Introduction to the Hack Guard module
There are 1001 ways to hack a WordPress site, and yours may already be infected.
Those infected/malware files could be anywhere… in our themes, plugins and WordPress core. To eliminate these files and prevent future hacks, we must do 4 things:
- Scan and detect infected files; then
- Eliminate any infection; and
- Repeat this process at least once a day.
- Ideally run scans more often than once a day
Shield Security helps you do all this completely automatically, using its Hack Guard module.
It's accessible from within the main navigation menu > Config > Scanners:
Hack Guard module is composed of various components designed to notify you of existing vulnerabilities on your WordPress site, or of hack liabilities. Depending on the component, an automatic repair feature may or may not be available, but you will be notified by email where appropriate.
The components available are as follows:
This is a combination of the 4 scanners:
- WordPress Core File Scan
- Unrecognised Core File Scan
- Plugin/Theme Guard Scan
- Malware Scan, including the AI-based Malware scanner.
- File Scan Areas (WP core, plugin, theme files)
- Automatic File Repair
- Auto-Filter Results - automatically remove items from results that are irrelevant.
- Scan Exclusions - exclude file or folder paths from scans.
- Abandoned Plugin Scanner
- Vulnerability Scanner
- File Locker System
- Scan Options
Note: You can also use a dedicated Scans section available from within the main plugin navigation menu to Run Scans manually, see Scan Results or Configure Scans through the Shield admin area:
Also, you can use "Results Display Options" to un-hide the ignored, repaired and deleted scan results.
To learn more about the Hack Guard module, read the blog article here.
We also highly recommend you to read A Complete Guide To The Shield Security Scans here.
Please note that
- Scan Options
- Malware Scanner
- Plugins and Themes Guard
- Vulnerabilities Scanner
- File Locker
are premium features and only available to Pro subscribers. To find out what the extra features for ShieldPRO are, please follow this link here.