Never underestimate the importance of your web site’s security. The destruction of your web site can wreak havoc on your business, income and mind, as you flail about trying to work out what went wrong. You’ll also need to find someone to repair it very quickly- every hour costs you in lost ranking, which might take months to become fully restored.
Restoring lost ranking to a hacked web site takes time- you need to earn the search engines’ trust once again, and restore stability to your online presence.
Fixing a hacked Web Site
Recovering from a web site hacker’s attack is much more than removing the offending code or redirect.
You need to determine the source of entry. Often this will be an out of date component within a web site or content management system. Hackers search the internet for instances of known security weaknesses- essentially the equivalent of trying every room in a massive motel until they find one which is unlocked. Once they gain entry through the open door- lo an behold- there is a master key to the whole block, waiting on the table.
This means that changing the passwords after removing a redirect, does absolutely nothing. All you are doing, is changing the barrel on one of the locks- yet the hacker still has the master key.
The attacker gains access to a higher level of the hosting tree than the folder which holds your web site. The unauthorised access climbs as high as the root directory of the hosting company, so the potential to infect other web sites within the same hosting company is high- and very real.Before you even consider changing all passwords, you must discover the source of the attack, and replace the weak components or files, with secure versions. Once this has been done, a complete site-wide password reset as well as hosting account password change, should see you safe.
You’ll most likely find the information about the source of the attack, in the raw log files of the server. Look for repeated hits on “non-public” files- direct requests for component files or text files which are not normally called that way from the public.
The Effects of Hacking on SEO
If you correct any attack within 24-48 hours, you can expect to recover any rank you have lost quite quickly- within a week or two.
It might not sound like much- but two weeks is a long time to be without organic search traffic if you have a well performing web site.
Most attacks take time to correct- some of that time is taken up finding someone with the skills to do the job, who is available to do it when you need them. As a result, most of the instances of web site hacking we have heard about, have taken around 10-14 days to have corrected. Lost rank can take 2-3 months to fully recover- and that’s assuming your competitive landscape has remained static…
We should also mention- moving your website to a different host doesn’t help, unless all the problems are corrected. All you are doing is the equivalent of moving the faulty building to the next street- with the same locks in place. Of course the hacker still has the master key.
Preventing Web Site Hacking
The first thing you should do, is ensure you stay up to date with all security patches that are written for your web site software, or components which you have installed on your site. You should have a good host- one who is meticulous with security and has a 24 hour live support system, so your web master can communicate with them.
Maintain the security of your computer. Instal anti-virus software and ensure it is configured correctly. If an attacker gains access to your system, your web site passwords could be at risk- without you even realising it.
We can help you manage your online security. Use the contact page to get in touch.