Unfortunately, websites occasionally get hacked. That is somebody with malicious intent breaks into your website and steels the personal data from it or they install malware, software intentionally designed to cause damage.

Loss of sales & reputation

A hacked website loses sales, it loses customer confidence, it loses you that reputation that you have spent an age building up.

How do I tell if my website has been hacked?

Weird content

You notice that on some pages, there is some strange content that you didn’t write. You see links to other websites that sell Viagra or dodgy sunglasses, or even porn. This is a sure sign that your site has been hacked.

Website performance

Have you noticed that a once fast website has change to a snail’s pace. It’s an indicator that further investigation is needed.

Unexplained user accounts

You should periodically check in the CMS to see there are any users you cannot account for. If you see unknown user accounts, chances are your site has been hacked.

Broken code

Are you noticing an increase in the number of page errors? Do pages load but have missing content? When hackers get inside a website, they can break the code, which leads to errors on the page. If you notice an increase in errors, there’s a chance your site has been hacked.

Unknown plugins

Many of today’s websites use a CMS that relies on plugins to handle specific functions. If you notice unusual plugins on your website, it is likely that a hacker has gained access. You need to investigate where these plugins came from and what they are doing. When you have one of our priority maintenance plans, we keep a record of all the plugins, plus its version, your website has in our bespoke asset management system.

Your site has been blacklisted

If your web server has been compromised by hackers and is being used to send out spam or has been enlisted as part of an attack on another website, there is a high chance that your site and IP address has been blacklisted in search engines and added to email blacklists. This means your visitors may get a warning notification when attempting to gain access to your site or they may not be able to get the site to load at all.

Suspicious activity in your website and server logs

Website and server logs are an advanced way to detect a hacked website. Often you may see one IP address accessing a given page over and over, possibly for several days or weeks. It may even be a page you don’t recognize which has been placed there my hackers. Checking your logs regularly can provide a warning about hacking activity.

We can help fix your hacked website

routeToWeb has helped fix many hacked websites, especially hacked WordPress sites. From removing malware that redirects the visitor to dodgy sites, malware that installs a virus on the visitor’s computer and malware that uses the server to relay spam messages.

What can you do when you suspect your website has been hacked

If you suspect your website has been hacked call us on +44 (0)1733 270872 and we’ll do our best to get you back on your feet with the minimal of fuss and bother.

Future protection

One-way hackers gain access to your website is through vulnerabilities in outdated code. Many website owners fail to ensure their website is regularly monitored and updated leaving their website wide open to hackers. routeToWeb offers Monthly Priority Maintenance Plans to ensure your website is kept up to date and reduce the chances of vulnerable code being present.