WP fail2ban – Advanced Security for WordPress Plugin Directory
By invisnet
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security is the #10 ranked login app on WordPress, with a 4.2 average rating from 71 reviews, as of Aug 31, 2026.
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security is a WordPress Plugin Directory app by invisnet. With a rating of 4.2★ from 71 reviews, it currently ranks #10 in the Login category.
AppRanks data: WP fail2ban – Advanced Security ranks #10 in Login on WordPress Plugin Directory, placing it in the top 2% of that category.
AppRanks verdict
Generated from live marketplace data — refreshed daily
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security is a well-rated WordPress app with a limited review volume. It is listed in the Login category on WordPress Plugin Directory, which AppRanks treats as the canonical taxonomy node for ranking and competitor comparison. 71 reviews put it in the early-traction tier — useful for early-stage stores willing to be on the leading edge. Early-traction review counts are sensitive to single launch periods or feature events, so a 30-day re-check before bigger commitments often resolves whether the trend is sustained. Paid-only pricing means evaluating fit on the marketplace listing or via the developer's documentation before installing. AppRanks tracks rating, review count, pricing tier, and category position daily — the figures on this page reflect the most recent scrape from the canonical WordPress Plugin Directory listing.
Pros
- +Published by invisnet — established developer track record
Cons
- −Limited review base (71) — ratings can shift significantly with new feedback
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How WP fail2ban – Advanced Security works
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fail2ban is one of the simplest and most effective security measures you can implement to protect your WordPress site.
WP fail2ban provides the link between WordPress and fail2ban:
Oct 17 20:59:54 foobar wordpress(www.example.com)[1234]: Authentication failure for admin from 192.168.0.1 Oct 17 21:00:00 foobar wordpress(www.example.com)[2345]: Accepted password for admin from 192.168.0.1
WPf2b comes with three fail2ban filters: wordpress-hard.conf, wordpress-soft.conf, and wordpress-extra.conf. These are designed to allow a split between immediate banning (hard) and the traditional more graceful approach (soft), with extra rules for custom configurations.
Features
Failed Login Attempts
The very first feature of WPf2b: logging failed login attempts so the IP can be banned. Just as useful today as it was then.
Block User Enumeration
One of the most common precursors to a password-guessing brute force attack is user enumeration. WPf2b can block it, stopping the attack before it starts.
Block username logins
Sometimes it’s not possible to block user enumeration (for example, if your theme provides Author profiles). WPf2b can require users to login with their email address instead of their username.
Blocking Users
Anther of the older WPf2b features: the login process can be aborted for specified usernames.
Say a bot collected your site’s usernames before you blocked user enumeration. Once you’ve changed all the usernames, add the old ones to the list; anything using them will trigger a “hard” fail.
Empty Username Login Attempts
Some bots will try to login without a username; harmless, but annoying. These attempts are logged as a “soft” fail so the more persistent bots will be banned.
Spam
WPf2b will log a spammer’s IP address as a “hard” fail when their comment is marked as spam; the Premium version will also log the IP when Akismet discards “obvious” spam.
Attempted Comments
Some spam bots try to comment on everything, even things that aren’t there. WPf2b detects these and logs them as a “hard” fail.
Pingbacks
Pingbacks are a great feature, but they can be abused to attack the rest of the WWW. Rather than disable them completely, WPf2b effectively rate-limits potential attackers by logging the IP address as a “soft” fail.
Block XML‑RPC Requests [Premium]
The only reason most sites need XML‑RPC (other than Pingbacks) is for Jetpack; WPf2b Premium can block XML‑RPC while allowing Jetpack and/or Pingbacks.
Block Countries [Premium]
Sometimes you just need a bigger hammer – if you’re seeing nothing but attacks from some countries, block them!
Cloudflare and Proxy Servers
WPf2b will work with Cloudflare, and the Premium version will automatically update the list of Cloudflare IP addresses.
You can also configure your own list of trusted proxies.
syslog Dashboard Widget
Ever wondered what’s being logged? The dashboard widget shows the last 5 messages; the Premium version keeps a full history to help you analyse and prevent attacks.
Site Health Check
WPf2b will (try to) check that your fail2ban configuration is sane and that the filters are up to date; out-of-date filters are the primary cause of WPf2b not working as well as it can.
When did you last run the Site Health tool?
mu-plugins Support
WPf2b can easily be configured as a “must-use plugin” – see Configuration.
API to Extend WPf2b
If your plugin can detect behaviour which should be blocked, why reinvent the wheel?
Event Hooks [Premium]
Need to do something special when WPf2b detects a particular event? There’s a hook for that.
Premium
Web Application Firewall (WAF)
Akismet support.
Block XML‑RPC while allowing Jetpack and/or Pingbacks.
Block Countries.
Auto-update Cloudflare IPs.
Event log.
Event hooks.
Category rankings
As of Sep 5, 2026See 90-day rank history for each category
Track daily rank changes, category shifts, and position volatility.
Competitors & alternatives
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security doesn't have curated competitor matchups yet. Other tracked login apps on WordPress:
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CompareWhere WP fail2ban – Advanced Security stands in the Login category
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security ranks #10 of 607 apps in the Login category, placing it in the top 2% of the listing.
Frequently asked questions
What is WP fail2ban – Advanced Security?
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security is an app for WordPress. It currently holds a 4.2-star rating from 71 merchant reviews, and AppRanks has been tracking its public marketplace data on the refresh cadence published in our methodology. It is listed under the Login category on AppRanks, where you can see its current category position, review-velocity trend, and how it compares against the top alternatives in the same space. Developed by invisnet.
Who uses WP fail2ban – Advanced Security?
Currently around 60,000 active stores have installed WP fail2ban – Advanced Security. Its review base is still building, which usually maps to early-stage merchants and stores piloting a new workflow. It is part of the Login category on WordPress.
Where does WP fail2ban – Advanced Security rank on WordPress?
WP fail2ban – Advanced Security currently sits at position #10 in the Login category on WordPress. That places it in the top 2% of 607 apps tracked in the same category. Category positions are read from the live marketplace ranking and refresh on each scrape, so the number you see here reflects the most recent crawl rather than a long-running average.