WP Fail2Ban Redux
by Brandon Allen · Login & Users
Also makes 4 other plugins · 7.1K+ installs across the portfolio →
Records various WordPress events to your server's system log for integration with Fail2Ban.
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
C 66/100
Stale
Active installs
7K+
≈7.7K estimated
Momentum
+54%
downloads vs prior 30d
Biggest opportunity: Add “user enumeration” to your wp.org tags. You rank #23 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed it's a slot worth spending.
66 health vs 61 average across 2,203 Login & Users plugins
Install conversion
How it's measured →6.8%
of downloads still active
At least 7K of 102.5K 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.
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.
Well optimized
Most to gain: Update recency
Updated 522 days ago, past the ~180 days where wp.org starts discounting
Tested up to WordPress 6.8.12, the current branch or newer
5.0★ over 15 reviews, smoothed to 4.31★ and held back under 25 reviews
4 of 5 tags set · short description in place
To rank higher: Last updated 522 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.
32
Momentum
Losing ground
-0.2
Velocity
places per keyword, 27d
0%
Breadth
of keywords climbing, 27d
-0.2
Acceleration
recent half vs earlier
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| redux | #3 | #2 | 0 |
| fail2ban your tag | #3 | #4 | down 1 |
| syslog your tag | #6 | #6 | down 1 |
| user enumeration | #23 | #18 | 0 |
| login your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
| security your tag | Not in the top 24 | ||
7 searches this plugin appeared in over the last 90 days, 4 listed. 3 left out as unrelated or noise (years, numbers, stray words). 2 of its tags aren't in the top 24 for their own search.
What to do about it
- Add “user enumeration” to your wp.org tags. You rank #23 for it without listing it, close enough for a declared tag to move you up. WordPress.org counts only your first five tags, so with 4 listed it's a slot worth spending.
Daily downloads
Since 5 Oct 2022 · 1,488 days · wp.org + Plugin Pulse archive
30-day downloads
Rolling 30-day volume · peak 6.7K · 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
1.4y ago
latest release · v0.9.2 · 27 May 2025
6
tagged releases on record
Recent releases
What its installed base runs
via wordpress.orgShare of active installs on each version of this plugin · 89% 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 “7K+”. Our estimate pins where the real number sits.
Crossed into this band 5 months ago; the previous band took 15 months to cross, which places it about 68% of the way through.
Install history since 28 Mar 2019
Recent reviews
All reviews on wp.org ↗- ★★★★★ thedaysse1.5y ago
I really like the way it doesn’t prompt me to upgrade to a version with paid features.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ brt2.3y ago
no premium/freemium blocklist scam, just does what its supposed to do. supereasy to install, no configuration within wordpress needed! just install the plugin and setup fail2ban using the provided config files (filters, jail) love it. thanks!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ABCdatos4.2y ago
Easy, effective, no unnecessary control panel, no premium parts, no boring messages, it just do the work! Having fail2ban already configured in the server, I installed it on a bunch of WP sites. Locking repetitive attackers, it saves some server resources peaks. Really thanks for the plugin. This topic was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by ABCdatos.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ teeboy4real5.3y ago
This plugin is underrated and is a must have for wordpress security.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ thnilsen5.6y ago
Could not be simpler to use this plugin. The original plugin that this one replaces was just awful to set up with the free version. This on is just to install and activate, then make sure you have the apache-auth filter active in your Fail2Ban configuration. Thanks!!
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ galactica3336.4y ago
I use this plugin on my wordpress installations and all failed logins are reliably logged to the auth.log of the server. Even though the plugin has not yet been tested with WordPress 5.4.1, it is working good for me.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ ufukart6.9y ago
Tiny, Simple and Effective. Works Well.Thanks to developer.
Read on wp.org ↗ - ★★★★★ michauko7.0y ago
I tried some other F2B plugins, tons of useless options, useless interface and so on. And very expensive paid subscriptions, of course. This one just logs all the auth. failures you need to monitor and gives you the F2B filter and jail conf. Install, copy, adapt, reload f2b. 5 minutes and you’re done. Be sure to add this plugin as a “mu-plugin” (must-use), so no stupid WP admin user disables it by mistake.
Read on wp.org ↗
Latest updates
via wp.org changelogRecent releases and news for this plugin
- — Version 0.9.2 Release date: 2025-05-27 Bumps “Tested up to” version to 6.8 Bumps minimum required PHP version to 7.4 Bumps minimum required WP version to 5.8 Add a new regex rule for XMLRPC authentication failure to both filters (soft 0.9.2
- — Version 0.9.1 Release date: 2023-10-17 Bumps “Tested up to” version to 6.4 Bumps minimum required PHP version to 7.0 Bumps minimum required WP version to 5.5 Update dependency package versions No changes to jail or filters in the rele 0.9.1
- — Version 0.8.3 Release date: 2023-10-17 Bumps “Tested up to” version to 5.9 No changes to jail or filters in the release. 0.8.3
- — Version 0.8.2 Release date: 2021-08-08 Bumps “Tested up to” version to 5.8 No changes to jail or filters in the release. 0.8.2
- — Version 0.8.1 Release date: 2021-06-01 Actually bumps “Tested up to” version to 5.7 0.8.1
- — Version 0.8.0 Release date: 2021-05-31 Bumps “Tested up to” version to 5.7 Fix issue where logging out of WordPress could cause a blocked user log to be recorded 0.8.0
Behavioral tests
via WP HiveAutomated install-time checks, tested on PHP 8.1.12 · WP 6.8.1
Languages
via translate.wordpress.orgTranslated into 5 languages, 3 at 90% or more
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
3 of 8 pass · checked 26 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 4 questions in the FAQ.
- ✓ FAQ asks real questions 4 of 4 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 Names no plugin, service or platform it works with.
- ! Headings and lists 0 headings and 2 lists; assistants quote headed sections and bullet lists, not paragraphs.
- ✓ Enough to quote 1,160 characters of description.
- ! Tags match the text Only 1 of 4 tags appear in the text ("login", "security", "syslog" missing).
Growth timeline
Install-tier crossings we have observed, and how long each tier took to outgrow
- 2026-06-07 8K+ → 7K+ down after 454 days in tier
- 2025-03-10 7K+ → 8K+ up after 2 days in tier
- 2025-03-08 8K+ → 7K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-07 7K+ → 8K+ up after 1 days in tier
- 2025-03-06 8K+ → 7K+ down after 2 days in tier
- 2025-03-04 7K+ → 8K+ up after 749 days in tier
- 2023-02-14 8K+ → 7K+ down after 1 days in tier
- 2023-02-13 7K+ → 8K+ up 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).
-
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security 60K+ installs · 4.1★ · 4 shared tags A -
Loginizer 1M+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Security Optimizer – The All-In-One Protection Plugin 1M+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A - L Limit Login Attempts 300K+ installs · 4.6★ · 2 shared tags C
-
WPS Limit Login 100K+ installs · 4.8★ · 2 shared tags A -
Hide My WP Ghost – Security & Firewall 100K+ installs · 4.5★ · 2 shared tags A
Embed this report card
Drop a live Pulse card for WP Fail2Ban Redux into a readme, a review or a deck. It updates itself.
<iframe src="https://plugins.wpmayor.com/embed/wp-fail2ban-redux" width="480" height="300" style="border:0" loading="lazy" title="WP Fail2Ban Redux — Plugin Pulse"></iframe> WP Fail2Ban Redux: 7K+ active installs, 5.0★ (15 reviews). Plugin Pulse (WP Mayor), as of 2026-10-31. https://plugins.wpmayor.com/plugin/wp-fail2ban-redux
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