Patrick Schlesinger

ReportedIP Hive Light protects WordPress logins against brute-force and password-spray attacks. It is intentionally focused: a per-IP attempt counter, a progressive block ladder, and an optional community lookup. No bloat, no dashboards, no upsell.
Two operating modes
<ul>
<li>Local Shield (default). Counts failed logins per IP and blocks attackers based on configurable thresholds. The plugin makes zero outbound network requests in this mode — all data stays on your server.</li>
<li>Community Network (optional). When you enter a free Community Access Key from reportedip.de, the plugin additionally checks the source IP against the reportedip.de community database during login attempts and shares blocked IPs back to the community. Both calls are clearly disclosed in the settings UI.</li>
</ul>
How it works
<ul>
<li><code>wp_login_failed</code> increments a per-IP counter using an atomic upsert (no race conditions under concurrent attacks).</li>
<li>When the counter exceeds your threshold, the IP is blocked for a duration drawn from a progressive ladder (5 min → 15 min → 30 min → 24 h → 48 h → 7 days).</li>
<li><code>wp_authenticate_user</code> short-circuits known-bad IPs before the WordPress core authentication runs.</li>
<li>Cache plugins (WP Rocket, W3 Total Cache, WP Super Cache, LiteSpeed) are honoured via the HTTP 403 status plus explicit <code>Cache-Control: no-store, no-cache, must-revalidate, max-age=0</code> and <code>Pragma: no-cache</code> headers on the block page.</li>
</ul>
Privacy
<ul>
<li>IP addresses are processed for the legitimate purpose of network security (GDPR Art. 6(1)(f)).</li>
<li>Usernames are stored only as a SHA-256 hash, salted with <code>wp_salt()</code>. Plain-text usernames are never persisted or transmitted.</li>
<li>In Local Shield mode, no data leaves your server. In Community Network mode, only the IP, hashed username, event type, and timestamp are sent — no domain, no contact details, no traffic data.</li>
</ul>
For developers
<ul>
<li>Filters: <code>reportedip_hive_is_whitelisted</code>, <code>reportedip_hive_get_client_ip</code>, <code>reportedip_hive_event_category_map</code>, <code>reportedip_hive_api_endpoint</code>.</li>
<li>Actions: <code>reportedip_hive_log</code>, <code>reportedip_hive_ip_blocked</code>, <code>reportedip_hive_report_queued</code>.</li>
</ul>
A free Community Access Key is available at reportedip.de. The plugin works without one in Local Shield mode.
<h3>External services</h3>
This plugin can connect to the ReportedIP API at <code>https://reportedip.de</code>. All 
external requests are opt-in only — they are made exclusively when (a) a 
“Community Access Key” has been entered in the plugin settings and (b) the 
“Operation Mode” is set to “Community Network”. The default mode is “Local 
Shield”, which performs zero external requests.
<h4>Endpoint 1: IP-reputation lookup</h4>
<ul>
<li>URL: <code>https://reportedip.de/wp-json/reportedip/v2/check?ip={ip}</code></li>
<li>HTTP verb: GET</li>
<li>Auth header: <code>X-Key: {your-access-key}</code></li>
<li>Trigger: a login attempt reaches <code>wp_authenticate_user</code></li>
<li>Timeout: 2 seconds (fail-open — login proceeds when the API does not respond)</li>
<li>Data sent: only the source IP address of the current login attempt</li>
<li>Data NOT sent: usernames, passwords, cookies, server identifiers, domain name</li>
</ul>
<h4>Endpoint 2: Blocked-IP report</h4>
<ul>
<li>URL: <code>https://reportedip.de/wp-json/reportedip/v2/report</code></li>
<li>HTTP verb: POST (JSON body)</li>
<li>Auth header: <code>X-Key: {your-access-key}</code></li>
<li>Trigger: a brute-force / spray threshold has been exceeded; the report is 
queued in the database and dispatched by a 15-minute cron job</li>
<li>Data sent: the offending IP, an integer category ID for the threat type, 
and a short human-readable comment (e.g. “5 failed logins in 15 minutes”)</li>
<li>Data NOT sent: usernames in plain text, passwords, full request bodies, 
domain name, contact information</li>
</ul>
<h4>Endpoint 3: Access-key verification</h4>
<ul>
<li>URL: <code>https://reportedip.de/wp-json/reportedip/v2/verify-key</code></li>
<li>HTTP verb: GET</li>
<li>Auth header: <code>X-Key: {entered-key}</code></li>
<li>Trigger: an administrator clicks “Test connection” in the plugin settings</li>
<li>Data sent: only the access key under verification</li>
</ul>
<h4>Hashing of submitted usernames</h4>
When a brute-force attempt is detected and the failing username is recorded 
locally, the plugin stores <code>sha256( username + wp_salt() )</code> only — never the 
plain text. The salted hash is also what would be transmitted with a report, 
preventing recipients from recovering the original username.
<h4>Service provider</h4>
<ul>
<li>Operator: Patrick Schlesinger, Germany</li>
<li>Service URL: <a href="https://reportedip.de" rel="nofollow ugc">reportedip.de</a></li>
<li>Legal notice (Impressum): <a href="https://reportedip.de/impressum/" rel="nofollow ugc">reportedip.de/impressum</a></li>
<li>Terms of use: <a href="https://reportedip.de/nutzungsbedingungen/" rel="nofollow ugc">reportedip.de/nutzungsbedingungen</a></li>
<li>Privacy policy: <a href="https://reportedip.de/datenschutzerklaerung/" rel="nofollow ugc">reportedip.de/datenschutzerklaerung</a></li>
<li>Source code: <a href="https://github.com/reportedip/reportedip-hive-light" rel="nofollow ugc">github.com/reportedip/reportedip-hive-light</a></li>
<li>Contact: <a href="mailto:1@reportedip.de" rel="nofollow ugc">1@reportedip.de</a></li>
</ul>
You can switch back to Local Shield mode at any time in Settings → ReportedIP 
Hive → Connection. Doing so stops all external traffic immediately.
<h3>Bundled assets</h3>
This plugin ships every stylesheet and script it needs inside the plugin 
folder. No CDN, no Google Fonts, no remote stylesheets, no remote scripts 
are loaded — every asset URL begins with the plugin’s own 
 wp-content/plugins/reportedip-hive/ path.
The full list of bundled, locally-served assets:
<ul>
<li><code>assets/css/design-system.css</code> — design tokens and components used on 
every plugin admin page.</li>
<li><code>assets/css/admin.css</code> — admin-page overrides on top of the design 
system.</li>
<li><code>assets/css/wizard.css</code> — standalone styles for the first-run setup 
wizard.</li>
<li><code>assets/js/admin.js</code> — handles tab switching and the AJAX 
“Test connection” button. Its only network call is <code>fetch()</code> against 
WordPress’ own <code>admin-ajax.php</code> (same origin); no third-party endpoint 
is contacted.</li>
<li>Inline SVG icons (the shield logo, the menu icon, and trust-badge 
glyphs) are emitted from PHP via <code>wp_kses()</code> with an explicit allow-list 
— no <code><img></code> element points at an external host.</li>
</ul>
The complete list of files distributed in the WordPress.org ZIP is 
visible at Plugins → Plugin File Editor once the plugin is installed.
<h3>Third-party services and licences</h3>
<ul>
<li>GPLv2 (or later) licence text is bundled with the plugin in the 
 LICENSE file at the plugin root and is also referenced from the 
plugin header (<code>License URI: https://www.gnu.org/licenses/gpl-2.0.html</code>).</li>
<li>No third-party PHP, JavaScript, or CSS libraries are bundled with 
the plugin. There is no Composer <code>vendor/</code> directory, no jQuery copy, 
no minified third-party bundle. WordPress itself supplies any global 
scripts (<code>jquery</code>, <code>wp-list-table</code>, etc.) and the plugin only depends 
on WordPress core APIs.</li>
<li>The only external HTTP service the plugin can talk to is the 
 https://reportedip.de/wp-json/reportedip/v2/ API, and only when the 
administrator has explicitly enabled Community Network mode — see 
the “External services” section above for the full data flow.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Privacy</h3>
<ul>
<li>IP addresses are processed under GDPR Art. 6(1)(f) (legitimate interest in network security).</li>
<li>Usernames are stored as a salted SHA-256 hash; plain-text values are never persisted or transmitted.</li>
<li>In Local Shield mode (default) no data leaves your server.</li>
<li>In Community Network mode the data listed above is sent to reportedip.de.</li>
<li>Data retention is configurable in Settings → Privacy. The default attempt window is 15 minutes; the API queue retention is 7 days.</li>
<li>Activate “Delete all data on uninstall” in Settings → Privacy to remove all plugin tables and options when the plugin is deleted.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Disclaimer</h3>
ReportedIP Hive Light is provided “as is”, without warranty of any kind, express or 
implied, including but not limited to warranties of merchantability, fitness 
for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. The author shall not be liable 
for any claim, damages, or other liability arising from the use of this 
software (this is the standard GPLv2-or-later disclaimer; see the LICENSE 
file for the full text).
The plugin provides defense-in-depth against brute-force and password-spray 
login attacks. It does not replace strong passwords, two-factor 
authentication, server-level firewalls, or web-application firewalls. No 
single security measure offers a 100 % guarantee against compromise. You 
remain responsible for the overall security posture of your WordPress site.
The optional Community Network mode forwards data to the third-party service 
operated at https://reportedip.de — see the “External services” section 
above for the full data flow. Site operators that enable Community Network 
mode are responsible for assessing the lawful basis under their applicable 
data-protection regime (in the EU, GDPR Art. 6(1)(f) — legitimate interest 
in network security — typically applies) and for updating their own privacy 
policy accordingly.

ReportedIP Hive Light

Lightweight brute-force login protection with optional community-powered IP reputation checks.

Predax

Predax Security connects your WordPress site to the Predax threat intelligence API to detect and block malicious traffic in real time — once the site administrator has enabled a protection preset.
After you complete setup and pick a protection preset (or enable individual protections from Settings), visitor IPs are checked against a continuously-updated database of known VPN providers, open proxies, Tor exit nodes, datacenter ranges, and web crawlers. High-risk IPs are blocked before they can log in, register, post comments, or browse your site.
On a fresh install the plugin is off by default — no visitor data is sent anywhere until you explicitly enable a protection via the setup wizard or the Settings → Protection tab.
<h4>Key Features</h4>
<ul>
<li>Security Dashboard — real-time overview with blocking activity chart, threat breakdown, top targeted paths, protection status, and country analysis</li>
<li>Real-time VPN/Proxy/Tor/Datacenter detection — checks every visitor against live threat intelligence</li>
<li>Risk score thresholds — block IPs above a configurable risk score (0–100)</li>
<li>Country geo-blocking — block or allow specific countries and regions</li>
<li>Login protection — block high-risk IPs from attempting to log in</li>
<li>Registration protection — stop fraudulent account creation</li>
<li>Comment protection — block spam and bot comments at source</li>
<li>Visitor protection — optionally check all page visitors (with 1-hour caching to minimise API calls)</li>
<li>XML-RPC & REST API protection — extend blocking to XML-RPC calls and REST API requests</li>
<li>Disposable email blocking — reject registrations using throwaway email services</li>
<li>Custom block page — show a branded 403 page instead of the default WordPress error</li>
<li>Whitelist/blacklist — override decisions for individual IPs or CIDR ranges</li>
<li>Threat log — view and export all blocked events with IP, reason, and timestamp</li>
<li>Event tracking — log successful checks for audit and analytics</li>
<li>Settings import/export — back up and restore your configuration as a JSON file</li>
<li>WP-CLI commands — manage whitelists, blacklists, and run IP tests from the command line</li>
</ul>
<h4>Free Tier</h4>
Sign up at <a href="https://predax.io" rel="nofollow ugc">predax.io</a> for a free API key. The free plan includes:
<ul>
<li>1,000 IP checks per day</li>
<li>5,000 IP checks per month</li>
<li>VPN, proxy, Tor, and datacenter detection</li>
<li>Country and region data</li>
</ul>
No credit card required.
<h4>How It Works</h4>
<ol>
<li>You install the plugin, enter an API key, and pick a protection preset during the Setup Wizard (or enable individual protections from Settings → Protection). This is the explicit opt-in — no data leaves the site until you do this.</li>
<li>A visitor makes a request to your site.</li>
<li>Predax checks their IP against the threat intelligence API (results cached for 1 hour per IP).</li>
<li>If the risk score exceeds your threshold, the visitor is blocked with a configurable message.</li>
<li>All block events are logged in the WordPress database for review.</li>
</ol>
<h4>WP-CLI Commands</h4>
<pre><code>wp ipsentry status — show current configuration and threat counts
wp ipsentry test-ip <ip> — run a live API check on any IP
wp ipsentry whitelist add <ip> — add an IP or CIDR to the whitelist
wp ipsentry whitelist remove <ip> — remove from whitelist
wp ipsentry blacklist add <ip> — add an IP or CIDR to the blacklist
wp ipsentry log --limit=20 — view recent threat log entries
</code></pre>
<h3>Third Party Services</h3>
This plugin connects to external services. By installing and activating this plugin you agree to the terms of each service you enable.
<h4>Predax API</h4>
This plugin transmits visitor IP addresses to the Predax API (https://predax.io) for real-time threat detection and risk scoring.
What is sent: The visitor’s IP address, and optionally their timezone (when timezone mismatch detection is enabled and visitor protection is active). 
When it is sent: On each page load, login attempt, registration, or comment submission, subject to your configured protection settings. Results are cached for 1 hour so repeat visits by the same IP do not generate additional API calls. 
Who operates the service: Predax (predax.io) 
Terms of Service: https://predax.io/terms 
Privacy Policy: https://predax.io/privacy
<h4>Community Threat Network (opt-in, disabled by default)</h4>
The Community Threat Network is opt-in and disabled by default. No block or monitor events are sent to the community network unless you enable it yourself in Settings → Predax Security → Advanced.
When — and only when — you explicitly enable it, anonymised block and monitor events (containing: IP address, action taken, block reason, country code, and risk score) are sent to the Predax API at predax.io. This data is used to build a shared threat database that improves detection accuracy for all sites in the network. You can turn community reporting back off at any time in the same settings screen.
<h4>Google reCAPTCHA</h4>
When reCAPTCHA v3 is enabled (Settings → Protection → reCAPTCHA), this plugin loads the reCAPTCHA script from google.com and sends form submission tokens to google.com/recaptcha for verification. Google may collect data according to their privacy policy. You must provide your own reCAPTCHA site key and secret key.
Google Privacy Policy: https://policies.google.com/privacy 
reCAPTCHA Terms: https://policies.google.com/terms
<h4>Browser Fingerprinting</h4>
When browser fingerprint scoring is enabled (Settings → Protection → Fingerprint Scoring), this plugin collects screen resolution, timezone, platform string, WebGL renderer, and plugin count from the visitor’s browser on the login page. Fingerprint data is used locally to score bot likelihood and is stored in WordPress only while the login form is being submitted, then discarded. The visitor’s timezone may be included in the API request to detect timezone mismatch when that feature is enabled.
<h4>Cookies set by this plugin</h4>
All cookies set by this plugin are functional service cookies, not tracking cookies, and are only written when the relevant feature is explicitly enabled by the site administrator:
<ul>
<li><code>ipsentry_tz</code> — carries the visitor’s browser timezone to the Predax API when timezone-mismatch detection is active. Written from <code>ipsentry-tz.js</code> on the front-end. Expires after 24 hours. <code>SameSite=Lax</code>. Only set when an API key is configured AND visitor or login protection is enabled.</li>
<li><code>ips_jsc</code> — JavaScript challenge solve token. Written from <code>js-challenge.js</code> when a visitor passes the challenge. Expires after 24 hours. <code>SameSite=Lax</code>. Only set when the JavaScript Challenge feature is enabled.</li>
</ul>
No tracking or advertising cookies are written by this plugin.
By activating this plugin and entering an API key, you agree to the Predax Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You are responsible for ensuring your use of visitor IP data complies with applicable privacy laws (GDPR, CCPA, etc.) and your own site’s privacy policy.

Predax Security (formerly IPSentry)

Real-time IP threat detection and blocking. Stop VPNs, proxies, Tor, bots, and high-risk IPs before they reach your site.

ReportedIP Hive Light vs Predax Security (formerly IPSentry)