How can PHP be used to track and limit the number of failed login attempts before implementing a delay or lockout for a user account?

To track and limit the number of failed login attempts before implementing a delay or lockout for a user account in PHP, you can store the number of failed attempts in a session variable or database. After a certain number of failed attempts, you can introduce a delay before allowing further login attempts or lock the user out for a specified period of time. 

session_start();

// Check if there is a session variable to store failed login attempts
if (!isset($_SESSION['login_attempts'])) {
    $_SESSION['login_attempts'] = 0;
}

// Increment the failed login attempts
$_SESSION['login_attempts']++;

// Check if the number of failed attempts exceeds a certain threshold
if ($_SESSION['login_attempts'] >= 3) {
    // Implement a delay before allowing further login attempts
    sleep(5); // 5-second delay
    // OR lock the user out for a specified period of time
    // Example: update user account status in the database to 'locked'
}

// Clear the login attempts after a successful login
// Example: $_SESSION['login_attempts'] = 0;

Keywords

PHP login attempts delay lockout user account

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