Quick Answer: My Website Was Hacked-What Should I Do Right Now?
If you've confirmed your website is hacked, immediately take it offline (enable maintenance mode or change your hosting password to prevent access), change all passwords (hosting, WordPress admin, FTP, database), and scan your computer for malware. Do not attempt to clean it yourself if you're not experienced-you could destroy evidence or miss hidden backdoors. Professional security services like Adonis Designs' Emergency Recovery remove malware, patch vulnerabilities, and restore your site securely within 2-4 hours-currently $74.25/month for ongoing protection (25% off first year) or emergency recovery as a standalone service.
How to Know If Your Website Is Actually Hacked
Not every website problem is a hack. Seeing weird pop-ups on your own computer might be adware on your device, not your website. Here's how to confirm a real compromise:
Definite Signs You've Been Hacked
1. Google Safe Browsing Warning Your site shows "Deceptive site ahead" or "The site ahead contains malware" warnings in Google search results or when visitors try to access it. Google blacklisting is serious-once listed, you lose 95% of traffic immediately.
2. Unauthorized Admin Users Check WordPress > Users. See accounts you didn't create, especially with Administrator privileges? You're compromised.
3. Unknown Files in Your Website Directory
Files you didn't upload appearing in your hosting File Manager, especially with suspicious names like wp-vcd.php, hello.php, class.api.php, or random alphanumeric strings.
4. Spam Content Injected Into Your Site Your pages suddenly contain hidden text linking to pharmaceutical spam, gambling sites, or adult content. Sometimes visible, often hidden with CSS tricks or at the bottom of pages.
5. Redirects to Shady Websites Clicking links on your site redirects visitors to scam sites, phishing pages, or malware download sites. Sometimes these only trigger for Google/search engine crawlers, not regular visitors.
6. Hosting Provider Suspension Notice Email from your host saying your account was suspended for "abuse," "malware distribution," or "sending spam emails."
7. Massive Unexpected Resource Usage Your usually quiet website suddenly consuming bandwidth like crazy, or CPU usage maxed out (visible in hosting dashboard). Hackers often use compromised sites to send spam or participate in distributed attacks.
How Hackers Get In
Understanding entry points helps prevent re-infection after cleanup:
- Outdated plugins/themes (70% of WordPress hacks)
- Weak passwords (admin passwords like "password123")
- Nulled/pirated themes (contain hidden malware)
- Insecure hosting (shared servers with poor isolation)
- No security monitoring (breaches going unnoticed for months)
Emergency Response: First 30 Minutes
Time matters when you're hacked. Every minute your compromised site is online potentially:
- Infects visitors with malware
- Damages your Google rankings
- Sends phishing emails from your domain
- Harvests customer data
Step 1: Take Your Site Offline (5 minutes)
Option A: Enable Maintenance Mode (Safest) If you can still access WordPress admin:
- Install "WP Maintenance Mode" plugin
- Activate it immediately
- Visitors see "Site under maintenance" instead of the hacked version
Option B: Change Your Hosting Password Log into your hosting account and change your control panel password. This locks out the attacker while you work (though they might have backdoor access via uploaded files).
Option C: Put Up a Temporary "Coming Soon" Page Upload a simple HTML page to your server:
<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head><title>Temporarily Offline</title></head>
<body>
<h1>We'll be back soon!</h1>
<p>Our site is temporarily offline for maintenance. Please check back shortly.</p>
</body>
</html>
Name it index.html and put it in your root directory. It'll show instead of your hacked WordPress site.
Step 2: Change ALL Passwords (10 minutes)
Hackers likely have your passwords. Change them immediately-but NOT from the infected computer you normally use.
Use a clean device (phone, different computer) to change:
- Hosting account password
- WordPress admin password
- FTP/SFTP credentials
- Database password
- Email account passwords (especially the one linked to hosting)
- Any other admin accounts
Password requirements:
- Minimum 16 characters
- Mix of uppercase, lowercase, numbers, symbols
- No dictionary words or personal information
- Use a password manager (LastPass, 1Password, Bitwarden)
Step 3: Scan Your Personal Computer (5 minutes)
If you manage your website from your personal computer, it might be infected with keyloggers or malware that gave hackers your passwords.
Run these scans:
- Malwarebytes (free trial works)
- Your existing antivirus (Windows Defender, etc.)
- Check browser extensions for suspicious add-ons
If infections are found, remove them before logging into anything important. Otherwise, hackers just steal your new passwords.
Step 4: Notify Your Hosting Provider (5 minutes)
Call or submit an urgent ticket to your hosting provider:
"My website [yoursite.com] has been hacked. I've taken it offline and changed my password. Please quarantine my account to prevent further damage and check if other accounts on the server are affected. I need assistance removing malware and restoring from clean backups."
Good hosts will:
- Quarantine your account
- Review access logs
- Provide server-level assistance
- Help you restore from their backups
Step 5: Document Everything (5 minutes)
Before you start making changes, document the current state:
Take screenshots of:
- Error messages and warnings
- Suspicious files you find
- Google Security Issues panel (Search Console)
- Malware/spam content
- Unauthorized user accounts
Why this matters:
- Evidence if you need to file reports
- Reference for security professionals helping you
- Proof of when hack occurred (insurance, legal issues)
DIY Malware Removal: Should You Attempt It?
Short answer: Only if you have technical experience and current backups.
The Risks of DIY Cleanup
What can go wrong:
- Incomplete removal: Hackers plant multiple backdoors. Miss even one, they're back within days.
- Destroying evidence: Deleting files before documenting might eliminate proof needed for investigations or insurance claims.
- Breaking your site further: One wrong move deleting core files = completely broken website.
- Missing hidden malware: Sophisticated hacks obfuscate malicious code. Without proper scanning tools, you won't find it all.
- Reinfection: Cleaning without closing the entry point means getting hacked again immediately.
When DIY Might Work
Attempt DIY cleanup only if: ✅ You have a clean backup from before the hack ✅ You know exactly when the hack occurred ✅ You have technical experience with WordPress and FTP ✅ Your website doesn't process payments or store customer data ✅ You can afford potential downtime if something goes wrong
Basic DIY Cleanup Steps
If you decide to try:
- Restore from clean backup (before hack occurred)
- Update WordPress core, all plugins, and theme immediately
- Delete any plugins/themes you're not using
- Check for unauthorized admin users and delete them
- Review and delete suspicious files in /wp-content/uploads/
- Scan with security plugins (Wordfence, Sucuri Security Scanner)
- Change all passwords again after cleanup
- Submit your site to Google for review (Search Console)
Time required: 4-8 hours minimum if you know what you're doing.
When to Call Professionals Immediately
Skip DIY and call experts if: ❌ You don't have clean backups ❌ Customer data might be compromised ❌ Your site processes payments ❌ Google has blacklisted you ❌ You can't identify when the hack occurred ❌ This is a business-critical website ❌ You've never done this before
Professional malware removal typically costs $200-500 as a one-time service-cheap compared to the revenue lost during extended downtime or permanent Google blacklisting.
Professional Recovery: What to Expect
When you call a professional WordPress security service like Adonis Designs for hacked website recovery:
Hour 1: Emergency Triage and Assessment
- Security specialist reviews your site
- Identifies malware type and entry point
- Determines extent of damage
- Creates recovery plan
- Takes forensic snapshots for evidence
Hour 2-3: Malware Removal and Cleanup
- Complete malware scan and removal
- Backdoor identification and deletion
- Database cleaning (malicious links, spam content)
- File integrity verification
- Core WordPress file replacement
Hour 3-4: Hardening and Testing
- Security patches applied
- Firewall configuration
- File permission correction
- Admin account security
- Testing to ensure clean operation
Post-Recovery
- Google blacklist removal request
- Security monitoring setup
- Vulnerability report
- Prevention recommendations
- Ongoing protection implementation
Total recovery time: 2-4 hours from emergency call to fully secured website.
Preventing Future Hacks: Essential Security
Your website was hacked once. Without changes, it'll happen again-often within weeks.
Core Security Measures Every Website Needs
1. Automatic Updates (with Testing) Keep WordPress, plugins, and themes updated-but test on staging first to avoid breaking your site.
2. Web Application Firewall Cloudflare or Sucuri firewall blocks hacking attempts before they reach your server.
3. Regular Malware Scanning Daily automated scans catch infections early, before Google notices.
4. Strong Authentication
- Complex passwords (16+ characters)
- Two-factor authentication (2FA) on admin accounts
- Limit login attempts to stop brute-force attacks
5. File Integrity Monitoring Alert systems that notify you when files are modified unexpectedly.
6. Daily Backups (Tested and Off-Site) Recent backups let you restore quickly instead of paying ransoms or rebuilding from scratch.
7. Security Hardening
- Disable file editing from WordPress admin
- Remove WordPress version information
- Hide wp-admin from public scans
- Implement proper file permissions
8. Professional Monitoring 24/7 security monitoring catches breaches immediately, not weeks later when Google blacklists you.
The Real Cost of Ignoring Security
Newcastle accounting firm case study:
Website hacked on a Friday evening. Malware installed redirected visitors to phishing pages collecting credit card information. By Monday:
- Google blacklisted the site (95% traffic loss)
- 47 client complaints about security warnings
- 3 actual fraud cases from the phishing redirect
- Professional reputation damage
- $8,500 emergency security service + legal consultation
- 2 weeks to fully recover Google rankings
- Lost 6 potential new clients who found competitors instead
Total cost: $15,000+ in direct costs and lost business.
Cost of prevention: $74.25/month for comprehensive security and management.
Website Security That Actually Works
Stop being an easy target. Adonis Designs' Website Management & Security service protects Newcastle businesses from hacking disasters.
Complete Protection for $74.25/Month (First Year):
🛡️ 24/7 Security Monitoring
- Real-time malware scanning
- Intrusion detection
- Suspicious activity alerts
- Instant threat response
🔒 Proactive Defense
- Web application firewall
- Brute force attack blocking
- DDoS protection
- Security patches applied immediately
💾 Daily Automated Backups
- Stored securely off-site
- One-click restoration
- 30-day retention
- Verified and tested
🔧 Security Hardening
- File permission optimization
- Two-factor authentication setup
- Admin area protection
- Login attempt limiting
⚡ Emergency Recovery Included
- Free malware removal if you do get hacked
- Expert incident response
- Google blacklist removal
- Forensic analysis and reporting
🔄 Ongoing Updates & Maintenance
- WordPress, plugin, theme updates
- Compatibility testing
- Security patch deployment
- Vulnerability monitoring
Regular price: $99/month Limited first-year offer: $74.25/month (save $297) No contracts-cancel anytime
Perfect for Businesses That Can't Afford Downtime
Ideal clients:
- Professional services (accountants, lawyers, consultants)
- Trade businesses (builders, electricians, plumbers)
- Any business processing payments online
- Companies storing customer data
- Sites that generate leads worth $500+ each
What you avoid:
- Panic-inducing 3am "your site is hacked" realizations
- Weekends spent fighting malware infections
- Lost revenue during recovery downtime
- Professional reputation damage
- Google blacklisting disasters
- Customer data breach liability
Take Action: Protect Your Website Today
Option 1: Emergency Recovery (Hacked Right Now) Your site is already compromised and needs immediate cleaning.
📞 Emergency Hotline: +61-403-550-744 (24/7 response)
We'll remove malware, restore your site, and get you back online within 4 hours. Emergency recovery starts at $399 as a standalone service, or FREE if you sign up for ongoing management.
Option 2: Preventive Protection (Smart Business Decision) Don't wait for a hack. Prevent it from happening in the first place.
💻 Get Comprehensive Security & Management
$74.25/month for complete peace of mind:
- 24/7 security monitoring
- Automatic malware removal
- Daily backups
- Emergency support included
- Free recovery if you do get hacked
Serving: Newcastle, Hunter Valley, Lake Macquarie, Central Coast, Noosa Office: 169-185 Hunter Street, Newcastle NSW 2300
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to recover from a hacked website?
Professional recovery typically takes 2-4 hours from initial call to fully cleaned and secured site. DIY attempts often take 8-20 hours spread over several days, with higher risk of incomplete removal or reinfection.
Will I lose my content if my website is hacked?
Usually not-hackers want to use your site for their purposes (spam, phishing, malware distribution), not destroy it. However, severe infections might corrupt databases. This is why daily backups are critical.
Can I get sued if hackers use my website to scam people?
Potentially yes. If your compromised website distributes malware or participates in phishing attacks, victims could pursue legal action. More importantly, you could face regulatory penalties if customer data is breached and you don't have adequate security measures.
How do I know if the hack is completely removed?
Professional services provide verification reports showing clean scans from multiple security tools. DIY cleanup is harder to verify completely-hidden backdoors often survive amateur removal attempts, causing reinfection weeks later.
Should I notify customers that my website was hacked?
If customer data was accessed or compromised, Australian Privacy Principles require notification. Even if data wasn't accessed, transparency is often the best policy for maintaining trust. Professional security services can help you craft appropriate customer communication.
Why was my site targeted? I'm just a small business.
Hackers use automated tools that scan thousands of websites looking for vulnerabilities. They don't care about your business size-just whether they can exploit your site. Small businesses are often easier targets because they have weaker security than enterprises.
Your website's security isn't just a technical issue-it's a business continuity essential. Don't wait for a disaster to take protection seriously.