How do I know if my site has been hacked?
Online security is a significant concern today, especially as hackers get sneakier about grabbing personal information. It’s why you’re willing to deal with the slightly aggravating process required to use a chip reader when you could have quickly swiped your debit card and moved on with your day. And yet despite the precautions you take in both your professional and personal life to protect yourself, your family, and your clients, you can still fall victim to a hacker’s schemes. One way to undo the damage a hacker causes is by acting quickly. So what are some of the signs that your company’s website has been compromised?
You’re seeing pop-ups that make no sense
If you’ve installed a pop-up to collect information or welcome a visitor that’s one thing, but when they start showing up unexpectedly (or begin bombarding visitors at an alarming rate) then it’s a clear sign that something isn’t right.
You’re seeing content that you definitely didn’t write
The content could show up in the form of strange symbols, or it could just be sentences that don’t make any sense that appear on various pages of the site. Unless you specifically placed it there, copy shouldn’t just start appearing. If it does, it’s a good indicator that something is wrong with your site.
You get warnings when you try to visit your site through a search engine
Your browser might show you a red warning box that tells you that the site could be compromised or contain malware. If you see this type of warning, it’s a good indicator that hackers have invaded the back end of things.
People start complaining about fake e-mails that they’ve received from your address
If you’re suddenly touting the benefits of an extreme weight loss plan to everyone in your contact list, it’s likely that you’ve been hacked. Unless of course you truly care about the health of everyone you’ve ever met, in which case you might want to broach the topic in a more tactful way.
You’re locked out of accounts that you’re sure you know the passwords for
Passwords shouldn’t change randomly, and if you start getting locked out of accounts you’ve always been able to access with ease, it’s fairly likely that a hacker is to blame.
If you suspect that a hacker has invaded your site, you’ll want to take control of the situation and begin to clean up the damage immediately for the sake of both your business and your customers. While the situation is a stressful one, I can help you rebuild your business’s website, protect sensitive information, and minimize any downtime during the process. If you think your site has been hacked, contact me today for details on how I can help you.