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      How to Fix “The Site Ahead Contains Harmful Programs” Warning in WordPress


      WordPress warnings are never pleasant. However, there’s one message that website owners particularly dread: “The site ahead contains harmful programs.”

      Fortunately, this doesn’t have to spell disaster for your website. By following some simple steps, you can remove every trace of this suspicious software.

      In this post, we’ll explore exactly what’s causing the “harmful programs” error. We’ll then show you how to resolve the underlying issue and banish this error message before it can inflict irreversible damage on your search engine rankings. Let’s get started!

      What the Harmful Programs Warning Is (And What It Means)

      If you encounter the “harmful programs” error, then your site has most likely been hacked. In an effort to provide a safe browsing experience, search engines routinely scan the web for digital threats. If they detect malware on your site, they will flag it as unsafe (or label it as a deceptive site) and display a warning to anyone who tries to access your website.

      A Google Chrome search warning.

      Some search engines even display different warning messages based on how your site has been compromised. Depending on the severity of the threat, visitors may get the option to bypass this warning and proceed to your website anyway.

      “The site ahead contains harmful programs” warning.

      When a compromised website appears in the Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs), some engines show an additional warning alongside the site in question. For example, Google’s SERP warnings include “This site may harm your computer and “This site may be hacked.”

      Google’s search engine results warning.

      These security warnings are designed to help keep internet users safe. However, a “harmful programs” message can have several consequences for your site.

      Most website owners see their traffic levels plummet. This will affect your search engine rankings and your conversions. In addition, if your hosting provider discovers that your site has been hacked, they may even suspend your account until you resolve the issue.

      Hacked WordPress Site? We’ll Fix It Fast

      With our Hacked Site Repair service, we’ll fix the malware infection and restore your website so it’s back up and running fast.

      How to Fix the “Site Ahead Contains Harmful Programs Warning” Error in WordPress (In 5 Easy Steps)

      By taking immediate action, you can preserve your SEO success and your site’s reputation as a secure platform. With that in mind, here’s how to remove Google’s “harmful programs” warning message in five easy steps.

      Step 1: Check Your Site Status in Safe Browsing

      Many search engines have built-in mechanisms designed to help keep internet users safe. For example, if Google is warning people away from your site, you might see a huge drop in organic traffic.

      Fortunately, you can verify whether Google has blacklisted your website using the Site Status diagnostic tool.

      Google’s Site Status diagnostic tool.

      Start by entering your WordPress site’s URL. The diagnostic tool will then run its tests and display a warning if it detects any unsafe content.

      If it does warn you about malicious content, your site has been blacklisted. With Google accounting for more than 60% of U.S. desktop search queries, this could have a devastating impact on your traffic. With so much at stake, you must take immediate action to resolve this problem.

      Step 2: Find the Malicious Code

      Once you’ve verified that malicious software is present on your site, it’s time to track down the offending code and files. While it’s possible to look for malware manually, this can be a time-consuming process that often requires a significant amount of technical know-how.

      Hackers are also coming up with new tricks all the time, so it’s not always easy to manually identify every single piece of malicious code. If you do leave some malware behind, search engines may continue to turn visitors away from your site. This means the hack will continue to impact your traffic, conversions, and search engine results.

      If the “harmful programs” warning persists for a significant period of time, it might even inflict long-term damage to your reputation. Your customers may begin to question how seriously you take security and whether you can really be trusted with their personal information.

      With the stakes being so high, we recommend using a professional malware removal service. Our DreamShield add-on can help ensure that your website is free from every trace of malicious code.

      When you add DreamShield to your plan, it will immediately scan your site for malware. It will then repeat this scan automatically every week. If DreamShield detects an issue, it will notify you via email and your DreamHost panel. Thanks to this powerful tool, you may be able to resolve a security breach before Google even realizes there’s a problem!

      To add DreamShield to your account, log in to your DreamHost dashboard. You can then navigate to Domains > Manage Domains.

      DreamHost’s DreamShield service.

      Now, find the domain where you want to enable DreamShield, and click on the accompanying Add Malware Remover link. You can then select the DreamShield Package Remover add-on that you want to use.

      Step 3: Remove the Malware From Your Site

      DreamShield will routinely scan your site and notify you about any issues. These notifications will specify how to remove the detected malware. Simply follow the instructions, and you should be able to eliminate the “harmful programs” warning.

      If you don’t have the DreamSheild add-on, you’ll need to remove these files manually. The best approach will vary, depending on the nature of the hack. However, you can often get positive results by connecting to your site via Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) using a client such as FileZilla.

      Then, carefully work your way through all of your site’s files and delete any that have been compromised.

      A Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) client.

      To speed up the process, it may help to look for files with modification timestamps that occurred around the time of the security breach. You may also want to examine any files where the timestamp seems suspicious, for example, if it’s dated after you last edited your site.

      Some hackers may try to insert code into the .htaccess file. To sanitize this file, connect to your site using an SFTP client. Then navigate to your public_html directory, which contains the .htaccess file.

      WordPress’ .htaccess file.

      Delete this file and then switch over to your WordPress dashboard. You can now navigate to Setting > Permalinks.

      WordPress’ permalink settings.

      Then, simply click on the Save Changes button at the bottom of the page. WordPress will automatically generate a new .htaccess file that’s completely free from malicious code.

      Step 4: Submit Your Site to Google for Review

      Once you’re confident that you’ve removed every trace of malware, you can ask Google to rescan your site. If you haven’t already, you’ll need to sign up to Google Search Console and verify that you own the website in question.

      After claiming your site, log in to the Search Console and navigate to Security & Manual Actions > Security Issues. On the next page, select Request a Review.

      Google will now process your request and provide a response in your Google Webmaster account or your Messages in Search Console. Assuming that you’ve managed to erase all malicious code, Google will remove the “harmful programs” error, and you can resume business as usual.

      Step 5: Harden Your Site Against Future Hacks

      Once you’re back in Google’s good books, it’s smart to perform a security audit. While no website can ever be 100% secure, there are steps you can take to strengthen your site against attack.

      Your password is essential for preventing unauthorized access to your dashboard. However, even with multiple security mechanisms in place, if a hacker manages to guess or steal your password, then all of your hard work may be for nothing.

      To start, it’s always a good idea to follow password best practices. This means using a minimum of eight characters and a mix of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. You might also want to consider using a password generator such as Strong Random Password Generator or LastPass.

      The LastPass password generator.

      If you’re using a long and complex password, then you’re off to a great start. However, there are some attacks where password strength has less impact on whether the hacker succeeds or fails. This includes credential stuffing attacks, where a malicious third party attempts to break into your site using dozens or even hundreds of usernames and passwords.

      Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) can make your site far less susceptible to password-based attacks, including credential stuffing. With 2FA in place, a hacker will need to pass an additional security check before they can access your website. For example, they may need to enter a one-time PIN that’s sent to your smartphone.

      We always recommend installing a Secure Sockets Layer certificate (sometimes referred to as an SSL certificate or secure certificate). This ensures that you’re transferring data via Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) instead of Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). When your data is encrypted, it becomes much harder for an attacker to get their hands on information that they can use against you.

      Additional Troubleshooting Tutorials

      Do you want to learn how to resolve other WordPress issues? Here are some of our favorite troubleshooting tutorials:

      If you want more information about keeping your site in tip-top shape, check out our WordPress Tutorials. There, you’ll find everything you need to run a successful website.

      Dealing with Suspicious Code? You Can Skip the Stress

      Avoid troubleshooting unwanted software when you sign up for DreamPress. A friendly WordPress expert is always available 24/7 to help solve your website problems — big or small.

      Fixing the Harmful Programs Error

      If you encounter the “harmful programs” warning when trying to access your site, a hacker may be to blame. While this may sound scary, don’t panic – it is possible to recover a compromised website.

      Let’s quickly recap how to fix the “harmful programs” warning:

      1. First, verify your site status in Safe Browsing.
      2. Find malicious code using a service such as DreamShield.
      3. Remove malware from your site.
      4. Submit your site to Google for review via the Search Console.
      5. Harden your site against future attacks.

      If you’re seeing the “harmful programs” warning, our team of experts can get your site back to normal before the hacker has a chance to do more damage. As part of our Hacked Site Repair Service, we’ll even review your site and upgrade your security at no additional cost.



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      HAproxy SSL/TLS Warning: Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default



      Part of the Series:
      Common HAProxy Errors

      This tutorial series explains how to troubleshoot and fix some of the most common errors that you may encounter when using the HAProxy TCP and HTTP proxy server.

      Each tutorial in this series includes descriptions of common HAProxy configuration, network, filesystem, or permission errors. The series begins with an overview of the commands and log files that you can use to troubleshoot HAProxy. Subsequent tutorials examine specific errors in detail.

      Introduction

      In this tutorial you will learn how to troubleshoot and fix an HAProxy Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default warning message using the methods described in the How to Troubleshoot Common HAProxy Errors tutorial at the beginning of this series. One you confirm that your server is generating the warning message, you will learn how to fix it by setting HAProxy’s ssl-dh-param-file configuration option to use a custom dhparams.pem file.

      You may encounter an HAProxy Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default warning message when your HAProxy server is configured with an SSL/TLS certificate and the tune.ssl.default-dh-param parameter is not set in HAProxy’s haproxy.cfg configuration file. When the parameter is not set, HAProxy will default to a value of 1024 bits for the Diffie-Hellman key agreement portion of the TLS handshake, which is considered insecure.

      Your HAProxy server may trigger this warning without you knowing about it. You can configure an SSL/TLS certificate and HAProxy will run, but the server may be warning you about the issue in the background. If you aren’t sure whether your HAProxy server is defaulting to a 1024 bit Diffie-Hellman parameter, you can use a tool like the SSL Labs Server Test to check for you. If you receive a report that has a line This server supports weak Diffie-Hellman (DH) key exchange parameters, then your HAProxy server is affected.

      If you have already determined that your HAProxy server is generating a warning about the tune.ssl.default-dh-param setting and you would like to skip troubleshooting, the Resolving a Secure tune.ssl.default-dh-param Warning section at the end of this tutorial explains how to fix the issue.

      Checking for a tune.ssl.default-dh-param Warning Using systemctl

      Following the troubleshooting steps from the How to Troubleshoot Common HAProxy Errors tutorial at the beginning of this series, the first step when you are troubleshooting a Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default warning message is to check HAProxy’s status with systemctl.

      The output from systemctl status may contain all the diagnostic information that you need to resolve the error. However, it is important to examine the current status of the haproxy service to ensure that it is running and that any services that rely on it are still able to function while you resolve the warning.

      Use this systemctl command to examine HAProxy’s status on any Linux distribution:

      • sudo systemctl status haproxy.service -l --no-pager

      The -l flag will ensure that systemctl outputs the entire contents of a line, instead of substituting in ellipses () for long lines. The --no-pager flag will output the entire log to your screen without invoking a tool like less that only shows a screen of content at a time.

      Since you are troubleshooting a Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default warning message, you should receive output that is similar to the following:

      Output

      ● haproxy.service - HAProxy Load Balancer Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/haproxy.service; disabled; vendor preset: disabled) Active: active (running) since Tue 2020-10-06 14:31:39 UTC; 2min 31s ago Process: 71406 ExecStartPre=/usr/sbin/haproxy -f $CONFIG -c -q (code=exited, status=0/SUCCESS) Main PID: 71407 (haproxy) . . . Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 systemd[1]: Starting HAProxy Load Balancer... Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: [WARNING] 279/143139 (71407) : parsing [/etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg:69] : 'bind *:5000' : Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: unable to load default 1024 bits DH parameter for certificate '/etc/haproxy/fullchain.pem'. Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: , SSL library will use an automatically generated DH parameter. Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: [WARNING] 279/143139 (71407) : Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default, if your workload permits it you should set it to at least 2048. Please set a value >= 1024 to make this warning disappear. Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: Proxy main started. Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: Proxy static started. Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: Proxy app started. Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 systemd[1]: Started HAProxy Load Balancer.

      There are two important highlighted sections to note in this output. The first is the active (running) line, which indicates that HAProxy is available and running. If your server shows a line like Active: failed, then you will need to troubleshoot HAProxy using the methods described in the How to Troubleshoot Common HAProxy Errors tutorial at the beginning of this series.

      The second set of highlighted lines are from the systemd journal and contain the tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning. These lines give you all the information about the warning, how it is triggered, the steps taken by HAProxy, and how to resolve it.

      If your systemctl output includes lines with the tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning, then skip to the [Resolving a tune.ssl.default-dh-param Warning](resolving-a-tunessldefault-dh-param-warning) section at the end of this tutorial to learn how to configure HAProxy with a more secure value.

      Otherwise if your systemctl output does not give specific information about the warning, but you know that your server is using weak Diffie-Hellman parameters, the next section of this tutorial will guide you through using journalctl logs to locate the warning message.

      Checking for a tune.ssl.default-dh-param Warning Using journalctl

      If your systemctl output does not include a tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning but you know that your server is affected, you should proceed with using the journalctl command to examine systemd logs for HAProxy.

      Run the following command on any Linux distribution to inspect the systemd journal’s logs for the haproxy service:

      • sudo journalctl -u haproxy.service -l --no-pager | grep tune.ssl.default-dh-param

      The | grep tune.ssl.default-dh-param portion of the command uses a pipe (|) to send the output from journalctl to the grep command as input. Using the pipe means that only matching lines from the journal will be shown on your screen.

      If the journal includes a tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning, then you will receive output like the following:

      Output

      Oct 06 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: [WARNING] 279/143139 (71407) : Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default, if your workload permits it you should set it to at least 2048. Please set a value >= 1024 to make this warning disappear.

      Since this output includes the warning you can skip to the Setting a Secure tune.ssl.default-dh-param Value section at the end of this tutorial to learn how to configure HAProxy with a more secure value.

      If you do not receive any output after running the journaltcl command, the next section will demonstrate how you can check for a tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning using HAProxy’s built-in configuration checking tool.

      Checking for a tune.ssl.default-dh-param Warning Using haproxy -c or Log Files

      HAProxy includes a command that can examine and validate its configuration files. You can use the command to check for syntax errors or invalid settings without restarting HAProxy and risking downtime for your services. Additionally, if your HAProxy server is configured to log output to a file or the system logs, you can examine the log files to check for a tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning.

      To check for a tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning using HAProxy itself, run the following command on any Linux distribution. If your HAProxy configuration file is in a different location than the highlighted /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg path, be sure to substitute in the correct path to your file:

      • sudo haproxy -c -f /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg

      If your server is configured with SSL/TLS and does not have a tune.ssl.default-dh-param set, then you will receive warning output similar to the following:

      Output

      [WARNING] 279/150829 (71512) : parsing [/etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg:69] : 'bind *:5000' : unable to load default 1024 bits DH parameter for certificate '/etc/haproxy/fullchain.pem'. , SSL library will use an automatically generated DH parameter. [WARNING] 279/150829 (71512) : Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default, if your workload permits it you should set it to at least 2048. Please set a value >= 1024 to make this warning disappear. Configuration file is valid

      The highlighted line contains the tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning.

      To check for the warning message using HAProxy’s logs, you can search for lines that match the tune.ssl.default-dh-param string using the grep command. Run the following command to check for warnings:

      • sudo grep tune.ssl.default-dh-param /var/log/haproxy.log

      Note that if you have configured HAproxy with a different log location, be sure to substitute in your path in place of the highlighted /var/log/haproxy.log file.

      If your server is generating the warning, then you will receive output like the following:

      Output

      Oct 6 14:31:39 bb9fb4c53743 haproxy[71407]: [WARNING] 279/143139 (71407) : Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default, if your workload permits it you should set it to at least 2048. Please set a value >= 1024 to make this warning disappear.

      Note: Your log files may not include the warning message, but the haproxy -c command will still generate the warning. If this is the case, then it is likely that your HAproxy service has been running for long enough that the log file was rotated, so it does not include the warning.

      Checking for the message using the haproxy -c method is the most reliable way to determine if your server is affected, so you can safely disregard missing log file entries.

      Now that you have determined whether your server is generating a tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning, you can proceed to the next step in this tutorial, which explains two methods that you can use to resolve the issue.

      Resolving a tune.ssl.default-dh-param Warning

      You can resolve a tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning in HAProxy with a few different settings. One option is to set the tune.ssl.default-dh-param value to something larger than 1024 explicitly in /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg per the warning message. However, the HAProxy documentation recommends specifying custom Diffie-Hellman parameters since that approach is more secure, so we’ll use that method instead.

      First you’ll generate a dhparams.pem file using the openssl utility. Once the file is created, you’ll add it to your global HAProxy configuration section so that any frontend blocks will inherit the setting.

      To generate the custom DH parameters, run the following:

      • sudo openssl dhparam -out /etc/haproxy/dhparams.pem 2048

      You will receive output like the following:

      Output

      Generating DH parameters, 2048 bit long safe prime, generator 2 This is going to take a long time ..............

      Once the command completes, configure HAProxy to use the custom DH parameters file. Open /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg in vi or your preferred editor.

      sudo vi /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg
      

      Find the section in the file like the following:

      Output

      . . . # turn on stats unix socket stats socket /var/lib/haproxy/stats # utilize system-wide crypto-policies #ssl-default-bind-ciphers PROFILE=SYSTEM ssl-default-server-ciphers PROFILE=SYSTEM

      Now add a line after the ssl-default-server-ciphers PROFILE=SYSTEM line like this:

      ssl-dh-param-file /etc/haproxy/dhparams.pem
      

      The entire section should resemble the following, including the new highlighted ssl-dh-param-file line that you added:

      /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg

      . . . # turn on stats unix socket stats socket /var/lib/haproxy/stats # utilize system-wide crypto-policies #ssl-default-bind-ciphers PROFILE=SYSTEM ssl-default-server-ciphers PROFILE=SYSTEM ssl-dh-param-file /etc/haproxy/dhparams.pem

      When you are done editing the file, save and close it by pressing ESC, typing :wq, and pressing ENTER.

      Test the configuration using the haproxy -c command to ensure that you have added the correct setting and that HAProxy can access the custom dhparams.pem file:

      • sudo haproxy -c -f /etc/haproxy/haproxy.cfg

      You should receive output stating that the configuration is valid like the following:

      Output

      Configuration file is valid

      If your configuration is valid, restart HAProxy so that it uses the new Diffie-Hellman parameters file:

      • sudo systemctl restart haproxy.service

      You have now configured HAProxy with a 2048 bit set of custom Diffie-Hellman parameters that all frontends will be able to use. You have also suppressed the tune.ssl.default-dh-param warnings.

      Conclusion

      In this tutorial, you learned how to troubleshoot an HAProxy Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default warning message. You explored four different methods to examine HAProxy’s configuration to find the message. First you used systemctl and journalctl to examine the status of the HAProxy server and try to find the message in the systemd logs. Then you examined the HAProxy configuration file using the built in haproxy -c configuration check. Finally you checked for log entries using the grep command on HAProxy’s log file.

      After you confirmed that your server was generating a Setting tune.ssl.default-dh-param to 1024 by default warning message, you generated a custom Diffie-Hellman parameters file and configured HAProxy to use it by setting the ssl-dh-param-file configuration directive.

      Now that you have that configuration in place, your HAProxy server will default to using the more secure Diffie-Hellman parameters, and the tune.ssl.default-dh-param warning message will no longer be in your logs.



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