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Protect WP Config File from Phishing Attacks

by Michele Butcher-Jones · Security

Also makes 1 other plugin · 40+ installs across the portfolio →

Returns a blank white page if people try to load the wp-config file (or backups of it) in a web browser.

⚠ Stale⚠ Likely abandoned⚠ Few reviews
How scoring works →
41 Health · D
Maintenance 3/100
Rating quality 65/100
Support 70/100

41 health vs 64 average across 997 Security plugins

High removal-risk signals

63/100

Maintenance and integrity signals that tend to precede a WordPress.org removal. Not an official status, a heads-up to act.

  • Long abandoned. No update in 10+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
  • Compatibility drift. Tested only up to WordPress 4.1.0, well behind 6.8.

Directory ranking optimization

How it's scored →

How well this listing is tuned to rank in WordPress.org search, on the factors an owner controls. Not popularity, optimization.

36 / 100

Under-optimized

Biggest win: Update recency

Update recency 0/100
WP compatibility 4/100
Rating quality 49/100
Listing tuning 100/100

To rank higher: Last updated 3799 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.

Get the full rank-higher report →

Daily downloads

Since 2022-10-05 · 1,426 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive

+58% vs prior 30d
1Downloads · Aug 26

30-day downloads

Rolling 30-day volume · peaks are release surges

95

now · peak 165

9530d downloads · Aug 26

Directory rank vs rivals

wp.org popularity rank over time · higher is better · when a rival's line climbs above yours, they've overtaken you

Protect WP Config Fi · #22243 you Jetpack Protect · #356 htaccess protect · #7597 Wordfence Security · #11

Update activity

How busy the existing users are, measured as downloads in the last 30 days for every 1,000 active sites. A spike means a new release everyone's pulling; a long, slow decline means an aging user base that updates less.

3.2Kper 1k installs · Aug 26

Release cadence

No release in a year
from wp.org release tags

How often this plugin actually ships. A steady rhythm is the maintenance signal a single "last updated" date can't show.

0

releases in the last 12 months

11.7y ago

latest release · v1.1.0

1

tagged releases on record

Recent releases

1.1.0 · 11.7y ago

What its installed base runs

via wordpress.org

Share of active installs on each version of this plugin · 100% run the current release. Green is the current release; a big slice on older versions is a user base that has stopped updating.

v15.01 100%

Estimated active installs

The public count shows “30+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.

tracked estimate
30–40 ≈37

Refined from the date this plugin crossed into its current band.

Install history · since 2015-04-16 · 1,384 observations

30Installs · Aug 26

Estimated value

What this plugin might earn a year, and what it might sell for. Modeled from public signals; we don't see anyone's books.

Est. annual revenue

N/A

Est. acquisition value

N/A

No paid tier is visible, so we don't put a figure on revenue or sale value: that would be guessing. The install base is a real asset to an acquirer, just not one public data lets us price. A small install base leaves thin data to model from.

Details

Version
15.01
Last updated
10.4y ago
Added
2013-07-05 · 13 yrs old
Requires WP
3.2.0
Tested up to
4.1.0
Requires PHP

Behavioral tests

via WP Hive

Automated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3.2

Low memory footprint
Low page-speed impact
Runs on latest PHP + WP
No PHP errors
No JS errors
Activates cleanly
No resource errors
No external HTTP errors
Optimized database use
Frequently updated

Growth timeline

Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow

  1. 2026-08-13 40+ → 30+ down after 233 days in tier
  2. 2025-12-23 50+ → 40+ down after 93 days in tier
  3. 2025-09-21 60+ → 50+ down after 11 days in tier
  4. 2025-09-10 50+ → 60+ up after 3 days in tier
  5. 2025-09-07 60+ → 50+ down after 13 days in tier
  6. 2025-08-25 50+ → 60+ up after 4 days in tier
  7. 2025-08-21 60+ → 50+ down after 7 days in tier
  8. 2025-08-14 50+ → 60+ up after 64 days in tier

Competes with

The plugins that solve the same job, ranked by shared tags then reach, closest match first. The letter on the right is each plugin's health grade (A best, F worst).

Compare head to head →

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Protect WP Config File from Phishing Attacks: 30+ active installs, 0.0★ (0 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-08-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/protect-wp-config-from-phishing-attacks