GeoIP Providers Overview
Extendy GeoShield uses a GeoIP provider to convert a public client IP address into country information. The detected country is then used by the addon when recording login events and evaluating alert behaviour.
Extendy GeoShield does not include a bundled GeoIP provider account, bundled provider subscription, or bundled provider API credentials. You must obtain and maintain your own provider account or API access with the provider you choose.
Supported providers
Extendy GeoShield currently supports:
- IPinfo
- MaxMind
Both integrations use remote API / web-service access. Extendy GeoShield does not currently support a local downloadable MaxMind database workflow.
Provider responsibility
IPinfo and MaxMind are third-party providers. Your organisation is responsible for:
- creating or maintaining the provider account or service access;
- obtaining the required provider credentials;
- entering those credentials in Extendy GeoShield;
- monitoring provider availability, limits, billing, and commercial terms directly with the provider;
- protecting provider credentials.
Extendy GeoShield consumes the configured provider service. It does not control the provider’s account rules, commercial terms, availability, or quota policy.
Provider comparison
The table below includes only verified implementation facts.
| Provider | Integration model | Required Extendy GeoShield credential fields | Country fields used |
|---|---|---|---|
| IPinfo | Remote HTTPS API using the IPinfo Lite country data response | IPinfo API Token | country_code, country |
| MaxMind | Remote HTTPS GeoIP2 Country web service | MaxMind Account ID, MaxMind License Key | country.iso_code, country.names.en |
This table does not compare accuracy, pricing, speed, quota, or provider plan suitability.
Credential storage
Provider credentials are stored encrypted at rest and are displayed as masked values in the Extendy GeoShield admin page. Plaintext credentials are used only when needed for an immediate provider lookup or provider test.
Credentials are not intentionally written to the Login Events page, WHMCS Activity Log, provider test output, email templates, or customer-facing messages.
When GeoIP lookup runs
Extendy GeoShield performs GeoIP lookup only after it has a public client IP address that is eligible for external lookup.
Private, loopback, local, documentation, reserved, malformed, or otherwise ineligible IP addresses are rejected before provider credentials are retrieved or the provider is called.
Provider test connection
The Settings page includes GeoIP Provider Test Connection.
The test:
- uses the currently saved GeoIP Provider setting;
- uses saved provider credentials;
- requires a public test IP address;
- does not save settings;
- does not create a login event;
- does not persist the test IP in addon settings;
- displays only normalised result fields or a safe error message.
If you change the provider dropdown but do not save the settings first, the test still uses the previously saved provider.
Provider failure behaviour
When a provider lookup fails during login, Extendy GeoShield records the event and follows the Alert When Country Detection Fails setting.
Current setting values are:
- No — log the event and do not send a client email only because country detection failed.
- Yes — use the normal login alert template with Unknown country values.
Smart Mode trust links are not generated for Unknown country / country-detection failure alerts.
For the broader addon configuration reference, see the Configuration Guide.