Security-Protection
by webvitalii · Login & Users
Also makes 14 other plugins · 105.9K+ installs across the portfolio →
Protection from login, registration and reset-password brute-force attacks. No captcha.
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 46/100
Stale · Likely abandoned
Active installs
300+
≈390 estimated
Momentum
+5%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: One page off on “bruteforce”. #16 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
46 health vs 61 average across 2,203 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →1.9%
of downloads still active
At least 300 of 16K lifetime downloads are still running, above its category: the median Login & Users plugin keeps 0.7%, across 1,476 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 5.5.24.
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 2248 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 5.5.24; the current branch is 6.8
4.3★ over 11 reviews, smoothed to 4.14★ and held back under 25 reviews
5 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 2248 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| bruteforce your tag | #16 | #9 | down 1 |
| brute force your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| login your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| register your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| registration 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
- One page off on “bruteforce”. #16 puts you just past the first ten results, where almost all the clicks stop. The gap to close is small.
- “brute force”, “login” and “register” 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 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 139 · peaks are release surges
Directory rank
Ranked about #10,100 to #11,100, alongside the other plugins at 300+ installs. Plugins with the same install count swap places between wp.org requests, so this is where most of them sit. Checked monthly, last on 21 Oct 2026.
Rating trend
Star average over time · dips mark rough releases
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
6.2y ago
latest release · v2.3 · 5 Sep 2020
6
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 94% 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 “300+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 21 days ago and a band this size takes about a year or more to cross, so the real count is still just under 400.
Install history since 1 Jun 2015
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ Vladi Vasilev11.5y ago
attacks continued after installing it… totally useless
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ BatchHeader11.8y ago
Very simple idea well executed.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ aguett12.0y ago
I have a profound love-hate relationship with most “monsters” security plugins a la wordfence & co… and this plugin is exactly the opposite : it does ONE thing but does it WELL !!! A big thanks to the developer.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Timvg12.1y ago
I tried numerous other plugins without result. After I installed Security-protection, the continuous attacks stopped. Thank you for developing and sharing such a great plugin, great work!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ Adriano12.3y ago
This plugin fights against brute force attacks using a very inteligent solution. It is like a Martial Arts Master. Congratulations to Webvitaly! (I recommend Anti-Spam too, it works by the same principle)
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ karelv12.3y ago
I cannot tell how happy I am! My site was under a bruteforce attack for over 28 hours. I used limited login attemps plugin and I have Wordfence installed, but none of these where able to stop the brute force attacker from trying to hack my site. I got several login attempts per minute. Luckily I found this plugin and guess what, right after I installed it, no more brute force hacking. Great work developer thank you so much!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ilushkin12.3y ago
Probably the easiest and non-commercial plugin to stop the botnet attack. Unfortunately, it might eat up the server resources. Great support on the developer side.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ mdunham12.5y ago
I’m on WordPress multisite with mapped domains. I have WordFence running and set to alert on failed logins and block additional attempts after a small number of failures from the same IP. I set this plugin on two sites. This morning, emails from WordFence confirm those sites were hit by successive attempts from a bot network along with the other sites in the network. The theory sounds good, but in fact, if it works like it is supposed to, I believe it should have kept the bots from attempting to login at all. It did not. Hopefully there will be a better version or someone else who finds a fix for botnets. So far, this doesn’t seem to be it.
Read on wp.org ↗
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 7.2.16 · WP 5.3
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
2 of 8 pass · checked 30 Oct 2026Can an assistant quote this readme? Eight deterministic checks over the wp.org listing, no model involved.
- ! Says what it does Short description names no action; say what the plugin does for the site.
- ✓ Has a FAQ 6 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 5 of 6 read like questions a user would type.
- ! Names who it is for One audience phrase ("if you have"); say who the plugin is for and what they use it for.
- ! Names what it works with Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 1 heading and 4 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ! Enough to quote 951 characters of description; under 1,000 there is little to quote.
- ! Tags match the text Only 2 of 5 tags appear in the text ("Brute Force", "BruteForce", "register" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-10-11 400+ → 300+ down after 344 days in tier
- 2025-11-01 500+ → 400+ down after 333 days in tier
- 2024-12-03 600+ → 500+ down after 260 days in tier
- 2024-03-18 700+ → 600+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-17 600+ → 700+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2024-03-16 700+ → 600+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2024-03-14 600+ → 700+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2024-03-12 700+ → 600+ down after 1 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).
-
AJAX Login and Registration modal popup + inline form 3K+ installs · 4.6★ · 3 shared tags A -
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A -
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ installs · 4.1★ · 2 shared tags A -
Theme My Login 50K+ installs · 3.7★ · 2 shared tags B -
WP-Members Membership Plugin 50K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags B -
XO Security 30K+ installs · 4.4★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for Security-Protection into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/security-protection" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="Security-Protection — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> Security-Protection: 300+ active installs, 4.3★ (11 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-11-01. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/security-protection
Spotted a number that looks wrong? Report a data issue and we'll check it against the source.