Is your website SAFE? How to check whether a WordPress website has been hacked?

Most of the time, when we provide WP Support to our customers, we have to answer the question, “How do you know if your WordPress site has been hacked?” I’ve prepared something like this so you can understand what’s going on behind the scenes. Together with some signs. These can be dangerous or cause annoying delays in loading websites.

Here are some of the most common signs that your WordPress site is hacked

• A sudden drop in web traffic

If you check your Google Analytics reports, you may notice a decrease in website traffic. This definitely indicates that the website has been hacked. Some viruses can hide their effects, while others can redirect her web browser to spam websites. And sometimes you have to pay attention. Otherwise, you’ll end up on his list of 20,000 websites that Google filters out.  

• Your website redirects you to another site.

This is probably the most recognizable symptom. When you visit a website, you are redirected to an unknown location instead of being served. First, check if your DNS records have changed and point to a different IP address.

If your DNS records look fine, it’s very likely that something in your HTML page is causing this redirect. Try disabling JavaScript support in your browser and check again if the site is redirecting. If the redirect continues, it likely indicates that another area of ​​the website has been tampered with, either the database, the website’s .htaccess file, or the web server configuration.

• A popup will open while the website is loading.

This sign is also easy to understand. Your his website loads a popup window that is clearly out of place. Some of them are called popunders and are more cunning. These are not visible when you visit the website, but are loaded in the background. However, when I minimize the browser, it appears quickly and usually takes up most of the screen.

• Inappropriate links added to the site

Data injection is one of the most common signs that WordPress has been hacked. Hackers create backdoors on your WordPress site to access and access your WordPress files and databases.

Some of these hacks even add links to spam websites. These links are typically placed in the footer of your website, but they can be placed anywhere. Deleting a link does not guarantee that the link will not appear again.

• A Defaced Homepage

If your website is hacked, your original landing page may disappear. Hackers post their own messages informing them that the site is useless. This is true in most cases, but some people use their intellect to escape without warning. At worst, ransomware can spread and try to extort money in exchange for stolen information.

• The website is slow/unresponsive

When a web page loads at a snail’s pace, you know someone is trying to break into your site. Hackers use anonymous IP addresses to access her website. It also sends more requests to the server than necessary. In such scenarios, checking the server logs and blocking unknown IPs may resolve the issue. But even if this tip doesn’t work for you, you should still follow steps to improve your website’s performance.

• Unable to Login into WordPress

If you can’t log into your WordPress site, hackers may have removed your admin account from WordPress.

Since the account doesn’t exist, you would not be able to reset your password from the login page.
There are other ways to add an admin account. However, your site will remain unsafe until you figure out how the hackers got into your website.

Protect your WordPress website from future attacks

Once the website is cleaned, it will be very difficult for hackers to access his website, so you can protect your website.

To protect your WordPress website, you need to add a layer of protection around your site. For example, using strong passwords with two-factor authentication can help protect your WordPress admin area from unauthorized logins.
We hope this article helped you learn the signs to look for in a hacked WordPress site.