How would you feel when browsing a page in your website, then all over sudden your whole screen gets hi-jacked by a pop-up? Irritating, Right?
But, to make the matter worse, it informs you that your computer has been infected with malware. Imagine the panic after trying to close that page without success because you have been hacked.
The big question is, do you know you can solve this? And how do you start?
To start with, you should confirm if you have been hacked or not.
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How to confirm if you are hacked
The task of verifying if you have been hacked is easier. You do not need an I.T service guy to assist you in doing so. In most cases, a hacked website is known by visual examination. The hacker may put a big banner on your website stating “Hacked by……” Or, your website redirects to other “inappropriate for offices” sites.
Here are more visual signs that show you have been hacked:
- Weird web traffic from a country different from those in your web logs.
- Alerts from Google indicating your website is comprised.
- Notification from Google and Firefox that your website was hacked.
- Your website redirecting you to some irrelevant websites.
- Vandalized website.
Is website hacking a mystery?
Hacking is done using bad intentions and objective. So, there is no magic used in doing so. Here are some additional means that hackers utilize to have access and control of your site:
- Malware insertion and phishing on your website.
- Weak passwords.
- An outdated software which is a vulnerable section of your website.
- Sharing server with a hacked website. To avoid this, avoid cheap hosting service providers.
Restoring a hacked website is problematic when not done well.
Here are the 5 steps to follow if you are hacked:
1. Relax
Although this might scare you, avoid panicking. Instead, you should relax because the problem has a solution. After all, many websites have been before and overcame the issue.
2. Seek Some Assistance From Your Technical Support Team
Having technical experts in your support team is a great thing because you can call them whenever you face some issues. However, an ideal person like programmer will help you in fixing the hacked WordPress website is a technical expert for on-site configuration. For example, a programmer.
Also, your hosting service provider may help you out because they face similar issues from other customers. Without any doubt, they can provide superb help. Besides that, they may perform the cleaning job on your behalf if they have the backup logs of your files.
3. Provide all information required by the support team
Have all the information that the technical WordPress support service team requires with you. They will require access to the following:
- Backups- provide all the backups that you have stored.
- Access credentials of FTP and SFTP-this comprises of your username, hostname, and password.
- Your hosting login-for them to gain access to your web logs and database, they should access the control panel of your hosting provider.
- CMS login- provide your CMS with all administrative/ super admin authorities.
- All your weblogs- provide all your access logs, as well as the error logs.
However, ensure your hosting company offers the weblogs. Although many web hosts provide them, some hosting companies might not allow access to them. Or, by default, they do not turn them on.
4. Take your site offline
Shutting down your website whenever you are examining or fixing it is good. You can do so through your hosting provider control panel. Besides that, you can set up a password on the primary directory to block visitors from accessing your website.
5. Run Antivirus on your gadgets
To ensure your important data will not be grabbed by anyone/ anything at all, run your trustworthy antivirus on all your gadgets. But, first ensure your antivirus is updated so as to utilize to its maximum ability.
Final Thought
A website that has been comprised is terrifying due to its negative impacts on your business and customers. Thus, ensure you have some technical assistance if you are not an expert. After that, just relax because many technical have sufficient skills to fix the issue. Besides that, invest in an updated website security software because it will help you a lot. You can hire WordPress Experts that provide WordPress emergency support to your website.
