What To Do If your Website is Hacked – Guide
One of the biggest issues that people face today online is hacking. It’s easy to become a target, and not even know it. The main issue that you are going to find is that you will have to face off against a lot of people that have nefarious intentions. No matter what type of website you may have up, you should not discount the notion that would require you to fight back. Fighting hackers may not be the first thing you think of, but it’s an important role to take on if you are going to have an online presence. You should know how to fight back, and that starts with learning what to do when your website is hacked. Fighting hackers is not a matter of fisticuffs, so don’t immediately think violence, as that’s not what this is about. There are some precautions you should take, and then follow up.
Getting The Right Web Host
Fighting hackers starts with prevention. You need to prevent this from happening by investing in a good web host. You absolutely need to have a good host on your side. They should be able to reset your page, make sure that your files are not taken away. They should be able to lock down your IP, your files, and everything backed up to put back in place as soon as a DOS attack occurs, or anything happens to your site. The right host will allow you to gain a semblance of peace when things happen. Peace of mind is important when you are dealing with high tech. Get the right web host, and you won’t have to worry about fighting hackers too much.
Keep WordPress Updated
The very first thing that you should be doing before having to fight is simple, have security measures in place. Fighting hackers is better left to the world of cyber security professionals. You shouldn’t discount it however. You should look at protecting your website and all the information that you have by having complicated passwords. Your passwords should be complex, mixed with digits, and capital letters. Do not have anything simple about your website’s passwords. It’s easy to get lazy, and to just overlook this, but that’s how hackers can get in.
If you use WordPress make sure you keep it updated. WordPress has an update button in the dashboard when they have a new release. Keeping WordPress updated is critical as hackers target the popular scripts people use. Along with WordPress itself make sure you update your themes and plugins regularly. Once a week you should check to see if there is an update for your theme or plugins. Keeping things updated will ensure you are using the latest secure version of WordPress and the themes and plugins you installed.
Change Things Up
One of the best things that you can do to start fighting hackers, and avoiding their attempts is to change your password often. Change it every week if you’re really worried. This is a practice that IT professionals work within on a large scale. Large universities, for instance, do this on a 5 to 7 day cycle. It can be somewhat annoying at first, but if you have valuable information stored on your servers, you have to think about this. If you do not change your password enough, all it takes is for a keystroke logger to run discreetly in the backend of your server. Once that is in place, you could end up having to fight off hackers after they’ve taken your identity.
When Disaster Strikes
If you have been hacked, you should immediately call your web host. They will lock down the server and move you to another location. They’ll also be able to determine if they need to warn others within shared servers. If you have a dedicated server, they will spring into action to help you. On your end, you will need to utilize a backed up file system. If you do not have a backed up site, or files that have been backed up, you may find yourself in a difficult situation. Fighting hackers becomes difficult for this reason. Many people do not have any backups of their website at all. While your server and web host may have the files, they may not be easy to get to or install. Disaster may strike at any moment, which is why you should have security on the mind. Backing your site up is important, and should be done often.
Never Panic
At the end of the day, it’s easy to panic. Many people throw their hands in the air and start to worry about what is going on with their website when disaster strikes. If you have been targeted, no matter what the reason is, don’t panic. Call your web host, and start fighting hackers by simply not letting it hit you too hard. Everyone gets hit with an issue here and there. The good thing is to ensure that the files are in order, and your site is back up and running in a fast, timely manner. However, all of this could be avoided with the help of good prevention, and a host provider that has your protection in mind.
