Malware is a program specifically designed to disrupt, damage, or gain unauthorized access to a website, server, or any computer system. Getting attacked by malware could be the worst nightmare. But there are ways to defend yourself from these attacks. WordPress malware removal tools can be the answer to your WP site regarding this.
In this article, we will share some of the best WordPress malware removal plugins, tools, and services that you can use to secure a WordPress site.
Wordfence – WordPress malware removal plugin
With over 4 million active installations, Wordfence is the most popular security plugin for WordPress. Wordfence is also considered the best security plugin for WordPress by many.
Wordfence built a powerful endpoint firewall and a malware scanner completely from scratch. For this reason, both the firewall and the malware scanner have their own unique features. Wordfence has also outfitted the firewall with the latest and updated rules and malware signatures. Wordfence detects and indexes suspicious IP addresses and blocks any incoming attacks accordingly.
Regardless of the popularity of Wordfence, the detection of malware through signature is a relatively old method for identifying malicious activities on your website. A malware that hasn’t been detected before won’t have a signature. In that case, WordFense’s malware scanner might fail to detect that particular malware.
But there are many features of Wordfence that make it an excellent security plugin. Let us look at some of those features.
- Two-factor authentication
Two-factor authentication is a very reliable way of protecting your system from attacks. It combines the credentials of your website with permission from your phone. Thus, methods such as brute force and dictionary attacks will not get the site hacked.
- Leaked password protection
Your online password(s) might be leaked in various data breaches and you might not even know. If you use the same password for multiple sites, that would be a problem. Wordfence informs you about the compromised passwords so that you can take necessary steps.
- Advanced manual blocking
Wordfence will warn you if it finds any suspicious activity through the pattern matching and IP ranges. You can quickly block these IPs, humans, bots, or an entire malicious network.
- Live traffic
A unique feature of Wordfence is that it shows you the live traffic flow along with the hack attempt. It also shows you the location, IP address, and the time of the day the hack was attempted. This is a feature that isn’t available on other analytical tools.
- Country blocking (premium feature)
You can block an entire country from accessing your site if you suspect that it is involved in malicious activity. However, this is a premium feature of Wordfence.
- Repair files
Wordfence has a feature known as “Source Code Verification”. This feature detects what changes were made in your WordPress theme and plugin files and helps you recover from an attack. Therefore, even if your WordPress files get corrupted or compromised, Wordfence can recover your original website effortlessly.
Price: There is a free version of Wordfence. You can use that for basic protection. The premium plan starts at $99 for one site.
Learn More: Best WordPress Security Plugins
Sucuri
Sucuri is a well-known brand in web security and protection. It is a cloud-based platform. It provides live monitoring and a firewall that protects against various malware attacks. The Sucuri WordPress plugin has over 800,000 active installations. This makes Sucuri one of the most popular and reliable security plugins.
Sucuri site checker scans all the files and databases of your website. It notifies you if there is any abnormality in the files or within the code. Then with your permission, Sucuri can remove the threats and restore your website to a healthier state. It also has a firewall that filters all the incoming traffic and stops malicious agents as much as possible.
Let’s take a look at the core Sucuri features.
- Automatic and manual cleanups
Sucuri uses scripts and other tools to scan your website for malicious codes. A security team also performs security checks manually to make sure your website is secure.
- Removes blocklist status
When a site has malware, the visitors are alerted about it. This causes the visitors to leave that website immediately. It is said that websites lose 95% of their traffic due to security warnings. Sucuri submits blocklist removal requests on your behalf (once it’s secure).
- Experienced security analysts
Sucuri has a team of highly experienced researchers who monitor the activities of the websites it covers. Therefore, even if a threat bypasses the firewall, it cannot escape the eyes of a security expert.
- Reliable support
Sucuri has a dedicated and reliable support team ready to assist you whenever you require it.
- Platform agnostic
Sucuri doesn’t only provide security for WordPress websites. Whether you use a CMS or not, Sucuri can work on any sort of website. But they mostly specialize in open-source CMSs.
- Repair SEO spam
If there are spam SEO keywords and link injections on your website, it might hurt your brand. Sucuri can work on omitting spam on your website so that it looks perfect to search engines.
Price: Sucuri has a free version that gives you some core protection from malware. But the premium features offer a lot more. The Basic Platform starts from $199.9 per year, The Pro Platform is 299.9 per year and the Business Platform is $499.9 per year.
MalCare
MalCare is a cloud-based deep malware scanner that protects your website from malware threats. It has a very powerful system that can detect most types of malware.
If you want to know how to make WordPress site secure without harming your site’s performance, then you can count on MalCare. One of the most unique features of MalCare is that it doesn’t slow down your website. Firewall filtering and security scans take up a lot of processing power. If this processing takes place in YOUR server, that can slow down your site. This doesn’t only hurt your load speed but also ranks your website down which could be catastrophic for your business. MalCare executes all the processing on their own server which won’t put pressure on your web server.
MalCare not only protects your website from malicious threats but also boosts the performance of your website. Some of the features of MalCare are given below:
- Cloud-based malware scanning
MalCare’s advanced scanning process detects and eliminates threats even if it is a complex one. It also doesn’t put pressure on your server and makes sure that your site is running fast, smooth, and malware-free.
- Web Application Firewall (WAP)
MalCare blocks hackers and bots from breaching your website’s security with their smart firewall application.
- Captcha-based login protection
With MalCare’s captcha login protection, your website will be safe from brute force attacks and many malicious bots.
- View hacked files (paid)
You will be able to see which files are infected on your WordPress website. MalCare also identifies which plugins or themes were targeted by the hackers.
- Industry-first instant malware removal (paid)
MalCare is really easy to set up and use. With just one click you can scan and fix your website in less than 60 seconds.
- Geo-blocking (paid)
You can select a geographical location and deny access to your website from that region. This gives you advanced protection from the locations where you suspect hackers are more active.
Price: The free version gives you some rudimentary-level protection from malware. But to get access to their ultimate protection, you have to get a paid plan. The basic package starts from $99 per year, the plus package is $149 per year and the pro package is $299 per year.
Learn More: How to Use the WordPress Password Generator and Stay Safe
Jetpack – VaultPress
Jetpack is an insanely popular WordPress multipurpose plugin. It has over 5 million active installations. Jetpack was created by WordPress experts to make WordPress websites safer and faster. It provides security and performance boost, marketing tools, design tools, etc.
However, in 2016 VaultPress partnered and got incorporated into Jetpack’s paid plans. Now JetPack provides a premium level of security along with all its other great features.
VaultPress provides you with standard protection from malware, virus, hackers, and other malicious activities. You can expect all the standard security features from VaultPress such as auto real-time backups and easy restores, malware scans, and protection from scams. Let’s look at some other VaultPress features.
- Automatic backups
Jetpack automatically backs up your website files and databases in real-time. It creates multiple backups and you can restore your files with one click. You will also have unlimited storage for your backup files.
- Automatic malware scan
Jetpack automatically performs malware scans from time to time. You can also perform the scan with a push of a button. Jetpack scans and removes malware or any other code threats in this way. You can recover and fix your site with ease.
- Protection from brute force attacks
Jetpack also protects your WordPress login page from brute force attacks.
- See every single site change
All the changes made in the site and which user(s) made the changes are all recorded for you to check. You can use this for maintenance, debugging, and checking for any suspicious activities on your website.
- 2-factor authentication
You can secure your WordPress login with the 2-Factor Authentication feature which provides an extra layer of security for your website.
- Uptime/downtime monitoring
Jetpack monitors your website’s uptime and downtime and informs you of the status of your website through email.
Price: The free version of Jetpack gives you protection from brute force attacks, provides site stats and CDN.
The paid packages start from $4.77 which is the Backup Daily package. The Security Daily package is $11.97 and the Complete package is $47.97 per month.
There are other package deals which you can compare for yourself. Just visit Jetpack’s website and see which package you want.
SecuPress
The SecuPress plugin has 30,000+ active installations. Even though it has a comparatively low installation number, SecuPress is a powerful anti-malware tool.
SecuPress has some great features to make your WordPress site safe and secure. It performs deep malware scans, blocks unauthorized accesses, suspicious IPs, and bots.
But having powerful security features doesn’t make a security plugin great. With a security plugin, you have to consider the performance, loading speed, and memory usage as well. SecuPress gives you strong protection and also ensures that it has the least impact on the site performance.
SecuPress has an intuitive and well-designed user-interface that blends with your WordPress dashboard. Now let’s look at some of the features of SecuPress.
- Anti-brute force login
The anti-brute force feature protects you from hackers trying to gain entry to your website through brute force attacks.
- Firewall
SecuPress sets a firewall application on your website and filters out all known suspicious traffic from your website keeping it safe.
- Security alerts and reports in PDF format
SecuPress will conduct malware and security scans on your WordPress website. It will alert you via email if it finds a suspicious code or entry. The plugin will also prepare a security report in PDF format for you to download and view.
- Block country by geolocation (Pro version only)
Like with many other malware plugins and tools, you will be able to block a geographical location that you think is suspicious in SecuPress. This is a pro feature, however, so in the free version, you will not have access to this option.
Banning IP addresses (Pro version only)
SecuPress does a good job of filtering out the suspicious IPs from entering your website. But you will have the option to block a particular IP that you suspect might cause you harm.
- 2-factor authentication (Pro version only)
The Two-Factor Authentication feature provides an extra layer of security. This is also a pro feature of SecuPress.
Price: The basic version is free for you to use but for added security, you might want to switch to the pro version. The pro version costs $69.99 for one site and $21.24 each for 10 sites. You can select a maximum number of 200 sites when the cost is $5.78 each. They have other services such as Malware Removal Request, Professional Configuration, Security Maintenance, etc.
Learn More: Best WordPress Maintenance Services in 2021
CodeGuard
CodeGuard delivers fast and reliable backups for websites. In fact, it is the leading provider of website backup services. It is also trusted by the largest hosting providers in the world. CodeGuard provides incremental backups at 99.9% reliability for over 100,000 websites globally.
CodeGuard also provides antimalware services. Whether you are building your site for a client or you just want to protect your own website, CodeGuard has got your back. Both of these packages give you solid protection from malware and suspicious IPs & bots.
CodeGuard provides a robust backup service and a dedicated support team to ensure the highest quality customer service. Let’s look at some of the features that CodeGuard provides:
- Malware Gone
The Malware Gone service is a powerful and intuitive approach to malware removal. Instead of relying on malware signatures, Malware Gone utilizes actionable intelligence from ChangeAlerts and then examines the collected information. Early-stage and next-generation malware may not have any detection signature. So, using this method, CodeGuard can identify and remove malware from your site and then recover your website from its backup.
- Automatic WordPress plugin updates
Outdated plugins may cause security issues for your website. It is very important to update to the latest released versions of your plugins. CodeGuard can update your plugins automatically as soon as new versions of the plugins are released.
- Website migration
Migrating to a new server is difficult and painful to do. CodeGuard assists you with your migration process and makes it safe and easy.
- Staging servers
The staging servers help you test a website before you launch it to an actual server. CodeGuard provides you with servers to test your website.
- Email backups
With the help of CodeGuard’s APIs, you can enable email backup.
- Change alert notification
CodeGuard sends you notifications anytime a change is made within your source code.
Price: You can use the product for a trial period of 14 days. They have several packages as follows:
Personal: $60 per month for 1 site and 5GB storage
Professional: $39 per month for 12 sites and 50GB Storage
Team: $79 per month 25 sites and 125GB storage
Small Business: $239 per month for 100 sites 500GB storage
Fix My Site
Fixmysite is a security service for your website. They have a team of professionals who are ready to help you with your website. They provide a wide range of services such as web assistance, repairing your WordPress website, assisting in website migration, speed optimization, etc.
There are many positive reviews from the users of Fixmysite. Let us take a look at the services they offer:
- Website assistance
If you have a small list of things that you want to change on your website, this is the service you are looking for. This doesn’t necessarily have to be a security task. Changing your website font, color theme, or even adding a function, you can rely on Fixmysite’s assistance.
- Repair
If you are having an issue with your websites such as a plugin conflict, internal server error, theme malfunctioning, or a complex technical problem, Fixmysite can take care of all those things and restore your website.
- Migration
Migrating to a new server is a lengthy task and takes a lot of your time. With Fixmysite’s help, migration becomes easy.
- Speed optimization
Fixmysite can boost your page loading speed. A slow-loading website has the highest bounce rate. This also harms your website’s rank in search results.
- Malware removal
Are you experiencing something suspicious on your website such as spam, unusual server usage, or maybe a warning sign? Then this might mean your website is hacked or has malware. Fixmysite can purge all the malware and viruses from your site.
- Redesign
Bored with your site’s old design and want to redesign the entire site? Fixmysite can help you make a perfect WordPress website.
Pricing: Fixmysite provides a lot of services. If a service you are looking for isn’t mentioned in their list, you can contact them through their website and describe your issue. They might be able to help. They offer a 100% money-back guarantee if they cannot solve your problem.
The price of their services are given below:
Small Task for $39
Repair for $49
Migration for $69
Speed Optimization for $99
Malware Removal for $119
Redesign for $599
Learn More: 7 Best WordPress Backup Plugins in 2021
WP Buffs
WP Buffs is a popular WordPress maintenance service provider. This organization offers 24/7 WordPress website maintenance, management and security. WP Buffs is well known for their premium WordPress support services.
Besides malware removal, WP Buffs provides you with almost all the things you might need for your WordPress website. Let’s look at some of their services.
- Speed Optimization
The standard time for a website to load is within 2 seconds. WP Buffs has a team dedicated to speeding up your website. They put your site through rigorous tests and work on each metric to improve your website’s speed.
- Powerful Security
WP Buffs use iThemes Security Pro and gives you access to this plugin. They make sure your website is protected from hackers, malware, bad bots, etc.
- Backups
WP Buffs performs real-time backups of your core website files and databases and stores them in their Amazon S3 servers. You can restore your website whenever you want with a click.
- 24/7 monitoring
WP Buffs inspects your website every minute of the day. That means your website is checked 1440 times a day. If something goes wrong and your website isn’t responding, they immediately take action.
- Premium plugins
WP Buffs use premium plugins to help you better maintain your website. So, when you switch to one of their plans, you will receive these premium plugins as well.
- Advanced website support
WP Buffs also provides you priority support for eCommerce, membership, LMS, or other advanced functionalities.
- Plugin, theme, and core file updates
When a theme or a plugin is outdated it has the risk of being hacked. WP Buffs updates all your plugins and themes. They also include this in their Monday reports to ensure your website is running smoothly.
Price: WP Buffs has 5 packages starting from $79/mo. But the first two packages don’t include malware removal. The 3rd and most popular package known as Perform gives you complete malware removal. The 4th and 5th package also provides the malware removal service.
cWatch – Comodo WordPress Malware Removal Tool
Comodo is a cybersecurity company based in the US. Comodo has developed antivirus and internet security programs that are great at providing overall security for your desktop. They have also developed systems that keep you safe online. cWatch is such a tool.
cWatch is Comodo’s malware removal tool. It can scan your entire website for abnormal behavior and signatures. It also scans for shady user accounts, unknown scheduled tasks, observe and detect foreign code in your website’s core files, etc.
After the issues in the website have been detected, cWatch then resolves the issues and restores your website to a pristine condition. Let’s now look at some of the features of cWatch:
- Low-cost and high protection
Hiring and training an internal security team could be an expensive process. Comodo manages your entire website monitoring and security incident investigation process, for on-premises, cloud, or hybrid environments. This gives you great security with reduced cost.
- Managed Web Application Firewall (WAP)
Comodo is a GIAC (Global Information Assurance Certification) certified company and they provide a SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) solution. Therefore, you won’t have any complex implementation or maintenance issues.
- Dedicated security experts
cWatch provides you with dedicated security expert teams to improve your overall security. You can recover from breaches and website compromises faster.
- Latest security technologies
cWatch is a fully managed cloud-based security program. It has a robust and smart firewall application that blocks advanced threats such as DDoS, SQL injection, and cross-site scripting attacks. It provides strong protection to WordPress, Joomla, and other CMS platforms.
- Live website stat monitoring on dashboard
You will have a live website stats panel right on your dashboard. You will be able to monitor your overall website condition through this panel.
Pricing: You can try cWatch using a 30-day trial. The Pro plan starts with $7.92 per month and the Premium plan is $19.92 per month which has the auto scan and malware removal features.
Learn More: How to Fix Error Establishing Database Connection in WordPress
Conclusion
Website security is something that many people do not consider. When they do take action, it’s usually when their site is already hacked. It’s so much easier if security measures are taken right from the start. This reduces the chances of being hacked and improves your online safety.
There are various plugins, tools, and services you can take help from when you suspect that your site is under attack. You should always think from a safety-first angle and install the plugins or take security actions to ensure your website’s safety. You can use any of the tools mentioned in this article. We hope that this post was helpful for you. We wish that your website and online work remain safe & secure!
👉 Video: How to Set Up WordPress 2 Factor Authentication
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