Title: Parse Error: Syntax Error
Last modified: December 1, 2016

---

# Parse Error: Syntax Error

 *  Resolved [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/)
 * (@zammael)
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/)
 * Bad news. I got hacked. I think 4.6.1 is my latest version.
 * Anyway, I am the webmaster of the Heterodoxia blog. Unfortunately, after a year’s
   worth of hacks (my server said that they were targeting my mobile plugin) I thought
   things went back to normal. This morning, my blog won’t load, and instead spits
   out this line:
 * `Parse error: syntax error, unexpected ''; ' (T_CONSTANT_ENCAPSED_STRING), expecting')'
   in /home/hyperbor/www/www/heterodoxia/wp-settings.php on line 31`
 * Here’s the code of the settings file:
 *     ```
       {
             $ff .= substr(pack('H*', sha1($fa.$ff.$fe)), 0, $n);
       ```
   
    -  This topic was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/).
      Reason: sorry, i didn't realize how large the php was
    -  This topic was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by [Steven Stern (sterndata)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sterndata/).
      Reason: put code in backticks

Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

 *  Moderator [Steven Stern (sterndata)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sterndata/)
 * (@sterndata)
 * Volunteer Forum Moderator
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8502887)
 * Remain calm and carefully follow [this guide](https://codex.wordpress.org/FAQ_My_site_was_hacked).
   When you’re done, you may want to implement some (if not all) of [the recommended security measures](https://codex.wordpress.org/Hardening_WordPress).
 * If you’re unable to clean them, there are reputable organizations that can clean
   your sites for you. Sucuri and Wordfence are two.
 *  Thread Starter [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/)
 * (@zammael)
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8502910)
 * SternData,
    Thanks for the swift response. I will follow your advice.
 *  Moderator [Steven Stern (sterndata)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sterndata/)
 * (@sterndata)
 * Volunteer Forum Moderator
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8503261)
 * FYI, someone else just reported the same string in a core file, so at the very
   least, you’re not alone.
 *  Thread Starter [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/)
 * (@zammael)
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8503464)
 * yes, I see from the email notifications.
    My host said that it was partially 
   my fault because as previously stated, there was an automated attack earlier 
   this year and I did not completely clean my wordpress installation. They found
   malicious code left from that time, and now my blog is history.
 * So they advise me to save the important files like wp-config.php and the image
   files in my wp-content/uploads directory.
 * I am not sure what else to save before wiping out the directory and do a clean
   re-install of wordpress.
    Let me know 🙂
 *  Thread Starter [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/)
 * (@zammael)
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8503600)
 * I mean, how do I know which files are not part of the original WordPress package?
 * I vouchsafe the following are mine:
    (file name)_wordpress.sql, sitemap.xml.gz.
 *  Moderator [Steven Stern (sterndata)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sterndata/)
 * (@sterndata)
 * Volunteer Forum Moderator
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8503925)
 * delete all the .php files except wp-config.php and reinstall wordpress and your
   plugins. Check wp-config, though, for anything that looks odd.
 *  Thread Starter [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/)
 * (@zammael)
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8504243)
 * Thanks. I’ve saved all the necessary files, and put down the plugins that I use.
 * And I will check the wp-config file, tho I am pretty much an ignoramus when it
   comes to coding. 😛
 * ETA: Are all the blogs I’ve written saved on the database, rather than the files
   in the WordPress directory?
    -  This reply was modified 9 years, 5 months ago by [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/).
      Reason: Follow up question
 *  Moderator [Steven Stern (sterndata)](https://wordpress.org/support/users/sterndata/)
 * (@sterndata)
 * Volunteer Forum Moderator
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8504395)
 * Check a clean copy of wp-config-sample.php for an idea of what wp-config.php 
   should look like. Your posts are in the database.
 *  Thread Starter [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/)
 * (@zammael)
 * [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8505922)
 * Thanks for your help, Sterndata.
    My blog is back up. Lesson learned!

Viewing 9 replies - 1 through 9 (of 9 total)

The topic ‘Parse Error: Syntax Error’ is closed to new replies.

## Tags

 * [hacked](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/hacked/)
 * [parse-error](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/parse-error/)
 * [wp-settings.php](https://wordpress.org/support/topic-tag/wp-settings-php/)

 * In: [Fixing WordPress](https://wordpress.org/support/forum/how-to-and-troubleshooting/)
 * 11 replies
 * 2 participants
 * Last reply from: [Zammael](https://wordpress.org/support/users/zammael/)
 * Last activity: [9 years, 5 months ago](https://wordpress.org/support/topic/parse-error-syntax-error-133/#post-8505922)
 * Status: resolved

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