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wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “virus activity”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “virus activity”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 0 of the top 15.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Security Plugin, Firewall & Malware Scanner with Auto Removal 40K+ · 4.8★ (397) wp.org #1 2 Security Ninja – WordPress Security & Firewall 7K+ · 4.7★ (101) wp.org #2 ↑1 3 MalCare WordPress Security Plugin – Malware Scanner, Cleaner, Security Firewall 100K+ · 4.4★ (559) wp.org #3 ↑1 4 DevDome Malware Scanner – WordPress Malware Removal & Security Scanner 300+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #4 ↑1 5 NHR Database Cleaner & Optimizer – Revisions, Transients, Autoload & Options Manager 100+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 2 too low 6 MUTE – Contact Form Spam Blocker Without CAPTCHA 10+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #8 ↑1 2 too low 7 Global threat activity level Widget 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #5 ↑1 2 too high 8 A Aabcore Security Malware & Virus Scan — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #6 ↑1 2 too high 9 Gigneo – WordPress Service Marketplace & Platform Builder 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #9 ↑1 10 OrderReady – Collect Customer Files & Order Details After Checkout for WooCommerce — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #10 ↑1 11 Forge12 Security – Firewall, Malware Scanner, 2FA & Login Security 60+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #12 1 too low 12 Xerotact SHIELD-X Security — · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #13 ↓1 1 too low 13 MH Smart Firewall – Security, Malware Scanner & Login Protection — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #11 2 too high 14 NexlifyDesk — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #14 ↓1 15 Virus Activity 10+ · 0.0★ (0) wp.org #15 ↓1

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.