About this plugin
Protect your WordPress site with the free AMWScan PHP antimalware engine, managed from a clear administrator-only workspace. AMWScan Antimalware Scanner Lite checks uploads before WordPress accepts them, runs deep scans on demand or on schedule, and turns each finding into a report you can review and act on.
Block threats at upload
Upload protection is enabled by default. It scans media and plugin or theme ZIP packages before WordPress accepts them. Detected files and uploads that cannot be scanned completely are blocked, and their reports are retained for review.
ZIP inspection requires the PHP ZIP extension; administrators can disable upload protection under Antimalware > Settings > Scan policy.
Scan on your schedule
- Choose manual scans or precisely scheduled background scans.
- Follow live checked-file progress, scan rate, and estimated time remaining.
- Resume interrupted scans instead of starting over.
- Move from Signatures, with the lowest alert volume, through Functions, Lite, and Exploits to Full for the broadest coverage.
- Receive security finding alerts and see recent activity in the WordPress dashboard widget.
- See unresolved security findings in the administrator toolbar and open reports with one click.
- Monitor incoming WordPress requests against a curated local indicator file and review matches without automatically blocking visitors.
- Browse local folders or connect to read-only FTP/FTPS sources.
See the whole security picture
AMWScan organizes canonical findings so you can distinguish malware from other security risks without sorting through duplicate results.
- Detect suspicious code and signatures under Malware detections, shown once and collapsed until you open them.
- Review integrity, vulnerability, and reputation checks together under Security findings.
- Use lifecycle exceptions to manage known findings without losing their history.
- Opt in to bounded ZIP content scanning under Antimalware > Settings > Scope and limits. Archives that exceed the safety limits are reported as incomplete coverage.
Review and remediate with confidence
Responsive reports make findings easy to filter and inspect across desktop and mobile screens. Report-only scanning is enabled by default, so a scan does not change files unless you choose a remediation action.
From the dashboard, review scan history, manage the whitelist and quarantine, create backups, and apply supported automatic fixes. Eligible installed-plugin files open in WordPress’s native plugin editor. File-changing actions require explicit confirmation.
Responsibility and backup warnings appear when automatic actions are enabled or saved and before report remediation or quarantine deletion. Lite can quarantine files and permanently delete them after confirmation, but it cannot restore them.
Built for WordPress administration
Only administrators with the manage_options capability can access AMWScan. The About page lists installed plugin and engine versions alongside documentation, support, contribution guidance, licensing, and project credits.
The plugin follows the WordPress site language. It includes bundled Italian, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Hindi, and Arabic translations, with English as the source and fallback. org language pack when available, then the bundled catalog.
Arabic and other right-to-left locales receive a mirrored admin layout while file paths and hashes remain left-to-right.
Optional AI finding review and external services
GenAI finding review is disabled by default. When an administrator enables it, AMWScan sends a bounded detected-code excerpt to the selected service for an advisory malware, false-positive, or uncertain verdict. AI results never trigger file changes automatically.
The recommended WordPress AI option is shown only when the WordPress AI Client is available. org/plugins/ai/. php ).
page=ai-wp-admin ). The applicable connector provider’s terms and privacy policy govern those requests.
Direct integrations are also available and send excerpts to the selected provider only after an administrator supplies credentials and enables review:
- OpenAI API: https://openai.com/policies/terms-of-use and https://openai.com/policies/privacy-policy
- Anthropic API: https://www.anthropic.com/legal/commercial-terms and https://www.anthropic.com/legal/privacy
- Google Gemini API: https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/terms and https://policies.google.com/privacy
Lite and Full editions
org without backend editor services, editor routes, or quarantined-file restoration code. The shared frontend bundle cannot enable these absent server features. Install only one AMWScan edition at a time.
The built-in diff editor and quarantined-file restoration are available only in the Full GitHub edition.
Interested in development?
com/marcocesarato/PHP-Antimalware-Scanner
Open Antimalware > About after installation to explore the plugin and its project resources.