Description
eSherpa Login Guard effectively and intelligently protects your WordPress site from brute-force attacks – Swiss precision, completely without external dependencies.
Key Features:
- Progressive lockout durations: Lockout time automatically doubles on repeat offenses (e.g., 15 30 60 120 minutes).
- Immediate lockout for defined “protected” usernames (e.g., “admin”, “test”) – independent of the normal counter.
- Clear countdown display and “X attempts remaining” notice on the login page.
- Live alarm in the admin overview for new failed attempts (automatic refresh).
- Red badge in the admin menu when IPs are actively locked.
- Detailed logs: Failed attempts with attempted username + successful logins/logouts.
- XML-RPC Honeypot: When XML-RPC is disabled, a fake user list is returned – attackers try these names and immediately trigger lockout.
- Block REST API user endpoint (/wp-json/wp/v2/users hidden).
- Redirect author archives (prevent ?author=1).
- Privacy-compliant: IPs stored only as anonymized hashes.
- Automatic cleanup of old failed attempts (configurable).
- Email notification to admin on attacks against existing users.
Developed in Switzerland – fast, clean, performant, and multilingual ready.
Compatible with WordPress 6.9 and PHP 8.3.
Screenshots
Lockout message with large countdown and plugin credit 
Early warning on login page with remaining attempts 
Admin overview with currently locked IPs, live alarm, and unblock option 
Detailed logs of failed attempts (including attempted username) 
Successful logins & logouts in separate view
Installation
- Search for the plugin in “Plugins Add New” or upload and activate.
- Optional: Adjust settings under “Login Guard” in the admin menu (e.g., max failed attempts, base lockout time, protected usernames).
- Done – protection runs automatically.
FAQ
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How are IPs stored?
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Only as anonymized MD5 hashes – no plain-text IPs in the database (GDPR-compliant).
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Can I manually unblock IPs?
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Yes – directly in the admin overview with one click (counter is reset).
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Does it work with caching plugins?
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Yes – protection hooks early on wp-login.php, before caching.
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What happens on successful login?
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All counters and locks for that IP are immediately cleared.
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Can I still use XML-RPC?
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Yes – simply disable the option. When enabled, XML-RPC is fully disabled and a honeypot is activated.
Reviews
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Contributors & Developers
“eSherpa Login Guard” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Translate “eSherpa Login Guard” into your language.
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
2.5.4
- Fix: Immediate lockout for protected usernames (honeypot usernames) was setting back attemts and multipliers
- Sort by IP -> Better overview for single IP hashs.
- Improved design for mobile
2.5.1
- Immediate lockout for protected usernames (honeypot usernames)
- Live alarm for new failed attempts on admin page
- Email notification on attacks against existing users
- Extended XML-RPC honeypot with configurable fake users
- Automatic cleanup of old failed attempts
- Improved design and many detail enhancements
2.1.1
- Full multilingual support (DE/EN/FR/IT)
- Confirmed compatibility with WordPress 6.9 and PHP 8.3
- Minor optimizations
2.0
- Introduced progressive lockout times
- Admin menu with red badge for active locks
- Improved user guidance
1.0
- Initial stable release