Help Center

SMART Scan FAQ

SMART Scan FAQ

Does SMART delete any files from my server? The SMART scan result says some files were deleted. What does this mean?

No, SMART never deletes any files from your server. As our SMART scanner is programmed not to delete files, this means it saw that files were removed from your server from the last time the scan ran

If I move hosting providers, will I need to change the settings?

Yes, if you change where your website files are hosted you will need to create a new FTP user on your new server and update the settings in SMART

Does SMART scan databases?

No, SMART does not scan any databases.

SMART found malware but didn’t clean it. What happened?

This could be due to one of three reasons:

1. SMART was not configured to remove malware automatically during setup. Check the SMART Settings tab in the settings portion of your dashboard and ensure it is set to automatically remove malware.

2. SMART found malware it could not clean for a number of reasons. If this is the case, your site will need to be cleaned manually.

3. Your server is blocking our attempts to upload the cleaned files back to your server.

Why can’t SMART always clean the malware on my site?

There are new malicious codes and threats coming out all the time. As a result, SMART may sometimes find code it deems suspicious, but not know how to rectify the problem. This is why any suspicious code we find is reviewed by our research team to add to our database of threats.

The SMART scan results are saying it scanned only one file. Why is this?

When you created an FTP user, it may have asked for a directory to assign to it. On some hosting dashboards, it will automatically input the username as a directory and create that directory with one file in it named ftpquota. The way to fix this is to delete that ftp user in your hosting settings, re-add it and ensure that the field only says public_html. If you are still unsure of this, ask your hosting provider for assistance.

Locating Your FTP Login Information

If your hosting provider is not listed below, the best thing to do is to contact them for assistance. You can also search “ftp login information” and the name of your hosting provider on a search engine and you should find exact instructions in their respective support section.

Please note that these are help pages explaining how to find and use your FTP manager at specific hosts, not links to FTP managers.

Godaddy

https://www.godaddy.com/help/add-ftp-users-1236

Godaddy Managed Wordpress

https://www.godaddy.com/help/managed-wordpress-sftp-ssh-and-phpmyadmin-credentials-8940

Bluehost

https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/ftpaccounts

Network Solutions

http://www.networksolutions.com/support/how-to-set-up-ftp-account-s/

HostGator

http://support.hostgator.com/articles/how-to-create-an-ftp-account-in-cpanel

FatCow