Fail2ban Alternatives

Fail2ban is described as 'scans log files (e.g. /var/log/apache/error_log) and bans IPs that show the malicious signs -- too many password failures, seeking for exploits, etc. Generally Fail2Ban is then used to update firewall rules to reject the IP addresses for a specified amount of time' and is a Firewall in the security & privacy category. There are more than 10 alternatives to Fail2ban for a variety of platforms, including Windows, Linux, Self-Hosted, Mac and Web-based apps. The best Fail2ban alternative is CrowdSec. It's not free, so if you're looking for a free alternative, you could try SSHGuard or Denyhosts. Other great apps like Fail2ban are IPBanPro, SpyLog, Hookem-Banem and Cyberarms Intrusion Detection and Defense.

Fail2ban alternatives are mainly Firewalls but may also be Remote Desktop Tools. Filter by these if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Fail2ban.

Fail2ban alternatives page was last updated

Fail2ban

Free • Open Source
Firewall
Linux

Fail2ban scans log files (e.g. /var/log/apache/error_log) and bans IPs that show the malicious signs -- too many password...

Learn more about Fail2ban

CrowdSec
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free Personal • Open Source
Firewall
Linux
Self-Hosted
4 CrowdSec alternatives
CrowdSec is a cybersecurity automation engine, leveraging the unique combination of local IP behavior & global reputation features.
- - CrowdSec is the most popular Linux & Self-Hosted alternative to Fail2ban.
- - CrowdSec is the most popular Open Source & free alternative to Fail2ban.
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CrowdSec Features
1. Privacy focusedCrowdSec is considered a privacy friendly alternative.
2. Ad-freeCrowdSec doesn't contain any form of external advertising.
3. CrowdsourcedCrowdSec uses suggestions, information, etc., from a large group of people to improve the quality of the content.
Golang
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SSHGuard
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Firewall
Mac
Linux
14 SSHGuard alternatives
SSHGuard monitors services through their logging activity. It reacts to messages about dangerous activity by blocking the source address with the local firewall. SSHGuard employs a clever parser that can transparently recognize several logging formats at once (syslog, syslog-ng...
- - SSHGuard is the most popular Mac alternative to Fail2ban.
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SSHGuard Features
SSH
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Comments about SSHGuard as a Alternative to Fail2ban
Most users think SSHGuard is a great Fail2ban alternative.
Guest
Easier to configure, and no errors like Fail2Ban!
Positive comment•
-3
IPBanPro
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Open Source
Firewall
Remote Desktop Tool
Windows
Linux
13 IPBanPro alternatives
A FREE and open source application that allows auto banning ip addresses from failed login attempts. Many sources are watched such as SSH, SMTP, SQL-Server, MySQL, RDP and dropped packets.
- - IPBanPro is the most popular Windows alternative to Fail2ban.
- - IPBanPro is the most popular commercial alternative to Fail2ban.
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IPBanPro Features
SSH
SMTP Support
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Comments about IPBanPro as a Alternative to Fail2ban
Most users think IPBanPro is a great Fail2ban alternative.
Guest
Free and works on Windows, easy to setup
Positive comment•
1
Denyhosts
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Linux
16 Denyhosts alternatives
The idea of denying access to SSH servers is nothing new and I was inspired by many other scripts that I discovered. However, none of them did things the way I envisioned them to. Also, they were all shell scripts which do not offer the elegance of Python.
Denyhosts has no features, suggest some!
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SpyLog
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Remote Desktop Tool
Windows
17 SpyLog alternatives
Monitor logs from several sources and execute actions based on some rules. Can be used to protecet against brute-force attacks
SpyLog has no features, suggest some!
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Hookem-Banem
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Firewall
Linux
Self-Hosted
8 Hookem-Banem alternatives
Built to react fast in server farms environments (ISPs, HSPs, organisations...) Hookem-Banem is a log monitoring system which monitors logs being sent to a central server (syslog, file...) and on detection of malicious intent (repeated login failures, many failed RCPT commands...
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Hookem-Banem Features
Distributed
Support for IPv6
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Cyberarms Intrusion Detection and Defense
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Windows
13 Cyberarms Intrusion Detection and Defense alternatives
Out-of-the-box security for Remote Deskop, Exchange, OWA, SharePoint, CRM, generic IIS applications and many other server systems.
Cyberarms Intrusion Detection and Defense has no features, suggest some!
Discontinued
Software has been set open-source and abandoned by the main developer. Seems a very good detector but fails to successfully stop attacks. When I have it set to block IPs after 5 failed attempts I shouldn't see multiple entries showing 300 attempts by the same IP addresses.
Sentry (Bruteforce attack blocker)
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Firewall
Mac
Linux
BSD
3 Sentry (Bruteforce attack blocker) alternatives
Prevents Brute Force Attacks Against SSH, FTP, SMTP and More.
Sentry (Bruteforce attack blocker) has no features, suggest some!
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RdpGuard
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Paid • Proprietary
Remote Desktop Tool
Windows
15 RdpGuard alternatives
RdpGuard allows you to protect your Remote Desktop (RDP) from brute-force attacks by blocking attacker's IP address. Fail2Ban for Windows.
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RdpGuard Features
RDP
Comments about RdpGuard as a Alternative to Fail2ban
pros, cons and recent comments
Guest
Reliable, high detection ratio, actively developed and supported.
Positive comment•
0
Pyruse
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Linux
Self-Hosted
5 Pyruse alternatives
Light-weight and extra-configurable peruser of systemd journal logs: ban IP, send immediate email, daily report… all based on a single JSON configuration file.
Pyruse has no features, suggest some!
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Comments about Pyruse as a Alternative to Fail2ban
pros, cons and recent comments
altyvnet
Customizable. Well-defined behaviour. Modern.
Positive comment•
0
IPQ BDB
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Firewall
Linux
11 IPQ BDB alternatives
IPQ BDB filtering is done by a user space netfilter daemon that issues verdicts after looking up the IP address in a Berkeley DB. The fuzzy blocking model, freely inspired by STOCKADE, is designed to block non-distributed dictionary attacks and mitigate spam.
IPQ BDB has no features, suggest some!
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Comments about IPQ BDB as a Alternative to Fail2ban
pros, cons and recent comments
Guest
Lightweight code and compact storage
Positive comment•
1

Guest
This App blocks only unauthorized access to the Berkeley DB
Negative comment•
-1
tallow
Is this is a good alternative?
Yes
No
Free • Open Source
Linux
4 tallow alternatives
Tallow is a fail2ban/lard replacement that uses systemd's native journal API to scan for attempted ssh logins, and issues temporary IP bans for clients that violate certain login patterns.
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tallow Features
SSH
Support for TOR
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