What to do if your WordPress Site Gets Hacked
The Content Management System (CMS) known as WordPress is estimated to be used by 40 percent of websites according to some estimations. WordPress is one of the most user-friendly platforms for swiftly putting together a professional website.
The problem is that if you don’t maintain your website up to date, there is a good risk that you will wake up one day and discover that you have malware on your website.
The majority of users discover that their website has been hacked when they notice that their browser begins flashing a warning when they attempt to access the site in question. Consider the following example: If you are using Chrome, the notification will appear as follows:
Defending Your WordPress Website Against Hacking
The dreaded sign of a hacked website is the following:
So, what should we do? The removal of malware from your website can be accomplished through one of the numerous accessible services. However, following this list of suggestions will get you to a solution rather quickly and without the need to hire a professional.
The first thing to do is to call your hosting service
The very first thing you should do is contact your web hosting company. There is a good chance that they will be able to assist you in getting this problem resolved.
Your hosting service can perform a scan of your website and identify the specific malware that has attacked your website. They will then be able to advise you on the steps that need to be taken to eliminate the infection.
Most likely, you’ll have to restore from a backup copy of everything. You must restore the website to a point in time before it was infected with malicious code. Automatic backups are currently available from the majority of hosting firms. As a result, if you’re lucky, the hosting company’s customer service department will take care of the necessary work for you.
If your hosting service can take care of this, you’re in good shape! Following the restoration of your website, make sure to update your WordPress software to the most recent version, as well as all of your plugins. It is recommended that you disable and delete any plugins that are not being used by your website.
If your hosting service can’t help
Were it not for your website hosting company’s ability to supply you with the assistance you require, I would be shocked. However, if you do not receive the assistance that you require, you will be forced to conduct a scan on your own. Numerous WordPress plugins may be used to accomplish this. The top three that I would recommend are as follows:
- Sucuri is a cybersecurity company.
- Wordfence is the second option.
- Anti-Malware Protection is number three.
After you have completed the scan, you will have validated that you have an issue with your computer. It is now necessary to locate the most recent backup of the site that you have. If you haven’t backed up your site in a long time, you will have to deal with the repercussions
Completely remove all of your WordPress files from your server.
Remove all of your WordPress files from your server and restart your computer.
You must delete all of the WordPress files that are currently on your website. Avoid squandering your time attempting to repair the infected files.
In the past few days, I’ve spent countless hours attempting to trace down and remove dangerous code from some of my websites that had been compromised. This turned out to be a complete waste of time because the infection kept re-appearing on the computer. The most effective course of action is to erase the WordPress site and start over.
Manually deleting the files is an option, however, using the Cpanel to destroy the WordPress instance is the most convenient option. Then you should re-install the WordPress program from scratch. If you have any difficulties doing so, contact your web hosting provider for assistance. They can provide you with answers to your questions or direct you to a tutorial that will lead you through the procedure step by step.
Reinstall your Theme and Plugins
After that, re-install your theme as well as any plugins you may have.
Restore your backup
After that, you can restore your backup. You can follow the instructions supplied by the plugin’s designer if you are using a plugin such as Backup Buddy, for example.
Scan again
You will need to redo your scan to be certain that your restored site is free of malware. If the problem persists, you will need to restore your site to a previous backup that was taken even earlier. If your website is now free of clutter, it has been a success.
Tell Google that your site is clean
For your website to be removed from the malware site list, you must first notify Google through your Google Webmaster account. If you do not already have an account, creating one is a simple process. Simply click on the following link: Google Webmaster Tools is a free service provided by Google.
What if you don’t have a backup?
If you don’t have a backup, there are a variety of services available to help you. You should be able to get this site cleaned for a bargain price — anywhere from $50 to $200. Then consider that a valuable lesson learned. Make sure you pay for a backup service in the future or install a plugin such as BackupBuddy on your computer.
