Hacked Website Repair
Is your site redirecting visitors to strange pages, showing a warning in Google, blocked by your host for spam, or are there files on the server nobody put there? I fix hacked websites whether they run on Drupal, WordPress or anything else – and whether I built them or someone else did.
How I go about it
- Isolation – I stop the damage: take the site offline or into maintenance mode, change passwords and access, and back up the current state as evidence for the analysis.
- Analysis – I find out how the attacker got in and what they changed: a vulnerable module or plugin, a leaked password, a backdoor in the files or the database.
- Cleanup – I remove the malicious code, rogue accounts and files. Where it is safer, I rebuild the site from a clean backup or from source and bring back only verified data.
- Patching – I close the hole the attacker used and update the core, modules or plugins and dependencies.
- Prevention – I set up backups with an off-site copy, separated permissions and checks so the same attack does not happen again. I also help with the request to remove the warning from Google.
At the end you get a short write-up of what happened, what I did and what I recommend next.
What to have ready
- access to the hosting or server (FTP/SSH) and to the site’s admin
- the most recent backup, if you have one
- when you noticed the problem and what exactly is happening
Not sure what you have? That is fine – tell me what you see and we will take it from there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the site have to run on Drupal?
No. I clean up Drupal, WordPress, Joomla and custom-built sites.
Can you look after the site afterwards?
Yes, if you want. What regular care involves is described under Website Maintenance
. Other security services are on the Web Security
page.