What to do if your website is hacked? 

As a small business owner, discovering that your WordPress website has been hacked can be overwhelming. In our previous article, How to know if your WordPress site has been hacked?, we shared 7 key signs that suggest your website might be compromised. If you have doubts or are already seeing signs of a hacked website, it’s crucial to act quickly to minimize damage and restore your site. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you navigate this stressful situation.

1. Scan all your devices for malicious code

Before you take any action on your website, ensure that your own equipment is secure. Hackers often gain access through compromised devices. Use reputable antivirus and anti-malware software to scan all your computers, laptops, tablets, and cell phones. Only proceed to the next steps once you are certain everything is clean.

2. Change your passwords

After securing your devices, the next critical step is to change your passwords:

• Email accounts: Change the password for the email accounts that you use and for the email account associated with your WordPress admin.
• WordPress admin accounts: Change the password for your WordPress admin account. Use a strong, unique password. Check for other administrators and remove any not authorized by you.

These changes help ensure that hackers no longer have access to your website or email.

3. Get WP Experts on your side

Let’s be honest, who has the time to become a cybersecurity ninja overnight? If you haven’t been keeping up with regular security measures, it’s best to seek professional assistance.

Professionals know exactly what to do and won’t miss any necessary steps, saving you many hours, hundreds of tutorials visited, and doubts about whether you’re missing something. After all, hiring experts is often cheaper and more effective than trying to handle everything yourself.

At WP Division, our Cover Plan is specifically designed to handle these situations efficiently and securely. And now, for a limited time, all new subscriptions are just $4.99/mo for the first 3 months!

 

Here’s what our expert team will do for you:

Investigate the server logs

We will examine your server logs to identify how the hackers gained access and what actions they performed. This is a crucial step in understanding the extent of the breach and preventing future attacks.

Clean the malicious code

Our experts will thoroughly clean your website, removing any malicious code and files. This step is vital to ensure that no backdoors or harmful scripts remain on your site. We know which code is malicious and can remove it fast, restoring your site to its original, secure state. Our WordPress experts also perform a detailed manual check, reviewing logs and code to find and eliminate new exploits that automated tools might miss. This ensures your site is fully secure.

Create a backup and setup regular backup

Backing up your website is a must to keep your data safe. Our team will make a full backup of your site, so all your info is securely stored. This way, if something goes wrong later, you can quickly get your site back to how it was. We’ll also set up automatic regular backups, so you don’t have to worry about losing anything important.

Update WordPress core, themes, and plugins

We will update your WordPress core, themes, and plugins and apply the important security updates. Keeping these components up-to-date is essential for closing security vulnerabilities that hackers could exploit.

Scan the domain for blacklisting and request removal

We will check if your domain has been blacklisted by search engines due to the hack. If it has, we will request the removal of your site from blacklists, helping to restore your site’s reputation and visibility.

Apply additional security measures

To prevent future hacks, we will implement additional security measures on your WordPress site. This includes utilizing the core features of WordPress and applying best practices for security, such as hiding or removing unused components.

Monitor the site and perform regular security checks

Finally, we will continuously monitor your site for any signs of trouble and perform regular security scans. Ongoing monitoring and security scans help detect and address potential issues before they escalate, ensuring that your site remains secure.

 

 

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