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VPN Guard – Block VPN, Proxy, Bots & Anonymous Visitors icon
Maintained Tested up to 6.9.10

VPN Guard – Block VPN, Proxy, Bots & Anonymous Visitors

Ultimate VPN/Proxy Shield Blocker! Real-time IP defense. Target Anything: Logins, Checkout, Post Types, URLs & more!. 1000 Free Daily API Checks!

Active installs200+100+ tier
Downloads · 30d195▲ +23.4% vs prev. 30d
Rating5/58 reviews
Health score53/100Fair
All-time downloads2.3KSince Jul 2025
Support resolved—No recent threads
RequiresWP 5.5PHP 7.4+
Downloads · 7d51▲ +24.4% week over week
Our verdict

Use with caution

VPN Guard works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 8 months ago, and scores 53/100 on our health check.

  • Small user base (200+ active installs)
  • Only tested up to WordPress 6.9 (latest is 7.1)

How does it stack up?

Side-by-side on installs, updates, ratings & support

Daily downloads

4914Jul 9Aug 22Oct 6
Yesterday8
Daily average (1y)6
Peak day117Feb 4, 2026
Last 12 months2.1K

Download spikes usually follow a new release — each site that auto-updates counts as a download.

Rankings

Where VPN Guard stands today

WordPress.org search rankings

Live position in the plugin search, top 100
KeywordPositionCompeting pluginsCategory
block >100 10,000 Best block plugins →
blocker #90 675 Best blocker plugins →
bots #44 3,138 Best bots plugins →
proxy #13 1,772 Best proxy plugins →
vpn #2 162 Best vpn plugins →

Version adoption

Share of active sites per release.

  • 1.0100.0%

Rating breakdown

★★★★★★★★★★ 5 from 8 reviews

  • 5★100.0%
  • 4★0.00%
  • 3★0.00%
  • 2★0.00%
  • 1★0.00%

About VPN Guard

From the official readme · v1.0.5

Description

VPN Guard is the ultimate freemium WordPress plugin to help you block VPNs, proxies, and other anonymizing networks frequently leveraged by unwanted bots and suspicious traffic in real-time — no subscription required.

It uses the powerful vpnapi.io engine to scan visitors’ IP addresses and instantly block connections flagged as VPN, Proxy, Tor, or Relay—and your free account includes 1,000 API requests per day! This helps protect your site from various threats that hide behind these anonymization layers.

And here’s the game-changer: YOU decide the battlefield!

Want to shield your entire site? Done.

Need to protect just your login page, WooCommerce checkout, specific posts, or even the entire /wp-admin/ area?

VPN Guard gives you pinpoint control with its advanced targeting rules.

> 💡 Premium-grade features, no premium price. Unlock serious protection with granular control, without spending a dime.

✅ Features You’ll Love

  • ✨ NEW! Block Page Preview & Test Tab – See exactly what your blocked users see and get tips for testing your setup!
  • 🎯 NEW! LASER-FOCUSED TARGETING! – Why block everything when you can block SMARTER?
  • Full Site Protection: Shield your entire WordPress site with one click.
  • Specific Areas Only: Create custom rules to protect:
    – Individual Post / Page ID(s)
    – Entire Post Types (e.g., all “products”, all “articles”, or your custom post types)
    – URLs based on Contains, Starts With, or Exact Match
    – Critical WooCommerce Pages (Cart, Checkout, My Account)
    – Essential WordPress Pages (Login Page, Registration Page)
    – The entire WordPress Admin Area (/wp-admin/)
  • 🔍 VPN & Proxy Detection – Block anonymized traffic (VPN, Proxy, Tor, Relay) using trusted IP intelligence. Enhanced IP validation logic.
  • 🛡️ Mitigate Unwanted Traffic – Helps reduce access from scrapers and unwanted bots that often operate through the types of anonymizing networks detected by the API.
  • 🔐 WordPress Login Security – Harden your admin and login endpoints (now even more precise with targeting!)
  • 🛒 WooCommerce Checkout Protection – Reduce fraud and suspicious orders by blocking high-risk anonymized connections.
  • 🧠 Smart Role Bypasses – Let trusted roles skip blocking rules.
  • ⏰ Scheduled Blocking – Only apply blocking rules at certain hours or days. Improved scheduler logic.
  • 📋 View Blocked Logs – Review recent blocked IPs, URLs, and detection reasons. User Agent and Referer now included in CSV export.
  • 📤 Export to CSV – One-click export for audit logs or compliance. Log export functionality restored and improved.
  • ✅ IP Whitelist – Allow specific IPs even if flagged by the detection service.

– 🛡️ Admin Panel Status Notice – Optional notice in your dashboard, with refined styling and more robust status display.

🧠 Ideal For

  • Bloggers looking to protect login and admin access with precision.
  • WooCommerce stores wanting to secure checkout or specific product categories from risky traffic.
  • Membership sites and online courses needing to protect premium content areas.
  • Publishers battling fake traffic or content scrapers on high-value articles or sections.
  • Any WordPress site that needs smarter, targeted access control against anonymized and potentially malicious traffic.

🚀 Why Choose VPN Guard?

While other security or VPN-blocking plugins lock core features or charge extra for flexibility, VPN Guard gives you true freemium access with unparalleled control:

  • ✅ 100% free with generous API usage for detecting VPNs, Proxies, Tor, and Relays.
  • 🎯 Powerful targeting rules at no extra cost!
  • 🔓 Key features without nagging upsells.
  • 📈 Designed for performance, speed, and SEO safety. Enhanced stability and security in the latest update.
    > 💥 Use it standalone or alongside other security tools like Wordfence, iThemes Security, All In One WP Security, and more! VPN Guard’s targeting complements them perfectly.

🔌 Integrations & Compatibility

  • ✅ Fully compatible with WooCommerce (target cart, checkout, account pages)
  • ✅ Works with popular caching plugins
  • ✅ Integrates with any WordPress theme or builder
  • ✅ Safe for use with CDNs and Cloudflare

📦 API Details

VPN Guard uses vpnapi.io — a modern and reliable IP intelligence service.
The API response includes flags for:
– VPN: Is the IP a VPN?
– Proxy: Is the IP a Proxy?
– Tor: Is the IP a Tor exit node?
– Relay: Is the IP part of a relay network?
(The API may also provide a “hosting” flag indicating a datacenter/hosting IP, which contributes to identifying non-residential traffic, though VPN Guard’s primary blocking is based on the above explicit flags).

  • 🆓 Free plan includes 1,000 requests per day
  • 🚀 Easy upgrade options available (no commitment)
  • 🔐 GDPR compliant, fast response times, and global coverage

You’ll be prompted to add your free API key inside the plugin settings.

💬 Support

Got questions or feature requests? Reach out from the plugin’s built-in feedback form or at https://vpndeals.com/wordpress-plugins/vpn-guard/

External Services

This plugin utilizes the vpnapi.io service to perform real-time IP address analysis. This is essential for the plugin’s core functionality of detecting and blocking traffic from VPNs, proxies, Tor networks, and relays.

  • Service Provider: vpnapi.io
  • Purpose: To identify the nature of a visitor’s IP address (VPN, proxy, Tor, relay) to enable blocking or restriction based on your plugin settings, thereby enhancing website security and integrity.
  • Data Sent: When a visitor accesses a page or area of your site that is actively protected by VPN Guard (and the result for their IP is not already cached locally or if the IP is not whitelisted), the visitor’s IP address is sent to the vpnapi.io service for analysis.
  • Service Terms of Use: https://vpnapi.io/terms
  • Service Privacy Policy: https://vpnapi.io/privacy

Privacy Considerations

VPN Guard is designed with user and site visitor privacy in mind. Here’s how we handle data:

  • Visitor IP Addresses: To protect your site, VPN Guard processes the IP addresses of your site visitors. As detailed in the “External Services” section, visitor IP addresses may be sent to the vpnapi.io service for analysis.
  • Data Logging: If a visitor’s IP address is blocked, VPN Guard will store the following information in your local WordPress database: the visitor’s IP address, the date and time of the block, the detection reason (e.g., “VPN”), the URL the visitor attempted to access, their browser user agent, and the HTTP referer. This data is for your security logging and review purposes. You have an option in the plugin settings to delete all plugin data, including these logs, upon uninstallation.
  • Cookies: VPN Guard’s core IP blocking functionality does not set any cookies on your website visitors’ browsers.
  • Site Administrator Data (Feedback Form): If you choose to send feedback to us via the plugin’s built-in feedback form, it will include your WordPress admin email, site URL, and technical details (plugin version, WP version, PHP version) to help us provide support. This is explicitly stated on the feedback form itself.

* Your Website’s Privacy Policy: We recommend that you update your website’s privacy policy to inform your users about the data processing activities performed by VPN Guard, including the use of the vpnapi.io service and the local logging of blocked IP addresses.

Installation

  1. Upload the vpn-guard (or your plugin folder name) directory to /wp-content/plugins/ or install the plugin through the WordPress plugins screen directly.
  2. Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ screen in WordPress.
  3. Go to VPN Guard in the WP Admin sidebar (the menu slug will be vpngd_main_settings or similar after prefixing).
  4. Enter your free API key from vpnapi.io in the “Main Settings” tab.
  5. Head to the “Targeting” tab to set up your protection rules! Choose “Entire Site” or “Specific Areas Only” and define your rules.
  6. Configure other settings like schedule and whitelist as needed.
  7. Save and protect 🚀

Frequently asked questions

Is VPN Guard really free?

Yes. You can use VPN Guard for free with up to 1,000 API requests per day via vpnapi.io to detect VPNs, Proxies, Tor, and Relays, including all its powerful targeting features. If you need more API calls, upgrades are available.

Will this slow down my site?

No. VPN Guard is lightweight. When using targeted protection, it only performs checks on the specific areas you define, making it even more efficient. Compatible with caching plugins and CDNs.

Can I whitelist specific IPs or users?

Yes. You can add IP addresses to the whitelist or allow certain WordPress user roles to bypass checks, regardless of your targeting rules.

Does this work with WooCommerce?

Absolutely. You can specifically target your WooCommerce cart, checkout, and account pages, or even individual product post types if needed. VPN Guard helps protect store owners from transactions originating from high-risk anonymized networks.

Can I see what’s being blocked?

Yes. The Logs tab shows the latest blocked IPs with full details, including the reason (e.g., VPN, Proxy). You can export them as CSV (now including User Agent and Referer).

Does it work with other security plugins?

Yes! VPN Guard plays well with plugins like Wordfence, iThemes Security, and others. Its targeting can add a focused layer of protection against anonymized traffic.

How do the targeting rules work?

In the “Targeting” tab, you can choose to protect your entire site or only specific areas. If you choose “Specific Areas,” you can add multiple rules. For example, you can protect all posts of type “Product” AND the specific page with ID “123” AND any URL containing “/members-only/”. The plugin checks if the current page matches any of your defined rules for “Specific Areas” mode.

What is the shortcode for displaying stats?

You can display blocking statistics on your site using the [vpngd_blocker_stats] shortcode. Attributes include period (today, week, month) and show_icon (true/false).

Screenshots

Main Settings: Configure core plugin status, API key, IP whitelist, allowed user roles, and admin notice display.
Main Settings: Configure core plugin status, API key, IP whitelist, allowed user roles…
Targeting Rules: Define precisely where VPN protection applies – entire site or specific areas using various rule types.
Targeting Rules: Define precisely where VPN protection applies – entire site or specific…
Preview & Test Tab: Live preview your block page and find guidance for testing your VPN Guard setup.
Preview & Test Tab: Live preview your block page and find guidance for testing your VPN…
Extra Settings: Manage miscellaneous options like the footer badge and data deletion on uninstall.
Extra Settings: Manage miscellaneous options like the footer badge and data deletion on…
Scheduler: Set up specific days and hours for when VPN blocking should be active.
Scheduler: Set up specific days and hours for when VPN blocking should be active.
Logs Viewer: Review recently blocked IPs, including details like time, reason, URL, and perform actions like whitelisting.
Logs Viewer: Review recently blocked IPs, including details like time, reason, URL, and…
Stats Panel: View statistics of blocked IPs over different time periods (Today, Yesterday, This Week, etc.).
Stats Panel: View statistics of blocked IPs over different time periods (Today…
VPN Guard – Block VPN, Proxy, Bots & Anonymous Visitors screenshot

For developers

Is this your plugin? Show off the numbers.

Add a live badge to your site, docs or GitHub README. It updates on its own — no account needed.

Active installs badge Rating badge Health score badge

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FAQ

VPN Guard: quick answers

Straight answers, pulled from live WordPress.org data.

Live data from WordPress.org · checked Oct 7, 2026

Is VPN Guard free?

Yes. VPN Guard is free to download and use from the official WordPress.org plugin directory.

Is VPN Guard safe to use in 2026?

VPN Guard works, but test it on a staging site before relying on it in 2026. It runs on 200+ sites, is rated 5/5 and was last updated 8 months ago, and scores 53/100 on our health check.

How many websites use VPN Guard?

VPN Guard is active on 200+ WordPress websites and has been downloaded 2,338 times since it launched in July 2025. It was downloaded 195 times in the last 30 days.

Does VPN Guard work with WordPress 7.1?

VPN Guard is officially tested up to WordPress 6.9.10, while the latest release is 7.1.3. It may still work, but try it on a staging site first.

What PHP version does VPN Guard need?

VPN Guard requires PHP 7.4 or higher. Most hosts run PHP 8.x today, so it works on any modern WordPress hosting.

When was VPN Guard last updated?

The latest version, 1.0.5, was released on February 3, 2026 (8 months ago).

Who makes VPN Guard?

VPN Guard is developed and maintained by vpndeals.

What are the best alternatives to VPN Guard?

The most popular alternatives to VPN Guard are Spectra Legacy (1M+ installs), Breadcrumb NavXT (800K+ installs) and PDF Embedder (300K+ installs).

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