7thSky Live Visitor Monitor – Real-Time Visitor Monitoring with Smart IP Blocking Reviews, Downloads & Maintenance

Live Visitor Monitor provides real-time tracking and visualization of visitors on your WordPress site. See where your visitors are coming from on an interactive world map.

Key Features:

Real-time World Map – Visualize visitor locations on an interactive map with live markers
Live Visitor List – See active visitors with IP addresses, countries, cities, and pages visited in a sidebar
IP Blocking – Instantly block unwanted IP addresses from accessing your site with a dedicated Blocklist page
Geolocation – Automatic country, region, and city detection using IP geolocation (API or local database)
Auto-refresh – Dashboard updates every 5 seconds to show the latest visitors
Statistics Overlay – Real-time stats box showing online and active visitor counts
Comprehensive Settings – Full control over tracking, geolocation, privacy, and data management
Privacy Compliant – Includes GDPR compliance notices and IP anonymization options

How It Works:

The plugin automatically tracks visitors. Visitor data (IP address, current page, referrer) is sent to WordPress via AJAX and stored in the database. Geolocation data can be fetched from ip-api.com (external API) or from a local MaxMind GeoLite2 database. Results are cached for 1 hour to reduce API calls.

Privacy & Security:

All inputs are sanitized and validated
SQL queries use prepared statements
Admin-only access to visitor data
GDPR compliance notice included
IP blocking prevents access at the WordPress level
Option to disable geolocation to avoid external API calls
Support for local GeoIP database (MaxMind GeoLite2) to avoid external dependencies
IP anonymization option for enhanced privacy

External Resources

This plugin uses JavaScript Library & the following external resources:

Geolocation API: This service performs IP geolocation (country, region, city, coordinates) when geolocation is enabled and no local database is available. It supports 45 requests per minute, caches results for one hour, and sends IP addresses to ip-api.com. To avoid external lookups, disable geolocation or use a local MaxMind GeoLite2 database.

OpenStreetMap: This service provides world map tiles for the dashboard and is used only when the live map is enabled. It has no rate limits, sends no user data (only map tile requests), and can be avoided by disabling the live map in Settings.

Note: All external requests can be avoided by disabling geolocation and the live map in Settings. The plugin will still track visitors, but without location data and map visualization.

Settings

The plugin includes a comprehensive settings page with two main sections:

General Settings:
Live Map – Enable/disable the world map display on dashboard
Data Collection – Enable/disable visitor tracking entirely
IP Anonymization – Anonymize IP addresses before storage (GDPR compliance)
Exclude Logged-in Users – Do not track WordPress logged-in users
Geolocation – Enable/disable IP geolocation lookups
Use Local GeoIP Database – Use MaxMind GeoLite2 database instead of external API

Access settings via Live Monitor > Settings in the WordPress admin menu.

Installation

Install directly from WordPress Repository:

Go to Plugins > Add New in your WordPress dashboard and search for Live Visitor Monitor.
Click Install Now, then Activate.
Navigate to Live Monitor in the admin menu to access the dashboard.
Configure your preferences in Live Monitor > Settings, including tracking, geolocation, and privacy options.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often does the map update?

The dashboard automatically refreshes every 5 seconds to show the latest active visitors. You can also manually refresh using the refresh button.

What defines an “active” visitor?

Visitors are considered active if they have visited within the last 5 minutes. This helps filter out stale data and focus on current traffic.

How does IP blocking work?

When you block an IP address, the plugin checks every page load and prevents access with a 403 error. Blocked IPs are stored in the database and persist across sessions.

Is geolocation data accurate?

Geolocation accuracy depends on the IP geolocation service used. When using ip-api.com (external API), accuracy is generally good for country-level data, but city-level data may vary. The plugin caches results for 1 hour to reduce API calls. For better accuracy and no rate limits, you can use a local MaxMind GeoLite2 database.

What external services does this plugin use?

See the “External Resources” section above for complete details. The plugin uses:
* ip-api.com – For geolocation lookups (optional, can be disabled)
* OpenStreetMap – For map tiles (optional, can be disabled)

The geolocation and map services can be completely avoided by disabling geolocation and the live map in Settings. The plugin will continue to track visitors without location data or map visualization.

Does this work with caching plugins?

The tracking script runs in the footer, so it should work with most caching plugins. However, if you’re using aggressive page caching, you may need to exclude the tracking script from cache.

What data is collected?

The plugin collects: IP address, country, region, city, latitude/longitude, current page URL, referrer URL, and user agent. This data is stored in your WordPress database. Geolocation lookups may be sent to ip-api.com (if enabled and not using local database). You can disable geolocation entirely in Settings to avoid any external API calls.

How does caching work?

Geolocation results are cached using WordPress transients for 1 hour. This means:
* The same IP address will only trigger one API call per hour
* Cached results are served instantly without external requests
* Cache is automatically cleared after 1 hour
* This significantly reduces API usage and improves performance

What database tables are created?

The plugin creates two database tables on activation:
* wp_lvmon8s_visitors – Stores visitor tracking data (IP, location, page, time, etc.)
* wp_lvmon8s_blocked – Stores blocked IP addresses

Both tables are automatically removed when the plugin is uninstalled.

Can I exclude certain user roles from tracking?

Currently, the plugin can exclude all logged-in WordPress users. Role-specific exclusions may be added in future versions.

What happens when I disable data collection?

When data collection is disabled:
* No visitor tracking occurs
* No data is stored in the database
* The dashboard will show no visitors
* The tracking script is not injected into pages

How do I set up a local GeoIP database?

Install the GeoIP2 PHP library: composer require geoip2/geoip2
Download GeoLite2-City.mmdb from MaxMind (requires free account)
Upload the file to: wp-content/uploads/lvmon8s-geoip/GeoLite2-City.mmdb
Enable “Use Local GeoIP Database” in Settings

Note: The GeoIP2 library must be installed at the WordPress root level or via Composer autoloader.

Review feed

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Screenshots

Interactive world map showing visitor locations with markers
Blocklist page with all blocked IPs and unblock options
Settings page with vertical menu navigation (General Settings and Data Management)
Data Management page

Changelog

1.0.0
* Initial release with real-time visitor tracking

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