Automated scanning ensures continuous protection without manual intervention. Content Guard Pro offers both scheduled scans and real-time on-save scanning.

Enabling Scheduled Scans #

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Settings
2. Find the Scheduling section
3. Check Enable Scheduled Scans
4. Configure your preferences:
– Frequency: Daily, Twice Daily, or Weekly
– Time: When scans should run (24-hour format)
– Mode: Quick or Standard
5. Click Save Changes

Frequency Options #

Daily (Recommended) #

• Runs once per day at your specified time
• Best balance of protection and resource usage
• Catches issues within 24 hours

Twice Daily #

• Runs every 12 hours
• Better for high-traffic or frequently updated sites
• Higher resource usage

Weekly #

• Runs once per week
• Suitable for low-activity sites
• Minimal resource impact

Choosing the Best Time #

Schedule scans during low-traffic periods:

• Recommended: 2:00 AM – 5:00 AM in your site’s primary timezone
• Avoid: Business hours or peak traffic times
• Consider: Your hosting provider’s maintenance windows

Note: The time is based on your WordPress timezone setting (Settings → General → Timezone).

How Scheduled Scans Work #

Scheduled scans use WordPress’s Action Scheduler for reliable background processing:

1. Trigger: At the scheduled time, Action Scheduler queues the scan
2. Processing: The scan runs in batches during subsequent page loads or cron runs
3. Completion: Results are saved and notifications sent
4. Rescheduling: The next scan is automatically scheduled

Ensuring Reliable Execution #

For scheduled scans to run reliably:

• WP-Cron: Must be functional (enabled by default)
• Traffic: Sites need some traffic to trigger cron events
• Alternative: Use a real server cron job for better reliability

Viewing Scheduled Scan Status #

Check your schedule status at Content Guard Pro → Scans:

• Next Scheduled Scan: Date and time of upcoming scan
• Last Scheduled Scan: When the previous automated scan ran
• Schedule Status: Active, Paused, or Disabled

Managing Scheduled Scans #

Temporarily Disable #

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Settings
2. Uncheck Enable Scheduled Scans
3. Click Save Changes

Your schedule settings are preserved and can be re-enabled later.

Skip Next Scheduled Scan #

Currently not supported. To skip a scan, temporarily disable scheduling and re-enable after the scheduled time.

Force Immediate Scheduled Scan #

You can trigger the scheduled scan early:

1. Go to Content Guard Pro → Scans
2. Click Run Scheduled Scan Now

This runs the scheduled scan immediately but doesn’t affect the next scheduled time.

Incremental vs. Full Scans #

Scheduled scans are incremental by default:

• First scan: Full scan of all content
• Subsequent scans: Focus on content modified since last scan
• Periodic full scan: Automatically runs full scan weekly

Force Full Rescan #

A full rescan triggers automatically when:

• Detection patterns are updated
• WordPress core is updated
• You manually request a full rescan

Troubleshooting Scheduled Scans #

Scans Not Running #

1. Check if WP-Cron is working (install “WP Cron Status Checker” plugin)
2. Verify scheduled scans are enabled in Settings
3. Check Action Scheduler status at Tools → Scheduled Actions
4. Look for errors in Content Guard Pro → Diagnostics

Scans Taking Too Long #

1. Switch to Quick Scan mode
2. Enable Safe Mode in Performance settings
3. Reduce batch size
4. Run during lower-traffic periods

See Performance Tuning for detailed optimization.