by
Maroon Horizon Ltd (Vladimir Marusic)
5 (1 reviews)
MH Smart Firewall – Security, Malware Scanner & Login Protection
Firewall, malware scan & IP blocking for WordPress, with Quick Scan Overall Security Rating, hardening, quarantine and integrity checks. PRO adds AI.
MH Smart Firewall ranks #63,331 among WordPress.org plugins with 0+ active installations, is #3,855 of 5,058 in the Security category, a 5/5 rating from 1 reviews, and was last updated Oct 29, 2026. Data from WordPress.org, refreshed twice daily — see methodology.
Compatible with WP 7.1.4
v1.8.17
Current Version v1.8.17
Updated 1 week ago
Last Update on 29 Oct, 2026
Refreshed 1 week ago
Last Refreshed on
#3,855 of 5,058 in Security
Downloads -79.1% this week
Actively maintained
Rank
#63,331
—
No change
Active Installs
0+
-100%
KW Avg Position
123.5
—
No change
Downloads
825
+2 today
Support Resolved
0%
—
No change
Rating
100%
Review 5 out of 5
5
(1 reviews)
Next Milestone 10
0+
10+
35,763
Ranks to Climb
-
Growth Needed
8,000,000
Active Installs
Pro
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Need 8 more installs to reach 10+
Rank Changes
Current
#63,331
Change
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#
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Downloads
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Peak
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Upgrade NowReviews & Ratings
5.0
1 reviews
Overall
100%
5
1
(100%)
4
0
(0%)
3
0
(0%)
2
0
(0%)
1
0
(0%)
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- Version
- 1.8.17
- Last Updated
- Oct 29, 2026
- Requires WP
- 6.0+
- Tested Up To
- 7.1.4
- PHP Version
- 7.4 or higher
Support & Rating
- Rating
- ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 5
- Reviews
- 1
- Support Threads
- 0
- Resolved
- 0%
Keywords
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Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about MH Smart Firewall – Security, Malware Scanner & Login Protection
Most FREE features run locally and do not require third-party services. The only outbound requests made by this WordPress.org (FREE) build are disclosed in the "External Services" section above (the Core Integrity Scan checksums request you start, and the Freemius checkout if you open "Upgrade to PRO"). The free version has no opt-in and shares no usage or diagnostic data.
No. Malware scans run locally on your server. The plugin reports findings inside the WordPress admin.
The firewall settings and hardening toggles are lightweight. Malware scans do work on the server, so it’s best to run scans during low-traffic periods on shared hosting.
The FREE scanner targets uploads and theme directories using local pattern detection, and the Quick File Integrity Check compares WordPress core files with the official WordPress.org checksums. Findings are reported in the admin UI and can be quarantined.
Security scanning is conservative by design. Review findings before taking action, and use restore from quarantine if needed. An ignored file stays ignored only while it is unchanged.
Yes. The free version scores only what it can fix or what you can confirm yourself; PRO-only features never cost free users points.
PRO functionality is provided by a separate commercial plugin (not included in this WordPress.org build). Licensing and delivery are handled by Freemius. After buying PRO from the plugin's upgrade page, a short guide appears: download PRO, then upload and activate it. When PRO is activated it switches this free version off, takes over your license automatically and keeps all your settings. The PRO plugin also downloads a daily, digitally signed threat feed and malware signatures from Maroon Horizon (mh.ie); this WordPress.org build does not. Learn more: https://mh.ie/maroon-horizon-smart-firewall/
Yes, automatically. When a visit really comes through Cloudflare, the plugin uses the visitor's real address that Cloudflare reports - for blocked IPs, the Login Guard and the PRO Threat Feed. It recognises Cloudflare by Cloudflare's published address list, which is included in the plugin (nothing is downloaded), and ignores the same header from anyone else. Other CDNs are not recognised yet.
After five failed logins, the Login Guard locks that address out of the login page for 30 minutes. You do not have to wait: On the login page, click "Administrator? Get an unlock link by e-mail" and enter your administrator user name or e-mail address. The link works once, for 15 minutes. Another administrator can unlock you in Smart Firewall > Settings > Login Guard (Unlock / Unlock all). No e-mail access? Add define( 'MHSF_LOGIN_GUARD_OFF', true ); to wp-config.php over FTP, log in, then remove the line again.
No. A daily clean-up deletes quarantined files after 30 days (max 50 MB), scan reports after 30 days (the newest 5 are kept) and old scan jobs after 24 hours. Expired login-failure records are removed every hour; Settings > Storage & clean-up shows the last clean-up.
