Top 3 Malware Removal Solutions to Protect Your WordPress Site

As one of the most popular open-source platforms, WordPress is a go-to choice for creating everything from personal blogs to complex e-commerce sites. In fact, approximately 43.4% of all websites are powered by WordPress.¹

Although WordPress is considered generally secure, without the appropriate security measures in place, your site can fall victim to various cyber threats, including malware infections. Such infections can result in blacklisting by search engines, reducing your site’s visibility and traffic.

To protect your website, it’s crucial to maintain a multi-layered security approach by employing a malware scanner and removal tool. Here are our top three malware removal solutions that can efficiently clean your WordPress site and safeguard it from future attacks.

Summary Table

Feature	MalCare	Wordfence	Sucuri
Free Features	Basic Malware Scanning, Firewall Protection, Login Protection, Vulnerability Detection	Malware Scanner, Basic WAF, Brute Force Protection, Login Security, Real-Time Monitoring, Security Incident Recovery, 2FA, Country Blocking	Security Activity Auditing, File Integrity Monitoring, Remote Malware Scanning, Blacklist Monitoring, Security Hardening, Core Integrity Check
Paid Features	Advanced Malware Scanning, One-Click Removal, Real-Time Protection, Detailed Reports, Performance Optimization, Priority Support, White-Labeling for Agencies	Real-Time Threat Updates, Advanced WAF, Country Blocking, Real-Time IP Blocklist, Advanced Manual Blocking, Priority Support, 24/7 Incident Response	Advanced WAF, Automated Malware Removal, Performance Optimization (CDN & SSL), Detailed Security Reports, Instant Alerts, 24/7 Incident Response, Blacklist Removal, Backup and Recovery
Pricing Plans	Free, Basic ($99/year), Plus ($149/year), Pro ($299/year)	Free, Premium ($119/year), Care ($490/year), Response ($950/year)	Basic ($199.99/year), Pro ($299.99/year), Business ($499.99/year), Junior Dev ($999.98/year)
Recommended For	Small to Medium-Sized Businesses, Content Creators	Small to Large Websites, E-commerce Sites, Agencies	Websites of All Sizes, Especially Those Needing Comprehensive Security

1. MalCare

MalCare is one of the most highly-rated security solutions for WordPress websites, combining advanced malware detection with efficient one-click removal. Its reliable performance and comprehensive protection make it a preferred option for many website administrators.

Unlike other plugins, MalCare ensures robust security without degrading server performance, so you can enjoy both protection and high-speed site performance.

MalCare’s free features include the following: 

• Basic Malware Scanning: The free version includes basic malware scanning capabilities, which perform regular scans to detect malware and vulnerabilities within your WordPress site.
• Firewall Protection: The free version comes with a firewall that helps protect against common threats such as SQL injections, cross-site scripting (XSS), and spam link injections. It includes basic rules to block unauthorized access.
• Login Protection: This feature helps prevent brute-force attacks by limiting login attempts and protecting your login page.
• Vulnerability Detection: The free version includes a vulnerability scanner that identifies security issues in your plugins and themes, helping you take action before these vulnerabilities can be exploited.

On the other hand, MalCare’s paid features offer enhanced security capabilities such as advanced malware scanning, one-click removal, and continuous real-time monitoring. With additional benefits like detailed security reports, performance optimization, and priority support, the premium plan provides extensive protection for your WordPress site.

MalCare is recommended for small to medium-sized businesses and content creators who need a comprehensive security tool to safeguard their WordPress websites.

MalCare’s Pricing Plans:

MalCare Free	MalCare Basic ($99/year)	MalCare Plus ($149/year)	MalCare Pro ($299/year)
• Basic Malware Scanning • Basic Firewall Protection • Login Protection • Vulnerability Detection	• Advanced Malware Scanning  • One-Click Malware Removal • Advanced Firewall Protection • Real-Time Protection • Login Protection • Vulnerability Detection • Daily Automated Backups • Uptime Monitoring • Detailed Security Reports • Priority Support	• All features included in the basic package plus White-Labeling for Agencies	• All the features included in the Plus package and Comprehensive Security with All Features

2. Wordfence

Wordfence stands out as a top WordPress security plugin due to its comprehensive features, including a real-time threat intelligence system, detailed traffic insights, and robust brute force attack protection.

Its unique live traffic view, country blocking, and extensive reporting capabilities offer site administrators unparalleled tools to safeguard their WordPress sites effectively.

Wordfence’s free features include the following: 

• Comprehensive Malware Scanner: Wordfence’s malware scanner checks your site for known malware signatures, malicious code, and suspicious behaviour. It scans core files, themes, and plugins for malware, backdoors, SEO spam, and malicious redirects​. 
• Basic Web Application Firewall (WAF): The free version includes a Basic Web Application Firewall (WAF) that safeguards your website from common threats such as SQL injections and cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.  It applies basic security rules to prevent unauthorized access and enhance your site’s defence.
• Login Security: To combat brute-force attacks, the free version of Wordfence limits login attempts, ensuring that repeated unauthorized access attempts are blocked, enhancing the security of your login process.
• Real-Time Monitoring: The real-time monitoring feature offers a live view of your website’s traffic, showcasing human visitors, bots, and hack attempts. This enables you to track visitor activity and respond to threats instantly.
• Security Incident Recovery Tools: Wordfence includes tools to help recover from security incidents by repairing altered files with clean versions from the WordPress repository, ensuring your site can be restored to a safe state.
• Threat Defense Feed: While premium users get real-time threat updates, free users benefit from a 30-day delayed update to firewall rules and malware signatures, still offering robust protection against many threats.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): The free version supports optional two-factor authentication, boosting login security by necessitating a second verification step.
• Country Blocking: The free version includes basic country-blocking capabilities, enabling you to block traffic from specific countries, while premium users get access to more advanced features.

While Wordfence’s free features seem comprehensive enough, its premium features provide advanced security capabilities, including real-time threat updates, sophisticated firewall protection, and country blocking. 

Additionally, premium users benefit from priority support, advanced two-factor authentication, manual IP blocking, and scheduled scans, offering a robust and all-encompassing security solution for WordPress websites​.

Wordfence Pricing Plans:

Wordfence Free	Wordfence Premium ($119/per year)	Wordfence Care ($490/per year)	Wordfence Response ($950/per year)
• Basic WAF • Malware Scanner (30-day delayed updates) • Brute force protection • Login security • Limited country blocking	• Real-time firewall rules and malware signatures  • Country blocking • Real-time IP blocklist • Advanced manual blocking • Priority support	• Includes all Premium features plus hands-on installation • Configuration • Optimization • Continuous security monitoring • Annual security audit	• Includes all Care features plus 24/7/365 incident response • 1-hour response time • Detailed after-action reports • Post-incident cleanup

3. Sucuri

Sucuri is one of the top choices for website security. It offers a complete security suite that includes malware cleanup, firewall implementation, and performance optimization. It’s a reliable solution for maintaining your website’s integrity. 

Sucuri offers comprehensive website security features, including an advanced web application firewall (WAF) for threat detection and DDoS protection, automated malware scanning and one-click removal, performance optimization through a CDN and SSL support, 24/7 monitoring with instant alerts, security hardening measures, and expert incident response. 

Sucuri offers a free WordPress plugin that provides basic security features such as: 

• Security Activity Auditing: Tracks and logs all security-related events within your WordPress site, providing visibility into user actions and potential security issues.
• File Integrity Monitoring: Monitors changes to core WordPress files and alerts you if any unauthorized modifications are detected, helping to ensure your site’s integrity.
• Remote Malware Scanning: Uses the Sucuri SiteCheck scanner to detect malware, malicious code, and other security threats on your website. This scan checks your site externally for potential issues.
• Blacklist Monitoring: Monitors major blacklists to ensure your website is not flagged by search engines or security services. If your site is blacklisted, you’ll receive an alert.
• Effective Security Hardening: Provides recommendations and tools to strengthen your WordPress site’s security posture, including changes to your .htaccess file and other configurations.
• Core Integrity Check: Verifies the integrity of WordPress core files (PHP, JavaScript, CSS) and ensures they match the original versions provided by WordPress, helping to detect unauthorized changes.

For site owners who want a more advanced security system, Sucuri’s premium plans deliver a suite of powerful features, including an advanced web application firewall, automated malware removal, and performance optimization through CDN and SSL support. 

The paid plans also offer detailed security reports, instant notifications, 24/7 incident response, blacklist removal, and thorough backup and disaster recovery services for enhanced site protection.

Sucuri’s Pricing Plans: 

Basic Platform ($199.99/per year)	Pro Platform ($299.99/per year)	Business Platform ($499.99/per year)	Junior Dev ($999.98/per year)
• Security scans every 12 hours • Unlimited malware and hack cleanups • 30-hour SLA for malware removal • Advanced WAF • Basic post-cleanup report • 24/7 ticket support	• Security scans every 6 hours • Unlimited malware and hack cleanups • 12-hour SLA for malware removal • Advanced WAF, SSL support • Advanced post-cleanup report • 24/7 ticket support	• Security scans every 30 minutes • Unlimited malware and hack cleanups • 6-hour SLA for malware removal • Advanced WAF • Comprehensive post-cleanup report • 24/7 ticket support	• Security scans every 6 hours • Covers 2-5 sites • Unlimited malware and hack cleanups • 12-hour SLA for malware removal • Advanced WAF, SSL support • Detailed post-cleanup report • 24/7 ticket support

Key Takeaways

Choosing the right malware removal solution is crucial for maintaining a secure WordPress site. MalCare offers advanced malware scanning and one-click removal without compromising performance, making it ideal for small to medium-sized businesses. 

Wordfence excels with its real-time threat intelligence and robust firewall, perfect for all site sizes. Sucuri stands out with comprehensive security features and expert incident response, providing peace of mind for high-traffic websites.

At Wisevu, we specialize in creating secure, high-performing websites. Our team of experts integrates top-tier security solutions to safeguard your site from threats. We continuously monitor and optimize your site, ensuring robust protection and peak performance. Partner with Wisevu to keep your online presence secure and resilient.

Sources: 

1. “Usage Statistics and Market Share of WordPress for Websites.” W3Techs, Q-Success, https://w3techs.com/technologies/details/cm-wordpress.