System Integrity Check plugin for Osclass
This plugin was initially created by Jay, but it was abandoned after last public release 1.3 or 1.4. Afterwards, I have took the plugin and continued it's development privately. Now, it is released for public use and it's free!
Please note that there are many ideas for improvements, but I cannot promise when they'll be implemented. Suggestions & Contributions from other developers is welcome.
I strongly suggest to use this plugin on powerfull or high-end servers, because scanning filesystem and calculating hashes can be intensive task for budget lowend boxes.
Q: What is Advanced File Monitor plugin?
A: File System Integrity Scanner, in one sentence. Plugin will scan your files, create a "snapshot" of their signatures (not the full backup! - but, there's a nice idea :-) ), and store them for later. When the next execution cycle via CRON kicks in, it will perform another scan and do a cross-comparison with the original results from before. Needless to say, this may pose additional stress to your server, so I strongly suggest that you avoid using it on cheap hosting plans, bad hosting with low reputation, lowend VPS boxes etc. It will mostly work, but not without limits and potential problems.
Q: How To Upgrade?
A: Uninstall old plugin first in Admin Dashboard. Remove all files via FTP (or Admin Dashboard). Upload new files via FTP. Install new version. Done!
Q: I cannot install it! I receive "plugin installed" flash message, but it is still in red color and not installed! What the?
A: Enable Osclass MySQL debugging and see what error you get. If it is "Error 2006", your MySQL server connection has timed-out and the plugin could not save the initial scan results during the installation procedure. You must either try to tweak MySQL server to allow longer connection time, or upgrade to a more powerful server. Another 'hack' exists to limit scan directories directly inside plugin's index.php file around line ~40, and try again.
Q: I haven't received any alert email.
A: Check your SPAM folder. Because of the huge size of emails and their structure, Google usually marks it as spam for the first time. Once you 'report' it as not spam, it should no longer end up there.
Q: I have (finally) installed it, but I don't see it in the usual Plugins Menu. Where is it?
A: Go to Tools menu > Advanced File Monitor (it is not in the regular plugin list!). Alternatively, you can access it via Configure link in Plugins Table.
Q: I have added (or removed) some directories from the exclude section, and now plugin reports massive amount of Deleted (or New) files. But, files are still there! Is this normal/expected behavior?
A: Yes, this is by design for several reasons. But, most importantly, this is happening because old snapshot is still present and the plugin has 'remembered' old files (or did not had any knowledge of newly included directories that were previously ignored). So, you will have to perform CLEAR of the new state, and plugin will continue to operate as intended from that point.
Q: I run a NASA-grade server and wish to initiate scans every 5 or 15 minutes. Is it possible?
A: Yes. Manual external cron can be triggered directly via browser by specifying the mcron.php file URL address or fully automated. Setup new cron job by directly calling mcron.php file (for extra security reasons you may rename the file to any random name with .php extension).
Manual Cron via direct URL access example: (from browser)
http : // www . my-website . com/oc-content/plugins/advanced_file_monitor/mcron.php
Manual Cron with WGET example: (every 15 minutes)
0,15,30,45 * * * * wget -O /dev/null 2>&1 http : // www . my-website . com/oc-content/plugins/advanced_file_monitor/mcron.php