Website hacking is not to get surprised about these days. But sleeping peacefully one night with all the work done satisfactorily, and waking up to a hacked website might surprise one to the bones!!! Hence website security should never be taken for granted and should always be handed in reliable hands. Website hacking can easily hamper one’s reputation and goodwill and defame the website too. Therefore, one should try to recognize the initial stages of the hacking and immediately take the recovery steps.
Steps to Identify Hacking in Initial Stages
- Defaced Website
One might find inappropriate advertisements running on the website. The hacker might run commercials that might not be relatable to the website (for example- selling porn toys, gift hampers, or cash vouchers). Hence, such commercials impact the website negatively and lower the reputation of the website and the owner.
Also Read: How do websites get hacked?
- Wrong Redirection
Opening the link of the hacked website might lead one to a porn website or other inappropriate website link with malicious ads which is called website redirect hack in web security. Therefore, this confuses the visitors and also lowers the reputation of the owner among the visitors and fellow market.
Also Read: How to fix WordPress url redirection hack
- Information from Web Spam Authority
If a website has been hacked the web spam authority like Google or Bing will inform you about the damage done to the website and malicious content running over it.
- Unusual Traffic
A hacked website brings more traffic than the expected one. The visitors from other countries and untargeted audiences are observed to open the website link increasing the website traffic.
- Strange Activities
Strange activities are appeared to be running on the website. Inappropriate commercials, pornography advertisements, various items for sale, such issues might crop up in case of a hacked website.
Steps to Recover a Hacked Website
Mentioned below are some of the vital and necessary steps one needs to take to clean a hacked website and get it back into the right business again:
- Clean your System
A virus in the system is one of the vital and foremost reasons of a website being hacked. Hence one should use a reliable and well-renowned antivirus to keep the system as well as the website working safe and secure. It also helps to keep the system safe from the hazards to malicious codes entered into the working website.
- Install Firewall
A firewall not only helps to keep the website in check but protects the website too. It helps to prevent the injection of malicious codes or spam nodes in the website. Hence the website is safe and secure.
- Contact the Hosting Provider
Contacting the hosting provider is another important step to take in case of a website hacked. This helps to inform one about the damage done to the website and get it recovered in the earliest possible time.
Also Read: How to restore a suspended hosting account
- Change Passwords
Changing the passwords is another important and unforgettable step to be taken. This ceases the gateway to re-hack a website. Therefore, immediately change the previous password and ensure the strength of the new one.
- Backup the Files
Get a backup of the files before making any changes to the website. This helps to compare the hacked data with the original one and make changes accordingly. This step works like a manual scan.
- Delete Harm full Backdoors
Hackers always try to re-hack a site for which they leave a backdoor in the hacked website. It might be difficult to locate these backdoors as they are named as the legitimate files of the website. But the location of these files in the wrong directories helps to locate them. Delete these files immediately as they full of malicious content and codes.
Precautionary Measures in Case of a Hacked Website
Inform other people to make them cautious about the precautionary measures to be taken for their website.
- Inform the web host.
- Take professional help.
- Change the previous passwords.
- Get a backup of the damaged as well as original files.
- Patch the new ways for hackers to hack the website.
- Protect the website and the system overall.