8 Best WordPress Malware Scanners in 2024[Updated]

Select any WordPress Malware Scanner from the list given below, Click for more info.

• Wp Hacked Help
• Sucuri
• WordFence
• Quttera
• Theme Authenticity Checker
• Exploit Scanner
• Anti-Malware
• WP Antivirus Site Protection

UPDATE - Published a HUGE list of Wordpress vulnerability scanners here. Bookmark it !!

WordPress is the predominant CMS/platform that businesses and people choose to build their website on, but its very popularity makes it the target of hackers and malware. A variety of malware scanner solutions have been developed to prevent malicious attacks on WordPress. These would be your go to Wordpress malware removal tools , so bookmark this post.

The war against hackers and their malware is an ever-evolving process with hackers developing new malware continuously to penetrate the permanently upgraded anti malware solutions.

In addition to the default WordPress malware scanner of Automattic, there are many other malware scanners like WP hacked Help and malware scanner plugins like WordFence available to ensure WordPress malware removal as well as scan WordPress for malware regularly to prevent WordPress malware.

The first sign of a WordPress site hack is a significant reduction in traffic because search engines turn visitors away from your WordPress site to avoid visitors being infected with malware. Search engines protect users against the malicious minds that had WordPress hacked.

WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) used by people either for simple blogging or other purposes like setting up an e-commerce store. There are plugins and themes to choose from as well.

Some of them are free while other are not. Often, a few of these themes are actually uploaded by people who have tweaked them for their own gain.

WordPress offers a variety of themes to suit every type of business and industry. Malicious code can be easily embedded in themes, especially third-party themes, which is why WP site owners need to install a WP malware scanner plugin to perform a WordPress malware scan, so that we can find out the exact location and proceed to remove malware from wordpress site.

The unwanted code can also be embedded in comments, plugins, add-on apps, etc. A regular WP malware scan will detect malicious bits of code. Some unwanted code can do little harm, but some can bring your WordPress site down. Malware attacks can be brute or unobtrusive.

The fact is that you will not notice your WordPress site is under malware attack unless you perform regular malware scans, or you have a reliable malware scanner plugin or anti-malware installed that will check and remove malware from WordPress site.

The Main Reasons Hackers Inject Malware

Before you end up searching for WordPress site hacked how to fix in your browser, you have to understand why hackers infect WordPress sites with malware in the first place because that is the only way you will acknowledge the reality and danger of malware attacks.

Hackers inject malware into websites for one or more of the following reasons:

• Malware enhances back-linking and redirecting users to spam/unknown sites, also known as wordpress malware redirect hack.
• Malware allows them to track visitors
• Malware lets them incorporate their advertisements and banners
• Malware provides access to personal information (passwords, names, email addresses)
• Malware can cause your site to collapse for a specific reason or just for the fun of it

List Of 8 Best WordPress Malware Scanners in 2024

Let's start with our top wordpress

WP hacked help - A Next Gen WordPress Malware Scanner

WP hacked help is a top rated WordPress Security and malware removal service (Read reviews). It’s one of the best WordPress security services i have come across. And the best part? It’s super affordable.

The service offers a host of features but the one that stands out is WP hacked help’s One-Click Automated malware removal which is the first automated malware removal.

With this automatic cleaner, you can clean your site before your host suspends it or search engine blacklists it.

Apart from the cleaner, WP hacked help comes with a very powerful Scanner that pins down the location of complex and even unknown malware. Generally, other popular security plugins are unable to find such malware.

Moreover, unlike other popular security plugins, WP hacked help runs all its processes on its server without impacting your website one bit.

The security service comes integrated with an inbuilt powerful Firewall and Login Protection that ensures website protection day in and day out.

Sucuri

The Sucuri site checker is a reputable plugin in the WordPress security arena. It is a plugin that comes with many excellent features including security activity auditing, remote malware scanning, monitoring file integrity, monitorization of blacklisting, security hardening, security actions after hack attacks, security notifications, and website firewall, which starts at $16.66/month.

Sucuri’s free version scans WP installation and searches for changes in core files as given by WordPress.org. Wp-admin, root directory and wp-includes files are compared against the files distributed with your version number.

Files with inconsistencies are listed so that you get to review them as they might point to a hack.

WordFence

The WordPress Firewall of WordFence is a web app firewall that locates and deters any malicious traffic. It is the feature that is permanently maintained and updated by WordFence!

The WordPress Security Tool of WordFence is a set of security features, such as spam comment filtering, live traffic monitorization, login attempts limitation, user agent and IP address blocking, monthly reports, and email notifications.

Quttera Web Malware Scanner

The Exploit Scanner is a plugin that checks your WordPress installation’s files and database to discover any signs of them being compromised.

With this plugin, you are resented with the potentially malicious files and data detected so you can start removing them.

The Exploit Scanner plugin can confirm whether your WordPress site has been attacked and you can proceed with the removal of all infected files.

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC)

Theme Authenticity Checker is a plugin that scans your WordPress theme’s source files for unwanted, malicious, or suspicious code bits.

The plugin highlights the location of the malicious code as well as the websites that your corrupted WP theme is linking to via a list of static links.

Remember that spam links are added to your site through malicious code embedded in your theme. The purpose is to destroy your WordPress website’s credibility.

Theme Authenticity Checker (TAC) is a WordPress plugin which scans the source file of each installed WordPress theme for malicious code such as hidden footer links and Base64 codes.

Once detected, it then shows the path to the particular theme, the line number and a small piece of the distrusted code which makes it easy for a WordPress administrator to directly analyze a particular piece of suspicious code.

Exploit Scanner

Exploit Scanner can scan the files and database of your website and is able to detect if something dubious is present.

When using Exploit Scanner, remember that it will not prevent your site from a hacker’s attack and it won’t remove any suspicious files from your WordPress website.

It is there to help detect any suspicious files uploaded by the hacker. If you want it removed, you have to do it manually.

Anti-Malware

Anti-Malware is a WordPress plugin that can be used to scan and remove viruses, threats and other malicious things that may be present in your WordPress website.

Some of its important features include customized scan, complete scan, quick scan, removal of known threats automatically among many others.

You can register the plugin for free at gotmls. If you are not into “phone home” scripts, avoid this plugin as it uses the “phone home” feature to check for updates.

WP Antivirus Site Protection

WP Antivirus Site Protection is a security plugin for scanning WordPress themes as well as all the other files uploaded on your WordPress website.

Main features of WP Antivirus Site Protection includes scanning of each file uploaded on your website, updating their virus database on a regular basis, the removal of malware, sending alerts and notifications via email and lots more.

There are also certain features that you can pay for if you want even tighter security.

Ending thoughts

Malware scanner solutions can prevent a lot of damage caused by malicious attacks. They may also show false positive results, but nothing is foolproof in today’s age of the internet.

It is best to reduce the risk of malicious code being injected into your website by downloading plugins and themes directly from their sites of their authors rather than doubtful third-parties.

Getting a malware scanner plugin is the first step that you can take towards ensuring your WordPress website is protected.

Scanning your WordPress website for malware and other security threats is a continuous process that takes diligence to implement efficiently

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