This guide explains how to quarantine detected threats to protect your site while preserving the ability to review and restore content.

Quarantining a Single Finding #

From Findings List #

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Findings
2. Find the finding you want to quarantine
3. Click Quarantine in the actions column
4. Confirm the action when prompted

From Finding Details #

1. Click on a finding to view details
2. Click the Quarantine button
3. Confirm the action

From Editor (Gutenberg) #

1. Open the post in the editor
2. Open the Content Guard Pro sidebar panel
3. Click Quarantine next to the finding
4. Save the post (quarantine takes effect on render)

Bulk Quarantine #

Quarantine Multiple Findings #

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Findings
2. Check the boxes next to findings you want to quarantine
3. Select Quarantine from the Bulk Actions dropdown
4. Click Apply
5. Confirm the bulk action

Quarantine All for a Post #

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Findings
2. Filter by the specific post (search by post title or ID)
3. Select all visible findings
4. Apply bulk quarantine

Confirmation Process #

Before quarantine executes, you’ll see a confirmation dialog:

Are you sure you want to quarantine this content?
Finding: External script from suspicious-domain.example
Location: Post "My Blog Post" (ID: 123)
Field: post_content
[Cancel] [Quarantine]

For bulk actions:

You are about to quarantine 5 findings.
This will neutralize malicious content in the affected posts.
Content can be restored later if needed.
[Cancel] [Quarantine All]

What Happens After Quarantine #

Immediate Effects #

1. Finding status changes to “Quarantined”
2. Cache cleared for affected content
3. Audit log records the action
4. Content neutralized on next page view

Notifications #

Depending on your settings:

• Admin notice confirming quarantine
• Email notification (if configured)
• Dashboard widget updates

Verifying Quarantine #

Check the Live Page #

1. Visit the affected page as a logged-out user
2. Verify malicious content is no longer visible
3. Check page source to confirm scripts/iframes removed

Check Findings Status #

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Findings
2. Verify the finding shows “Quarantined” status
3. Check the timestamp of the status change

Check Quarantine List #

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Quarantine
2. Confirm the item appears in the list
3. View details to see what was neutralized

Best Practices #

When to Quarantine Immediately #

• Critical severity findings – Don’t wait, quarantine now
• Active malware – Crypto miners, redirect scripts
• Confirmed phishing – Fake login forms
• External scripts – Unknown domains

When to Investigate First #

• Review severity findings – May be false positives
• SEO spam keywords – Could be legitimate content
• Unusual patterns – Need context to determine

Documentation #

For each quarantine action, consider documenting:

• Why you quarantined
• What investigation you did
• Whether you plan to edit or restore later

Quarantine and SEO #

Minimal SEO Impact #

• Content structure remains intact
• Text content preserved (only malicious elements removed)
• Links converted to spans (text preserved)
• Search engines see clean content

Considerations #

• Removed iframes may affect embedded content SEO
• External resources removed may change page appearance
• Review quarantined content promptly to make permanent fixes

Common Quarantine Scenarios #

Scenario 1: Crypto Miner Detected #

1. Finding: crypto_miner – Coinhive script
2. Action: Immediate quarantine
3. Effect: Mining script completely removed
4. Follow-up: Investigate how it got there

Scenario 2: Hidden Spam Links #

1. Finding: hidden_external_link – SEO spam
2. Action: Quarantine then investigate
3. Effect: Links converted to non-clickable spans
4. Follow-up: Edit post to permanently remove

Scenario 3: Suspicious Shortener #

1. Finding: url_shortener – bit.ly link
2. Action: Investigate first – may be legitimate
3. If malicious: Quarantine
4. If legitimate: Ignore or allowlist

Undoing Quarantine #

If you quarantine by mistake or determine the finding was a false positive:

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Quarantine
2. Find the quarantined item
3. Click Restore
4. Content returns to normal rendering

See Restoring Quarantined Items for details.