WAF stands for Web Application Firewall, which is a firewall that inspects web traffic and blocks malicious requests. WAFs typically run on the web server software itself, and have limited knowledge of the web applications they are protecting. WAFs tend to include and run all firewall rules against all requests, even if it does not apply to the underlying software.
Virtual Patching, works a lot like a WAF: blocking known malicious requests but runs within the application itself. Virtual Patching goes a step further, and can take into context information that only the application (such as WordPress) itself is aware of, like user authorization, software versions, etc… Virtual patches tend to be more efficient, and cause less resource usage in the application compared to a WAF because the only rules that are enabled are the ones applicable for each website.

Rather than wait for your software to become infected we focus on preemptive measures. This allows Patchstack to be up to 10x lighter than competing (often bloated) malware scanners and still provide effective security. However, Pro and Business users can activate the Incident Assistance add-on and we’ll clean up your site if you suspect the site has become malicious.

Yes, every website should do it on a regular basis. We recommend choosing a dedicated plugin rather than an all-in-one solution. Even furthermore, we suggest checking with your hosting provider as backups are also becoming an essential part of most hosting packages. That means less strain on your website’s performance and one less plugin.

Attackers automatically target all websites to build large bot nets to perform more complex attacks against lucrative targets. Even a basic website gives attackers one more node for future attacks. We believe better web security is a community effort.

We have not had issues with Patchstack conflicting with other security services, but we do recommend using as few different tools on your WordPress site as possible. If you do use another security plugin, it is recommended to not enable similar features as it could cause site-breaking issues. If you have any issues with other security tools, please contact our support so we could investigate the issue.

The free version of Patchstack does not run anything aside from scheduled tasks on your website, so there will be no noticeable difference. The paid version does run several tasks on each page load but based on tests from us and from our customers we have seen that Patchstack does not affect your website's performance in any significant or noticeable way. In fact, a test done by one of our users indicated that Patchstack is up to 10x lighter than competing security services.

Setting up Patchstack takes no more than a few minutes depending on if you are using auto-install through the Patchstack App (which takes seconds) or a manual installation (which can take up to 3 minutes). Note that in some cases auto-install may not be possible. The data might need some time to show up after a successful installation.

The Patchstack plugin can help, but patching is up to you. The plugin will inform you if your website(s) are running any known insecure components and allow you to be sure your sites are running secure versions before your test or auditing date.

The free Patchstack plugin only reports if your sites are running known insecure components (themes or plugins). Our paid Patchstack App plans include virtual patching, which will block attacks against insecure components until you have the time to apply the official patch from the vendor.

Encrpyted connections are important, but are handled at the hosting layer. You will need to communicate with your hosting provider for help setting up HTTPS (e.g.. SSL/TLS)

Since Patchstack does not scan your files, it won't help you in finding malware on your website. If you have any indication that your website is already hacked, please contact our support so we can take a look and see how or what caused any of the problems you are facing. Our users can enable the Incident assistance subscription add-on or request Incident Response for a one time fee.