WordPress Hacked?

Has your WordPress been hacked?

You are not alone.  Forbes reports that over 30,000 website are hacked each and every day.  A good majority of those are comprised of WordPress installations.  Unfortunately WordPress is a very highly targeted platform that hackers love to exploit.  There are many different ways to get into a WordPress site and hackers will try them all.  We can get into the nitty gritty here and explain how each is done, but I will briefly just list a few common ways.

• Outdated Plugins
• Outdated Themes
• Unsecured File Upload
• SQL Injections
• Cross Site Scripting
• Brute Force Password Guessing

Not surprisingly most of these hackers are not very sophisticated.  They are running automated attack tools around the clock just to get into your site.  The number one reason they want to hack your site is so they can redirect your visitor traffic to spam websites.  This might either be to generate click revenue or install malicious malware on your visitors computers.

Brand Reputation

The unfortunate consequence of having your website hacked is that your brand reputation can be tarnished.  For example, a customers first impression of a business often occurs while searching for a business online.  A first impression can leave a lasting mark on a company can can determine whether or not they should be doing business with you in the first place.

Search Delisting

Another major consequence of getting hacked is losing your credibility with search engines.  Search engines like Google will flag your website as malicious.  As a result, you risk your site getting removed from the search results and any potential customer searching for your services will find your competitors website instead.  The internet is making local search a competition for local business.  No longer do businesses prosper by having a storefront and word of mouth, the internet has changed all that.

The TLDR

Make sure your website is secure, presentable, and fast.  If you are confused on where to start, we offer our cleanup, security, and hosting services to Honolulu and surrounding areas.