Denyhosts vs Fail2ban

Struggling to choose between Denyhosts and Fail2ban? Both products offer unique advantages, making it a tough decision.

Denyhosts is a Security & Privacy solution with tags like ssh, security, authentication, ip-blocking.

It boasts features such as Blocks IP addresses that make too many failed SSH login attempts, Adds blocked IP addresses to /etc/hosts.deny file, Open source program written in Python, Works on Linux and Unix-based systems, Configurable thresholds for blocking IPs, Whitelist to prevent blocking valid users, Daemon mode for continuous monitoring, Email alerts when IPs are blocked and pros including Easy to install and configure, Effective at preventing brute force SSH attacks, Lightweight and low resource usage, Automatically blocks attackers without admin intervention, Open source with active development community.

On the other hand, Fail2ban is a Security & Privacy product tagged with brute-force-attack-prevention, login-failure-banning, intrusion-prevention.

Its standout features include Bans IP addresses that attempt too many failed logins, Monitors log files for failed login attempts, Highly configurable to work with many services like SSH, SMTP, HTTP, etc, Easy to install and configure, Written in Python, Cross-platform - works on Linux, BSD, and some Unix systems, and it shines with pros like Free and open source, Effective at preventing brute force attacks, Lightweight and low resource usage, Easy to set up and get running quickly, Very customizable via jail configuration files, Active community support.

To help you make an informed decision, we've compiled a comprehensive comparison of these two products, delving into their features, pros, cons, pricing, and more. Get ready to explore the nuances that set them apart and determine which one is the perfect fit for your requirements.

Denyhosts

Denyhosts

DenyHosts is an open-source program designed to help system administrators thwart SSH server attacks by blocking IP addresses using failed authentication attempts to detect attackers. It adds IP addresses to the system's /etc/hosts.deny file when it identifies too many failed SSH attempts.

Categories:
ssh security authentication ip-blocking

Denyhosts Features

  1. Blocks IP addresses that make too many failed SSH login attempts
  2. Adds blocked IP addresses to /etc/hosts.deny file
  3. Open source program written in Python
  4. Works on Linux and Unix-based systems
  5. Configurable thresholds for blocking IPs
  6. Whitelist to prevent blocking valid users
  7. Daemon mode for continuous monitoring
  8. Email alerts when IPs are blocked

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Easy to install and configure

Effective at preventing brute force SSH attacks

Lightweight and low resource usage

Automatically blocks attackers without admin intervention

Open source with active development community

Cons

Can block valid users if thresholds are too low

Requires some Linux sysadmin knowledge to configure

Only protects SSH, not other services

Blocked IPs are not permanently banned


Fail2ban

Fail2ban

Fail2ban is an open source intrusion prevention software framework that protects computer servers from brute-force attacks by banning IP addresses that attempt too many login failures.

Categories:
brute-force-attack-prevention login-failure-banning intrusion-prevention

Fail2ban Features

  1. Bans IP addresses that attempt too many failed logins
  2. Monitors log files for failed login attempts
  3. Highly configurable to work with many services like SSH, SMTP, HTTP, etc
  4. Easy to install and configure
  5. Written in Python
  6. Cross-platform - works on Linux, BSD, and some Unix systems

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Free and open source

Effective at preventing brute force attacks

Lightweight and low resource usage

Easy to set up and get running quickly

Very customizable via jail configuration files

Active community support

Cons

Not a complete security solution - should be used with other tools

Configuration can be complex for advanced setups

May accidentally block legitimate users if not configured properly

Requires some Linux/Unix sysadmin knowledge to use

No official support offered