Backups & Rollback Setup

📊 Backup Summary & Configuration

The Backups panel gives you an overview of the backup system status. From here you can create manual backups, configure automation, and review recent activity.

Status Dashboard

Quick Actions

⚙️ Auto-Backup Configuration

📋 Activity Log (last 7 days)

⏰ Scheduling Reliability (WP-Cron)

SeenSecure runs the scheduled backup using WordPress's internal cron (WP-Cron), which only fires when there's traffic on your site (front-end or wp-admin) — it's not a real operating-system cron, it's a mechanism that "piggybacks" on visits. If there's no traffic (e.g. overnight, or a staging site), the backup can be delayed or fail to run at the scheduled time.

That's why SeenSecure exposes a dedicated secret URL (found under Backups → scheduling section, inside your admin panel) that works as a remote trigger: every time it's called, it starts a backup RIGHT NOW — like pressing "Manual backup" from the panel, but triggered by your cron — using the backup type and folder selection you already have configured (to back up less or more, check/uncheck folders in your settings; that selection applies to every backup). Unlike calling the generic wp-cron.php (which runs everything WordPress has pending, not just your backup), this URL only starts the backup. Your own cron decides the real frequency — not the internal frequency/time schedule, which is only used for the WP-Cron and browser check.

🛡️ The same for the Plugins/Vulnerabilities scanner

The automatic updates scan (under Security Scanner → Plugins and Vulnerabilities → Schedule) uses exactly the same mechanism as backups: real WP-Cron every minute, browser polling while you have the admin open, and its own secret URL (different from the backup one) for an external cron, also exempt from geo-blocking and rate limiting. Everything explained above about WP-Cron reliability, how to set up your hosting's cron or an external service, and what each response means, applies the same way here — only the URL differs (find it on that same Schedule screen), and instead of starting a backup, it checks and runs the scheduled scan if it's due.

💾 Stored Backups

Complete list of all backups stored in the system. Each backup includes: WordPress core, plugins, themes, uploads, and all database tables.

🛡️ Large sites: you choose where backups are stored

On most shared hosts (Hostinger, cPanel with CloudLinux…) a website cannot find out how much space is left in your plan: PHP only sees the server's physical disk, shared by many customers and several terabytes in size. You do know which plan you have, so SeenSecure doesn't forbid anything: it warns you and lets you choose.

When your site is large (over 1 GB) and space can't be checked, the “How your site is protected” card appears in Backups → Overview with two decisions:

1. ⏰ Scheduled backups: what is saved on the server?
   • Database only (default): posts, pages, users, settings, forms and orders. It's small and the safest choice if you don't know your space. The last 3 are kept.
   • The full backup (files + database): choose it if your plan has plenty of room, and keep an eye on space in your hosting panel.
   It can also be changed in All protections → Scheduled backups of large sites. For them to run on their own, the Backup System must be enabled.
2. 💾 Full backup whenever you want. When you press “Create backup now” you'll see the backup size, a warning and both options: save it on the server or download it to your computer.

Download to your computer: always a single file

The backup downloads as one single .ssc file, without using server space and with nothing to join:

• In Chrome, Edge and Opera the “Save as” window opens and the backup is written straight into the file you choose.
• If the browser can't open that window, the backup is stored in the browser's internal storage (on your own disk, not in memory) and, when finished, downloads in full to your downloads folder.
• Only in very old browsers without either feature is it downloaded in parts; in that case a .bat and a .sh are downloaded too, joining them with a double click.

If scheduled backups only save the database, each time they run you get an email explaining what was saved and how many days ago you last downloaded a full backup. After more than 7 days it reminds you to download a new one.

Why does it work this way?

• We can't check whether it fits: the host doesn't show your plan's quota. That's why you decide; if a backup filled your account, the site couldn't save data and could go down.
• Scheduled full backup to your computer: not possible. A closed browser can't receive files, so you download that one yourself and SeenSecure reminds you when it's due.
• Database on the server: always safe. It's small and it's what changes most; files change much less.
• Backups made by your own host from its panel are a good complement, not a substitute.

Full backups over 4 GB are created in ZIP64 format, the standard for large files: any current unzip tool opens them.

How do I restore it later?

If the content is broken (the site works)

1. Go to Backups → “Backups” tab and find the “Database only” backup (or the full one) from the day you want.
2. Click “Restore”. Within a couple of minutes the posts, pages, users and settings from that day are back.

If files are missing or the site doesn't load

1. If you saved the full backup on the server: “Backups” tab → “Restore”, choosing which files to recover.
2. If you downloaded it (.ssc) and can access the dashboard: “Import .ssc”, then “Restore”, choosing which files to recover and whether to include the database (needs free server space to upload it).
3. If you can't log in or there's no space: rename the file from .ssc to .zip, upload it with your host's File Manager (hPanel, cPanel…) to the site folder and use its “Extract” option. It doesn't use PHP, so it works even if WordPress is broken.
4. The database: restore the latest “Database only” backup from the dashboard, or import the database.sql file (inside the .zip) with phpMyAdmin from your host.

🚀 New Backup Features

The following features have been added to provide greater flexibility in managing your backups.

⏪ Rollback Setup PRO

Rollback Setup is a PRO feature that creates a complete snapshot of ALL plugin settings before making changes. If something goes wrong or you do not confirm within the time limit, the configuration is automatically reverted to the previous state.

📸 How it works — Configuration Snapshot

1. Start rollback: A complete snapshot of all plugin options is created in the database.
2. Duration selection: You choose between 5 minutes and 4 hours as the test window.
3. Monitored changes: All changes made during the period are logged in a live changes panel.
4. Confirm or revert: At the end, you can Confirm changes to keep them or let the system auto-revert.

⏱️ Duration Selector

🎮 Available Actions

📋 Live Changes Panel

During an active rollback, any setting you change in the plugin (not just the firewall — any SeenSecure protection) is logged in the "Detected changes" panel. Each line shows the modified option together with its value when the snapshot started and its current value.

🔄 Floating Rollback Panel

When a rollback is active, a floating panel appears in the bottom-right corner of all WordPress admin pages. It shows the remaining time and allows quick access to confirmation or revert actions.

🔧 Troubleshooting

I don't see the floating panel even though I started a Rollback

The panel shows on every admin page while the rollback stays active, so if you don't see it, first check whether the timer already expired (the maximum window is 4 hours) — in that case the configuration has already reverted automatically and there's nothing pending to confirm.

I want to start a new Rollback but it won't let me

Only one rollback can be active at a time. Confirm or revert the one in progress from the floating panel before starting a new one.

I need to undo just ONE setting, not the whole configuration

Rollback Setup reverts the full set of options exactly as they were when the snapshot started, not individual changes. If you just want to undo one specific setting, change it back manually on its own screen instead of using "Restore now".

An imported backup isn't showing up in the list

Confirm the file has a .ssc extension — it's the only format accepted for import. If the file is correct and it still doesn't show up, check the Activity Log for the last 7 days to see if the import recorded an error.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens if I don't confirm the changes before time runs out? Everything reverts automatically to the state before the snapshot — you don't need to do anything for the safety revert to happen.

Can I restore only part of a backup instead of everything? Yes, with Selective Restore: you pick specific folders, individual files, or database tables from a directory tree, instead of restoring the whole backup.

Does Streaming Backup use space on my server? No: it's generated and sent straight to your browser without being saved on the server, unlike a normal scheduled backup.

Are Rollback Setup and Scheduled Backups the same thing? No: Rollback Setup only reverts the plugin's configuration (its settings), and is automatic with a time window. Backups are full copies of the site (files + database) that you restore manually whenever you need to.