{"slug": "sshguard", "name": "sshguard", "category": "security", "category_name": "Security and passwords", "description": "", "recommenders": 3, "commenters": 3, "warners": 0, "score": 2.884, "rising": 3.0, "first": "2026-08-28", "latest": "2026-09-01", "why": "sshguard is exactly this - single C binary, no interpreter needed.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 0, "compare": 0, "warn": 0}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 3, 1, 0], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "sshguard is exactly this - single C binary, no interpreter needed.", "icon": true, "domain": "sshguard.net", "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.sshguard.net", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["sshguard"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 792313153, "item_id": 49519572, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49519572", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm currently happy with sshguard", "excerpt": "> https://fail2zig.com Thanks. I've had a quick look, and it looks like it's a drop-in replacement for fail2ban (it claims to parse fail2ban's configuration files unchanged), except that it doesn't require a Python runtime. I haven't tried it, since I'm currently happy with sshguard. I'm keeping the link handy in case I find I need more features than what sshguard provides.", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking SSH attacks", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791843072, "item_id": 49490192, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49490192", "by": "BlueRoguesDevel", "date": "2026-08-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have a stack begging to try this out", "excerpt": "How did I miss this? I have a stack begging to try this out, and for the same reasons as OP. Thank you.", "context": "", "use_case": "banning SSH attackers", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791750672, "item_id": 49484417, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49484417", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it appears that sshguard is working fine.", "excerpt": "One hour later, it appears that sshguard is working fine. It's structured as a dozen binaries or so, but it has no dependencies. I haven't done any CPU usage measurements, but I haven't seen it appear in top's output.", "context": "", "use_case": "banning brute-force SSH attackers", "switched_from": "fail2ban", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791738128, "item_id": 49483633, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483633", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've replaced fail2ban with sshguard on one machine", "excerpt": "> sshguard is exactly this Thanks. I've replaced fail2ban with sshguard on one machine, we'll see how it goes.", "context": "", "use_case": "banning brute-force SSH attackers", "switched_from": "fail2ban", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791725888, "item_id": 49482868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49482868", "by": "laruss5", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "sshguard is exactly this - single C binary, no interpreter needed.", "excerpt": "sshguard is exactly this - single C binary, no interpreter needed. It tails your logs (journalctl/syslog) and bans offenders via iptables/nftables/pf. No Python, no dependencies beyond the firewall backend: https://www.sshguard.net/", "context": "", "use_case": "banning brute-force offenders", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}]}], "caveats": [], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["banning brute-force ssh attackers", "blocking ssh attacks", "banning ssh attackers", "banning brute-force offenders"], "compared": [{"slug": "fail2ban", "name": "fail2ban", "co": 5, "switched_from": 2, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49477766", "title": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?", "mentions": 5}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"recommend": 3}, "2026-09": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-10": {}}, "quotes": [{"id": 792313153, "item_id": 49519572, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49519572", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I'm currently happy with sshguard", "excerpt": "> https://fail2zig.com Thanks. I've had a quick look, and it looks like it's a drop-in replacement for fail2ban (it claims to parse fail2ban's configuration files unchanged), except that it doesn't require a Python runtime. I haven't tried it, since I'm currently happy with sshguard. I'm keeping the link handy in case I find I need more features than what sshguard provides.", "context": "", "use_case": "blocking SSH attacks", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791843072, "item_id": 49490192, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49490192", "by": "BlueRoguesDevel", "date": "2026-08-29", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I have a stack begging to try this out", "excerpt": "How did I miss this? I have a stack begging to try this out, and for the same reasons as OP. Thank you.", "context": "", "use_case": "banning SSH attackers", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791750672, "item_id": 49484417, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49484417", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "it appears that sshguard is working fine.", "excerpt": "One hour later, it appears that sshguard is working fine. It's structured as a dozen binaries or so, but it has no dependencies. I haven't done any CPU usage measurements, but I haven't seen it appear in top's output.", "context": "", "use_case": "banning brute-force SSH attackers", "switched_from": "fail2ban", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791738128, "item_id": 49483633, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49483633", "by": "jech", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I've replaced fail2ban with sshguard on one machine", "excerpt": "> sshguard is exactly this Thanks. I've replaced fail2ban with sshguard on one machine, we'll see how it goes.", "context": "", "use_case": "banning brute-force SSH attackers", "switched_from": "fail2ban", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}, {"id": 791725888, "item_id": 49482868, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49482868", "by": "laruss5", "date": "2026-08-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "sshguard is exactly this - single C binary, no interpreter needed.", "excerpt": "sshguard is exactly this - single C binary, no interpreter needed. It tails your logs (journalctl/syslog) and bans offenders via iptables/nftables/pf. No Python, no dependencies beyond the firewall backend: https://www.sshguard.net/", "context": "", "use_case": "banning brute-force offenders", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: Alternatives to Fail2ban?"}]}