Signs Your WordPress Website Is Hacked (And How to Fix It)

“What are the signs that someone has hacked into my WordPress website?”

This is a question that many owners of wordpress websites ask, as many of them are unaware of how to determine whether or not their website has been hacked.

Hackers have a preference for targeting websites that are powered by WordPress, and they never pass up an opportunity to take advantage of security holes in these kinds of websites. A wordpress website that has been hacked will exhibit quite a few of the warning symptoms listed here. These indicators can assist you in determining whether or not a hacker has gained unauthorized access to your website. This article provides a list of signs that indicate your WordPress website has been hacked, as well as solutions to solve the problem.

Signs That Your Cheap WordPress Website Has Been Hacked

A Decrease in the Amount of Traffic to Your WordPress Website:

When cheap wordpress hosting websites are hacked, website owners most often notice an abrupt decline in traffic. This is by far the most prevalent symptom. When you look through the report that Google Analytics generated for your wordpress website, you will see that the traffic that visits it has significantly decreased. If you suddenly witness a decline in traffic, it is quite likely that malicious hackers have gained access to your wordpress website and are using it for their own purposes.

It’s possible that the virus on your hacked wordpress website is to blame for the abrupt decline in traffic the spyware in question is the kind that sends new users to your website to phony websites that are run by hackers.

In addition, search engines such as Google will post warnings on WordPress Websites that they deem to be dangerous. If your website has been compromised, Google’s safe browsing tool may have warned users that they should avoid visiting your wordpress website because it is hazardous. As a result of these warnings, you may be losing new visitors to your website.

On a daily basis, Google adds domains to its blacklist that it believes may be involved in phishing or the distribution of malware. It is crucial to make sure that your website is secure and to focus more on the security of WordPress if you want to avoid having your site end up on a blacklist maintained by Google.

The Inclusion of Dangerous Links on Your Website:

Another prominent indicator that a hacked WordPress website is the injection of data. Through the installation of a backdoor on your website and the modification of your WordPress database and files, cybercriminals will add connections to fake websites on your website, particularly in the footer area. Even though the footer is where the majority of spammy links are located, you can find them anyplace on the WordPress website. You have the option to delete such links as soon as you discover them, but you might continue to find new links, and deleting links does not guarantee that they will not appear again in the future. You will need to investigate what the hackers exploited in order to gain access to your website and then correct the vulnerability.

 Home Page Was Violated:

When you visit your website and notice that the layout or the home page has been altered in some way, you should immediately realize that your website has been hacked. This is one of the clearest and most obvious indications that the website has been hacked. In the vast majority of instances, hackers do not deface websites in order to conduct their hacked wordpress website activities in a dishonest manner. They will only deface websites if they want the proprietors of the website to know that they have hacked wordpress website. They will, in almost all instances, post their statement on the homepage of your website. They do this either to blackmail you for money or to tarnish the name of your company.

 You Are Not Able to Access Your WordPress Website:

If a hacker gets their hands on your website, they may lock you out of it and make it hard for you to log in to your WordPress site. If this happens, the hacker has hacked wordpress website. It is imperative that you come to the realization that hackers have compromised your website if you are unable to access your administrative account. It’s possible that they changed your login credentials or completely canceled your admin account. It’s possible that you won’t be able to change your admin password if your account has been permanently erased. You can add an admin account to your website by using ftp or phpmyadmin, but you must immediately take the necessary precautions to protect your website from any potential threats. You can get in touch with the company that hosts your website in order to regain control of it and make it more secure.

It is important to use robust passwords in order to prevent hackers from figuring out your password and log in. WordPress Websites that use passwords that are easy to guess are prime targets for cybercriminals.

Website that is sluggish and unresponsive:

It is possible that your wordpress website has been hacked if you find that it is responding more slowly than normal or if it is completely unusable. DDoS assaults are launched against virtually any website that is accessible via the internet. In order to carry out DDoS attacks, they employ spoofed IP addresses that originate from various geographic areas. Because of this assault, hackers might send an excessive number of requests to your server, which will either cause your website to become unresponsive or make it move more slowly than usual. They could potentially use distributed denial of service assaults to get into your website. If you suspect that your website has been targeted by DDoS assaults, you can review the server logs to identify the IP addresses that are making an excessive number of requests to your server and then block those addresses.

WordPress Sites That Have Suspicious User Accounts:

If you enable user registration, you will undoubtedly find a log filled with accounts that are used for spam. By using your admin rights, it will be simple for you to delete all of those accounts. If, after having user registration disabled, you still find multiple spammy user accounts on your website, this may be an indication that your website has been compromised by an attacker. The vast majority of the time, these spammy accounts will have admin capabilities, and it’s possible that you won’t be able to delete them from your website.

Strange Behavior Recorded in the Server Logs:

Server logs will not only retain a record of the traffic that passes through your servers but will also preserve track of any faults that occur on the servers themselves. The server logs for your website can be found in the admin panel under the section labeled Statistics. You will notice strange activity on the server logs if your website has been hacked. This will assist you in understanding what is happening to your website when it is under assault. The server logs will contain any server faults that have occurred, which may have caused your website to become inaccessible. You have the ability to block any false IP addresses that appear in the server logs while attempting to access your WordPress website.

I am unable to send or receive emails using WordPress:

If you are unable to send or receive emails from your WordPress website, this is a clear indication that the mail servers on your wordpress website have been compromised. This will take place if hackers are able to obtain access to your wordpress website and install malicious code, which will then cause your website to send spam emails from its users’ accounts. As a consequence of this, many people will report your website to the relevant authorities as a bogus website. It’s possible that this is the cause of the problem that prevents you from sending or receiving emails from your site.

Ads and Pop-ups on Your WordPress Website That Are Irrelevant:

Signs that your wordpress website has been hacked include the appearance of unwelcome pop-up windows and spammy advertisements. Hackers could make money by placing irrelevant advertisements and redirecting users to their own spamming websites. These advertisements may only be viewable by first-time visitors to a website and not by logged-in users. It is possible for spammy pop-up advertisements to load in a new window whenever a new visitor arrives at your website through a search engine. Hackers will use this method to divert customers away from your website and to another phony site that they have constructed. Hackers carry out these kinds of assaults by using backdoors that they have installed on your server. Your web browser may occasionally tell you that the site you’re visiting has been compromised by malicious actors. In such a scenario, you will be required to take prompt action and find a solution to the problem. After that, you have the option of submitting a re-inclusion request, in which you ask Google to examine your website once more.

Core WordPress Files That Have Been Modified:

When hackers get access to your website, it is possible for them to change or modify files that are essential to WordPress. If you find that the core WordPress files on your website have been altered in any way, this may be an indication that your website has been compromised by an attacker. Hackers have two options: they can either generate new files that are very similar to what you have done, or they can replace your code with their own code. Plugins for WordPress’s built-in security, such as Sucuri Security, can assist you in locating files of this nature and monitoring the general condition of your core WordPress files. In a similar vein, you can also manually examine your files on a periodic basis for any modifications or for files that appear to be suspicious.

Repairing a WordPress Website That Has Been Hacked:

It is possible that manually fixing a hacked website will not be a simple operation. It is best practice to notify your hosting provider that your website has been hacked by opening a ticket and communicating this information. Your wordpress website will be easier to maintain if you are utilizing a reputable hosting service, so look into that. There is also the option of utilizing WordPress security plugins such as Sucuri in order to safeguard your website. Your website will be protected from intrusions and other threats by using these kinds of tools. This tool will clean up your WordPress website if it has been hacked in the event that it happens to you.

To make sure your site does not get hacked, make sure you maintain it updated. In a similar vein, unused plugins and themes should be removed, and regular updates should be applied to both themes and plugins as new versions become available. Check to see that the SSL certificate for your wordpress website is still active. Other methods include using strong admin passwords and unique usernames, both of which are techniques to ensure that third parties do not obtain your user’s name and passwords, which are the means by which they gain access to your website. Only those users who actually require access to crucial files should be granted permission to see those files. Visit your website frequently to check if there have been any modifications made to the home pages or the general structure of the site.

Here come the Role of WordPress Toolkit and Imunify 360:

The WordPress Toolkit brings all the essential features you need to effortlessly manage and optimize your WordPress site in one place. From installation to security, from updates to backups, everything you need is at your fingertips. https://blog.webhostingworld.net/wordpress-page-exploitation-and-protection-a-guide-for-2022/

With Imunify 360 you can take control of your website’s security. You can Monitor and manage security events, configure firewall rules, and view detailed reports to stay informed about potential threats. With Imunify 360, you have the tools to keep your website safe and secure.

Conclusion:

Hackers are interested in virtually any website on the internet, but WordPress websites are particularly appealing to them. The enhancement of your website’s security should be your primary concern if you want to forestall the possibility of fraudsters breaking into your site and stealing sensitive data. WordPress websites are typically more vulnerable to being hacked if they are using older versions of the plugins and themes, as well as if they have not been kept up to date. Some measures to ensure the safety of your wordpress website include using robust passwords and regularly checking for and applying any available updates. We sincerely hope that this post was helpful in explaining how to recognize potential efforts of hacking. Take the necessary precautions to keep your website secure, even if it has not yet been penetrated by hackers.