A clean website can still have a busy past
The infected files have been removed and the spam pages are gone. Then you check the logs and find the website is still being hammered with requests for those same addresses.
It doesn’t automatically mean the clean-up failed. Bots, saved links and search results may continue asking for pages that were removed. The important first step is to confirm that the compromise and its cause have actually been dealt with.
Old addresses travel further than you think
A spam infection can leave links in search results, on other sites or in a bot’s saved list. Deleting the page changes what your website serves, but it doesn’t instantly update those outside sources.
For a site with many former spam addresses, the ongoing requests can add up. WordPress may still do work before it decides each one is missing.
Treat the repair and the remaining traffic as separate jobs
The repair needs to deal with the infection, access and the weakness that allowed it. 404 Guard doesn’t remove malware or patch a vulnerable plugin.
Once the website is clean, 404 Guard can help reduce the work needed to answer requests for deleted pages. That gives you another way to handle the aftermath while the old links continue circulating.
Don’t make every old link a full home-page visit
Redirecting all missing addresses to the home page can look convenient. It also means every made-up or deleted spam path follows the same rule, even when it has no useful connection to the home page.
Choose the response deliberately. Keep real redirects where there’s a suitable replacement page. For removed spam, make sure the missing-page behaviour and status tell a clear story. Avoid running competing catch-all handlers.
Look after the real visitor who finds an old result
A person arriving from Google or Bing needs a useful next step. A clear missing-page response can offer the home page, services or contact details without pretending the removed page still exists.
Check those links on a phone as well as a desktop. It’s a small part of the recovery work, but it can stop a dead end becoming the last impression of your business.
Keep a before-and-after record
Note when 404 Guard was enabled, the protection mode and any changes made at the same time. Compare similar periods of traffic and response times.
A lower count inside a plugin doesn’t always mean fewer requests reached the server. Requests handled earlier may never reach the logging tool. Use traffic and workload figures together to explain what changed.