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	<title>free &#8211; WordPress Security Blog</title>
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<site xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">226935356</site>	<item>
		<title>Here&#8217;s a guide on how to read WordPress hacking logs and how to respond to them.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10985</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Oct 2026 01:49:51 +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[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10985</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[In this article, we’ll explain how to view logs of WordPress hacking attempts—a feature of WordPress security plugins—and how to respond to them. Recording and Viewing Logs of Hackers Who Launch Random Attacks on WordPress Because WordPress is so widely used—with hundreds of millions of sites—it is targeted with specialized attack methods. Hackers use automated attack tools that systematically target multiple vulnerabilities on WordPress sites one after another. This type of attack is essentially a “hit-or-miss” approach, and if you review the attack logs, you’ll see that such attacks are being launched in massive numbers against all kinds of sites. (Over 99% of these indiscriminate attacks fail.) The [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal] includes a feature that detects hacker attacks. Go to the plugin’s admin panel > Hack Monitor &#038; IP Blocker tab > check the box next to “Enable Hack Monitor,” then click the “Save Settings” button at the bottom of the page. How to Read the Hacking Log About one to two months after enabling Hack Monitor, you may be surprised to see a large number of hacker attacks recorded—especially on sites that have been operational for a long time—butthis is something that can happen to any WordPress site, and since the likelihood that these attacks were successful (i.e., that the hacker managed to infiltrate the server and tamper with files) is low, there’s no need to worry excessively. The hacking log table lists the detection date, the type of hacker attack (brute-force attack, vulnerability exploit, scan using hacking tools, etc.), the hacker’s IP address, the targeted files, and the data the hacker was sending. Blocking Dangerous Hacker IP Addresses If you click on the hacker’s IP address in the hacking log table, you can view how many reports have been filed regarding that IP address on www.abuseipdb.com—a database where security professionals worldwide share information about dangerous IP addresses—to see how many reports have been filed regarding the IP address that attacked your site. For example, the IP address in the example below has been reported 703 times and is deemed to be 100% engaged in dangerous activity. *You can also see that the IP’s location is listed as Pakistan. Additionally, the hack log shows that this IP has launched four brute-force attacks. It is best to completely block such IPs to reduce the likelihood of successful brute-force attacks, and I believe it is safe to block them completely for the time being. You can completely block this specific IP using the “Block IP” button on the right. Which attacker IPs should be blocked, and for how long? At WP Doctor, we believe it is acceptable to permanently block an IP address if it has been the source of multiple similar attacks, is a www.abuseipdb.comでも大量の攻撃が報告されており, and is not a domestic IP address. However, please note that if the IP address changes hands, it may no longer be used for hacking. Therefore, if you keep an IP blocked for years, there is a very rare chance that legitimate traffic (from that country using [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10985</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Preventing the addition of unauthorized administrator users, a common consequence of WordPress hacks</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10980</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 16 Oct 2026 01:24:51 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[error]]></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=10980</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I’ve been thinking about ways to prevent the addition of new, unauthorized administrator users—a common consequence of WordPress hacks. Preventing the Addition of Unauthorized Administrator Users When WordPress is hacked or compromised due to vulnerabilities, there has been an increasing number of cases where hackers exploit WordPress’s user-add function to create unauthorized administrators who can log in to the site. If you do not plan to increase the number of administrator users in the future, you can prevent the addition of new administrator users by adding the following code to your theme’s `functions.php` file. add_filter('wp_pre_insert_user_data', function ($data, $update, $user_id, $userdata) { if ($update) { return $data; } if ( $userdata['role'] === 'administrator') { return false; } return $data; }, 1, 4); *This code has been tested and will prevent the addition of administrator users by triggering a data missing error. This code uses the `wp_pre_insert_user_data` hook to block all attempts to add a user if `$userdata[&#8216;role&#8217;]` is set to &#8220;administrator.&#8221; This prevents the addition of new administrator users via the admin dashboard or the `wp_insert_user` function. Please note that this code can only be used with WordPress 5.8.0 or later, as the `$userdata[&#8216;role&#8217;]` variable contains the role data of the user being added. Additionally, while rare, this code cannot prevent hackers from directly adding users with administrator privileges to the database without using the `wp_insert_user` function . Please also use the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal], which provides other important security measures such as malware scanning and removal, vulnerability scanning, and login security measures to prevent brute-force attacks. *This feature to prevent the addition of administrator-level users is planned for implementation in the next version of the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal], where it will be available for a wider range of WordPress versions. We hope this information is helpful.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10980</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Files left sitting in your WordPress directory can be dangerous—here’s why.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10952</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 02:04:59 +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[htaccess]]></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=10952</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Here, we’ll explain the security risks posed by various files left sitting in your WordPress directory. Dangerous Files Left in the WordPress Directory When hackers attempt to compromise a site, they may try to access various files stored in the WordPress directory by randomly entering their URLs in an attempt to use them as a foothold for the attack. For this reason, we strongly recommend that you do not leave the files described below on your server. *Blocking access via .htaccess settings is also an effective security measure. 1. Remnants of wp-config.php wp-config.php is WordPress’s configuration file that contains extremely important settings, such as database connection information. For this reason, hackers may attempt to obtain remnants of this file in order to add unauthorized administrators or alter content. (While direct access to `wp-config.php` displays nothing, the contents of these remnants may be viewable.) Examples of URLs that may be accessed: /wp-config.php.bak /wp-config.php.old /wp-config.php~ /wp-config.php.save /wp-config.php.orig /wp-config.php.swp Directories: /.bak /.old /.orig /.save, etc. We recommend that you delete all backup files of `wp-config.php` and similar files from the server. 2. Git Repository Information for Development Please check to ensure that no development folders—such as .git/, .svn/, or .env—have been left on the server. Hackers could potentially use these files to reconstruct the entire source code, including WordPress configuration files. 3. Database Connection Files To easily connect to the database, hackers may have already stolen your database connection information or may search the server for database connection programs to launch brute-force attacks. URLs such as the following are common targets for attacks: /phpmyadmi /phpMyadmin (with some letters capitalized) /phpmyadmin(combination of numbers) /phppma /myadmin /PMA /pma /phpMyAdmin-version-all-languages /adminer.php /adminer-version.php /adminer-version-mysql.php /adminer etc. *Note: The `setup.php` file in PHPMyAdmin (used to configure database connections) may also be targeted. We strongly recommend that you either avoid installing database connection software on the server altogether, or install it in a folder with a random string name and apply Basic Authentication—taking extreme caution during installation. 4. Database Dump Files If database dump files (backup files containing content, administrator IDs, and passwords) are left on the server, they may be compromised. /db_backup.site-domain.sql.gz /db_backup.sql.gz /dump.sql /site-domain.sql /backup.sql /db.sql /database.sql /sql.sql etc. *Even if a hacker gains access to the database, they will not be able to obtain the administrator password.This is because WordPress stores passwords in an encrypted format. However, if a hacker manages to obtain not only the database but also the values for `AUTH_KEY` and `SECURE_AUTH_KEY` (which are written in `wp-config.php`), they can spoof cookies and log in to WordPress as an administrator. I hope this information is helpful. If your WordPress site has already been hacked and malware has been installed, we recommend running a malware scan using a plugin. [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10952</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>A type of backdoor—one without an actual malware file—that has been wreaking havoc on WordPress sites recently</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10948</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 28 Aug 2026 01:05:01 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></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=10948</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain a type of backdoor—one that lacks a main malware component—which has been running rampant on WordPress recently (and for which we have confirmed a large number of infections). Characteristics of the Malware A key characteristic of this malware is that it contains code that retrieves the server’s temporary folders in various ways, in no particular order, as listed below. &#8220;/tmp&#8221; getenv(&#8220;TMP&#8221;) getcwd() sys_get_temp_dir() &#8220;/var/tmp&#8221; session_save_path() &#8220;/dev/shm&#8221; ini_get(&#8220;upload_tmp_dir&#8221;) getenv(&#8220;TEMP&#8221;) Upon analyzing the code, we find that this malware is designed to execute malicious code following the sequence described above. ・Retrieve the temporary data storage folder (here, the TMP folder) ・Decrypt the encrypted malicious code sent as POST data character by character using `chr(ord)`, shifting the characters and changing their character encodings each time to obfuscate it further. *This process is believed to be intended to make it easier to evade malware detection during network communication. ・Writes the decrypted malicious code to the TMP folder. ・Includes (internally loads) that code and executes the main body of the malicious code. ・Although the main body of the malicious code in the TMP folder is deleted, it continues to run in memory because it has already been included. What makes this malware particularly troublesome is that the malicious code itself is immediately deleted from the server. As a result, the main body of the malicious code goes undetected, and it becomes impossible to verify later what actions the hacker took on the server. This type of malicious code often infects even the code within legitimate files deep within WordPress, making it difficult to manually inspect and remove each file one by one. WP Doctor has recently added a large number of this type of malware pattern to its [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal] We have recently added a large number of malware patterns for this type of malware, so please feel free to use it. (Although the free version of the plugin can scan for and remove malware, please consider using the paid version when detecting malware using the latest patterns that have been added very recently.)]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10948</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>What to Do If an Unfamiliar Administrator Has Been Added to WordPress</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10942</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 01:43:04 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></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=10942</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[If an unfamiliar administrator has been added to WordPress, we’ll explain how to determine whether that administrator is unauthorized and what steps to take. How to Determine if an Unfamiliar Administrator Is an Unauthorized Account Created by a Hack Administrators added through hacking typically have the following characteristics: ・Administrator privileges ・0 posts ・Unauthorized administrator IDs often have the following characteristics: ◇ Administrator names consisting of random character strings ◇ IDs containing arbitrary character strings such as “12345” or “adcde” ◇ IDs or email addresses containing strings that impersonate legitimate users, such as “wp-update,” “wp-demouser,” or “wp-import-user” ◇ IDs or email addresses containing slightly altered versions of “administrator,” such as “administratoirr” or “administratoir” *Please note that there are many fraudulent administrator users that do not exhibit the characteristics listed above. We hope you will use this information as a general guide. Method 1 for Dealing with Unauthorized Administrator Users The basic method for dealing with unauthorized users is to delete them. If you’re unsure whether a user is unauthorized, changing their password will prevent the hacker from logging in, even if the user is indeed unauthorized. Method 2 for Dealing with Unauthorized Administrator Users: The presence of an unauthorized user indicates that your WordPress site has been successfully hacked The fact that an unauthorized user has been created means that a hacker has already gained access to your WordPress site. • The hacker is exploiting a vulnerability that allows them to modify the database and create unauthorized users. • The hacker has installed malicious programs, such as backdoors, that exploit this vulnerability to modify the database and create unauthorized users. For this reason, it is necessary to remove malware from the entire WordPress site and implement security measures to patch the vulnerabilities. We would appreciate it if you could use the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal], which allows you to easily scan for and remove malware and check for vulnerabilities directly from a plugin. Since many types of malware these days spread beyond the domain folder on the server to infect other sites, we recommend—if possible—that malware scanning, removal, and security measures be performed on all WordPress sites under your server account.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10942</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Does Changing the Table Prefix in a WordPress Database Really Help? An Analysis Based on Actual Attack Logs</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10920</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 01:35:40 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[injection]]></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=10920</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Is Changing a Database Table Prefix Really Effective? Let’s Examine This Using Actual Attack Logs. What Is a Database Table Prefix? In WordPress, you can set a naming convention for database tables called a “prefix.” In the `wp-config.php` file, the setting is defined as follows: $table_prefix = 'wp_'; With this setting, all table names will begin with “wp_,” as shown below: wp_commentmeta wp_comments wp_links wp_options wp_postmeta wp_posts wp_terms wp_termmeta wp_term_relationships wp_term_taxonomy wp_usermeta wp_users You can change this table prefix when you first install WordPress or using a plugin. It’s often said that changing the table prefix improves security, but I’ll explain why this is the case and whether it really makes a difference. Why does changing the table prefix improve security? The reason changing the table prefix improves security is that it prevents hackers from identifying the exact table names during SQL injection attacks—attacks where hackers exploit vulnerabilities to retrieve or modify database contents. (This is why SQL injection attacks will fail on the first attempt, even if a vulnerability exists.) For example, an SQL injection attack targeting a table name like the one below will fail: *If the prefix is changed and the actual table name is wpc_users, the SQL injection attack below will fail: SELECT * FROM wp_users WHERE username = '' OR '1'='1' Investigate how many similar attacks exist among 250,000 hacker attacks Based on recent hacker attack patterns collected by our company, we will investigate how many attacks specifically target table names.　 For the data search, we checked whether the tables frequently targeted in attacks—wp_users and wp_options—were included in the attacks. Data from 256,620 hacker attack samples over the past two weeks Number of cases where &#8220;wp_users&#8221; was included in GET or POST data: 91 Example attack queries (partially redacted as they could be used in actual attacks) {"action":"******","*****":",(SELECT EXTRACTVALUE(1,CONCAT(0x7e,(SELECT GROUP_CONCAT(CONCAT(user_login,0x3a,user_pass) SEPARATOR '&#124;') FROM wp_users LIMIT 5))))"} Number of entries containing `wp_options` in GET or POST data: 42 entries\nExample attack query (partially redacted as it could be used in actual attacks) {"action":"******","id":"1\\' UNION SELECT option_name,option_value,autoload FROM wp_options WHERE option_name LIKE \\'%key%\\'-- -"} Total: 133 entries, 0.05% Conclusion Although the number of instances found is very low at 0.05%, attacks that target specific table names are actually taking place. WordPress vulnerability attacks come in waves Although injection attacks using hard-coded table names are extremely rare, when a major vulnerability is discovered, hackers may all resort to similar attack methods. If this vulnerability allows for SQL injection attacks, the probability mentioned above could rise sharply. For this reason, WP Doctor believes that changing the WordPress table prefix does indeed have security value (moderate). Please be sure to use the security plugin we’ve developed. [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware &#038; Virus Detection and Removal]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10920</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>WordPress Malware Infections: Typical Patterns of Malicious Code Embedded in `wp_posts` and `wp_options`, and How to Distinguish It from Legitimate Code</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10908</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 01:50:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[javascript]]></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=10908</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We’ll explain typical patterns of malicious code embedded in WordPress’s `wp_posts` and `wp_options` tables as a result of malware infection, as well as how to distinguish it from legitimate code. Malware Infection and Tampering of the WordPress Database In the event of a malware infection, it is rare for the WordPress database—including tables such as `wp_posts` and `wp_options`—to be tampered with.However, when a vulnerability that allows database tampering is discovered in a popular plugin or similar software, hackers often exploit that vulnerability en masse, leading to a surge in database tampering across numerous websites. How to Detect and Remove a Database Infection? Unless there is a plugin that executes PHP, almost none of the content stored in the WordPress database can be executed as a program. For this reason, even when hackers tamper with the database to embed malicious code, it is typically not server-side executable code but rather JavaScript script code that runs primarily in the browser. Here’s how you can detect this tampering to some extent using a database connection tool. 1. Connect to the database using Adminer Upload the database connection tool called Adminer to the server and connect to the WordPress database using the database connection information listed in wp-config.php. 2. Search the database for strings characteristic of malware Next, search the database for portions of strings characteristic of malware. The following examples show code commonly used by malware. Search for these code snippets to check whether any malware is present in the database. &#60;script atob( eval( fromCharCode( etc. Please note that not everything that matches this code search is necessarily malicious code. * You can easily check for malicious code like the examples above using the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#38; Security Plugin [Malware &#38; Virus Detection and Removal]. 3. Check for Malicious Code and Remove It You need to determine whether the code found during the scan is malicious JavaScript. Generally, malicious code is characterized by long strings of random letters and numbers crammed into a single line. Since it has the potential to corrupt database data, you must remove it with caution! If the code is malicious, you must carefully remove only that specific section. However, since a single instance of malware code can infect a vast number of records, it may be difficult to remove it manually. In such cases, you may need to use database replacement software to remove it. Additionally, databases may contain records in a format known as “serialized data,” where the number of characters in the string must match exactly or the data will be corrupted. If such data contains malicious code, the process can be particularly challenging—for example, you may need to reduce the character count by the number of characters removed. Example of serialized data (parts like “s:31” indicate the number of characters in the text) a:6:{i:0;s:31:"query-monitor/query-monitor.php";i:1;s:57:"accesspress-instagram-feed/accesspress-instagram-feed.php";i:2;s:19:"easy-captcha/easy-captcha.php";i:3;s:43:"google-analytics-dashboard-for-wp/gadwp.php";i:4;s:33:"instagram-feed/instagram-feed.php";i:5;s:19:""really-simple-captcha/really-simple-captcha.php";}]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10908</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>How can I prevent a site-wide warning from appearing due to a failure in the automatic renewal of free SSL (Let&#8217;s Encrypt)?</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10901</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 Jul 2026 01:04:03 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10901</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Here’s how to prevent site-wide warning messages caused by failed automatic renewals of free SSL (Let’s Encrypt). What is Free SSL (Let&#8217;s Encrypt)? Let&#8217;s Encrypt is a system that issues free SSL certificates, which verify your site’s domain and encrypt communication by switching it to HTTPS. This service is operated by a nonprofit organization (ISRG) and sponsored by major companies such as Mozilla, Google, and Cisco. Many web hosting services, such as Xserver, ConoHa WING, and Lolipop, use the Let&#8217;s Encrypt system for their free SSL certificates. If a Let&#8217;s Encrypt certificate expires, your website may suddenly become inaccessible one day. If you try to access a site with an expired SSL certificate, a full-screen warning page will appear—for example, “This connection isn’t private” in Chrome or “This website isn’t private” in Safari. Unless you click “Advanced” → “Proceed to this unsafe site,” you won’t even be able to view the site’s content. Let’s Encrypt certificates need to be renewed at regular intervals. With many web hosting providers (such as Xserver, ConoHa WING, and Lolipop), once you enable Let’s Encrypt (free SSL) in the control panel, a tool automatically handles the renewal behind the scenes. However, although rare, automatic renewal may fail due to temporary server issues, changes to the domain’s DNS settings, or ACME challenge failures. ACME (Automatic Certificate Management Environment) is a communication protocol designed to fully automate the issuance, renewal, and revocation of certificates . What should you do if the automatic renewal of your Let&#8217;s Encrypt certificate fails and your site becomes inaccessible? In this case, you will likely receive a notification from your server provider stating that the SSL renewal failed, or you may see a warning to that effect in your server control panel. In such cases, SSL is often restored within a few days by manually reapplying for the free SSL certificate. (If the issue isn’t resolved , you can temporarily switch to HTTP to restore the site’s visibility for the time being.) *Note: Switching your site to HTTP may lower your search rankings and compromise security. We recommend installing a security plugin. However, since Let’s Encrypt is free, its renewal periods are short, and SSL renewals may occasionally fail for no apparent reason. Therefore, if you prioritize the stability of your SSL certificate, you may want to consider switching to a paid SSL service.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10901</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Regarding the Issue of WordPress Security Measures Being Overly Focused on Login Protection</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10895</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Jul 2026 01:47:45 +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[protection]]></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=10895</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I’d like to discuss the issue that security measures for many WordPress sites tend to focus too much on protecting the login process. Are you focusing too much on securing the WordPress login screen? WordFence has reported the following causes of WordPress hacking: https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2016/03/attackers-gain-access-wordpress-sites/ 1st: Plugin vulnerabilities—nearly 60% 2nd: Login page breaches (brute-force attacks)—nearly 20% 3rd: Vulnerabilities in WordPress core files—nearly 10% 4th: Theme vulnerabilities—around 5 percent— 5th: Hosting server vulnerabilities—around 5 percent— These statistics align with our own experience, as we frequently find that clients have vulnerable plugins installed when we perform malware removal on their WordPress sites. The probability of the login screen being compromised is less than 20% Based on these statistics, the probability of the login screen being compromised and WordPress being hacked is less than 20%. Furthermore, since a brute-force attack is a method that attempts to guess the correct password by systematically trying common passwords one after another, a brute-force attack will generally fail if you use a strong password(a password of 12 characters or more containing a random mix of alphanumeric characters and symbols), a brute-force attack will not succeed. For this reason, the most important security measure for WordPress is not so much securing the login screen, but rather addressing vulnerabilities in WordPress plugins and core files. *You can also use plugins to scan for and remove WordPress vulnerabilities and malware. We highly recommend using them. [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal] Currently, many websites focus their efforts on strengthening login page security However, security measures for WordPress sites are often limited to changing the login page URL, implementing CAPTCHA, or enabling two-factor authentication (2FA). Since many site owners feel secure just by implementing these measures, it is common for their sites to become infected with malware. While login screen security measures are not a waste of effort, it is even more important to constantly monitor for vulnerabilities. If a major vulnerability is found in a plugin or other component, taking immediate action—such as updating it—will ensure your site can be operated safely for the long term. You can also check for high-risk plugins and WordPress Core vulnerabilities here. We hope this information is helpful.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10895</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Steps to Regain Administrator Privileges After the Person in Charge of a WordPress Site Outsourced to a Production Company Has Resigned or Closed Their Business</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10890</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 01:38:49 +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[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10890</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Here’s a guide on how to regain administrator privileges after the person in charge of your WordPress site—which you had outsourced to a production company—has resigned or gone out of business. Unable to Update Plugins, etc., Due to Lack of WordPress Administrator Permissions When a WordPress development company delivers a site, they may provide the site operator with a user account that only allows editing and adding posts and static pages—to prevent accidental updates or bugs. (This account lacks the permissions to update or add/modify plugins.) However, it’s common for the development company to go out of business or for the person in charge to leave, making it difficult to log in with stronger permissions (permissions to update WordPress itself, plugins, or themes). This can lead to vulnerabilities being left unaddressed, resulting in malware infections, the inability to use new features, or the inability to update PHP(because the plugins are outdated and do not support the new PHP version). Enabling Login with Administrator Privileges In this case, the quickest solution is to upload database access software to the server, manually change the administrator password, and then log in as an administrator. Upload the PHP program above to the server using an FTP client, access it, and enter the database connection settings stored in WordPress’s `wp-config.php` file to log in to the database. Open the table with the prefix _users (usually wp_users). Create a password for the administrator user (typically created by the development company), hash it using MD5, and save it. This will allow you to log in as this user. *Generally, the administrator user has an ID of 1. You can verify whether this user actually has administrator privileges by checking the wp_usermeta table for the following entry under user_id 1 (the user’s ID): wp_capabilities a:1:{s:13:&#8221;administrator&#8221;;b:1;} If you are able to log in to a site that hasn’t been updated for a long time, we also recommend running a malware scan and vulnerability assessment. [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal] What if you still can’t log in with administrator privileges? If you are unable to log in as an administrator, or if you can log in but cannot update plugins, it may be because code restricting functionality has been added to the theme’s `functions.php` file, or because a permission-restriction plugin is limiting your access.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10890</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<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>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>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>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>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>
		<item>
		<title>A brute force attack may be the cause of many 504 and 403 errors on your WordPress site</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10732</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 04 Feb 2026 02:07:06 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[database]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[error]]></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=10732</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[A brute force attack may be the cause of the frequent 504 and 403 errors on your WordPress site. We will explain the symptoms and how to deal with this issue. Server overload due to brute force attack A brute force attack is an attack technique that uses the WordPress administrator&#8217;s ID (which is relatively easy to obtain) and a dictionary of tens of thousands of commonly used passwords to repeatedly perform login enforcement, eventually attempting to match the password and successfully log in. If the password is strong enough, the login will not be successful. However, this attack may cause tens of thousands of accesses to the server in a short period of time, resulting in frequent 504(*) or 403 errors. What are 504 and 403 errors? A 503 error is an error where the server is overloaded and stops processing before retrieving data or displaying the site. Some servers (e.g., major shared servers) may also have a 403 error, which automatically bounces the process when the server is overloaded. How can I find out if my site is being brute-force stacked? One way to check if your site is being brute-forced is to look at the server logs. wp-login.php and xmlrpc.php may be brute-forced if they record excessive accesses. A security plugin can also detect brute force attacks. You can detect brute force attacks with the Hack Monitor feature enabled in the [Free] WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. The recorded brute force attacks are shown in the figure below To resolve the overload caused by brute force attacks Here are some measures to resolve server overload caused by brute force attacks. Eliminate log bloat Brute force attacks can increase the server load by bloating the site&#8217;s access logs, access analysis, and security logs. (If there are millions of logs in the database, simply writing new logs can slow down the site significantly and cause 503 errors.) In this case, it is possible to reduce the number of logs or prevent new logs from being recorded, thereby reducing the likelihood of 503 errors. Protect the login screen We can protect the login screen by preventing access to wp-login.php and xmlrpc.php, which are vulnerable to brute force attacks, by using security plugins, etc., or by preventing excessive access to these files. It is also effective to block access to the hacker&#8217;s site by directly blocking the IP of the brute force attacker, thereby preventing the hacker from gaining access to the site. Reference Why and How to Prevent WordPress Brute Force Attacks with Login Screen Security Alone We hope this was helpful.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10732</post-id>	</item>
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