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Table of Contents

Website File Changes Monitor Plugin Changelog

1.8.5 (2023-08-18)

Improvements

  • Updated the plugin so it is compatable with the upcoming release of WP Activity Log 4.6.
  • Updated branding (rebranded to Melapress)
  • Moved database creation code as part of the install.
  • Added a new option to “unclog” a dorment scan.

Bug fixes

  • Fixed a fatal error “Call to undefined function wp_timezone_string” triggered in some edge cases.
  • Fixed: WP Activity Log was not reporting file scanning events.

1.8.3 (2022-07-13)

Improvements

  • Remove obsolete upgrade classes for older versions of the plugin.
  • Revised and ensurce all SQL statements are prepared statements.
  • “Allowed files” setting now accepts a full path to an individual file and not just the filename (in case you have multiple files with the same name in different directories).
  • Improved help text positioning and content.

Security fix

  • SQL injection can be executed by users who have the Administrator user role. Reported by Nicolas VIDAL from TEHTRIS.

Bug fixes

  • File modifications will now adhere to any exclude files / directories.
  • Fixed: WP Activity Log was not reporting file scanning events.

1.8.2 (2022-05-11)

Improvements

  • Added the page navigation buttons at the bottom of the file list.
  • Ensured the correct text_domain is used allover the plugin’s code.

Bug fixes

  • Fixed an incompatibility issue with the WP Activity Log plugin.
  • Added conditional checks to ensure version specific WSAL functions can run.
  • Fixed potential PHP error caused by expected array commas.
  • Fixed issue which caused items to not be “Marked as read” when adding a directory to the excluded list.
  • Fixed console error caused my email validation with settings.

1.8.1 (2021-06-17)

Release Notes: Website File Changes Monitor 1.8: major performance, reliability & performance improvements

Improvements

  • Plugin now stores file changes in own database tables and format instead of CPTs.
  • Moved file scanning as a background task to reduce load and improve scan speed.
  • File information is now stored in the wp_options table accross multiple options (each max 1000 entries) to ensure we dont create a single large entry which can cause issues on some hosts.
  • Timezones are now handled nativity using wp_timezone_string rather than a DateTime object.
  • WordPress.org checksum checks runs on initial scan, alerting users of core file changes at the earliest opportunity.

1.7.2 (2021-05-19)

Improvements

  • Replace depreciated meta filter (removed from WP Activity Log 4.3).
  • Added further entries to the default list of allowed files in core directories.
  • Improve plugin help text.
  • Replaced custom logic for handling timezones with WordPress’ own wp_timezone_string function.
  • Improve logic for handling plugin activation on a sub-site within a multisite network.

1.7.1 (2021-01-14)

Release notes: Website File Changes Monitor 1.7.1: Improved UX & other minor updates

New features

  • Setting to enable / disable the sending of email after each scan, even when there are no changes to report. By default this is disabled.

Improvements

  • Mark as read now also add non-WordPress core files to list of allowed files in a website\’s WordPress core.
  • All reported file changes from a directory are automatically deleted when the directory is excluded from the scan or added to the list of allowed directories.
  • Removed “Add file to allowed list” – it is superseded by the improved Mark as read option.

Bug fixes

  • File changes in nested directories of excluded directories were still being reported.
  • Typo in Text-Domain

1.7.0 (2020-12-22)

Release notes: WFCM Update 1.7.0 – Detailed email notifications & WordPress core cross-checks

New features

  • Detailed file changes reported in the email notifications.
  • Website’s WordPress core files are now cross-checked against the official WordPress repository – more info in how the plugin detects file changes.
  • Added Setting to specify how many files are listed in the email notifications.
  • New Send test email buttons.

Improvements

  • Improved detection of WordPress core updates (better detection mechanism / less false positives).
  • Improved detection of plugins & themes install / update / uninstall.
  • Improved the first time install wizard.
  • Removed monthly scan schedule.
  • Standardized the order of entries in the days drop down menu.

Bug fixes

  • Scan schedule was not saved properly when only the scan time was changed.
  • WordPress core upgrade was not reported correctly – plugin reported number of deleted files instead.
  • Cron scheduling was not properly scheduling the scans (problem with local time setting).

1.6.2 (2020-10-27)

Improvements

  • Running / hung scans are better managed so failed scans do not lock further scan attempts.
  • Scheduler now uses the local timezone configured in WordPress.

Bug fixes

  • Scan schedule changes were not being saved properly when only the time was changed.
  • Setting “Scan common development directories” couldn’t be disabled in the settings.
  • Duplicate entries were allowed in lsit of excluded directories.
  • JS issue caused by third party plugin was breaking the plugin’s UI.

1.6.1 (2020-06-25)

Bug fix

  • Admin notification to upgrade WP Activity Log incorrectly implemented.

1.6 (2020-06-24)

Release notes: WFCM Update 1.6 – Integration with WP Activity Log

New feature

  • Plugin is now fully integrated in WP Activity Log: all file changes and scan progress will be reported in the WordPress activity log.

Improvement

  • Reduced the maximum number of files per scan to 200,000, resulting in much faster scans.

Bug fix

  • File size exceeded notification does not reflect the configured max file size.

1.5 (2020-04-08)

Release notes: Hourly file integrity scans & other improvements

New features

  • Plugin now uses SHA 256 for hashing instead of MD5, a more secure hashing algorithm.
  • Hourly file changes scans (refer to changing file integrity scan frequency).
  • Users can now mark all changes as read and not just those in the current view.

Improvements

  • Simplified plugin’s schedule and scan logic. New logic lightweight and more efficient.
  • Faster scheduled scans (sub scans run sequentially instead of being triggered with cron).
  • Scans that do not finish within the max scan time (3 minutes) are halted gracefully and user is alerted via email.
  • Rewritten the “Mark all as read” feature and now it is much faster.
  • First time install scan runs in the background, allowing the user to proceed with the wizard.
  • Improved plugin help text in wizard and settings.
  • Added *.json extension to default list of excluded files.

1.4.1 (2020-01-22)

New feature

  • New setting to scan development folders such as .svn and .git. This is disabled by default and can be enabled from the plugin’s settings.

Improvements

  • Scanning engine can now read any character in filenames, so it can scan any file in the website file system.
  • Added an email functionality test in the wizard. Since file changes are reported over email, it is important to confirm email functionality.

Bug fixes

  • An error caused during the uninstall of the plugin.
  • Not all plugin data was deleted on uninstall.

1.4 (2019-11-14)

Release notes: Improved WordPress file integrity monitor & better coverage

New features

  • New setting to specify notifications email address (multiple email addresses supported).
  • Plugin is now translatable.

Improvements

  • Plugin can now scan any file with any filename (improved scanning engine supporting special characters in filenames).
  • Added file changes count to each individual tab.

1.3 (2019-09-04)

Release notes: Plugin user experience (UX) improvements

New features

  • Added the timestamp of when the file change was detected. The date and time format used are those configured in WordPress.
  • Option to exclude all the directory from file integrity monitoring when a file change is detected in that directory.
  • New notification to alert user of no file changes during last scan (serves as a confirmation that the scan ran).
  • Setting to enable debug logs which can be used to troubleshoot technical problems.
  • Setting to delete all plugin data upon uninstall.

Improvements

  • Added a user notification for when the permalinks are not configured. Plugin requires permalinks to display the file changes.
  • Updated / improved some of the settings text.
  • Excluding the upgrade directory from file integrity monitoring by default.
  • Plugin now reports actual error when the scan fails (previously there were no notifications).
  • Upon install, plugin automatically disables file integrity monitoring on WP Activity Log plugin if installed.

Bug fix

  • Select all checkbox not reset after used for bulk selection.

1.2 (2019-07-22)

New features

  • Scan Now button added to main plugin interface.
  • Setting to enable scan debug logs (to help troubleshooting support issues).

Improvements

  • Improved the detection of plugins installed via zip file (not from repo).
  • Improved alert for when WSAL is also installed on the same website.

1.1 (2019-06-18)

Release notes: Email notifications of file changes on WordPress sites

New features

* Email notifications to site admin when file changes are detected.
* First time install notification to guide the user.
* New “Items per page” drop down menu in all file changes views.
* New setting to delete all data from WordPress database upon plugin uninstall.

Improvements

* Improved UX: file changes scan results are split in 3 tabs.
* Better handling and detection of symbolic links.
* Reviewed and improved text in the plugin’s settings.
* Added links to the file changes viewer in the plugin’s listing on the plugins page.
* Widtch of pop up window with list of files is now dynamic.
* Added plugin logo to WordPress menu entry.

Bug fix

* File extensions exclusion list no longer reset when scanning is switched off.

1.0.0 (2019-04)

  • First release – everything is new!