Having a hacked website is incredibly frustrating—it poses difficulties for both the business and its users, and the process of eliminating a hack can be quite lengthy. Let’s explore the quickest and simplest method to restore a hacked website.
1. Let’s check for warnings
If you’ve encountered messages like “This site contains malware” or “The site ahead contains harmful programs” related to your website, there is certainly an issue. To investigate further, visit https://sitecheck.sucuri.net and input your domain name.
- If your website’s been hacked, you’ll see a warning here.
- No warning? It’s less likely (but still possible) that your website has been compromised.
2. Change your passwords
If your website has been compromised, it is essential to promptly update all of your passwords mentioned below. To learn how to generate secure passwords, refer to the post. How to Create Strong Passwords.
| Your hosting type | Passwords to reset |
|---|---|
| Linux Hosting with cPanel | Primary FTP, secondary FTP, databases, apps like WordPress or Joomla |
| Windows Hosting with Plesk | Primary FTP, secondary FTP, databases, apps like WordPress or Joomla |
| Web & Classic Hosting | Primary FTP, secondary FTP, MySQL databases, MS SQL databases, apps like WordPress or Joomla |
3. Restore from backup
If you possess an uncorrupted backup of your website (along with its database), you ought to re-upload it to your hosting account.
4. Remove the hack
Manually eliminating malware from a website is exceedingly challenging for anyone. To eliminate the infection from your files, we suggest utilizing a software tool like Website Security Solution from Sucuri. With its automated malware scanning system, it will identify any infections present in your files and eliminate them as well.
5. Identify & fix the weakness
In order to safeguard your website from future hacking incidents, it’s essential to determine how it was breached. Weaknesses can be categorized into two types: issues related to passwords and those concerning the site’s structure.
6. Passwords
A majority of hacks occur when the attacker successfully guesses your account password through brute-force methods. By merely updating your password (and opting for a stronger one this time), you can stop these attacks from being successful in the future.
7. Structural
Identifying these kinds of vulnerabilities necessitates comprehensive testing. There are numerous security programs capable of executing these scans, but once more, we suggest Website Security Solution from Sucuri. It is capable of recognizing various problems and can also assist you in resolving them.
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