Malware Scanner
cPGuard's active background scanner continuously protects your websites by monitoring file activities, executing schedules, and running heuristics. Control scanner services, watchlist directories, exclusions, and automatic cleanup using these commands.
Scanner Service
Check Scanner Status
View current background service state:
cpgcli scanner --status
Enable Active Scanner
cpgcli scanner --enable
Disable Active Scanner
cpgcli scanner --disable
Restart Scanner Service
cpgcli scanner --restart
Scheduled Scans
Enable or config timed background checks to run as incremental/deep scanners.
Enable Daily Scans
Runs at midnight to re-check files modified in the last 24 hours:
cpgcli dailyscan --enable
Disable Daily Scans
cpgcli dailyscan --disable
Enable Weekly Scans
Runs on Sunday midnight to re-check files modified inside the last week:
cpgcli weeklyscan --enable
Disable Weekly Scans
cpgcli weeklyscan --disable
AI Scanning Heuristics
Toggle smart machine-learning checks for suspicious or unknown threats.
Enable AI Heuristic Scan
cpgcli ai-scan --enable
Disable AI Heuristic Scan
cpgcli ai-scan --disable
Watchlist Directories watch
Manage paths continuously monitored by the cPGuard filesystem sensor.
View all watch positions
Print every directory in the current watchlist:
cpgcli watch --all
List user-added directories
Preview custom directories appended manually:
cpgcli watch --list
Add directory to watchlist
Include custom directories (always provide absolute paths):
cpgcli watch --add /home/user/public_html
Remove directory from watchlist
cpgcli watch --remove /home/user/public_html
:::danger Do Not Add System Paths
Adding systemic system paths (such as /etc, /var, /usr) to the automatic filesystem watchlist is strongly discouraged. It can degrade server performance and create unnecessary stability risks.
:::
Exclusion Whitelists whitelist
Define safe accounts or clean file paths to ignore during active scan executions.
List Whitelisted Users
cpgcli whitelist --user --list
Add Users to Whitelist
Multiple usernames can be separated by commas:
cpgcli whitelist --user --add user1,user2
Remove Users from Whitelist
cpgcli whitelist --user --remove user1
List Whitelisted Files
cpgcli whitelist --file --list
Add File to Whitelist
Provide absolute paths to safe PHP or script files:
cpgcli whitelist --file --add /home/user/public_html/safe.php
Remove File from Whitelist
cpgcli whitelist --file --remove /home/user/public_html/safe.php
Custom Scanner Blacklists blacklist
Force-flag specific scripts or paths as malicious during scans.
List Blacklisted Files
cpgcli blacklist --file --list
Add File to Blacklist
cpgcli blacklist --file --add /home/user/public_html/untrusted.php
Remove File from Blacklist
cpgcli blacklist --file --remove /home/user/public_html/untrusted.php
Default Threat Actions file-action
Establish immediate, automated responses relative to matching threat classifications.
Set Action for Confirmed Viruses
Supported values: email, disable, quarantine.
cpgcli file-action --virus quarantine
Set Action for Suspicious Files
cpgcli file-action --suspicious email
Set Action for Malicious Binaries
cpgcli file-action --binary quarantine
Enable Symbolic Link Action
Enable automatic deletion of insecure symbolic links:
cpgcli file-action --symbolic-link enable
Disable Symbolic Link Action
cpgcli file-action --symbolic-link disable
Automatic Malware Cleanup cleanup
Enable automatic mitigation of injected backdoors from core scripts without deleting the file entirely.
Enable Automated Cleanup
cpgcli cleanup --enable
Disable Automated Cleanup
cpgcli cleanup --disable
Scanner Log Actions log-action
Execute bulk processes or administrative restorations across threat incident logs.
Restore Quarantined File
cpgcli log-action --restore --log-id 54845
Move Files to Quarantine
cpgcli log-action --quarantine --from '-24 hours' --to 'now'
Delete Marked Files
cpgcli log-action --delete --signature '{HEX}Something' --file 'index.php'
Disable Infected Scripts
cpgcli log-action --disable --from '01-08-2023' --to '03-08-2023'
Report Files report
Coordinate with OPSSHIELD laboratories to flag misclassifications or point out missed strains.
Report False Positive
If a harmless file was flagged:
cpgcli report --false-positive /home/user/public_html/safe.php --desc 'Clean asset'
Report Undetected Malware
If a backdoor went unchecked:
cpgcli report --virus /home/user/public_html/webshell.php --desc 'Missed variant'