How to properly uninstall

iThemes Security cleans up after itself. You can just deactivate it from the WordPress Dashboard and then delete it.

Hi atxmatt,

Thanks for the response.

Apparently it isn’t that simple?

Leftover there are 46 “itsec” entries in 6 database table columns and 333 instances of “better-wp-security” in the database.

Does iThemes provide a cleanup tool for this?

Thanks,
Mike.
P.S. For my own curiosity, do you officially represent iThemes?

No, iThemes does not provide a cleanup tool and no, I am not officially representing iThemes; I am just here to help.

Check the crons to see if there are any iTSec Crons lingering around.

If I need to check for cron jobs, or something…

Doesn’t that mean that those were created by iThemes and that those were left over by iThemes?

And additionally, doesn’t that mean that the plugin does not “clean up after itself”?

What am I missing here?

And when will iThemes chip in with some help?

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by Nuthinthere.
• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by Nuthinthere.

The commonly used database tables for iThemes Security are the following.

wp_itsec_bans
wp_itsec_dashboard_events
wp_itsec_distributed_storage
wp_itsec_fingerprints
wp_itsec_geolocation_cache
wp_itsec_lockouts
wp_itsec_logs
wp_itsec_mutexes
wp_itsec_opaque_tokens
wp_itsec_temp
wp_itsec_user_groups

Hi Luke Cavanagh,

Thanks for trying to help, but I’m a dummy.

I have no idea what to do to the database without causing permanent damage.

Which is why asked the question in the first place. I had hoped, in this day and age, that a plugin creator would do more to help.

Thanks again,
Mike.
P.S. I am abandoning this help request and will forever have no good words about iThemes support.

The WP-Optimize plugin has a tables look-up option so you can find database tables that are leftover after the plugin has been deactivated and deleted.

Hello @nuthinthere sorry you feel that way. You must keep in mind that you are using WordPress and there are many reasons why the lingering data would not be removed. As I mentioned previously, iTSec does clean up after itself.

I would also like to mention that this forum is supported by the community and not iThemes as mentioned in the Need Help section of https://www.ads-software.com/plugins/better-wp-security/

NEED HELP?
Free support may be available with the community’s help in the www.ads-software.com support forums (Note: this is community-provided support. iThemes does not monitor the www.ads-software.com support forums).

Rather than banging your head against the wall trying to figure out why it would be best to remove the lingering data and be on your way.

Hi Luke Cavanagh @lukefiretoss,

Thanks,

Mike.

Hi atxmatt @atxmatt,

I have already found that I am a fool and a sucker.

Thanks,

Mike.

Hi @nuthinthere, I hope the information provided helped resolve your issues. I’ll mark this post resolved. If you still need some assistance, feel free to open a new support topic, and we’d be happy to assist. Thank you!

Hi chandelierrr (@shanedelierrr),

Thanks for the followup, you are too kind.

If there is a way to mark it as “closed” instead of “resolved” , I request you to do so.

As far as I am concerned it is not “resolved’. The vendor never tried to help. A few independent helpers tried to, but it was too late, although their effort is appreciated.

I got the precise answers and procedures and database entries from a competing plugin author. In minutes! He knew exactly where and why and what!

Very sad that iThemes Security never even showed up to help.

Sincerely,

Mike.

Hi @nuthinthere, thanks for getting back, and I’m sorry to hear about the experience you had with iTSec support. Unfortunately, there isn’t a way to mark this post as closed.

Deactivating and deleting a plugin from the WP admin should run a cleanup script and remove everything from your server. If it does not, you would need to manually remove the following using these steps:
– In your wp.config.php file, remove any references to Security (iTSec)
– In your .htaccess file, remove the entire iThemes Security block
– In your DB, remove these three tables: yourprefix_itsec_lockouts, yourprefix_itsec_logs and yourprefix_itsec_temp. Then, inside the yourprefix_options table, remove all the rows that begin with “itsec”

Regarding the DB, you can also do this step right after deactivating and deleting the plugin, to verify that no itsec entries remain. We also recommend hiring a developer if you aren’t confident with tweaking the DB, as this is not something we can provide support.

I would also like to mention that iThemes Security is now actively providing support for the free version of the plugin, so please don’t hesitate to open another topic in the future.

@shanedelierrr

I would also like to mention that iThemes Security is now actively providing support for the free version of the plugin, so please don’t hesitate to open another topic in the future.

Could you arrange to modify the section below, on the plugin main page on www.ads-software.com, to reflect the support change.

NEED HELP?

Free support may be available with the community’s help in the www.ads-software.com support forums (Note: this is community-provided support. iThemes does not monitor the www.ads-software.com support forums).

I’m on it. Thank you, as always, @nlpro!