Using Jetpack Protect For Free Site Scans

A while back, I decided to finally uninstall Jetpack from my WordPress installations because I no longer wanted to have a single software that did everything. Even if I disabled the modules I no longer wanted so much code cluttering my site. The original Jetpack plugin is huge. However, Jetpack recently started breaking its mammoth plugin into smaller ones that you can install separately. The original version is still available, but the smaller plugins are much more flexible, and I like the way they’ve separated out the functionality. The Jetpack Protect plugin is a security module with some additional benefits.

Jetpack Security is a Paid Feature – Usually

Jetpack has many paid features. Backups and security are two of the most well-known. For $5 a month, you can get daily and on-demand security scans, instant security fixes, e-mail notifications, and priority support in case something goes wrong. For an additional fee, you can also get real-time malware scanning and spam protection on comments and forms.

The Jetpack Protect feature, however, gives you a free daily scan for free. When you first install the plugin, here’s what you see after activation:

The first scan will be complete in a little while, and when you visit the “Protect” section in the menu a bit later, you’ll have your scan results. Here are the scan results on my test NameHero hosted website:

According to the WordPress team, the plugin checks for tens of thousands of vulnerabilities every day. For a free plugin, this is a very good deal!

Differences from the Earlier Jetpack “Protect” Feature

The earlier mammoth Jetpack plugin had a feature called “Protect”, which can cause some confusion when it comes to this plugin. The two features are completely different. The original plugin’s purpose was to protect your site from brute force attacks. This brute force protection has now been renamed “Brute Force Attack Protection”, which is a much more descriptive name for what it does.

By contrast, the free Jetpack Protect plugin is a free, daily malware scanner.

Malware Scanning on NameHero

Fortunately, NameHero customers don’t need to worry about paying for malware scans, thanks to its in-built malware scanning system – Imunify360. Here’s a screenshot of the Imunify360 functionality on NameHero:

From this dashboard, you can see a list of recent scans, and take care of any threats that the tool finds. NameHero provides this functionality for free on all its plans, relieving you of the necessity to purchase something like the Jetpack Security suite, or needing to install 3rd party plugins like Jetpack protect that slow down your site.

Jetpack Protect is a plugin that uses your server’s resources and thus contributes to your limits on shared hosting. NameHero’s Imunify360 plugin is a server functionality that doesn’t contribute to your shared hosting caps. So it doesn’t affect your site performance.

The Jetpack Backup Plugin is a Better Deal for One Site

While I don’t think the Jetpack Scan service is worth it, particularly with NameHero providing it for free via Imunify360, I think the Jetpack Backup service makes more sense – but only if you have a single website. If you have more than one website, Jetpack charges you extra for each of them.

Compared to that, NameHero’s backup system works regardless of the number of websites you have, and you pay only for the storage. So if you, like me, have two or more sites, NameHero’s backup service is a lot more cost-effective.

But by spreading out the functionality of Jetpack into several smaller, standalone plugins, Automattic has ensured that users like me will be more open to installing the plugin on our sites.