Protection Against DDoS
by WPChef · Login & Users
Also makes 5 other plugins · 1M+ installs across the portfolio →
Protects your login, xmlrpc and RSS feeds pages against DDoS attacks. Denies access to your site from certain countries via CloudFlare.
Try it live opens a temporary test site in your browser, which can take about 20 seconds to load. Plugins that rely on outside services or a full server may not work completely there.
Health
D 47/100
Stale · Likely abandoned · Few reviews
Active installs
3K+
≈3.5K estimated
Momentum
+53%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: “brute force”, “ddos” and “login” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
47 health vs 61 average across 2,204 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →6.0%
of downloads still active
At least 3K of 49.9K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,477 plugins.
Downloads count every update, not just first installs, so older and more frequently released plugins read lower. Compare against other Login & Users plugins, not across the directory. wp.org reports active installs as the bottom of a band, so the real rate is this or higher.
Removal-risk signals
53/100Maintenance 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 6+ years — the top precursor to removal once a vulnerability is found.
- Falling behind WordPress. Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25.
Details
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.
Under-optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 2377 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.4.25; the current branch is 6.8
5.0★ over 4 reviews, smoothed to 4.17★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2377 days ago — ship an update; wp.org decays a listing's search weight after ~180 days.
Get the full rank-higher report →Search visibility
How it's tracked →Directory searches this plugin turns up in, and which way each one is moving. WordPress.org publishes no history of search positions, so this starts the day we first tracked a keyword and never backfills.
Not enough tracked days yet to call a direction. Momentum needs at least three keywords measured a week or more apart.
wp.org is where the directory puts the plugin for that search. On merit is where it would sit if results were ranked on rating, support and updates, without the install boost. The last column is how far the wp.org position moved, from our first reading in the last 90 days to the latest.
| Keyword | wp.org | On merit | wp.org move, 90 days |
|---|---|---|---|
| peformance your tag | #4 | #2 | 0 |
| brute force your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| ddos your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| login your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
1 search this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days. 4 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- “brute force”, “ddos” and “login” aren't earning a slot. You list them, but you're not in the first 24 results for those searches. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so free the slot for a search you can win.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,489 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 657 · peaks are release surges
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
Health trend
Composite health score, snapshotted daily
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.
Release cadence
No release in a yearHow 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
6.5y ago
latest release · v1.5.2 · 29 Apr 2020
4
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare 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.
Estimated active installs
The public count shows “3K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 2.2 years ago; the previous band took 16 months to cross, which places it about 50% of the way through.
Install history since 9 Feb 2017
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Eli6.5y ago
Our site was being attacked heavily using exactly the technics for which this plugin was creating for. I cannot thank the creator enough for providing it to the public free of charge. Thank you so much for your contribution. My only concern is that it hasn’t been updated for quite sometime, I really hope it’s not abandoned. I’m surprised this product doesn’t have more reviews and more downloads, I guess it hasn’t had enough promotion. Thank you so much @wpchef, please keep it alive!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ kcwebguy7.2y ago
I was having a major DDOS against a number of my websites… the attack was taking down my entire VPS and affecting my entire business. I deployed this plugin to all of my sites and saw immediate relief from the attack. I took a screenshot of my load graph with an arrow at the point in time I deployed this plugin. My thanks to this author for a clever and effective plugin. This topic was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Jan Dembowski. Reason: Deleted link
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Gahapati10.1y ago
When I first came across Protection Against DDoS, I was impressed by the simplicity of the idea and the effectiveness of its execution. Assuming that DDoS attacks will hardly be carried out by lone hackers armed with web browsers, it’s reasonably safe also to assume that accepting and returning cookies will be among the least of their concerns. In which case the attack is stopped dead in its track very early on, in fact before WordPress is even asked to start up its engine. When I first tested this plugin, unfortunately it was not compatible with WP Multisite, yet. But within days of pointing this out to the developer, Protection Against DDoS was updated accordingly! The plugin has earned a permanent resident status in my toolbox! This topic was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by Gahapati. Reason: Updated WP Version
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ 2by2host10.3y ago
We use this when a WordPress site gets bombarded with bogus traffic and see the results within minutes. We can see how HTTP requests drop right after the plugin is installed. This plugin should be a must for any site.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 1.5.2 Added access control for autodiscover/autodiscover.xml and wpad.dat. 1.5.2
- — Version 1.5.1 Can deny access to xmlrpc, RSS and certain countries now. 1.5.1
- — Version 1.4.1 Multisite compatibility implemented. 1.4.1
- — Version 1.3 Validation cookie is set via JavaScript now and encrypted. 1.3
- — Version 1.2 Redirect POST-requests only for login page. 1.2
- — Version 1.1 Set validation cookie for all GET-requests. Use random cookie name for better security. 1.1
AI assistants
How it's measured →Whether ChatGPT and Claude name this plugin when asked the category question, and whether the readme gives them something to quote.
Not measured yet for this plugin’s topics. Its tracked searches are not among the measured topics. See the topics measured so far.
Readme readiness
6 of 8 pass · checked 27 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ✓ Says what it does "Protects your login, xmlrpc and RSS feeds pages against DDoS attacks. Denies access to your site from certa..."
- ✓ Has a FAQ 3 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 3 of 3 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for Never says who the plugin is for or what they use it for.
- ✓ Names what it works with Mentions Cloudflare.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 1 list; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,289 characters of description.
- ✓ Tags match the text 4 of 5 tags appear in the text; "Peformance" does not.
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2024-09-05 4K+ → 3K+ down after 488 days in tier
- 2023-05-06 5K+ → 4K+ down after 214 days in tier
- 2022-10-04 6K+ → 5K+ down after 469 days in tier
- 2021-06-22 5K+ → 6K+ up after 237 days in tier
- 2020-10-28 4K+ → 5K+ up after 341 days in tier
- 2019-11-22 800+ → 4K+ up
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).
-
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 3 shared tags A -
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags A -
XO Security 30K+ installs · 4.4★ · 3 shared tags A -
IP Geo Block 7K+ installs · 4.1★ · 3 shared tags D -
Stop XML-RPC Attacks 6K+ installs · 4.2★ · 3 shared tags A -
Limit Login Attempts Security – Login Security, 2FA, Firewall, Brute Force Prevention 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Protection Against DDoS into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/protection-against-ddos" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Protection Against DDoS — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Protection Against DDoS: 3K+ active installs, 5.0★ (4 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/protection-against-ddos
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