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	<title>WordPress Security Blog</title>
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		<title>The Site Looks Normal, but Search Results Are Flooded with Product Pages and Chinese Text—Detecting and Completely Removing SEO Spam</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10886</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 26 Jun 2026 01:22:59 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[index.php]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10886</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[The site looks normal, but search results are flooded with product pages or appear in Chinese—here’s an explanation of how to detect and completely remove SEO spam. What Is SEO Spam? If the Google search results for your company’s WordPress site are filled with a large number of unfamiliar product pages or pages in Chinese, and clicking on those links leads to your company’s domain (even if they eventually redirect to another site, this still counts as SEO spam), it is highly likely that your site has been tampered with through a hacking attack known as SEO spam. The specific methods hackers use for SEO spam are as follows: ・Hackers exploit vulnerabilities in your site to gain permissions that allow them to overwrite databases, content, sitemaps, and other elements on your server. ・Hackers place unauthorized content on the site, alter sitemaps, or embed unauthorized links and forced redirection code into pages, causing search engines to mistake these for legitimate pages and index them ・Search results become contaminated with fraudulent pages. ・If users accidentally purchase products, their credit card information may be leaked, or they may download viruses, potentially leading to secondary damage. How do you remove SEO spam? To remove SEO spam, you must inspect and remove the compromised parts of your WordPress site. The following files are commonly compromised: index.php Theme’s index.php wp-config.php Theme’s functions.php Theme’s header.php However, other files may also be compromised, and in many cases, hackers may have installed a “backdoor”—a type of file that allows them to freely alter server content—deep within the system. Since manually opening and inspecting each file one by one is not practical, we recommend using a dedicated plugin to comprehensively scan and remove malware from all files on your site. [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal] After removal, how long does it take for the contaminated search results to disappear and return to normal? If the tampering has been completely removed, the contamination in most search results is often cleared within one week to one month. However, this depends on how frequently Google crawls the site, so it is difficult to predict the exact timeframe. Based on our experience, registering a new, cleaned-up sitemap via Search Console does not seem to significantly affect this process. However, if only a few malicious pages appear in search results, setting those pages to be excluded from search rankings via Search Console may cause them to disappear somewhat faster. To temporarily remove pages from search results via Search Console (URL Removal Tool) ・Log in to Search Console (search.google.com/search-console) ・Select “Indexing” → “Removal” from the left menu ・Click “New Request” ・Enter the target URL in the “Temporary Removal” tab ・Click “Next” → “Submit” to complete the process The page will be hidden from search results for approximately 6 months. If you want to permanently exclude it, the page itself must no longer exist. After removing malware, you must patch the vulnerabilities Once you’ve removed the hacker’s tampering, you must first patch the vulnerability that allowed the hacker to gain access. [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10886</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>How can I restrict access to my WordPress site to my own country only?</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10876</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Jun 2026 01:37:53 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[htaccess]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10876</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Here’s a guide on how to restrict access to your WordPress site to your own country. Does limiting access to your WordPress site to your own country improve security? According to statistics we’ve collected, attacks originating from Japan account for an average of just a few percent of the total attacks on our sites. Therefore, blocking access from countries other than Japan will deflect over 90% of attacks, making it a highly effective security measure. (Since nearly all WordPress site hacks are automated, being able to prevent 90% of them at this stage provides a significant security advantage.) However, if your site is already infected with malware or a hacker has gained access to the server, while this measure may temporarily prevent attacks, please be aware that hackers may bypass the block by using proxies in that country or other methods. How to Block Access from Overseas To block access from overseas, it is best to implement this using .htaccess before the user accesses WordPress (i.e., at the server level). This is because if you wait until after WordPress has been initialized, attackers may still be able to exploit vulnerabilities. https://www.ip2location.com/free/visitor-blocker You can create an .htaccess file that allows access only from domestic IP addresses using the website listed above. Simply download this .htaccess file and copy and paste its contents over your current WordPress .htaccess file. ( Use FTP software to download the .htaccess file generated by WordPress, edit it in a text editor, and then overwrite and re-upload it.) However, depending on the country, the file above may contain over 5,000 lines, which could increase the load on the server. According to my research, an IP check involving 5,000 lines could increase server response time by up to a few milliseconds. Since loading a single page also involves loading other resources such as images and CSS, the 5,000-line matching process runs each time, which could slow down page rendering by a few seconds and increase the server’s CPU load. Additionally, if a hacker is using IPv6, the new IP address format, the above .htaccess file cannot prevent the attack because it only supports IPv4. Block only the IP addresses that have attacked your site, either manually or automatically By using the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal], you can monitor the IP addresses of hackers attacking your site and block only those specific IPs either manually or automatically. After installing the plugin, go to the admin panel’s “Malware Scanner” > “Hack Monitor &#038; IP Blocker” tab, check the box for “Enable Hack Monitor,” and save the settings. This will allow you to monitor hackers’ attacks on your site. Once a hacker’s IP address is logged, you can click on it to check whether that IP is being used for other hacking activities on abuseipdb.com, another security information site. This hacking monitoring and manual blocking feature is available for free, so we hope you’ll take advantage of it.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10876</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Essential Security Measures for Sole Proprietors Who Create or Customize Their Own WordPress Themes</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10869</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 17 Jun 2026 01:31:00 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[javascript]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10869</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In this article, I’ll explain the minimum code-level security measures that sole proprietors who use custom WordPress themes (or themes custom-built by a development company) should implement. Things to Keep in Mind When Creating Your Own Theme or Adding Features to functions.php When adding original code to WordPress, it’s easy to overlook security considerations. However, implementing basic security measures in your code is crucial for preventing website hacking and reducing the risk of damage from such attacks. In this article, we’ll introduce five common code-based security measures used in WordPress. 1. Add !defined(&#8216;ABSPATH&#8217;) at the beginning of your code Add the following code after the ?php tag on the first line of your custom script. if (!defined('ABSPATH')) {exit;} This code provides a basic blocking function that ensures the code below it will only execute when the program is run through WordPress. (This improves security because the code cannot be executed by directly accessing the file.) 2. Escaping during output WordPress output is escaped during rendering to ensure that only code intended for specific purposes can be displayed. This makes it difficult for hackers to inject malicious code onto pages viewed by users or into arbitrary programs. echo esc_html($title); // Limit output to HTML text echo ' '; // Limit output to HTML attribute values echo 'Link'; // Limit output to a URL echo ' ＜script＞var name = "' . esc_js($name) . '";＜/script＞'; // Limit output to JavaScript variables (JS code cannot be output) 3. Use $wpdb->prepare() When reading data from the database, passing SQL statements through the WordPress function $wpdb->prepare() helps prevent unauthorized database operations known as SQL injection attacks. Use $wpdb functions as much as possible when accessing the database. global $wpdb; $user_id = absint($_GET['user_id']); $results = $wpdb->get_results( $wpdb->prepare( "SELECT * FROM {$wpdb->prefix}my_table WHERE user_id = %d AND status = %s", $user_id, 'active' ) // %d means only numbers are allowed, and %s means only strings are allowed. Text is also escaped. ); 4. Sanitize GET and POST values as much as possible GET and POST are functions that receive submitted data, but their values may contain dangerous code used in XSS or SQL injection attacks. Pass GET and POST values through sanitization or escaping functions whenever possible. sanitize_textarea_field() For multi-line text (input containing line breaks) sanitize_text_field() To remove line breaks from the input above sanitize_key() Restricts input to lowercase letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens only sanitize_file_name() Removes dangerous characters (spaces, special symbols, etc.) from filenames wp_kses_post() Allows only basic HTML tags; removes dangerous tags such as ＜script＞ wp_strip_all_tags() Removes all tags intval() Allows only integers sanitize_email() Allows only email addresses 5. Do not use eval() eval() is a function that “executes” the passed string as PHP code. This function is extremely commonly used by malware. For this reason, it may result in false positives during malware scans. Additionally, code like the example below is extremely dangerous, as it allows hackers to execute any code on the server. (In other words, it is typical code used for backdoors.) Since using the eval() function can inadvertently create code with vulnerable structures, you [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10869</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>If You Think Your Site Is Slow, It Might Be a Brute-Force Attack—or a DDoS Attack: How to Spot an Attack and Countermeasures Even Small Sites Can Use</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10860</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Jun 2026 01:48:57 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[htaccess]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10860</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[If you think your site is running slowly, it might actually be a brute-force attack—or a DDoS attack. Here’s how to identify these attacks and what measures even small-scale sites can take to defend against them. What is a brute-force attack? What is a DDoS attack? A brute-force attack is an attack in which hackers use a dictionary of tens of thousands of commonly used passwords and run a program to mechanically attempt to log in to WordPress thousands or even millions of times, betting on the possibility that they will eventually succeed. A DDoS attack is a type of mass traffic attack that floods a specific site with a huge volume of traffic to maximize server load, making it difficult to display the site. Regardless of the type of site, WordPress sites are under daily attack from hackers. Brute force attacks, a primary method of attack, can cause massive traffic similar to a DDoS attack, slowing down the site. How to check if your site is experiencing a high volume of traffic from a brute-force attack One way to check for a high volume of traffic from a brute-force attack is to examine the server access logs and look for a large number of requests to files frequently used in such attacks, such as wp-login.php and xmlrpc.php. If a large number of accesses are recorded, a common and effective method is to block the IP addresses of the sources for a certain period of time. *To block IP addresses of sources generating high traffic in .htaccess, add the following settings: Apache 2.4 series &#60;RequireAll&#62; Require all granted Require not ip 123.456.789.0 Require not ip 111.222.333.0 Require not ip 999.888.777.0 &#60;/RequireAll&#62; Apache 2.2 series Order deny,allow Deny from 123.456.789.0 Deny from 123.456.789.0 *Please replace the numbers (e.g., 123.456.789.0) with the hacker&#8217;s IP address Detect and block brute force attacks with a plugin Additionally, by using the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal], you can detect and block brute-force attacks. After downloading and installing the plugin, click the &#8220;Hack Monitor &#038; IP Blocker&#8221; tab. Next, click &#8220;Enable Hack Monitor.&#8221; If a brute force attack is detected, you can easily block that IP address. This feature is available for free, so we hope you’ll give the plugin a try.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10860</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Google labeled my site as &#8220;dangerous&#8221;—The actual steps to have the Safe Browsing warning removed and the reality of the review process</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10854</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 08 Jun 2026 01:47:20 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[htaccess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[index.php]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10854</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[If Google displays a &#8220;This site is dangerous&#8221; warning, we&#8217;ll explain the actual steps to have the Safe Browsing flag removed and the reality of the review process. A red warning screen appears in Google search results or when opening the site One day, out of the blue, you may see a red screen with warnings like the ones below appear in your WordPress site’s search results or when you open the site. “This site may harm your computer.” “This site distributes harmful software.” “This site has been reported as a phishing site.” &#8220;Dangerous site: Opening this page may install software that harms your computer.&#8221; &#8220;Suspected phishing: This page may attempt to trick users into performing dangerous actions (such as installing software or leaking personal information).&#8221; &#8220;Harmful programs: This site may install harmful programs on your computer.&#8221; In this case, there is a high probability that the site has been compromised and infected with malware. What should you do if your site is infected with malware? The general steps to take if your site has been compromised are as follows: • Remove malware from the site • Delete unauthorized administrator accounts and other malicious users ・Patch vulnerabilities by applying updates and changing administrator passwords, etc. (※If there are other sites on the server, malware may spread through them, so it is recommended to perform the above three steps for all sites.) ・Notify Google Safe Browsing that the site has been cleaned up and request a re-review. What should I do if a warning screen appears in the browser and I cannot access the site? ・Click &#8220;Details&#8221; on the warning screen. ・Click &#8220;Visit this unsafe site&#8221; or &#8220;View site anyway.&#8221; You will then be able to access the site. *However, since the site is infected with malware, please be extremely cautious of being redirected to malicious sites or downloading viruses when accessing it. You can also perform malware scanning and removal using a dedicated plugin. [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal] However, since plugins have their limitations, if malware has prevented you from logging in at all, you may need to take additional steps, such as manually restoring login access. Reference Summary of symptoms and solutions for malware that instantly tampers with WordPress index.php and .htaccess files Procedure for submitting a request to Google, time required to be removed from the Safe Browsing blacklist, and site restoration After addressing malware and vulnerabilities, you must notify Google that the malware has been removed and apply to be removed from the Safe Browsing blacklist. 1. Log in to Search Console https://search.google.com/search-console * If you haven’t registered yet, please do so 2. Open the Security Issues Report Left menu → &#8220;Security and SEO&#8221; → &#8220;Security Issues&#8221; 3. Review the issues and verify they have been fixed A list of detected issues will be displayed. Click the &#8220;Request a review&#8221; button 4. Fill out the request form Enter a description of the fixes you’ve made and submit the form. Be sure to include details on how you removed the malware [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10854</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Slider Revolution (RevSlider) case study shows the real risk of &#8220;plug-ins that are out of license or have been moved to paid for&#8221;.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10849</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 29 May 2026 01:24:48 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10849</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Slider Revolution (RevSlider) case study will explain the risks of &#8220;plug-ins that are out of license or have been moved to paid&#8221; and how to deal with vulnerabilities of such plug-ins. What is the Slider Revolution (RevSlider) case? The RevSlider incident was an incident in which &#8220;more than 100,000 sites were infected, even though the vulnerability fix patch for Slider Revolution had long been available. The licensing and update mechanism was a structural problem that increased the damage. The attack first looked for a vulnerable file in RevSlider and obtained wp-config.php. It was a multi-stage attack that then uploaded a malicious program to the site, planted a &#8220;Filesman&#8221; backdoor, and then altered swfobject.js to inject malware that redirected visitors to soaksoak.ru (a rogue site) on every page. The infected sites could not be fixed simply by removing the plug-ins, but had to deal with multiple backdoors and the RevSlider vulnerability at the same time, making the incident notoriously difficult to clean up. Why were 100,000 sites infected when the vulnerabilities had already been fixed? Because RevSlider was a paid-for plugin, only users who purchased the plugin directly could receive automatic updates on their WordPress dashboard. In some cases, site administrators were not even aware that the plugin was installed if they were using RevSlider in the form of a theme bundled with it, and they did not receive automatic update notifications. Users who continued to use the plugin before it was paid for and could not update it, or who did not activate it and could not update it, were also affected. Vulnerability Countermeasures for Unlicensed or Expired Paid Plug-ins To prevent vulnerabilities, including plug-ins, we recommend that you always check for vulnerabilities in plug-ins, which account for 60-70% of all WordPress hacks. Plugin Vulnerability Search System Plugin Vulnerability Check If you have not yet activated your license, we recommend that you activate your license and update it. If the vulnerability is in a plugin that is difficult to update, the best thing to do is to stop and remove the plugin, but this may be difficult if the plugin is used as a site feature. How to deal with vulnerabilities in plug-ins that cannot be updated or removed, but are critical to the functionality of the site If the vulnerability is in a plugin that performs an important function of the site and cannot be updated or removed, the vulnerability can be fixed by examining the characteristics of the vulnerability and directly modifying the program to close the vulnerability. If you directly edit the program of a plugin, the edited part may be lost in subsequent updates. Vulnerability characteristics may be disclosed in the form of a PoC (Proof of Concept). Examples WordPress Plugin Slider REvolution 4.1.4 &#8211; Arbitrary File Download In some cases, the programmers who found the vulnerability may have disclosed the patch program. We will use this information to directly close the vulnerability. However, this may require advanced security and programming skills, and we recommend that you consult with an experienced engineer.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10849</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why WordPress shows &#8220;No Anomaly&#8221; even though it has been tampered with &#8211; explained in terms of the characteristics of file monitoring plugins, malware detection plugins, and WordPress malware.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10842</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 26 May 2026 01:32:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scanner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10842</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain why WordPress has been tampered with but various tests show &#8216;nothing abnormal&#8217;. Why file diff plugin shows no abnormalities in malware detection plugins even though malware infection is obvious. There are cases where a site has obvious malware symptoms (*) and is determined to be tampered with by Google search or online inspections such as Sucuri, but the difference detection plug-in or the malware inspection plug-in shows no abnormalities. Typical malware symptoms include the following &#8211; When accessing the site, the user is automatically redirected to another site. &#8211; Logging in to the administration panel or certain pages become inaccessible with a 403 error. &#8211; A large number of malicious pages are being trapped in Google searches. &#8211; Unauthorized users are being added to the site. &#8211; A large number of spam mails are sent out. etc. 1 Reasons for no abnormality with the Difference Detection Plug-in There is a type of security plugin that records and monitors changes in WordPress program files. However, since WordPress rewrites a huge number of files through updates, the number of such files may be inflated and even those containing malware may be classified in the white list, or tampering may have slipped through the filter of the differences to be detected. Some malware may add a large number of new lines and embed the tampering at the bottom so that the tampering is not apparent at first glance, in order to prevent detection by these difference detection plug-ins. Also, in general, this type of plug-in does not detect database changes. Although it is a small percentage, malware may be embedded in the database. 2 Reasons why malware scanning and detection plug-ins show no abnormalities WordPress malware (tampering) differs from computer viruses in that there are so many varieties of its code. New varieties of WordPress malware are actively being created, and there are also many types of malware that randomly change the code obfuscation process and the way the code is written for each site, even for the same malicious activity. For this reason, malware scanning and detection plug-ins may not be able to keep up with detection patterns for such new types of malware or malware with unprecedented types of obfuscation. Keep your malware detection patterns up-to-date Malware detection plug-ins may be updated with the latest malware patterns with each update. It is also common for the latest malware detection patterns to be available for a fee. Typical Malware Detection Plug-ins Wordfence WP Doctor Malware scanner Pro: Malware scanner and security plugin Anti-Malware Security and Brute-Force Firewall We also recommend that you keep your plug-ins up-to-date and purchase the latest malware detection patterns if they are available for a fee. Limitations of Online Malware Detection Sites Online malware detection sites detect the resulting code generated by malware (tampering), so unlike WordPress plug-ins that perform internal inspection, they often cannot detect the tampered files themselves. For this reason, the accuracy and number of detections are much lower. We recommend that you use not only an online scanner, but also a malware scanning [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10842</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>A WordPress site you are maintaining may be infected with malware. We will explain how to respond to this situation.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10836</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 20 May 2026 01:42:32 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[error]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hacked]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[htaccess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[index.php]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scanner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10836</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain various aspects of how to respond when a WordPress site you are maintaining is discovered to be infected with malware by a client. What is the initial response when a malware infection of a maintained site is suspected based on a notification from a client or a suggestion from a site user? In this case, the first thing to do is to ascertain the status of malware infection. Typical symptoms of a malware-infected site will be as follows &#8211; When you access the site, you are redirected to another site. &#8211; Logging in is no longer possible (403 error on the login screen). &#8211; Many invalid pages are registered in the search results. &#8211; Browser turns red and warns of malware infection &#8211; Unrecognized spam mails are sent from the same domain in large quantities. &#8211; An administrator user is added to the system that I don&#8217;t remember adding. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, there is a high possibility that you are infected with malware. We use a malware scanning mechanism to examine the site. Use an online malware inspection system or a plug-in to inspect the site for malware. Online Malware Screens https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/ Malware scanning with plug-ins WP Doctor Malware Scanner Pro Mechanical malware scans (especially online malware scans) have limited detection power. We recommend that you do not declare to your clients that they do not have malware just because your malware scan did not find any malware. In fact, there have been cases where the cause was a new type of malware infection, and the site became inaccessible due to the spread of the malware infection without taking countermeasures, resulting in compensation for damages. It is better to clearly identify the cause of the site problems that the client is pointing out and then politely inform the client that malware is not the cause of the symptoms, so that there will be fewer problems later. FTP connection to check for malicious files on the server Connect to the server with FTP software to check for malicious files or tampering with legitimate files. Typical malicious files include the following (1) index.php file contains obfuscated strings (2) htaccess has writings that prohibit access to the php file (3) A php file with a random alphanumeric name (4) There is a file with a name slightly changed from the name of the regular file such as wp-confiq.php. (5) Files with the same name, such as moon.php, are written in various folders (even outside the public directory), and the contents of these files contain obfuscated code. What to do if you are sure that your site has been infected with malware If we discover that a site is infected with malware, we will notify the client and inform them of what to do and how long it will take to restore the site. The basic measures to be taken when a site is infected with malware are as follows &#8211; Remove the malware infection &#8211; Remove the vulnerability that allowed hackers to enter the site &#8211; Provide [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10836</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>WordPress Malware &#8220;Resurfaces Every Day,&#8221; How to Check for Malicious Processes, mu-plugins, and Hidden Admins</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10827</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 11 May 2026 01:30:31 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10827</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain how to identify and deal with the three causes of WordPress malware that can resurface after a certain period of time even if it is removed: malicious processes, mu-plugins, and hidden administrators. What are rogue processes that cause malware to resurface? How to deal with it Once a hacker is allowed to enter your site via a vulnerability, the hacker may have planted a malicious process that keeps executing code in the server&#8217;s memory that will keep reinfecting itself indefinitely. This rogue process is the cause of repeated reinfections. The rogue process can be stopped by executing the following command on the server Investigate the rogue process ps auwwx &#124; grep -v grep &#124; grep -i php Stopping a rogue process kill -9 process ID (number) Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal] allows you to investigate and stop unauthorized processes from the WordPress administration screen. Causes of malware resurrection 2 mu-plugins mu-plugins is a program that is always executed at the topmost point when WordPress is run. This program does not appear in the admin panel, so a hacker may have installed a malicious program on your server as mu-plugins. (mu-plugins is not used in early WordPress). The site is reinfected with malware via this rogue mu-plugins. To check for the presence of rogue mu-plugins, connect to the server with FTP software and visually inspect the mu-plugins folder in the wp-content folder for the presence of rogue programs. It is also possible to use a plugin that performs a comprehensive malware scan to inspect the mu-plugins folder and remove the malware. Causes of Malware Resurrection 3: Hidden Administrators Hackers may know the password for administrator privileges or add an unauthorized administrator user to log in to WordPress as an administrator and reinfect it with malware. In this case, log in to WordPress and go to Users > User List to see if an unidentified administrator user has been added. If there is an administrator user that you do not remember, either change the password of that user to disable login, or delete that user (we recommend that you backup your database if you delete the user). We also recommend that you change the administrator&#8217;s password, as hackers may have the existing administrator&#8217;s password. We recommend that the password be a random string of at least 12 single-byte alphanumeric characters. We hope this helps.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10827</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to automatically prevent WordPress htaccess and index.php from being rewritten by malware with a security plugin</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10820</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 07 May 2026 01:26:30 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[htaccess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[index.php]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10820</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain how to use a security plugin to automatically prevent WordPress htaccess and index.php from being rewritten by malware. Prevent malware (hackers) from automatically rewriting htaccess and index.php When infected with malware, hackers may rewrite index.php and htaccess. Even if this rewriting is removed, it may revert immediately. We will explain how to prevent the rewriting of index.php and htaccess by hackers using plug-ins. First, download, install, and activate a security plugin that protects htaccess and index.php. Free WordPress:Malware Scanning &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. In the WordPress admin page, go to Malware Scan→Security tab→Repair and protect .htaccess and index.php Turn on the checkbox for the function and save the settings. Cautions Please make sure that index.php and htaccess are not already infected with malware. If they are infected and you protect them, they will be automatically protected forever in the infected state. Please make sure that there is only the initial code as shown below, or the security and SEO posts. Initial code of index.php &#60;?php /** * Front to the WordPress application. This file doesn't do anything, but loads * wp-blog-header.php which does and tells WordPress to load the theme. * * @package WordPress */ /** * Tells WordPress to load the WordPress theme and output it. * * @var bool */ define( 'WP_USE_THEMES', true ); /** Loads the WordPress Environment and Template */ require __DIR__ . '/wp-blog-header.php'; Initial code of .htaccess # BEGIN WordPress &#60;IfModule mod_rewrite.c&#62; RewriteEngine On RewriteRule .* - [E=HTTP_AUTHORIZATION:%{HTTP:Authorization}] RewriteBase / RewriteRule ^index\.php$ - [L] RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-f RewriteCond %{REQUEST_FILENAME} !-d RewriteRule . /index.php [L] &#60;/IfModule&#62; # END WordPress The WP DOctor plugin also has a function to initialize and protect index.php and htaccess that have already been tampered with. If your index.php or htaccess has already been tampered with, please use this function! How WP Doctor plugin protects index.php and htaccess automatically This page explains how WP Doctor plugin automatically protects index.php and htaccess. 1 Start of protection Malware infecting processes, etc. with malicious code in an infinite loop rewrites index.php and htaccess at high speed. For this reason, this plug-in rewrites index.php and htaccess up to several hundred times in a row to make sure that they are properly saved with the protected code, and starts protection the moment the code is properly protected. 2 Change the permissions to those that are difficult to rewrite. Next, the plugin changes index.php and htaccess to write permissions that do not allow rewriting of the files. This will make it difficult for malware to rewrite the files. 3 Always monitor index.php and htaccess for rewrites Each time the site is accessed (each time WordPress is initialized), it is compared to the protected content code stored in the database and monitored to see if any rewriting of index.php or htaccess has occurred. If rewriting has occurred, rewrite index.php or htaccess and repeat the process 1 and 2 to protect it again. Should the automatic protection of index.php and htaccess always be enabled? This function compares the code in index.php and htaccess with [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10820</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The nature of the discrepancy between WordFence saying &#8220;no problem&#8221; and Google Search Console issuing a malware warning.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10814</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2026 01:59:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10814</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[WordFence says &#8220;no problem&#8221; even though the site is infected with malware, and Google Search Console is giving a malware warning. Or conversely, we will explain the discrepancy where WordFence detects malware and Search Console and Safe Browsing show no problem. Why do different malware detection sites give different results? Reason 1: Internal and external inspections may detect different malware. WordPress malware may differ greatly in the malicious code that is inserted when the site is rendered and the malware itself that generates the code. This is because obfuscation, which is often applied to the malware itself, has the effect of hiding the malicious code it outputs. External checking programs such as Google and Sucuri detect malicious code generated by malware externally, while plugins such as WordFence detect malware by inspecting the internal code of WordPress. This may cause the results to be skewed. In general, internal checks are more accurate in detecting the malware itself. However, as we will discuss later, malware is increasing every day, so malware detection patterns may not keep up, and external checks such as Google and Sucuri may detect malware before the internal checks do. Reason 2: Extremely Diverse Malware Malware infecting WordPress is much more diverse than PC viruses. The code obfuscation process changes from site to site, and the content of the malicious code may change. For this reason, various malware detection plug-ins vary greatly in detection power and the malware they can detect. If possible, it may be better to use a plug-in with high malware detection power, or to use multiple malware detection plug-ins for malware inspection only, to improve detection accuracy. Please also use our malware scanning plug-ins, which contain tens of thousands of malware detection patterns. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plug-in [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. Reason 3: Malware that manifests itself only under specific conditions Some malware only manifests itself when accessed via Google, or only when accessed by a smartphone, or some malicious code hides itself during external inspection. For this reason, depending on the service, the results of external inspections may not detect the malware, or the malware may be detected, resulting in a large discrepancy in the inspection results. Reason 4: False positives The first time Google Search Console issues a malware warning, malware is almost certainly detected in many cases. (It is highly accurate.) However, once detected, Google&#8217;s test results are sometimes not easily determined to be malware-free, even after malware disinfection. It is reported that even if you simply place HTML, it may still be detected, so there is a possibility that some cache is being retested and it is being detected incorrectly. In this case, you may need to reapply through the search console and carefully explain what work you did when you reapplied and that the malware symptoms have disappeared.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10814</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to allow WordPress XMLRPC access only from the local network or your domain</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10808</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Apr 2026 01:30:49 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[htaccess]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10808</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This section explains how to allow WordPress XMLRPC access only from the local network or your own domain. What is XML-RPC? XML-RPC (XML Remote Procedure Call) is a mechanism that allows you to post, edit, delete articles, upload media, and manage comments from outside without logging in to the WordPress administration screen by exchanging XML format data via HTTP. It exists as a file xmlrpc.php in the root directory of WordPress. It has been enabled by default since WordPress 3.5 (2012), but REST API is now the mainstream, and XML-RPC remains for backward compatibility. XMLRPC can be used as a springboard for brute force attacks (password brute force) or DDoS attacks (pinback exploits). Configure .htaccess to restrict access except from the local network or your own domain. Add the following settings to .htaccess in the same hierarchy as xmlrpc.php. &#60;Files xmlrpc.php&#62; Order Deny,Allow Deny from all Allow from 127.0.0.1 Allow from ::1 Allow from 123.123.123.123 &#60;/Files&#62; 127.0.0.1 and ::1 mean localhost. 123.The 123.123.123.123 part should be the IP of your company&#8217;s local network. Harmful Effects of Restrictions Setting IP restrictions may affect some services and applications. Please check in advance. Official WordPress apps (iOS / Android) Official WordPress smartphone apps use XML-RPC to post and edit articles. Restrictions will prevent you from operating from the app. Cooperation with external services Jetpack has features that rely on XML-RPC, and some of them may stop working after the restriction; automatic posting to WordPress using IFTTT or Zapier may also stop. External Blog Editors Editors for posting articles from the desktop, such as MarsEdit (Mac) and Windows Live Writer, use XML-RPC and will not be available. *But if the IP of your PC is fixed, you can use them by setting that IP to HTACCESS as permitted. &#60;Files xmlrpc.php&#62; Order Deny,Allow Deny from all Allow from 127.0.0.1 Allow from ::1 Allow from your ip here &#60;/Files&#62;> Pinback/Trackback You will not receive pingback notifications from other sites. Free] WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal] does not disable XMLRPC completely, but only detects and blocks excessive XMLRPC access and brute force attacks. We hope you will feel free to use this service.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10808</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Latest password policy for using WordPress with multiple administrators and editors (contributors).</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10800</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 31 Mar 2026 01:26:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hacked]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10800</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain the latest password policy (how to determine a unified password) when using WordPress with multiple administrators and editors (contributors). How to determine WordPress passwords, password policy The way passwords are determined has changed over time. Until a few years ago, periodic password changes were recommended, but now it is believed that once a strong password is created, it does not need to be changed, and double authentication is also becoming more popular. Current Recommended Password Policies Length Priority Minimum 12-16 characters. Length is the most important factor for security. Passphrase A combination of words such as correct-horse-battery-staple is effective Change only when a leak is suspected. Change only if you suspect a leak. Unnecessary forced change is counterproductive. Combination of 2FA and MFA (multi-factor authentication) Reduce reliance on single passwords Use of password managers Manage long, random passwords without using them repeatedly for each service. Match against compromised lists Match against databases such as Have I Been Pwned and block In the case of WordPress, the use of passwords similar to user IDs is also a major cause of hacking. For this reason, we recommend that you do not use passwords that contain a string of characters that includes your user ID! Why is it not necessary to change my password on a regular basis? When people are told that they must change their password every 90 days, many try to keep it to a minimum so that it is easy to remember. Here is a typical pattern we have observed in practice Sakura2024! → Sakura2025! → Sakura2026! What is the use of a password manager? The idea here is to have the application remember complex passwords, rather than having a human remember them. Browsers have a function to record passwords, but this is a password manager. There is also software that encrypts and stores passwords, such as https://keepass.info/. What is a check against a compromised list? Hackers also use the list of compromised passwords in a brute force attack to enforce login. This means that even if the passwords are long enough and random enough, the compromised passwords will not be used. One site to check for compromised passwords is https://haveibeenpwned.com/ and others. What happens if my WordPress password is weak? It is said that 20% of WordPress sites are hacked and tampered with due to weak passwords, which can lead to the loss of administrative privileges. Hackers use a list of commonly used passwords and mechanically repeat login enforcement thousands and thousands of times to try to log in. This is called a brute force attack. Please use the [Free] WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plug-in [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal], a security plugin that can detect and suppress brute force attacks. It is important that you use an appropriate password policy to prevent such brute force attacks and reduce the possibility of WordPress hacking.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10800</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>The Process from a WordPress Hack to Being Flagged as Malware by Google, and How to Resolve It</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10791</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Mar 2026 01:29:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[error]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10791</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I will explain the process leading up to a WordPress site being flagged as malware by Google after a hack, as well as how to resolve the issue. When I accessed a WordPress site I hadn’t touched in a while, I was greeted by a bright red screen and couldn’t log in. If you access a WordPress site you created in the past and have left unused for a while, you may encounter a screen like the one shown below and find that you can no longer log in. In this case, your WordPress site may have been hacked and compromised, with malicious code embedded into it, leading various security companies to flag the site as dangerous to access. Steps to Remove the Red Screen from the Blacklist Here is a simple guide to resolving this red screen issue. 1. Check which blacklists your site is listed on. You can use the Sucuri Site Check to scan your site for malware and check for blacklisting. *If the entire screen displays a red warning, there is a high probability that your site has been flagged by Google Safe Browsing. 2. Remove malware from the site We will perform malware removal as requested by an expert. You can also use a plugin to scan for and remove malware. 3. Verify again that no malware is detected using an external scanner. After removing the malware, we will re-test your site using an external malware scanning service. The following are examples of external malware scanning services: Sucuri Site Check Online Malware Scanner 4 Notify each blacklisting company that the malware has been removed *Each company has its own contact point for removing listings from blacklists. For Google Safe Browsing, there are two notification methods available: Report the page to the Google Safe Browsing team. https://safebrowsing.google.com/safebrowsing/report_error/ *Note: While anyone can submit a request using the method above, removal may be delayed, or the request may not be properly reviewed. Via Search Console https://search.google.com/search-console/about Register your site with Search Console (if you haven’t already) Open the “Security Issues” report Click “Request a review as fixed” In this submission form, describe exactly what actions you took and how you implemented them. There are specific best practices for writing this text, and if your request isn’t approved, there are also tips for effectively communicating with Google. We recommend seeking advice from an expert on how to write the text for these removal requests.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10791</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why is it compromised even though the plug-ins are up-to-date &#8211; vulnerability created by &#8220;obsolete plug-ins&#8221;?</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10786</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 23 Mar 2026 01:49:47 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hacked]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10786</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain why plug-ins can be compromised even if they are up-to-date &#8211; vulnerabilities created by &#8220;obsolete plug-ins&#8221; based on the attack patterns we have detected. There is a possibility of malware infection even though all plug-ins are up-to-date! Even if all plug-ins are up-to-date, you may be infected with malware through other sites on the server, or through vulnerabilities in obsolete plug-ins (which are not updated). In this article, we will explain the dangers of obsolete plug-ins. Obsolete plug-ins are not updated and appear to be up-to-date from the plugin management screen. Even if you are using WordPress and update your plugins for security reasons, they may appear to be up-to-date in the plugin management screen, even though they are no longer under development by their creator and have not been updated for a long period of time. (The official wordpres.org site has also stopped distributing the plugin, so automatic updates will not be applied). If such a plugin is installed on a site and a major vulnerability is discovered, the vulnerability will be left in place for a long time afterwards, increasing the likelihood that it will one day be hacked by hackers. (Although rare, plugins with a large number of installations may be subject to emergency security updates by wordpress.org or volunteers.) The following are examples of suspended plugins that we have detected as targets of hacker attacks 1. MyPixs (version 0.3 or lower) CVE: CVE-2015-1000012 Type: LFI (local file inclusion) Severity: CVSS 7.5 (High) Typical WPScan LFI vulnerability in downloadpage.php where the value of $_REQUEST[&#8220;url&#8221;] is directly passed to include(), which reads arbitrary files on the server without authentication. wp-config.php and other confidential files. No patch and development has been stopped, so immediate removal is recommended. 2. Phee&#8217;s LinkPreview (version 1.6.7 and below) CVE: CVE-2024-13464 (XSS), CVE-2025-27344 (CSRF) Type: XSS CSRF Severity: CVSS 4.3 (Medium) XSS (CVE-2024-13464) and CSRF (CVE-2025-27344) have been reported, both of which are in SolidWP status with no patch available. CSRF is a Patchstack that may allow attackers to force highly privileged users to perform unintended operations. Patchstack, a relatively new vulnerability (reported in 2024-2025), which is still left unfixed at this time. 3. WP Mobile Detector (version 3.5 and below) CVE: CVE-2016-4833 Type: Arbitrary file upload → RCE (remote code execution) Severity: Critical Astra Security can remotely upload arbitrary files to a web server by exploiting the resize.php script, allowing it to function as a web shell (backdoor) and hijack the server. CISA has also issued an advisory CISA. 4. Site Import (version 1.0.1 or lower) Type: RFI (remote file inclusion) + LFI (local file inclusion) AcunetixRFI vulnerability that allows an attacker to include and execute external malicious PHP files due to insufficient input value validation for the url parameter in admin/page.php. PoC (proof-of-concept code) is also available, which allows remote shell upload and Exploit-DB, which has been proven to both upload remote shells and read local files via directory traversal; no patch to fix and removed from official repositories. Prevents vulnerability attacks on deprecated plugins. The only way to prevent vulnerability [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10786</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>What to do if you install 2FA or other security plugins for WordPress and can no longer log in yourself.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10780</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 16 Mar 2026 01:31:27 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10780</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This section explains what to do if you have installed 2FA or other security plugins for WordPress and can no longer log in yourself. If you have installed a security plugin that prevents you from logging in, and you are unable to log in yourself If you use security plug-ins such as two-factor authentication (2FA), login lockdown, or change the URL of the administration screen, you may experience several login failures and your IP address may be rejected, or you may not be able to log in yourself because the URL of the login screen is no longer known. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us. If you are blocked by the login lockdown, you may be able to log in again in a few hours, depending on the security plugin&#8217;s time limit setting. In this case, we will explain two ways to get logged in again. 1 Rewrite database information In many cases, security plugin settings are written in the database. Upload database browsing software such as Adminer to your server, connect to the database based on the database connection information in wp-config.php, and view or change the settings in the following way. Find out where to change the database login URL. If you are unsure of the login URL, search the option_name and option_value columns of the wp_option table for strings such as &#8220;login&#8221; to find the corresponding record, as the URL to change is often recorded in the wp_option table. Rewriting IPs for login lockdown You may be able to remove the login lockdown by rewriting the record of the target IP address. Check your IP, search the wp-option table or the database table created by the security plugin with this IP, and see if it is a record of a lockdown IP, and then change the IP number recorded in the database to avoid the login lockdown. Then you can avoid the login lockdown by changing one of the IP numbers in the database. 2 Disable the plugin A simpler method is to temporarily disable the relevant security plugin, log in, and then re-enable the plugin after logging in and rewrite the security plugin settings, etc. If you connect to the server using FTP software and rename the folder wp-content/plugins/security plugins by adding _ to the folder name, the plugin may be disabled and you will be able to log in. Default WordPress login URL https://wordpress url/wp-login.php Some security plugins have complex structures, such that renaming a folder may cause file loading problems, making the entire site inaccessible. In this case, you will need to rename the folder back to its original name, check the relevance of the files, and deactivate the plugin. Do I need to enhance the WordPress login screen? It is highly likely that you do not need to enhance the WordPress login screen with 2FA or other means to begin with. 60-70% of successful WordPress hacks are caused by plugin vulnerabilities. If the login password is strong, there is no chance that a hacker can log in with administrative privileges [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10780</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Examples of wordpress plugins turned into malware due to acquisition by another company or hijacking of wordpress.org accounts and how to prevent it in advance.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10774</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Mar 2026 01:50:48 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10774</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain actual cases of WordPress plug-ins becoming malware due to acquisition by another company or hijacking of wordpress.org accounts, and how to prevent this from happening in advance. Can plugins distributed from the official WordPress website contain malware? Plugins distributed from the official WordPress website are open source, meaning that their code is available to technicians from all over the world, and they are constantly checked for malware by volunteer private developers, security companies, and WordPress operators. For this reason, although it is rare, there have been several cases where plug-ins (including updates) distributed from the official site have been infected with malware and have been distributed. 1 Display Widgets malware contamination case 2017 Display Widgets was a popular plugin used by about 200,000 sites, but the developer sold the plugin to a third party for $15,000. With the subsequent v2.6.0 release, malware was introduced by that third party, and numerous sites that updated to this version or installed Display Widgets were affected by the malware. (According to one theory, tens of thousands of sites). The timeline of this incident is as follows May 19, 2017. Former developer sells plugin to third party (under the name Mason Soiza) for $15,000 June 21, 2017 New owner releases first update v2.6.0. Malware code is secretly inserted at this point. June 22, 2017 SEO consultant David Cameron Law discovers an anomaly in v2.6.0; reports to WordPress.org that it is downloading over 38MB of external code and sending user IP addresses, viewed pages, domains, etc. to a third-party server June 23, 2017. WordPress.org Removes Plugin from Repository (1st time) June 30, 2017 Attacker releases v2.6.1, which includes geolocation.php but is &#8220;not recognized as malicious code&#8221; and allowed to be reposted. New exploit adds ability to hide spam content from view for logged-in users. July 1, 2017 WordPress.org removed (for the second time) July 6, 2017 Released v2.6.2, keeping geolocation.php and adding ON/OFF option to &#8220;make it look legit&#8221; July 23, 2017 Another user reports spam delivery. July 24, 2017 WordPress.org removed (for the 3rd time) September 2, 2017 v2.6.3 is released. Malware is still intact and even bug fixes are made, deemed &#8220;clearly intentional maintenance&#8221;. September 8, 2017 WordPress.org permanently removed (4th and final) As you can see from the history, when a plugin contains malware, it is discovered within 1-20 days, and WordPress officials have stopped distributing that plugin within 20 days even in this weasel-worded case. This case was the first time ever that a malicious plugin acquirer said it had fixed the problem multiple times, but in fact continued to maliciously introduce malware. 2 Social Warfare Malware Contamination Case 2024 The Social Warfare plugin malware contamination incident was not an acquisition, but a malware contamination incident that occurred when hackers took over the Social Warfare development management screen (plugin upload management and other functions of wordpress.org). This is said to be a strong possibility, and the investigation is still ongoing. June 22, 2024. Malicious code was introduced into Social Warfare, distributed as an automatic update via WordPress.org. June 22, 2024. WordPress.org [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10774</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>I have all my plugins up to date and WordPress is infected, what is the real route of entry?</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10769</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Mar 2026 01:31:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hacked]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10769</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[There are cases where WordPress is infected with malware even though WordPress itself and all plugins are up-to-date. We will explain the real route of entry in this case. Intrusion route 1: Unauthorized login to the management screen Twenty percent of the time, WordPress is hacked and tampered with because hackers are able to determine the password for administrative privileges and log in. Once a hacker is able to log in to the WordPress administration panel, they can do almost anything they want on the server, including defacing the site, installing unauthorized plug-ins, and uploading viruses. Hackers can use a variety of common password dictionaries to find out the login password for administrative privileges in what is called a brute force attack, in which the login enforcement is automatically repeated tens of thousands of times. We recommend that you use a password that is at least 12 characters long, is a random string of characters, and contains at least one single-byte alphanumeric character (upper and lower case) and one symbol. It is also dangerous to use a password that is close to your administrator ID. Intrusion route 2: Unauthorized login via test site The above unauthorized logins are equally dangerous with respect to test sites. Even if you think that the test site is undetectable, its URL or folder can be discovered by a search engine. We recommend that the administrator password for the test site be a random string of at least 12 characters, including at least one upper and one lower case alphanumeric character and one symbol. Intrusion route 3: Infection via another site on the server Some recent malware spreads infection automatically by scanning the folder structure on the server. If there are multiple sites sharing the same parent (Root) folder on the server, malware infection may spread through other sites. For this reason, it is necessary to remove unnecessary sites from the server, and to take security measures such as increasing the strength of the administrator&#8217;s password for all sites on the server, updating and vulnerability scanning to close the vulnerabilities. The following plug-ins can be used to easily perform vulnerability countermeasures and malware scanning of all sites on the server. We hope you will make use of it. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. Intrusion route 4 Vulnerability of the server itself In some cases, more fundamental vulnerabilities in the server&#8217;s OS (Linux), server configuration software, etc. can be exploited to infect a site with malware. Vulnerabilities in operating systems and middleware (Apache, Nginx, PHP, etc.) are discovered on a regular basis, and continued use of older, unpatched versions can allow an attacker to exploit these holes to gain entry into the server itself. Key measures include Regular OS and software updates, disabling unnecessary services and ports, configuring firewalls, strengthening SSH connections, installing a WAF (Web Application Firewall), regular log monitoring and tamper detection etc. However, on shared servers, these measures are taken by the server management company. (In many cases, the site operator is required to update the PHP version [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10769</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Simple code to detect brute force attacks on WordPress and block its IP for 1 hour.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10764</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Feb 2026 01:49:17 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10764</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Here is a simple PHP code (in functions.php) that detects a brute force attack on wordpress and blocks that IP for 1 hour. Brute force attacks can sometimes slow down a site significantly! A brute force attack is an attack that attempts to log into a site using a dictionary of tens of thousands of passwords. This attack causes excessive access to the site and database, which can slow down the site and create huge log files. Brute force attacks can be detected by the server log file or by a security plugin, since excessive access to wp-login.php is recorded in the server logs. A simple program to block brute force attacks Here is a simple PHP code to detect and stop a brute force attack. (It works if you put it in functions.php) add_action( 'login_init', function() { if ( $_SERVER['REQUEST_METHOD'] === 'POST' ) { $password = $_POST['pwd'] ? ''; if($password = "123456"){ $user_ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']; set_transient( 'blockip_'. $user_ip , $user_ip, HOUR_IN_SECONDS ); } } }); add_action( 'after_setup_theme', function() { $user_ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']; if(get_transient( 'blockip_'. $user_ip )==$user_ip){ wp_die("Access to the site has been blocked for 1 hour"); } } }); This code blocks a hacker who has made a brute force attack on the wp-login.php login screen for one hour. In add_action( &#8216;login_init&#8217;), we check if the password string sent at login is 123456, the most common password in the dictionary of brute force attacks used by many hackers, and if it is, we add the IP (the hacker&#8217;s computer If so, the IP (address of the hacker&#8217;s computer) is stored in transient, which is maintained for only one hour. Then add_action( &#8216;after_setup_theme&#8217;) retrieves the IP of the user accessing the site, checks if there is a corresponding transient value, and if so, blocks access to the site. (The transient will disappear automatically after an hour, so you will only be blocked for one hour.) If you really use the password 123456, you will not be able to log in anymore. 123456 is part of the dictionary of many brute force attacks, so we recommend that you never use it! This code is simple and may work if you have a brute force attack on wp-login.php and are having trouble with excessive access. However, some brute force attacks can also be used to gain excessive access to xmlrpc.php. For more comprehensive brute force attack detection and defense, we recommend the use of a security plugin.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10764</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why you may not notice that your WordPress site has been tampered with and how to create a mechanism for early detection.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10756</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 Feb 2026 01:21:36 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hacked]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10756</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain why you may not notice that your WordPress site has been tampered with and how to create a mechanism for early detection. Why you may not notice that your WordPress site has been tampered with. Increasingly, WordPress sites are hacked and defaced and go unnoticed for long periods of time. The reason for this is that malware may have mechanisms in place to hide the defacement of the site from the administrator, or it may only manifest itself in rare instances. Such stealthy malware often has the following features Symptoms appear only when the site is accessed from Google search results. Once symptoms (such as misdirection to other sites) appear, COOKIE is used to prevent symptoms from appearing for a while. The system is designed so that users who are logged in with administrator privileges do not experience symptoms. Even if illegal links are inserted in the site by SEO spam, they are hidden by transparency or extremely small display on the appearance of the site. What should I do if I receive a complaint from a customer that the site jumps to an incorrect page without their permission, or that they cannot view the site? If you receive such a complaint, the site administrator can check the symptoms and find that the symptoms do not occur while logged in, or the malware may have already been configured to prevent the symptoms from occurring when accessed from your IP address. In such cases, we recommend that you first check to see if the symptoms really do not occur by using the following methods. 1. Log out of the WordPress site. 2. Delete all cache and cookies in incognito mode or in your browser. 3. Access the site again to check for any unauthorized behavior. 4. Delete all browser cache and cookies again. 5. Enter the URL of your site into a search engine and click on the link in the search results to see if any malware symptoms appear. 6. Check the above on your smartphone as well (some malware may only show symptoms on smartphones). We also recommend using an external inspection site such as Sucuri SItecheck. (This site simulates access from Google to externally detect malware on your site, so you can think of it as automatically performing the above checks.) https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/ https://malware-scan.website-malware-removal.com/ The best way to detect malware is to exhaustively inspect every file from the inside of the site External inspection tools, such as Sucuri, have much lower detection rates than those that exhaustively inspect files from within the site. In general, the code that creates the output (the malware itself) is always present somewhere, rather than the code that expresses the symptoms of the malware&#8217;s output, and is characterized by very long code, making it much easier to detect. Please use a plugin that performs a comprehensive scan of your WordPress site for malware from the inside. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. Automatically scans for malware infection and notifies you automatically. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10756</post-id>	</item>
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