{"id":30,"date":"2021-04-06T09:59:18","date_gmt":"2021-04-06T09:59:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/?p=30"},"modified":"2021-04-06T10:00:20","modified_gmt":"2021-04-06T10:00:20","slug":"ways-to-remove-wordfence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/ways-to-remove-wordfence\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways To Remove Wordfence (With Pictures)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>&nbsp;If you use the standard way of deleting a WordPress plugin to remove Wordfence, you will not completely remove the security plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That will become clear if you reinstall Wordfence: your configuration options and other data will reappear. This may be what you want. Perhaps you are testing Wordfence behavior with other plugins.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article walks through the partial removal of Wordfence, and what gets left behind. Then we provide two more ways to remove Wordfence that ensures there is a more thorough clean-up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_64 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66112b1b3e326\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-66112b1b3e326\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/ways-to-remove-wordfence\/#1_Partially_Remove_Wordfence\" title=\"1: Partially Remove Wordfence\">1: Partially Remove Wordfence<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/ways-to-remove-wordfence\/#What_Gets_Left_Behind\" title=\"What Gets Left Behind?\">What Gets Left Behind?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/ways-to-remove-wordfence\/#2_Planned_Permanent_Deletion_Of_Wordfence\" title=\"2: Planned Permanent Deletion Of Wordfence\">2: Planned Permanent Deletion Of Wordfence<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/ways-to-remove-wordfence\/#3_Use_Wordfence_Assistance_After_You_Remove_Wordfence\" title=\"3: Use Wordfence Assistance After You Remove Wordfence\">3: Use Wordfence Assistance After You Remove Wordfence<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/ways-to-remove-wordfence\/#Wordfence_Folders_And_Files_Left_Behind\" title=\"Wordfence Folders And Files Left Behind\">Wordfence Folders And Files Left Behind<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"1_Partially_Remove_Wordfence\"><\/span>1: Partially Remove Wordfence<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re familiar with installing and removing WordPress plugins, then you\u2019ll know about the Deactivate-&gt;Delete sequence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ll quickly run through it \u2013 but don\u2019t do this until you\u2019ve read the full article. It\u2019s often not the ideal option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Open the list of installed plugins and you\u2019ll see a \u201cdeactivate link\u201d with every application. Deactivating a plugin stops it from working, but doesn\u2019t remove the software and associated data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"746\" height=\"145\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/plugin_deactivate.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-31\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/plugin_deactivate.png 746w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/plugin_deactivate-300x58.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 746px) 100vw, 746px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Once a plugin is deactivated, you\u2019ll see a new link that allows you to delete it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"690\" height=\"139\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/plugin_delete.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-32\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/plugin_delete.png 690w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/plugin_delete-300x60.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 690px) 100vw, 690px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This step removes the software from your website. But that doesn&#8217;t mean there are no traces left behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Leaving Wordfence data behind<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you remove Wordfence in this manner, the associated data stays behind on your website \u2013 even if you can\u2019t see it. The installation created new tables in your WordPress database and inserted data into those tables. This is all left in the database. <em>(Note: other plugins may not behave this way).<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The great advantage is that if you choose to re-install the Wordfence plugin, any options that you configured will be reinstated. You won\u2019t have to go through the same steps of making special configurations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, many website owners don\u2019t have to make changes to the default options that come with a Wordfence installation. So this may not be a big consideration for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When to choose a partial removal<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you have concerns that Wordfence is causing performance issues? We have an article that gives tips on investigating whether <a href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/does-wordfence-slow-down-your-website-complete-guide\/\">Wordfence is slowing down your website<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The article recommends testing your plugin combinations. This may require repeated removal and installation of Wordfence. This option for partial removal will do fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Gets_Left_Behind\"><\/span>What Gets Left Behind?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>With most website hosts, you can happily work away on your WordPress website and never see its underlying database. But every WordPress site has one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here\u2019s a view of some of the tables in one of my site\u2019s databases. The first table shown is named \u201cwpfe_users\u201d. This is one of the standard WordPress tables. The next table starts with \u201cwpfe_<strong>wf<\/strong>\u201d, as do the next three shown. The \u201c_<strong>wf<\/strong>\u201d here shows that this is a Wordfence (wf) table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"627\" height=\"374\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wordpress_tables.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-33\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wordpress_tables.png 627w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wordpress_tables-300x179.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 627px) 100vw, 627px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>These &#8220;wf&#8221; tables didn\u2019t exist when your WordPress site was first created. The installation of Wordfence added these tables (and data) into the WordPress database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So, what happens if you remove the Wordfence plugin by deactivating and deleting it via the Plugin page? These extra Wordfence tables and their data get left behind in the WordPress database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some files and folders are also left behind. I&#8217;ll discuss this in the final section of this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Can you delete these Wordfence tables manually?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your hosting provider gives you the correct access and tools, then you can remove the tables yourself. However, I don\u2019t recommend this because it\u2019s too easy to do unwanted damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The worry is that you\u2019d inadvertently delete one of the vital WordPress system tables. If you do that, you\u2019d likely end up with an unusable website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, you\u2019d be scrambling for the most recent backup of the database to reverse the damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"2_Planned_Permanent_Deletion_Of_Wordfence\"><\/span>2: Planned Permanent Deletion Of Wordfence<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This option ensures that Wordfence tidies up after itself when you deactivate and delete it. I call it \u201cplanned\u201d because you need to take specific steps before you proceed with the removal. So, you need to know that you don\u2019t want to preserve the configuration data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The sequence here is to set a \u201cclean-up\u201d configuration option before you proceed with the removal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Enable the \u201cclean-up\u201d option<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Open the \u201cAll Options\u201d page in your plugin\u2019s settings within WordPress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Expand \u201cGeneral Wordfence Options\u201d and you\u2019ll find the option you need at the end of the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Enable \u201cDelete Wordfence tables and data on deactivation\u201d, and be sure to hit the \u201cSave Changes\u201d button.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"537\" height=\"108\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wf_options_delete_data.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-34\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wf_options_delete_data.png 537w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wf_options_delete_data-300x60.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 537px) 100vw, 537px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Now, you\u2019re ready to move on to nix the plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Deactivate and delete the Wordfence plugin<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve already described these steps in the early section on partial removal of Wordfence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This time, you\u2019ve told Wordfence to behave like a proper guest and not leave a mess when walking out the door. When you deactivate and delete the plugin, it will remove the data and extra tables in the WordPress database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"3_Use_Wordfence_Assistance_After_You_Remove_Wordfence\"><\/span>3: Use Wordfence Assistance After You Remove Wordfence<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not surprising that people only learn about the option to delete data <strong>after<\/strong> they\u2019ve removed the plugin. And by then it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Do you need to reinstall the plugin, set the \u201cdelete tables and data\u201d option, and go through the deletion process again? Well, you could. But Wordfence has provided another tool that will clean up (i.e. remove) the tables and data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This tool is a plugin called \u201cWordfence Assistance\u201d. You\u2019ll find it when you search for Wordfence when adding a new plugin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You may think it odd that there\u2019s a plugin to complete the deletion of another plugin. (It brings the poem \u201c<em>big fleas have little fleas<\/em>\u201d to mind). But Wordfence Assistance has a range of functions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its primary reason for existence is the rare occasion when a site owner locks themselves out of their own site. Wordfence Assistant to the rescue!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s got a few other functions, like a mass deletion of Wordfence live traffic data. You\u2019d use this with a very busy website if you felt that the data was slowing down the website. But let\u2019s take a look at the clean-up side of things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Wordfence Assistance For Clean Up<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When you have the Wordfence Assistance plugin installed, scroll down the list of utilities it provides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You\u2019ll find \u201cDelete all Wordfence Data and Tables\u201d. This button will clean up your WordPress database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"630\" height=\"180\" src=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wordfence_assistance_cleanup.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-35\" srcset=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wordfence_assistance_cleanup.png 630w, https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/04\/wordfence_assistance_cleanup-300x86.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\" \/><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Is Wordfence Assistance better for removal?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>You may be wondering if using Wordfence Assistance for clean-up is better than ticking the option within the main plugin (as we described in the prior section). Both ways do exactly the same thing: clean up the WordPress database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Assistance plugin is much less well known and used. At the time of writing this article, it has 5% of the number of installations as the main <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wordfence.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Wordfence <\/a>utility. So, there&#8217;s no particular reason to choose it purely for clean-up. And with the philosophy of keeping plugins to a minimum, you&#8217;d be wiser to remember the clean-up option within the Wordfence plugin itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Wordfence_Folders_And_Files_Left_Behind\"><\/span>Wordfence Folders And Files Left Behind<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p> We&#8217;ve covered two ways to clean up the data and tables in the WordPress database when removing Wordfence. However, I didn&#8217;t mention folders and files on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Personally, these don&#8217;t bother me. I don&#8217;t like deleting files without absolute necessity, so I don&#8217;t take action here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;If you use the standard way of deleting a WordPress plugin to remove Wordfence, you will not completely remove the security plugin. That will become clear if you reinstall Wordfence: your configuration options and other data will reappear. This may be what you want. Perhaps you are testing Wordfence behavior with other plugins. This article &#8230; <a title=\"3 Ways To Remove Wordfence (With Pictures)\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/ways-to-remove-wordfence\/\" aria-label=\"More on 3 Ways To Remove Wordfence (With Pictures)\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30\/revisions\/37"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bandittracker.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}