diff --git a/scan.php b/scan.php
index a0cad20..25762dc 100644
--- a/scan.php
+++ b/scan.php
@@ -167,6 +167,12 @@ class MalwareScanner
             array_push($patterns, "googleBot", "htaccess");
         }
         foreach ($patterns as $toSearch) {
+            if (!$toSearch) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            if ($toSearch[0] === '#') {
+                continue;
+            }
             $substrCount = substr_count($fileContent, $toSearch);
             if ($substrCount > 0) {
                 $found = true;
@@ -176,6 +182,12 @@ class MalwareScanner
 
         if (!$found) {
             $patterns = $this->loadPatterns(dirname(__FILE__) . '/patterns_re.txt');
+            if (!$toSearch) {
+                continue;
+            }
+            if ($toSearch[0] === '#') {
+                continue;
+            }
             foreach ($patterns as $toSearch) {
                 if (preg_match('/' . $toSearch . '/is', $fileContent)) {
                     $found = true;