What to do if Your Website Has Been Hacked?
Computer technologies are constantly evolving, leading to newer software protection systems, while malware also evolves in tandem. Websites are always vulnerable to hackers who inject malicious codes, causing corruption. As a web hosting service provider, safeguarding the integrity of stored information after a hacking incident is paramount. It’s crucial to understand that successful hacking not only involves injecting malicious code but also exposes user databases and sensitive information for potential misuse by hackers. Let’s explore an effective contingency plan to mitigate the aftermath of hacking on your websites.
Symptoms that Reveal Your Website is Hacked
Certain factors give you an insight that your website has suffered a hacking attack, and the code has been maliciously modified-
- On opening your website, there is threat warning from the firewall.
- On opening your website, there is threat warning from the firewall.
- On opening your website, there is threat warning from the firewall.
- On opening your website, there is threat warning from the firewall.
- Search systems fail to index your website
- Search systems fail to index your website
- Search systems fail to index your website
Recovering from an Attack
Once you have established that your website has malicious code files, you need to follow the below mentioned steps-
- Contact your hosting provider to gather details about the hack. They can provide information like the timing of the attack and investigate potential contingencies in other sites sharing the same domain, especially if your website is hosted on a shared server instance.
- Your hosting provider should have software tools to detect and remove infected content from your website promptly to prevent further corruption by malicious viruses. However, if your provider is unable to do so, you can consider using anti-malware scanning software like StopTheHacker. These tools scan your website, identify suspicious content, and remove it. Additionally, they help reduce the risk of future attacks by conducting regular scheduled scans.
- Your hosting provider should have software tools to quickly identify and eliminate infected content from your website, preventing further damage from malicious viruses. If your provider cannot address the issue, consider using anti-malware scanning software like StopTheHacker. These tools scan your website, detect suspicious content, and remove it. They also offer regular scans to reduce the risk of future attacks.etting processes.
Preventing Future Hacks
It’s crucial for your hosting provider to implement a lockdown on your website to minimize the risk of future attacks. To ensure this, follow these steps:
- Be sure to keep your website's content management system (CMS) up to date with the latest version. If you're using software like WordPress, ensure it's the most recent version available. CMS platforms frequently release updates that fix known vulnerabilities, so installing the latest version promptly is recommended.
- Keeping all website plugins up to date is essential. Plugins or extensions can pose vulnerabilities if they're not updated to the latest version, similar to those found on various CMS platforms.
- Secure your admin backend to prevent brute force attacks on your website. Services like Clef or Brute Protect can help lock down your site and provide protection against targeted attacks on your CMS platforms and vulnerabilities in your website code.
- Ensure that you have robust backups of your website in place. Regular backups are crucial to mitigating losses in case of a website hack or data loss. Services like CodeGuard can restore your website from backups and ensure its smooth operation.
