plugins folder exclude rule no longer exists

[Rich]

I wasn’t sure how to create the subject line but I want to report a strange thing that has happened.  I have several sites using BPS Pro and confirmed that this is happening.

I noticed yesterday that one of my sites had over 4000 files in the wp-content ARQ backup.  It surprised me because the normal number is less than 2K.  I then realized that, in spite of a plugins exclude rule, it had backed up my plugins folder.  This folder had been heretofore excluded prior to the upgrade.

Deleting the contents of wp-content from the ARQ screen did not resolve it.  Twice, I applied the exclude rule and deleted the wp-content backup and it still backed up the plugins folder.  I was only able to get it to stop backing up the plugins folder after I went to the folder via FTP to delete all the empty folders that remained under plugins even after I hit the delete wp-content backups button.

This happened on two sites and then I went to upgrade another site.  The plugins backup folder was clearly empty.  I checked it via FTP and refreshed.  In the process of the upgrade (even though plugins had been excluded), it backed up the plugins folder.  I’m not sure how or when but I can confirm that this occurred during upgrade.

[AITpro Admin]

Nothing in BPS Pro 9.8 changed regarding AutoRestore.  Create a temporary Administrator login to this website and send it to edward [at] ait-pro [dot] com so I can see what problem is occurring on this particular website.

[Rich]

At this point, the problem has gone away.  I’m simply trying to report what happened on 3 different sites.  As soon as I deleted the files backed up by ARQ (even though the plugins exclude was in all 3) the problem did not persist.

While I’m not disputing that there is anything new about the ARQ function there are steps in the 9.8 upgrade that I haven’t seen in many upgrades.  The first was the need to re-create the Secure .htaccess file and re-enable bulletproof mode for the root and wp-admin folders.  The other was the introduction of the PFW Autopilot.  I’m not sure why the above described happened but it’s the first upgrade of about half a dozen that I’ve performed on multiple sites where the plugins folder started getting included in the wp-content backup.

Incidentally, I love the PFW autopilot feature.  I had pretty much disabled PFW for all my sites because it was such a pain in the rear trying to figure out all the whitelist rules.

[AITpro Admin]

Yes. The BPS Pro 9.8 upgrade focused on 2 primary things:  new htaccess code and the Plugin Firewall AutoPilot Mode.

http://www.ait-pro.com/aitpro-blog/5075/bulletproof-security-pro/whats-new-in-bulletproof-security-pro-9-8/

Ok well if everything is working with the exclude rules then we will just call it a mystery. 😉  Since you are the only person who reported this particular issue/problem then it was just some kind of isolated thing that was occurring on your sites for whatever reason.

Yep Plugin Firewall AutoPilot Mode is a huge time saver.  There are a couple of adjustments/additions that need to be made, but that is always par for the course with any new thing that is created == fine tuning for the other 1,000 scenarios you did not think of during development.  😉

 

[Rich]

Thanks.  I was just reporting it with the thought that, if it occurs elsewhere, it may be worth looking into.  I chalk it up to a nuisance at most.

[Author]

Posts