Is it safe to deactivate plugins?

[Maxwell]

I am doubting one of my plugins is a security hole for malware detected on my site. So I'm trying to deactivate my plugins one by one to see if maybe it can solve the problem.
But deactivate plugins still is keeping files on the hosting and i am worry about that. Should I deactivate or completely delete the plugin?

 

[vishwa]

I am doubting one of my plugins is a security hole for malware detected on my site. So I'm trying to deactivate my plugins one by one to see if maybe it can solve the problem.
But deactivate plugins still is keeping files on the hosting and i am worry about that. Should I deactivate or completely delete the plugin?

No it won't delete your files. When you deactivate the plugin, it will stop working and your plugins files are safe until you delete the plugin after deactivation. So, you can move on without any issues.

 

[kim16]

Files will not be deleted if you deactivate plugins. Although, you might have to re-organize your content in case a plugin related to your design becomes inactive. That's what I encountered.

 

[ballyhara]

You just have to be sure, some say that sometimes the deactivation can erase certain information, so anyway I suggest you can do a backup and stay calmed. The other thing you can do is to keep the ones that you can keep updated, because usually if you don't do it you won't get any security updates also. So the best move is to stay with the plugins you use the most, get rid of the rest.