Title: Strange characters in SQL dump
Last modified: September 26, 2016

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# Strange characters in SQL dump

 *  Resolved [webeno](https://wordpress.org/support/users/webeno/)
 * (@webeno)
 * [9 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/strange-characters-in-sql-dump/)
 * Specifically the table wp_wfFileMods shows very strange values; I guess it cannot
   convert MD5 generated text, or the utf-8 selection for character set when exporting
   is not the right one, but this is what I see in that table:
 *     ```
       INSERT INTO <code>wp_wfFileMods</code> (<code>filenameMD5</code>, <code>filename</code>, <code>knownFile</code>, <code>oldMD5</code>, <code>newMD5</code>) VALUES
       ('???	?????', '.ftpquota', 0, '$H?,wUR??A~>Ľ', '$H?,wUR??A~>Ľ'),
       ('?????Y禷x?t?, '.gitignore', 0, 'e?_????????', 'e?_????????'),
       ('?R???????????, '.htaccess', 0, '????0??홈??', '????0??홈??'),
       ('sV̶j?????L', '.user.ini', 0, '??=????>???, '??=????>???),
       ('5hன??>?ṗv??', 'error_log', 0, 'U;rXe?q\0W?uj?', 'U;rXe?q\0W?uj?'),
       ('??\0???+OW+?', 'index.php', 1, '\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0', '?%0;?s??Dm\\?:['),
       ('????/?9}?:w?', 'license.txt', 1, '\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0', '??e?1???x????'),
       ('?;?̭???+msx?', 'readme.8d770d7f78d7427a3f636e8d7db8de70.html', 0, '?Mf??38?????', '?Mf??38?????'),
       ('?&F?g??5xm?J&', 'robots.txt', 0, '77Jd??קVo??Q', '77Jd??קVo??Q'),
       ('3Y?#?6r\n?Yp???', 'wordfence-waf.php', 0, 'ࢋ??bB4??\n??, 'ࢋ??bB4??\n??),
       ('???g???o#?0', 'wp-activate.php', 1, '\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0\0', '???\Zx?΁o?\n'),
       ```
   
 * Any idea how best I could export a db with wordfence installed?
    -  This topic was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by [webeno](https://wordpress.org/support/users/webeno/).
    -  This topic was modified 9 years, 10 months ago by [webeno](https://wordpress.org/support/users/webeno/).

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

 *  Plugin Author [WFMattR](https://wordpress.org/support/users/wfmattr/)
 * (@wfmattr)
 * [9 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/strange-characters-in-sql-dump/#post-8240369)
 * Hi,
 * This is because some of the columns in that table and some others contain binary
   data for efficiency. It should still be possible to import files in that format,
   even though those parts are not easily readable in a text editor. (Some text 
   editors may also change the data if you make changes to other parts of the file,
   breaking the import.)
 * If you’re using phpmyadmin to export, you could enable the option “Dump binary
   columns in hexadecimal notation” when exporting, to have the data exported in
   a human-readable format. If you’re using ‘mysqldump’, you can use the option “–
   hex-blob”.
 * -Matt R
 *  Thread Starter [webeno](https://wordpress.org/support/users/webeno/)
 * (@webeno)
 * [9 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/strange-characters-in-sql-dump/#post-8240501)
 * Thank you very much for the detailed explanation. Indeed, if I don’t make a change
   to the file, it imports fine. Also, using –hex-blob option in mysqldump allows
   the SQL file to be viewed in a text editor.
 * Thanks a lot for your support!

Viewing 2 replies - 1 through 2 (of 2 total)

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 * 2 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [webeno](https://wordpress.org/support/users/webeno/)
 * Last activity: [9 years, 10 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/strange-characters-in-sql-dump/#post-8240501)
 * Status: resolved