What to Do If Your Website Has Been Hacked?

Your Website Has Been Hacked — Act Immediately

Getting your website hacked is unfortunately not uncommon. Websites are constantly targeted by automated attacks, and there are critical steps you must take immediately to regain control and minimize damage. A website is the property of a person, company, or organization, and popular websites are always at risk of being compromised by malicious actors. The cybercrime of hacking websites continues to increase with the passage of time, making website security an essential investment for any online business.

If your website has been hacked, we would first of all advise you to resort to specialists to remove malware, backdoors, and viruses from your server and get website protection as soon as possible. Professional malware removal ensures that all traces of the infection are eliminated — including hidden backdoors that attackers commonly leave behind for future access.

First Steps You Should Take

It is essential to analyze the hacking of your website to find the vulnerable points in the code and eliminate them as soon as possible. You should also remember that very often hackers, after having gained access to your website, prefer to create hidden pathways for further exploitation of your web resource. Only a qualified specialist is able to uncover such hidden backdoors and ensure they are completely removed.

Here is a step-by-step guideline of what to do if your website has been hacked:

1. Check your local PC for viruses. It is not necessary to buy a commercial antivirus. We recommend using free, reputable solutions such as Avira and Comodo to ensure your own machine is clean before accessing your server.
2. Install a firewall on your local PC. Using a firewall significantly reduces the risk of malware penetration to your computer. We recommend Comodo (free and one of the best firewalls) or Zone Alarm (a very good commercial alternative).
3. Contact your hosting provider. Not only your website may have been hacked, especially if you do not rent your own server but use shared hosting. Notify the administrators and ask them to analyze the hacking incident and check other accounts on the same server.
4. Change all passwords immediately. Change every password — from email account passwords to FTP credentials, hosting panel logins, CMS admin passwords, and database passwords. Use strong, unique passwords for each service.
5. Warn your users. Notify your users that your website has been compromised and recommend they change their passwords immediately. Transparency is essential for maintaining trust.
6. Back up all files on your server without delay. Even though the current files may be infected, having a backup allows specialists to analyze the attack vector and recover unaffected content.
7. Check the .htaccess file. A hacker can use this file to redirect your visitors from your web resource to a malicious website with harmful code installed. Inspect all .htaccess files in every directory of your site.
8. Be prepared to delete all files from your server. The injected code may be hidden so deeply that it may be necessary to completely wipe all files and the database from your server. To restore your website, you will need a clean backup made before the attack — therefore, please read our article on the importance of website backup.
9. Update your CMS to the newest version. Update all CMS core files, plugins, themes, and extensions to their latest versions. Outdated software is the number one attack vector for website hacking incidents.

Understanding Website Hacking

There are two types of organizations when it comes to cybersecurity: those that have already been hacked, and those that haven't yet but remain at risk. Companies that have not experienced a breach must take proactive measures to secure themselves and prevent hacking incidents. There are various threat actors, viruses, and malware threats that can compromise websites and cause damage to content and users. Hacking is a common problem, but webmasters must be skilled enough to address such issues and protect their digital assets from harm.

How to Know If Your Website Has Been Hacked

How will you find out that your website is no longer under your control? How will you know that someone has compromised your website or blog? These are common questions that arise when webmasters realize their website is vulnerable. There are different types of indications that can alert you to a breach. The first and most obvious sign is when your website's interface has been visibly changed — it no longer looks like the one you created, and you have lost control over it.

Some hackers deface websites and leave messages to advertise their actions. These are the ways hackers proudly announce their exploits. However, sometimes webmasters do not receive any obvious signal about the hacking, and the attacker operates silently in the background — stealing data, injecting spam links, or using your server resources without your knowledge.

Signs and Indications of a Compromised Website

Here are the key indications and signs that will help the owner of the website know that someone has hacked them and they have lost control over their property:

• You see a defaced website with unfamiliar content or hacker messages.
• The website redirects visitors to pornographic, pharmaceutical, or other unsavory websites.
• Search engines like Google and Bing display security warnings about your site.
• Web browsers show malware or phishing warnings when visitors try to access your site.
• You notice unusual traffic spikes from countries you have not targeted.
• You feel strange activities on your website — unknown files, modified pages, or new admin accounts.

What to Do: Recovery Actions

When a hacker has taken control of your website, you have the responsibility to take serious steps immediately. Your website is your property — you cannot lose control over it. A hacker can use your business and customer information for negative purposes, creating serious problems for you and your users. Follow these critical recovery actions to restore your website and prevent further damage:

Tell the World

When the hacker hacks your website, you must inform the world. Other platforms must spread the awareness about the incident. It will help your users understand the conditions and situations you are facing and protect themselves from any problems in the meantime. Being transparent about a security breach actually strengthens your reputation and demonstrates corporate website protection responsibility.

Contact Your Hosting Provider

The webmaster must immediately contact the host that can help restore the website. The server host has the ability to help regain control over the website you own. Working with your hosting provider ensures your website comes back to normal and removes any redirection to unsavory websites. For shared hosting, your provider also needs to verify that no cross-account contamination has occurred.

Revert the Damage

Asking for professional help to regain your website will undo the damage done by the hacker. The security experts who are experienced with your type of problem can help you get your website back online quickly and safely. This step is very important, as getting qualified help is essential for a complete and thorough recovery.

Change All Passwords

When you discover that someone has hacked your website, change all passwords immediately. Sometimes changing the passwords allows you to regain control right away. Never set easy or predictable passwords — password security is a technique that requires attention. Webmasters must keep rotating their passwords regularly and enable two-factor authentication wherever possible for an additional layer of security monitoring.

Create and Maintain Backups

Every webmaster must keep regular backups of their website. Websites always have chances of being hacked due to their popularity or growing vulnerability exposure. A backup must always be available so that if something happens, you have your data ready to upload again. Automated daily backups are the recommended approach — never rely solely on your hosting provider's backup system.

Implement Ongoing Website Security

Websites must always be secured with professional protection. Companies like SiteGuarding.com offer their services to provide a safe and secure solution for websites. When webmasters want to set enterprise website security on their sites, SiteGuarding offers comprehensive protection including:

• Antivirus — server-side scanning with proprietary heuristic detection engine
• File Change Monitoring — real-time tracking of all file modifications on your server
• Web Application Firewall (WAF) — blocking attacks before they reach your website

Find the Right Solutions

Webmasters must look for better solutions to secure their website. They must invest in services that guarantee proper advanced web protection backed by real cybersecurity expertise. SiteGuarding.com is the website that has comprehensive solutions to your security problems — from emergency malware removal to ongoing 24/7 protection and DDoS mitigation.