Guide for intermediate
If you are using a CMS (content management system) and you are not checking and installing every update of all your themes and plugins, you are taking a risk to be targeted with malware. Each update patches vulnerability issues which are constantly found by their developers and user community.
Because “manual” attacks on the hosting are not effective from the attackers point of view, most of the attacks are performed automatically – checking large amount of websites on a possible unpatched gap that can be exploited. If such gap is found the attacker uploads its own scripts that are used for various outcomes from redirecting the website to another to massive sending of SPAM messages. Other attacks with purposes of defacement of the website or targeted attempt to steal details are less common but the risk is the same as with automated attacks.
How to proceed when your website has been targeted?
Check your hosting
You can check your hosting whether or not is any harmful code present from the WebAdmin interface. Log in to the WebAdmin and go to Web > Virus scanner section. Using scanner tool is straightforward – there is no need to set anything up, simply select Scan to scan your hosting.
Scanner check the content of your hosting for the most common types of infection. Database of harmful scripts is constantly updated from our side.
If the scanner manages to find out any infected files, a list of them will be displayed. Another neat feature that will be welcomed by the WordPress site users is a overview of installed plugins and their version.
What to do if the scanner finds out any infected files ?
Virus scanned only detects harmful code and does not treat them. If your hosting has been infected, there are several ways of what to do. The list is as follows from the least difficult to the most difficult:
- restore from backup as shown in this guide
- delete content via FTP and reinstall the website
- manual repairs of the infected files by the website developer or a programmer