Hacking has become a growing issue with the passage of time and along with it comes the rise in Cybercrime. There’s no limit to anything, whether it’s cyber crimes or hacking. We have seen hackers taking down websites every now and then. According to an estimation, thousands of sites are hacked every day on the internet, be it a personal website of an individual, a commercial website, or even a federal agency’s official website.
In this article, EZ Rankings – SEO India Company, has shared various ways of checking if your site got hacked or not & How to fix hack issues on your website. Before we dive into the tips to check a website, first understand why it’s important to check your website.
Why check your website frequently for cyber attacks?
Most business owners don’t pay attention to their website security, which results in a loss of money. They keep on posting new content thinking that they are safe but it’s not the case. Websites get hacked due to vulnerable code, weak passwords, or out-of-dated software which can be so dangerous if you lose your customer’s trust for any reason. Once a hacker gets access to your website, he/she can get hold of all your customer information so without checking regularly, you might lose all your valuable data & customer base. Thus, it becomes important for everyone to check websites for cyber attacks.
Check for ‘Site may be hacked’ notice:
If you are getting this notice then there are strong chances that your website may be hacked. Sometimes, it’s difficult to find out if a website is hacked or not but this particular message will make the situation clear. So, after seeing the ‘Your site may be hacked’ notification on your web browser, make sure your website is safe because running a hacked site can result in losing valuable data which can lead to serious trouble for business owners.
You can easily check this by searching your website on Google. If the search engine is showing this message above your website, then you need to quickly run a technical analysis.
Notice change in meta descriptions:
This is another major sign that shows the chances of your website getting hacked. If someone else got access to your website then they can change all the meta descriptions on it without permission, and there’s no API which makes this task impossible for hackers.
In SEO services, Meta descriptions are one of the important ranking factors. Thus if you notice changes in meta descriptions for multiple pages, then there are chances that your website may be hacked. Another way to check this is to go to Google search console -> Search Appearance -> HTML Improvements. Here you will find all the changes made in meta descriptions.
Check suspicious files:
The hackers’ main motive is to gain access to your website’s server & after doing so they can do whatever they want. If you keep on posting new content on your website without checking it properly then hackers can introduce viruses, Trojans, Malware, and more which can result in critical issues not only for websites but also for other connected devices like mobile phones, etc.
To ensure the security of your website, you need to run regular scans and check extensions & file types by visiting Chrome Extensions Manager. If you find any suspicious file extensions on your website then delete them instantly.
Check for URLs that don’t exist on your website:
You need to check all the pages on your website for their existence. It is because some hackers can remove some of the important pages from it which can be critical too. So, periodically go through all the pages on your website, and if you notice some are missing or changed then start running a technical analysis immediately.
For this task, you have two options – either use Google search console or open each page in different browser windows and keep refreshing it to see changes in its URL. You need to ensure all the pages have their original URL because hackers can change them too.
Check for any suspicious code added to your website:
If you are not an expert HTML/JavaScript developer then you can’t check whether some suspicious code has been added or not by yourself. It’s always better to hire a professional who knows how to run regular checks on websites so they keep them safe from cyber-attacks.
In addition, ensure your website is running on HTTPS and not on HTTP. It’s important because if hackers get access to your website then they can steal all your personal data which you are sharing with the website like login details, credit card information, etc.
Wrapping up!
Keep these things in mind and keep checking your website to ensure it’s safe and working seamlessly. With growing cyber attacks, it has become important for every business owner to check their website.
