81
Defender Security – Malware Scanner, Login Security & Firewall
A lean security guard that occasionally shouts too much in your dashboard.
HealthyDeclining
81/100
This lightweight security tool works well despite some annoying admin notices and plugin conflicts.
Active installs
~85,000
our estimate · wp.org shows 80k+
Rating
4.8★
333 ratings
Trend · vs a year ago
-13%
Declining
498 → 432 installs/day
Downloads over time
real new installs per day · release spikes shown separately from the trend2025-04-302025-08-082025-11-162026-02-232026-06-03
organicrelease spikerelease tailorganic trend · 14d rolling median
Declining · -13% in the last year
498/day a year ago→432/day today
Reviews
what people actually sayDefender Security is well-regarded as a capable, lightweight WordPress security plugin with an accessible free tier, though it draws complaints about intrusive admin notices outside its own settings pages and a confirmed conflict with Elementor Pro introduced in version 5.10.0.
What people like
- +Considered a strong alternative to heavier security plugins like Wordfence, with users actively switching to it×2
- +Country blocking feature praised for effectively protecting sites
- +Described as easy to set up and user-friendly×2
- +Successfully resolves malware problems for users
- +Pro version pricing seen as affordable compared to competitors
Common complaints
- −Displays nagging admin notices outside of its own plugin settings pages, creating a poor UX
- −Conflicts with Elementor Pro, causing it to switch to safe mode (since 5.10.0)
Review trustReviews look organic
- 4.83★Verified rating — holds steady vs the raw 4.80★
- 16%One-shot reviewers — most reviewers are active community members
Reviews per month · 5★ vs lower
2023-07-202025-01-102026-06-04
5★ reviews1–4★ reviews
All-time ratings · 333 total
Latest reviews · 90 analyzed
- 2026-04-30★★★★★Does the job even at the free levelNigel Parry
- 2026-04-30★★★★★Really defendszebracrossing
- 2026-04-18★★★★★Best security plugin ever!maca8291
- 2026-03-19★★★★★Excellent appivanhomecom
- 2026-03-15★★★★★Defender 5.10.0Mykola Kolos
- 2026-03-04★★★★★Very good and secure!lwloingo1-shot
- 2026-02-28★★★★★Best Malware help and comprehensive support – love itrohitsinghvi2006
- 2026-01-25★★★★★Awesome Pluginshaileshbhardwaj
- 2026-01-16★★★★★Seguridadraulebarrios
- 2025-12-03★★★★★Nagging notices outside of plugin pagestech0925
Releases
recent versions from WordPress.org SVNAlternatives to Defender Security
Top Security plugins, ranked by score.For developers & the curious
the raw signals behind the grade — none of this is on the friendly summary aboveDownload signals
Baselines are computed on organic days only — release spikes and their tails are excluded, so they're not inflated by the auto-update wave.
378
Baseline · median of last 7 organic days
466
Prior 7-day baseline
287
Floor · 25th percentile over 14 days
1,261
Mean release-day peak (30d)
378
Latest day · 2026-06-03(organic)
-18.9%
Week-over-week organic trend
Review signals
Concentration and drive-by metrics drive the review-burst and fake-review flags. 30–40% solo reviewers is normal; we only flag the extremes.
8%
Max month share · biggest single 30-day window
0.73
Distribution CV · <0.6 even, >1.5 bursty
93%
5★ share in analyzed sample
16%
Solo reviewers · only this one wp.org activity
-10%
Volume velocity · last 6mo vs prior 6mo
4.86 → 4.83★
Sample avg · raw → solo-filtered