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Should I leave WP-MalWatch installed or just run it once and delete?

WP-MalWatch only runs once a night and is your eyes and ears as to any strange behavior in your blog. Leave it installed. It won't impact performance and doesn't take any memory while not scanning.

What should I do if WP-Malware finds evidence that my site has been hacked?

Manually look at the files that WP-MalWare marks as suspect through the "view" option in the detailed report. If you find direct evidence that something is not right (e.g. - PHP files in the uploads directory structure), you will want to engage a professional who is knowledgeable of WordPress and restoring an installation or locating/eliminating malware. Visit our plugin home page for the most up to date information regarding malware blocking software and service professionals. PLEASE NOTE that there might be a solid reason for a file being there that WP-MalWatch finds. Ask questions before you delete.

How do I know if an .HTACCESS file found in a plugin directory is malicious?

View it in the detailed reports and look at it. If it implements a 301 redirect to a site that doesn't look right, you have a problem. If it does some basic interaction with the plugin's site, you are likely OK.

For more information on common directives found in HTACCESS files in WordPress installations, download our PDF <a href="http://how-to-blog.tv/security/wp-malwatch/common-htaccess-directives-for-wordpress/>Common HTACCESS Entries for WordPress.

How Can I prevent malware in my WordPress installation?

Several software vendors create monitoring, blocking, and prevention services for WordPress. We maintain a full list of security resources and products on <a href="http://how-to-blog.tv/security>How-To-Blog.TV

Why Does WP-MalWatch v1.1.2 only look for PHP files in the uploads directory and multiple .htaccess files?

The makers of WP-MalWatch believe that the development of software is an evolving process. We have an understanding of how hackers work; yet, we have to also listen to users in order to develop the right solution. The goal of our v1.0.X release series was to provide a solid plugin framework that performed one of the many things we wanted to accomplish. Since then, we have been listening to your feedback. 1.1.2 is a testament to this as we've incorporated the feedback and fixed the bugs reported by hundreds of users.

I installed WP-MalWatch and I got an error upon activating the plugin. Why?

If you received an error saying that the plugin had a fatal exception expecting a T_STRING on line 12 . . then you are running PHP4 on your hosting. You should contact your hosting provider and ask them to enable PHP5 on your hosting. If they can't, hosting is a commodity and you should consider looking for a provider that provides more up to date infrastructure. Version 1.0.4 and beyond traps this error.

Why is WP-MalWatch hard coded for a specific time in the early morning?

The short answer. . that is a safe time to scan directories and catches issues before the US workday begins. The long answer is that it was a functionality choice. We will provide full scheduling control in a future release of the plugin. Thanks for your patience.