What happens when wp_cron is deactivated in WordPress?

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In a WordPress 3.5.1 the apache log generates the following error related to wp-cron.php:

[18/Jun/2013:10:53:21 +0200] “POST /wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron=1371545601.7393701076507568359375 HTTP/1.0”
200 211 “-” “WordPress/3.5.1; http://www.foo.com”
[18/Jun/2013:10:54:36 +0200] “POST /wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron=1371545676.3652250766754150390625 HTTP/1.0”
200 211 “-” “WordPress/3.5.1; http://www.foo.com”
[18/Jun/2013:10:56:44 +0200] “POST /wp-cron.php?doing_wp_cron=1371545804.4974770545959472656250 HTTP/1.0”
200 211 “-” “WordPress/3.5.1; http://www.foo.com“

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More than 700 petitions per hour like this are made and I do not have any Cron plugin.

I think if I insert the following code in wp-config.php it will desactivate this cron: 

define('DISABLE_WP_CRON', true);

I would like to confirm this and ask about what possible pernicious secondary effects this could have.

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2 comments

  1. wp_cron is used to schedule tasks such as deleting old posts from trash, deleting old spam comments, and checking for plugin/theme updates.

  2. As was previously mentioned, wp cron plays a role in a number of key functions. Theoretically you can disable it without the site blowing up. However, it will hamstring you in a lot of ways. The disable feature exists for those that plan to call cron in another method.

    Unfortunately, looking at that log file, it’s very unlikely that your problem is a wp cron issue. You appear to have nefarious activity on the site. You may not be seeing outward symptoms of it but something is hammering cron that shouldn’t be. This “could” be a plugin you’re developing that is poorly coded and you don’t realize is mis-firing or more likely this is something intentionally nefarious that is already in your site and attempting to trigger other actions.

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