Colonel Server - Infrastructure Server Hosting

The Virus Scanner in cPanel allows you to scan account files for viruses, trojan horses, and other types of malware. It can scan email data, website files, FTP directories, or the entire account to help identify compromised content.

This feature is available on most cPanel hosting accounts. By default, it is not installed on managed VPS or managed dedicated servers.

How the virus scanner works

The cPanel virus scanner checks files against multiple malware definition sources:

• ClamAV open source virus signatures
• R-fx Networks Linux Malware Detect rules
• Custom malware definitions based on previously identified threats

Using multiple databases improves detection accuracy across common hosting related attack vectors.

Accessing the Virus Scanner

1. Log in to cPanel.
2. Open the Tools page.
3. In the Advanced section, click Virus Scanner.

[Screenshot placeholder: cPanel Advanced section showing Virus Scanner]

Available scan types

When starting a scan, you can choose which part of the account to inspect:

• Scan Mail checks incoming and outgoing email messages for infections.
• Scan Entire Home Directory scans all files in the account.
• Scan Public Web Space scans website files inside public_html.
• Scan Public FTP Space scans files stored in the FTP directory.

Scanning website files regularly helps detect malicious uploads or injected scripts early.

Running a scan

1. Open Virus Scanner.
2. Select the directory or area you want to scan.
3. Click Scan Now.

[Screenshot placeholder: Virus scan selection screen]

Scan duration depends on the number and size of files in the selected directory.

Handling infected files

If infected files are detected, you must choose how they are handled:

• Quarantine moves the file to a secure quarantine directory for review.
• Destroy permanently deletes the infected file.
• Ignore leaves the file unchanged.

After selecting the desired action, click Process Cleanup to complete the operation.

Security considerations

Deleting files may affect website functionality if legitimate files are removed. Review quarantined files before deleting them permanently.

Accounts hosting critical services or higher traffic websites may require additional monitoring and isolation. In such cases, environments such as cloud servers or a dedicated server provide stronger separation and security control compared to shared environments.