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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 automatic deletion of insecure symbolic links:

cpgcli file-action --symbolic-link enable
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'