Unauthorized installation and activation

  • Arunas Liuiza

    (@ideag)


    1 week, 5 days ago

    This plugin has been installed and activated on all my Siteground-hosted sites without my authorization or even knowledge.

    Once confronted about this, Siteground support tried to lie about it, stating that they did send out a notice and allowed users to opt out. That is a lie, nothing beyond default update notice for 7.0 WP Core update was sent.

    Initially the support refused to clean up this mess, trying to shift the burden on me, but after some pushback agreed to remove the plugin themselves. As of time of publication this has not happened yet.

    I believe this plugin should be banned from the repository for trying to game usage stats by sneakily boosting user numbers without site owners’ consent. It might even qualify as a cybersecurity incident.

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)
  • Daniela Ivanova

    (@daniellaivanova)

    1 week, 5 days ago

    Hello @ideag,

    Thank you for your feedback.

    Regarding the notification process, a dedicated advisory email was sent out to our WordPress users detailing the introduction of the SiteGround AI Agent plugin as a connector for the new WordPress 7.0 core framework. However, we recognize that an automatic rollout, rather than a strict opt-in choice, can disrupt administrative workflows and create unnecessary overhead for site owners.

    Following up on your interaction with our support team, I have reviewed your ticket and can confirm that the plugin has now been completely deactivated and deleted across your websites as requested. It will not be automatically reinstalled.

    Your feedback regarding deployment boundaries and professional control over live hosting environments has been noted. I am passing your comments directly to our product management and development teams as they re-evaluate our deployment methods for future integrations.

    Best regards,
    Daniela Ivanova

Viewing 1 replies (of 1 total)

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