Not every hack is obvious. Some are loud and disruptive; others quietly run in the background for weeks before being noticed.
Obvious Warning Signs
- Your site redirects visitors to an unfamiliar or suspicious website
- Strange content, links, or ads appear that you didn't add
- Your hosting account is suspended for abuse you didn't knowingly commit
- Google shows a "This site may be hacked" warning in search results
Subtler Warning Signs
- Unexplained drops in traffic or search rankings
- Unfamiliar admin users appearing in your WordPress or CMS user list
- Unusual outbound traffic or server resource usage
- Customers or visitors reporting suspicious emails claiming to come from your site
What to Do Immediately If You Suspect a Hack
- Change all passwords immediately — hosting, admin, database, FTP
- Contact your hosting provider — a quality host can help identify and contain the issue quickly
- Restore from a clean backup if one exists from before the compromise
- Update everything — CMS, plugins, themes — since outdated software is the most common entry point
Prevention Is Cheaper Than Recovery
See our guides on securing WordPress and DDoS protection — prevention takes far less time and money than recovering a compromised site.
Think You've Been Hacked Right Now?
Contact us immediately — the faster this is addressed, the less damage and cleanup is required.