Signs When Your WordPress Got Hacked

Well, if you have a WordPress, you are one step closer to advanced technology. However, you should also remember that the digital world is filled with people with bad intention. If they see your website as a potential playground, it is possible that they (want to) hack it. The problem is: do you know the signs that you site has been compromised? No need to worry; here are some of the most common and possible signs.

Some of the Most Common Signs

1. Drastic drop of the website traffic

When you have a website, it is high chance that you are using Google Analytics which can report the traffic to your site. If you see that the traffic somehow reduces drastically and without apparent reason, it is possible that you are being hacked.

You see, when someone hijacks your site, they will redirect the traffic to other lousy and spammy websites. It is possible for them to do this without anyone knowing anything because they are using Trojans or malware. It would be wise if you can use the safe browsing tool from Google about the site’s safety report.

2. Unusual activity or setup in the server log

Do you know what the server log is? It is the text file (plain) concerning your web server, keeping the records of all errors and internet traffic happening on the server. The logs can give you insightful info about the condition of your site, including the IP addresses accessing your site. You should check the server log if you suspect anything. It is under the hosting account dashboard.

3. Suspicious link within the website

When someone hacks into your website, they may create another access point (known as the backdoor) so they can perform data injection. Data injection is the activity where they modify the WordPress database and files. One of the most common activities is to add links that will direct your visitors to other sites. You should perform a regular check to find these additional and suspicious links.

4. Inability to login to your account

In the event that you can’t login into your own account, no matter what you have tried, be aware that it is the hacker’s doing. When they hack into your site, they may delete your account (the admin one) from WordPress. The only solution is to find the backdoor of how the hacker gets into the site. Until it is solved, your website won’t be safe.

5. Hijacked search activity and result

You should be suspicious when the search result is somehow incorrect, especially if you check the meta description and the title. It is related to the data injection where the hacker changes your data related to the search engine.

6. Unresponsive or slow connection

Slow connection doesn’t necessarily mean that your site is under attack but you have tried different methods to increase the speed and yet it is sluggish, check the server logs. When you are under attack, hackers would send many requests from fake IPs or try to break into the site. This action will cause sluggishness and unresponsiveness.

It doesn’t hurt to find out more about different signs of hacker activities. After all, protecting your site with any means possible will be beneficial for you and your business.