Description
Content Guard Pro is a WordPress database malware scanner focused on threats hiding in posts, pages, custom post types, and Gutenberg blocks. It detects hidden SEO spam, malicious scripts, suspicious iframes, encoded payloads, and spam links that file-only scanners often miss.
Use it after a hacked-site cleanup, during routine security reviews, or before publishing risky content. It is built for agencies, site owners, and WordPress professionals who need database-level visibility alongside file-based security tools.
What this WordPress malware scanner detects
- Hidden spam links and cloaked content using CSS tricks such as display:none, visibility:hidden, opacity:0, and font-size:0
- SEO spam injections including pharma, casino, crypto, gambling, and redirect spam
- Suspicious external scripts, iframes, and links in posts and blocks
- Obfuscated JavaScript such as eval(), fromCharCode(), Base64-encoded payloads, and data: URIs
- URL shorteners and redirectors hiding final destinations
- Cryptocurrency miner patterns
- Multi-layer encoded content that needs decoding before review
- Serialized malware in postmeta, selected options, and Elementor data when Standard Scan is enabled
Why Content Guard Pro is different
Most WordPress security plugins focus on files, firewalls, login protection, or vulnerability checks. Content Guard Pro adds database-first scanning for places attackers often abuse: post content, Gutenberg blocks, and deeper WordPress data fields.
It is designed to complement file scanning, not replace it.
Free plugin features
- Quick Scan for wp_posts content, including posts, pages, and custom post types
- WordPress malware removal
- Gutenberg-aware scanning with recursive block parsing
- Classic Editor and Block Editor single post scanning on save
- Confidence scores and severity labels to help prioritize review
- Admin notices, admin bar alerts, and dashboard summary
- 30-day scan history
- Allowlist and denylist controls to reduce false positives
- Unlimited manual scans
Premium adds deeper WordPress security scanning
- Standard Scan for postmeta and selected options data
- Elementor and deeper database scanning beyond wp_posts
- Scheduled daily scans
- Non-destructive quarantine
- Email alerts and webhooks
- Reputation checking and faster rule updates
- CSV/JSON export and REST API access on higher tiers
Built for real WordPress cleanup work
Content Guard Pro is useful when:
* Google flags hidden spam or redirects but file scans look clean
* A hacked site is cleaned and you want to verify nothing malicious remains in posts or metadata
* You need a database malware scanner alongside your existing WordPress security stack
* You want to review risky Gutenberg or Classic Editor content before publishing
Low-noise findings
Content Guard Pro uses confidence scoring, accessibility-aware rules, and allowlists so you can review suspicious content faster and spend less time on obvious false positives.
External services & privacy
This plugin can optionally connect to the Content Guard Pro cloud service for detection rule updates and security advisories. It also supports anonymous telemetry only if you explicitly opt in. Scanning runs locally on your server, and the plugin works offline with bundled rules.
When you opt in, the service may receive site URL, site name, WordPress version, PHP version, plugin version, optional email preferences you submit, and anonymous scan counts and duration. Post content, scan results, database contents, passwords, and visitor data are never sent.
Terms: https://contentguardpro.com/terms
Privacy Policy: https://contentguardpro.com/privacy
Documentation & support
Documentation: https://contentguardpro.com/docs
Support forum: https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/content-guard-pro/
Screenshots
Security Dashboard — Overview of findings, recent scans, and content security status. 
Database Malware Scanner — Run manual scans or configure on-save scanning. 
Scan History & Audit Trail — Review past scans with status, duration, and findings. 
Finding Details with Confidence Scoring — See severity, confidence, location, and remediation guidance. 
Security Reports & Analytics — Monitor threat trends and scan metrics over time. 
Detection Patterns & Allowlist Management — Manage trusted domains and detection rules. 
Pattern Tester — Test custom detection rules against sample content. 
Scanner Settings & Configuration — Tune performance and notification settings. 
System Diagnostics — Check plugin health, memory usage, and worker status. 
Help Center — Open docs, support, and troubleshooting resources. 
Admin Bar Security Alerts — View critical findings at a glance. 
Gutenberg Block Editor Integration — Scan block content as you edit and save. 
Classic Editor Security Panel — Review findings from the Classic Editor. 
Contextual Threat Explanation — See why content was flagged.
Installation
Automatic Installation (Recommended)
- In your WordPress admin, go to Plugins Add New
- Search for “Content Guard Pro”
- Click “Install Now” and then “Activate”
- The setup wizard will guide you through initial configuration
Manual Installation
- Download the plugin ZIP file
- Go to Plugins Add New Upload Plugin
- Upload the ZIP file and click “Install Now”
- Activate the plugin
After Activation
- Follow the setup wizard to configure scanning preferences
- Enable admin alerts for Critical findings (recommended)
- Run your first scan to establish a security baseline
FAQ
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What does this WordPress malware scanner scan in the free version?
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The free WordPress.org version includes Quick Scan for
wp_posts. That covers posts, pages, custom post types, and Gutenberg block content. It also includes on-save single post scans. -
What does Standard Scan add?
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Standard Scan adds deeper database scanning for postmeta and selected options data. This helps find malware and spam hidden outside the main post content.
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Yes. Content Guard Pro is built to detect hidden links, cloaked content, spam keywords, redirects, and malicious scripts stored in WordPress content.
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Does it scan Gutenberg, Classic Editor, or page builder data?
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Yes. Free scans cover Gutenberg content plus on-save scanning in the Block Editor and Classic Editor. Standard Scan also inspects deeper database fields such as postmeta and selected options, including Elementor data.
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Does it replace my firewall or file scanner?
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No. Content Guard Pro is a database-first WordPress security scanner. It works best alongside file scanners, firewalls, login protection, and vulnerability scanners such as Wordfence or Sucuri.
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Does it replace Wordfence or Sucuri?
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No — and it’s not meant to. Wordfence, Sucuri, and similar plugins are excellent at scanning files. Content Guard Pro scans your WordPress database, which file-based plugins don’t inspect. Use them together for complete coverage. Think of it as adding database forensics to your existing security toolkit.
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Will scans slow down my site?
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Scans run in background batches with auto-throttling. On-save scans are designed for quick feedback, while full scans are tuned to work on typical WordPress hosting.
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Does it delete content automatically?
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No. Content Guard Pro is non-destructive by design. You review findings first. Premium plans add quarantine tools that neutralize risky content without deleting it from the database.
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Can I use it after cleaning a hacked WordPress site?
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Yes. This is one of the main use cases. After file cleanup, run a Content Guard Pro scan to look for database malware, SEO spam, hidden links, and injected scripts that may still remain in WordPress content.
Reviews
Contributors & Developers
“Content Guard Pro – Database Malware Scanner, Spam Scanner & Security” is open source software. The following people have contributed to this plugin.
Contributors
Interested in development?
Browse the code, check out the SVN repository, or subscribe to the development log by RSS.
Changelog
1.2.0
- Improved reporting and dashboard to better visualize site health
1.1.1
- Fixed anomalous link profile detection so allowlisted domains no longer inflate suspicious link ratio checks.
- Improved findings filtering, pagination, and scan summaries for faster review after each scan.
- Clarified email alert recipient settings for the site admin email and additional recipients.
1.1.0
- Prevented duplicate scans for cleaner scan history and more reliable reporting.
- Added optional cloud security integration for rule updates and security advisories.
1.0.6
- Minor scan stability fixes.
1.0.3
- Added serialized data inspection for malware hidden in postmeta, selected options, and Elementor data.
- Added multi-layer decoding and deeper obfuscation detection for Base64, URL encoding, HTML entities, ROT13, hex, and octal payloads.
1.0.0
- Initial release — WordPress database malware scanning, Gutenberg block parsing, on-save scanning, confidence scoring, admin alerts, REST API, audit trail, and allowlist/denylist management.