WordPress is the most popular CMS/platform that most businesses and people use to build their websites. While its popularity makes it easier to find support for using WordPress, it is a double-ended sword since it has become a target for both hackers and malware.
The fight against hackers, viruses, and malware is constantly evolving as hackers are continuously create malicious attacks to make it difficult to recover WordPress site. They develop new malware so they can penetrate the upgraded anti malware programs. Hackers enjoy making malware because it allows them to track visitors and incorporate their own advertisements and banners. It also gives them a way to access personal and useful information, such as email addresses, passwords, and bank accounts. Some of the hackers make it difficult for the owner to do a WordPress malware removal, just for the fun of it.
If your WP site has a malware, you can see a significant reduction of the usual traffic to your WP site. Malware makes search engines block your website and turn visitors away. Since search engines are usually where users find resources from the internet, your WordPress site will be the most affected from the malicious mind that hacked vulnerable WordPress sites.
While WordPress already has a default malware scanner, there are also plugins that do the same thing and more, aside from a website malware removal. The best managed WordPress service are not commonly affected since there are stick WordPress malware removal plugins that are provided. For those who are managing their own WordPress sites, it can be challenging to keep the site clean as malicious codes are easily embedded in themes and other plugins.
Best WordPress Malware Removal Plugins
Here are 11 of the best WordPress malware removal solutions that were developed in order to help achieve a clean WordPress site:
1. WordFence
This is particularly a go-to plugin for WP firewall and malware scanner, WordFence offers three core features for a complete protection of your WordPress site. First is the WordPress Firewall that is a web application firewall to determine and block malicious traffic as soon as it is detected. It is constantly updated to identify new malicious codes that are introduced by hackers. The second one is WordPress Security Scanner that checks for core files, installed themes, and plugins for malware. It can also scan for SEO spam, malicious redirects, and suspicious code injections. Lastly, it has WordPress Security Tools that is actually an array of useful tools for live traffic monitoring, limiting login attempts, spam comment filtering, IP address/user agent blocking, email notifications, and generating monthly reports. There are WordFence solutions that you can download for free but the premium version is such a steal at only $99 per year.
2. Sucuri
This is a feature-rich plugin that targets hacking issues and prevents future attacks. Sucuri is diligent at upgrading its product because hackers are also quick at introducing new malicious codes. With Sucuri’s monitoring tools, you can set it to give you instant alerts so you can take immediate actions. It also has SiteCheck to quickly scan for any malware while on the go. Sucuri comes in a usable free version but the premium version is bundled with extra tools such as dedicated customer support, frequent scans, and even SSL certificates. Be warned thought hat Sucuri does not come cheap, although it is a cheaper option if you are going to count the damage that could happen if the website is targeted and is successfully taken over by hackers.
3. CleanTalk Security and Malware Scan
CleanTalk may be a small company based in Nevada but it has been around since 2014. Its security tools are used by over 360,000 websites. CleanTalk has a cloud-based malware scan service that scans for both malware and viruses. Aside from scanning multiple types of threats, CleanTalk also has other security-related tools such as firewalls, brute force protection, audit log, and IP-based blocking. It can be used for free but there are also premium tools available if you want to include more methods of keeping a secure WordPress site.
4. MalCare – BlogVault
is a reputable company that provides daily malware scans for as low are $99 per site. It offers Malware, a new service that minimizes the need to constantly perform a WordPress malware removal. With MalCare, you get to have early malware detection with its automatic scanner. This will help prevent any damage from happening since the malware is detected early. Since MalCare has its own servers, it comes light or even zero load on your WordPress server. It can detect hard to find malwares using 100 signals that were developed developed after a series of analyzing 240,000 websites. MalCare has a One-Click Malware Cleaner to let you zap up a malware even without waiting for a technical team to work on it. Finally, MalCare offers a secure WP backup as a safety net when your website gets hacked.
5. iThemes Security
This plugin offers over 30 ways to secure your WordPress site. There are features that helps prevent unauthorized access using a two-factor authentication, security keys, etc. You can get to schedule malware scanning ahead of time so that brute force attacks and other problematic parties are blocked at once. It also comes with a default monitoring system so you are instantly alerted if there are any suspicious changes in your WP account. iThemes may also be set to prevent logins during a specific time period and limit the information that attackers use to guess credentials. The free version is fine but a premium account will give you access to a full customer support, timely updates, and multi-site support.
6. Jetpack
One plugin that you may constantly hear about is Jetpack. It is developed by Automattic, WordPress’ parent company. Most of Jetpack’s security features are focused against brute force attacks and spam messages. It is useful at monitoring downtimes so you will see the pattern when the website is not available. Jetpacks also controls secured logins by giving you the option to use the two-factor authentication in order to deter unauthorized parties from accessing the site. It automatically provides WordPress malware removal and other fixes as soon as issues are identified from a scan. The premium version is bundled with expanded backup features along with a number of services that are not available on the free version.
7. BulletProof Security
This plugin uses a one-click setup wizard for an easy installation process. Side from automatic fixes, it has other features too like firewall, backup key files, robust monitoring tools, and detailed error logging. These are quite sufficient in flagging suspicious activities right away. As a bonus for premium services, the WordPress malware removal scanner comes with skins for themes and 16 other mini-plugins to further boost the security features of BulletProof Security. These advanced functionality for this plugin is well-appreciated by tech-savvy users since they make the site impossible to hack with the multiple layers of added security features.
8. Hide My WP
Another popular security plugin, Hide My WP is actually a nifty little tool. Hackers are enticed to hack a certain website the instant that it becomes clear that it uses WordPress as its platform. Hide My WP works like a charm in hiding the fact that you have WordPress CMS. WP detectors, like Wappalyzer and Builtwith cannot penetrate through this plugin so it really secures the site. In case there are still persistent hackers who will try to do SQL injection and XSS on the site’s codes, Hide My WP takes care of it using an advanced intrusion detector. It can easily detect a suspicious attack that can possibly harm the site.
Ninja Scanner
It is developed by Ninja Technology Network (NinTechNet) along with other security and back-up related plugins for WP site owners. Some of its popular services include Ninja Firewall which is a web application firewall for PHP applications. But their most useful product is the NinjaScanner which is a very effective anti-virus scanner. It is a lightweight plugin that works fast in checking for malware and viruses. Aside from the common vulnerabilities, it also scans the database for a complete file integrity checking, comparisons, and sandboxes quarantined files. It can be downloaded for free but the premium version has additional features plus a dedicated support coming from the whole NinTechNet team.
10. VaultPress
VaultPress by Automattic provides a real-time backup and security products and services for any WordPress site. You can purchase different plan levels so you can adjust the security features according to your needs. Some plans are bundled with malware and infiltration scans and instant threat resolution. For those who have Jetpack, there is really no need to install VaultPress since there are many services and functions that are shared by the two plugins. If you prefer to have a lot of security features, then Jetpack is the way to go. VaultPress is more of a DIY security plugin since you can control which security features to have for the website.
11. SecuPress
Another great tool for WordPress malware removal is SecuPress. It comes with firewall, malware scanning, bot blocking, IP address blocking, and protection from brute force logins. One unique feature of SecuPress is that it can detect vulnerable plugins and themes. These are common entry points for hackers so it is useful to have a tool that can determine their flaws. SecuPress automatically makes a report in PDF format once it identifies any issues. The free version is already great as a proactive tool. The Pro version, however, is more feature-packed. Both versions are easy to use, by the way.
Bottom Line
It is a fact that website malware removal is difficult if you don’t have the best tools to scan for malicious codes. Some of this malware can do little harm but they do contribute in bringing the WordPress site down. Malware attacks can be undetectable as they can be embedded in themes, plugins, comments, apps, and others. Unless you perform a malware scan, then you wouldn’t find anything amiss on your WordPress site. There is a need to perform regular scans, install a reliable malware scanner plugin, or have the best managed WordPress service if you want to have a clean WordPress site.
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