A hacked WordPress site can bring your business crashing to the ground. Its security is integral both to your reputation and to the bottom line. Fortunately, though, there’s a step-by-step process that you may follow for reviving your site and protect it from potential hackers. Below is a step-by-step guide showing you exactly how to recover a hacked WordPress website to reclaim full control of your online presence.
1. Hack confirmed and take immediate step
Well, when you feel that your WordPress site has got hacked, you first of all, confirm the hack. Hackers create a clear trail mostly in the form of:
- Unwanted redirects: Visitors will land on an unknown or malicious website.
- Spam links or pop-ups: Malicious links or pop-ups advertisements were not originally on your site.
- Unusual admin access: You cannot access your admin area or discover unknown admin users.
- Notifications from hosting provider: Most hosts send notifications when they find any malicious activity.
- After you confirm that the hack is real, you should take urgent measures to limit further damage:
- Put the site in maintenance mode: This temporarily blocks users from accessing the site as you address the issue.
- Disable site access: Restrict access to your site because of security issues, mainly for customers and visitors.
2. Change Your Login Credentials
Now that you have found out the hack, the security of your login credentials must be number two on your priority list. A hacker who can access your admin section can now have access to all the sensitive information in your website.
Immediately change these
- WordPress Admin Password: Use a strong unique password for the admin account.
- FTP/SFTP Password: Change your file transfer credentials to prevent unauthorized access.
- Database Password: Update your database password, especially if the hacker may have modified it.
- Hosting Control Panel (cPanel) Password: Protect your hosting control panel with a unique password.
- Change these credentials to prevent the hacker from re-accessing your site.
3. Scan for Malware and Vulnerabilities
You can begin by using such trusted security plugins like Wordfence, Sucuri, or iThemes Security, which scan your website for malware. These plugins will scan your website for malicious files, vulnerabilities, and signs of a breach.
After scanning, you might have to manually remove the malware or use the plugin’s features to clean the website. It is important to ensure that all the infected files are removed so that the hacker cannot regain access.
4. Restore from a Clean Backup
If you have a recent clean backup of your website, restore it to a point before the hack occurred. Many hosting providers create automatic backups, so check with your host to see if they can help you recover a clean version of your site.
If you have used backup plugins like UpdraftPlus, BackupBuddy, or VaultPress, you can directly restore your site from those backups. Before restoring, make sure the backup is free of malware to avoid bringing the problem back in.
5. Remove Malicious Code and Files
Scan WordPress files manually for malware. Malicious codes sometimes go undetected in specific parts of the site, and hackers upload harmful scripts in specific locations:
- The wp-content folder: Ensure you didn’t install unknown plugins or themes.
- Uploads folder: Hackers do sometimes upload malicious files there.
- Core WordPress files: Compare them with those from a fresh WordPress installation to note the modifications.
All the malicious files and scripts should be cleaned out to leave your site clean.
6. WordPress Core, Themes, and Plugins Upgrades
Now that your site is clean, update all WordPress core files, themes, and plugins to the latest versions. Most hackers take advantage of outdated software. Regular updates will keep your website secure.
- WordPress Core Update: Always run the latest version of WordPress to patch security vulnerabilities.
- Update Themes and Plugins: Ensure the themes and plugins are updated.
- Unused Themes/Plugins: Clear unused or non-active plugins/themes, which decrease your security risk.
7. Unauthorized Access on User Account
The Hacker may add his unauthorized users with some admin privileges or permissions. Thereby they control your site to do whatever, which can be retrieved by the legitimate user of WordPress. Look on all the user accounts there in your WP Admin Dashboard:.
Review all the accounts of the users: Search for all suspicious accounts. Look especially for those who are admins but not yours.
Remove unwanted users: When you identify an unfamiliar or suspicious user, eliminate them at once.
8. Secure Your WordPress
Once your website is clean, you are ready to make your WordPress site a fortress that would not allow another hack from occurring:
- Install firewall plugin: Use Wordfence or Sucuri to block malware traffic and deter attacks.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA): Enable the 2FA on your wordpress login site so that an extra layer of security can be created.
- Use strong, unique passwords: Each account user and administrator should have strong passwords
- Install an SSL certificate: This will protect any information transferred between the user and the website from data robbery.
9. Relay To Your Hosting Provider
Let your hosting provider know about the breach. A good hosting provider usually offers further security enhancements and can provide guidance on what happened. The server side can scan your site in case there might be some residuals that need cleaning up.
10. Submit Your Website for Review by Google
If Google has flagged your website due to malicious activity, you’ll need to request a review through the Google Search Console. Once your site is cleaned and secure, Google will remove any security warnings, which will help your website regain its position in search results.
11. Monitor Your Site for Unusual Activity
This is even after recovery, although very important to monitor any rare activities in your website. Install monitoring tools on logins, changes to the core files, and new user registrations. Real-time monitoring with alerting features can be found in most security plugins.
Conclusion
Recovery of a hacked WordPress site can be daunting, but the step-by-step recovery process will help regain control of your site and keep it safe from further hacking. Regular backups, updated software, and security best practices will outsmart hackers at every turn.
By taking the time to thoroughly clean and secure your website, you’ll not only restore it to its original state but also improve its security to prevent future breaches. Regular maintenance, strong passwords, and proactive monitoring are all key components to keeping your WordPress site safe and secure.
Contact Us Today
