What to Do If Your Website Has Been Hacked

Finding out your website has been compromised is alarming, but it's important to act quickly and methodically. Here's what to do if you suspect or confirm your site has been hacked.

Step 1: Don't Panic - Take Stock

Signs of a hack include: unexpected redirects, defaced pages, spam content injected into your site, Google warnings, or your hosting account sending spam emails. Confirm the issue before taking action.

Step 2: Take Your Site Offline Temporarily

To prevent further damage and protect your visitors, put your site into maintenance mode or temporarily rename your index.php / index.html file while you clean up.

Step 3: Change All Passwords Immediately

• cPanel password
• FTP / SFTP account passwords
• Database passwords
• WordPress or CMS admin password
• Email account passwords

Step 4: Restore from a Clean Backup

dotCanada provides JetBackup through cPanel. Restore your site from a backup taken before the compromise occurred. Go to cPanel › JetBackup to browse and restore available backups.

Step 5: Scan and Clean

Even after restoring, scan your files using a security plugin (like Wordfence for WordPress) to catch any remaining malicious files. Remove any plugins, themes, or scripts you didn't install.

Step 6: Update Everything

Update your CMS, plugins, and themes to their latest versions. Outdated software is the most common cause of website hacks.

If you're unsure how to proceed or need help with cleanup, contact our support team right away.