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Steps to Recover a Hacked Website

Discovering your website has been hacked can be stressful. Attackers might deface pages, inject malware, steal data, add spam links, or use your server for malicious activities. Swift and thorough action is required to regain control, clean the site, and prevent future breaches.

Analyzing Server Access Logs?

Found a suspicious IP address in your access logs? Drop it into our Free IP Lookup Tool to find out where the attacker is connecting from.

Immediate Steps

  1. Take the Site Offline (Optional but Recommended): Put up a temporary maintenance page (503 Service Unavailable) to prevent visitors from accessing potentially harmful content.
  2. Contact Your Hosting Provider: Inform them immediately. They can provide valuable assistance and check server logs.
  3. Change All Passwords: Immediately change passwords for your hosting account, FTP, CMS admin accounts, and database users. Use strong, unique passwords.

Cleaning the Website

  1. Backup the Current (Hacked) Site: Store it securely offline for forensic analysis later if required.
  2. Scan for Malware: Use server-side scanners provided by your host or security services like Sucuri or Wordfence.
  3. Restore from a Clean Backup: If you have a reliable backup taken *before* the hack occurred, restoring it is often the quickest way to a clean slate.

Securing the Website Post-Cleanup

  1. Identify and Fix the Vulnerability: How did the attacker get in? Was it an outdated plugin? Fix the underlying issue to prevent reinfection.
  2. Update Everything: Ensure your CMS, themes, plugins, and server software are fully up-to-date.
  3. Request Review from Google: Once certain the site is clean, submit a review request via Search Console.