != app.config.AdminPassword {
-		if !guard.IsAdminWhitelisted(ip) {
+		if app.securityFeaturesEnabled() && guard != nil && !guard.IsAdminWhitelisted(ip) {
 			banned, attempts := guard.RegisterFailedLogin(ip, app.config.SecurityLoginWindowSeconds, app.config.SecurityLoginMaxAttempts, app.config.SecurityBanSeconds)
 			app.logActivity("auth.admin.failed", "medium", "Failed admin login", ctx, map[string]string{"attempts": strconv.Itoa(attempts)})
 			if banned {
diff --git a/lib/server/admin_security.go b/lib/server/admin_security.go
index 4563fd0..5fbb3a9 100644
--- a/lib/server/admin_security.go
+++ b/lib/server/admin_security.go
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 package server
 
 import (
+	"fmt"
 	"net"
 	"net/http"
 	"path/filepath"
@@ -27,14 +28,24 @@ type adminSecurityActionRequest struct {
 	BanUntil string   `json:"ban_until"`
 }
 
-func (app *App) reloadSecurityConfig() {
+func (app *App) reloadSecurityConfig() error {
+	if app == nil || app.config == nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("app or config is nil")
+	}
+	if !app.securityFeaturesEnabled() {
+		if app.securityGuard != nil {
+			_ = app.securityGuard.Close()
+		}
+		app.securityGuard = nil
+		return nil
+	}
 	if app.securityGuard == nil {
 		app.securityGuard = security.NewGuard()
 	}
-	if app.config != nil {
-		_ = app.securityGuard.EnableBanPersistence(filepath.Join(app.config.DBDir, "bans.badger"))
+	if err := app.securityGuard.EnableBanPersistence(filepath.Join(app.config.DBDir, "bans.badger")); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("enable ban persistence: %w", err)
 	}
-	_ = app.securityGuard.Reload(security.Config{
+	if err := app.securityGuard.Reload(security.Config{
 		IPWhitelist:         app.config.SecurityIPWhitelist,
 		AdminIPWhitelist:    app.config.SecurityAdminIPWhitelist,
 		LoginWindowSeconds:  app.config.SecurityLoginWindowSeconds,
@@ -45,7 +56,14 @@ func (app *App) reloadSecurityConfig() {
 		UploadWindowSeconds: app.config.SecurityUploadWindowSeconds,
 		UploadMaxRequests:   app.config.SecurityUploadMaxRequests,
 		UploadMaxBytes:      app.config.SecurityUploadMaxBytes,
-	})
+	}); err != nil {
+		return fmt.Errorf("reload guard config: %w", err)
+	}
+	return nil
+}
+
+func (app *App) securityFeaturesEnabled() bool {
+	return app != nil && app.config != nil && app.config.SecurityEnabled
 }
 
 func (app *App) logActivity(kind string, severity string, message string, ctx *gin.Context, meta map[string]string) {
@@ -85,6 +103,10 @@ func (app *App) createAlert(title string, severity string, group string, code st
 
 func (app *App) securityMiddleware() gin.HandlerFunc {
 	return func(ctx *gin.Context) {
+		if !app.securityFeaturesEnabled() {
+			ctx.Next()
+			return
+		}
 		if app.securityGuard == nil {
 			ctx.Next()
 			return
@@ -104,6 +126,10 @@ func (app *App) securityMiddleware() gin.HandlerFunc {
 }
 
 func (app *App) handleNoRoute(ctx *gin.Context) {
+	if !app.securityFeaturesEnabled() {
+		ctx.JSON(http.StatusNotFound, gin.H{"error": "Not found"})
+		return
+	}
 	if app.securityGuard == nil {
 		ctx.JSON(http.StatusNotFound, gin.H{"error": "Not found"})
 		return
@@ -148,6 +174,10 @@ func (app *App) handleAdminActivity(ctx *gin.Context) {
 }
 
 func (app *App) handleAdminSecurity(ctx *gin.Context) {
+	if !app.securityFeaturesEnabled() {
+		ctx.String(http.StatusNotFound, "Security features are disabled")
+		return
+	}
 	events := []activity.Event{}
 	alertsList := []alerts.Alert{}
 	if app.activityStore != nil {
@@ -215,6 +245,10 @@ func (app *App) recordManualBanAction(ctx *gin.Context, kind string, message str
 }
 
 func (app *App) handleAdminSecurityAction(ctx *gin.Context) {
+	if !app.securityFeaturesEnabled() {
+		ctx.JSON(http.StatusNotFound, gin.H{"error": "Security features are disabled"})
+		return
+	}
 	if app.securityGuard == nil {
 		ctx.JSON(http.StatusInternalServerError, gin.H{"error": "Security guard unavailable"})
 		return
diff --git a/lib/server/admin_security_test.go b/lib/server/admin_security_test.go
index 4a10cdd..3634cfb 100644
--- a/lib/server/admin_security_test.go
+++ b/lib/server/admin_security_test.go
@@ -111,7 +111,9 @@ func setupAdminSecurityTest(t *testing.T) (*App, *gin.Engine) {
 		alertStore:    alerts.NewStore(filepath.Join(cfg.DBDir, "alerts.json")),
 		securityGuard: security.NewGuard(),
 	}
-	app.reloadSecurityConfig()
+	if err := app.reloadSecurityConfig(); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("reload security config: %v", err)
+	}
 	t.Cleanup(func() { _ = app.securityGuard.Close() })
 
 	router := gin.New()
diff --git a/lib/server/admin_settings.go b/lib/server/admin_settings.go
index 2af7655..10f8a78 100644
--- a/lib/server/admin_settings.go
+++ b/lib/server/admin_settings.go
@@ -269,7 +269,9 @@ func (app *App) applySettingsOverrideSet(values map[string]string) ([]adminSetti
 
 	app.config = nextCfg
 	applyBoxstoreRuntimeConfig(app.config)
-	app.reloadSecurityConfig()
+	if err := app.reloadSecurityConfig(); err != nil {
+		return nil, nil, err
+	}
 	rows, _ := app.buildAdminSettingsRows()
 	return rows, warnings, nil
 }
@@ -437,7 +439,7 @@ func settingsCategoryForKey(key string) string {
 		return "downloads"
 	case config.SettingRenewOnAccessEnabled, config.SettingDefaultGuestExpirySecs, config.SettingMaxGuestExpirySecs, config.SettingOneTimeDownloadRetryFail:
 		return "retention"
-	case config.SettingSecurityIPWhitelist, config.SettingSecurityAdminIPWhitelist, config.SettingSecurityLoginWindowSecs, config.SettingSecurityLoginMaxAttempts, config.SettingSecurityBanSeconds, config.SettingSecurityScanWindowSecs, config.SettingSecurityScanMaxAttempts:
+	case config.SettingSecurityEnabled, config.SettingSecurityIPWhitelist, config.SettingSecurityAdminIPWhitelist, config.SettingSecurityLoginWindowSecs, config.SettingSecurityLoginMaxAttempts, config.SettingSecurityBanSeconds, config.SettingSecurityScanWindowSecs, config.SettingSecurityScanMaxAttempts:
 		return "security"
 	case config.SettingActivityRetentionSeconds:
 		return "activity"
@@ -476,6 +478,7 @@ func settingsDescription(key string) string {
 		config.SettingThumbnailIntervalSeconds:  "Delay between thumbnail worker passes.",
 		config.SettingDataDir:                   "Root data path. Locked because moving storage roots live is risky.",
 		config.SettingActivityRetentionSeconds:  "How long activity events stay stored before automatic prune.",
+		config.SettingSecurityEnabled:           "Master switch for security middleware, automated bans, suspicious path detection, and upload throttling.",
 		config.SettingSecurityIPWhitelist:       "Comma-separated IPs that bypass generic security bans and rate-limits.",
 		config.SettingSecurityAdminIPWhitelist:  "Comma-separated IPs allowed to bypass admin login brute-force controls.",
 		config.SettingSecurityLoginWindowSecs:   "Window used for failed admin login counting.",
diff --git a/lib/server/admin_settings_test.go b/lib/server/admin_settings_test.go
index 1f0487a..36d393b 100644
--- a/lib/server/admin_settings_test.go
+++ b/lib/server/admin_settings_test.go
@@ -265,6 +265,7 @@ func clearAdminSettingsEnv(t *testing.T) {
 		"WARPBOX_BOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS",
 		"WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_BATCH_SIZE",
 		"WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_INTERVAL_SECONDS",
+		"WARPBOX_SECURITY_ENABLED",
 		"WARPBOX_SECURITY_IP_WHITELIST",
 		"WARPBOX_SECURITY_ADMIN_IP_WHITELIST",
 		"WARPBOX_TRUSTED_PROXY_CIDRS",
diff --git a/lib/server/server.go b/lib/server/server.go
index 5743faf..b780543 100644
--- a/lib/server/server.go
+++ b/lib/server/server.go
@@ -51,7 +51,9 @@ func Run(addr string) error {
 		alertStore:            alerts.NewStore(filepath.Join(cfg.DBDir, "alerts.json")),
 		securityGuard:         security.NewGuard(),
 	}
-	app.reloadSecurityConfig()
+	if err := app.reloadSecurityConfig(); err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
 
 	router := gin.Default()
 	router.Use(app.securityMiddleware())
diff --git a/lib/server/validation.go b/lib/server/validation.go
index 48debb5..b8cfdb1 100644
--- a/lib/server/validation.go
+++ b/lib/server/validation.go
@@ -156,6 +156,9 @@ func (app *App) maxRequestBodyBytes() int64 {
 }
 
 func (app *App) enforceUploadRateLimit(ctx *gin.Context, size int64) bool {
+	if !app.securityFeaturesEnabled() || app.securityGuard == nil {
+		return true
+	}
 	ip := app.clientIP(ctx)
 	if app.securityGuard.IsWhitelisted(ip) || app.securityGuard.IsAdminWhitelisted(ip) {
 		return true
diff --git a/run.sh b/run.sh
index 6242105..1ef3674 100755
--- a/run.sh
+++ b/run.sh
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ export WARPBOX_BOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS="${WARPBOX_BOX_POLL_INTERVAL_MS:-5000}"
 export WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_BATCH_SIZE="${WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_BATCH_SIZE:-10}"
 export WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_INTERVAL_SECONDS="${WARPBOX_THUMBNAIL_INTERVAL_SECONDS:-30}"
 export WARPBOX_ACTIVITY_RETENTION_SECONDS="${WARPBOX_ACTIVITY_RETENTION_SECONDS:-604800}"
+export WARPBOX_SECURITY_ENABLED="${WARPBOX_SECURITY_ENABLED:-true}"
 export WARPBOX_SECURITY_IP_WHITELIST="${WARPBOX_SECURITY_IP_WHITELIST:-}"
 export WARPBOX_SECURITY_ADMIN_IP_WHITELIST="${WARPBOX_SECURITY_ADMIN_IP_WHITELIST:-}"
 export WARPBOX_SECURITY_LOGIN_WINDOW_SECONDS="${WARPBOX_SECURITY_LOGIN_WINDOW_SECONDS:-600}"
diff --git a/static/js/admin/activity.js b/static/js/admin/activity.js
index c45dc62..e43d3bc 100644
--- a/static/js/admin/activity.js
+++ b/static/js/admin/activity.js
@@ -10,6 +10,8 @@
 
     if (!dataNode || !body || !searchInput) return;
     const events = parseData();
+    const initialQuery = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get("q");
+    if (initialQuery) searchInput.value = initialQuery;
 
     function parseData() {
         try {
diff --git a/static/js/admin/alerts.js b/static/js/admin/alerts.js
index 2b0ad48..075300f 100644
--- a/static/js/admin/alerts.js
+++ b/static/js/admin/alerts.js
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@
         selected: new Set(),
         activeID: null
     };
+    const initialQuery = new URLSearchParams(window.location.search).get("q");
+    if (initialQuery) searchInput.value = initialQuery;
 
     function parseData() {
         try {