Hacked Website: 5 Important Steps to Save

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When unexpectedly a pop-up hi-jacks your whole screen and tells you that your machine is now contaminated with malware, you ‘re busy browsing a webpage in your account. Try as you may, you can’t close this tab. Cold sweat is streaming down your face, as you dawn that you may have been hacked.

Where to check whether you have been hacked?

By visual verifying a compromised website is very clear. The hacker may have put a big banner on your homepage saying “Hacked by .” Or the link redirects to other websites that are “inappropriate for the workplace.”
Here are the other visual indicators you have been hacked to:

  • The hacker has had the website vandalized.
  • Your Web logs contain weird website traffic from another country.
  • The web site redirects you to unsafe pharmacy websites or sketchy pages.
  • Google is alerting you that your account is being compromised.
  • Firefox and Google are notifying you of a hack to your website.

Hacking Website Is Not A Mystery

Hacking doesn’t occur using any form of magic. It’s done with intention and with malicious intent.
Here are the four other ways hackers use your website to gain control:

  • Feeble passwords
  • Insertion of phishing and malware at your computer.
  • Outdated tech which is a vulnerable area on your website.
  • Another hacked website that uses the same shared-server.
  • Note: It is best to avoid cheap hosting services because you are going to get what you have paid for.

Follow these 5 steps if you’re hacked:

Resolving the website that has been compromised is a major issue if not handled properly.
Here are some simple and structured things you can do in this case with your support staff:

1. Relaxation

It is a question solved. You don’t have to feel fear.

2. Ask your technical support team for some assistance

Having technical expertise among your workforce, or calling a support team, is nice. A website design technical specialist (ex. programmer) is suitable to help you repair your website. The hosting service will also help you out, as they work with other customers with the same problems. Definitely they can provide great support. When they have backup logs for your files, they will do the cleaning work for you too.

3. Offer the correct details

Prepare all the details which they would need. Your staff needs to have access to the ff:

  • CMS Login: the Administrative / Super-Administrative content management system
  • Your web logs: Connection logs as well as error logs. Be sure that the Web logs are generated by your hosting service. Some web hosts do, but a few hosting companies don’t turn those on by default or can’t give them access.
  • Login hosting: The control panel for accessing your account and site logs
  • FTP / sFTP login credentials: Hostname, username and password should be included
  • Backups: Whatever backups you might have

Each of this information must be stored in a secure location so you can access it quickly when you need it most.

4. Put Down your website

When the website is evaluated and patched, it’s easier to shut it down for the mean time. You can turn it off using your control panel for the hosting. You can also set up a password to block users from using your website in the main directory too.

5. Run your antivirus on your machines and on your tablets

You need to run your trusty antivirus to make sure nothing can steal your valuable data again. Only make sure it’s updated to use your antivirus to its full potential.

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