how to limit the login attempts for users in laravel 4

Question

am trying to work on a project in laravel 4.2 but now, i would like to limit on the number of login attempts for users.most solutions are laravel 5 and am not familiar with 5. so anyone with an idea please i need your help. thank you.

 $data = Input::all();
    $rules = array(
        'username' =>'required|',
        'password' => 'required|min:6'
    );
    $validator = Validator::make($data, $rules);
    if($validator->passes())
    {            
        $user = array(
            'username'=> Input::get('username'),
            'password' => Input::get('password'),
            'active'=>1,                          
        );

        if(Auth::attempt($user))
        {
               if((Auth::user()->isBuyer()))
                {
                    return Redirect::route('customer')->with(['success' => 'Welcome <strong style="color:black">'.Auth::user()->name .'</strong>']);
                } 
                elseif((Auth::user()->isSeller()))
                {
                    return Redirect::route('seller')->with(['success' => 'Welcome <strong style="color:black">'.Auth::user()->name .'</strong>']);

                }   
                else
                {
                    return Redirect::route('dashboard')->with(['success' => 'Welcome <strong style="color:black">'.Auth::user()->name.' </strong>']);

                }     
        }
         return Redirect::back()
            ->with(array(
                'error' => 'Your email and password combination is invalid or Verify your email first'
            ));

    }
    return Redirect::back()
        ->withInput()
        ->withErrors($validator);

}

that is my controller function for logging in

Answer 1

There is so many way to do that. But below are common and i usually do.

1.) Add column "attempt" to users table and increment each time the user is failed to log on. Reset the column back to 0 if the user is successfully logged in.

2.) Create session "attempt" and increment each time the user is failed to log on. Reset the session back to 0 if the user is successfully logged in. You can also block user to log in for x number of minutes.

But i prefer the option 1 so the user cannot log in even if he uses different browser.