I’m a disgruntled customer looking for a new host. What did they expect after such poor customer support ? One of the reps had the nerve to ask me to move my site elsewhere if I wasn’t happy. The nerve. But besides bad customer service , what was the root of my problems? Here’s the story behind that frustrating email:
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I recently fell victim to a very determined hacker who gained access to my WordPress site , ultimately taking over the entire public_html directory. Or vice versa – I really don’t know how I got hacked, as my web host wouldn’t provide that information even after I asked several times. I had six WordPress sites on this account . As a result of the hack, they were all taken down as a security measure , which is understandable. But because the situation was so out of control, my traffic dropped and I didn’t receive a single request for the 72+ hours I was locked out. So I took to Twitter and made some noise, at which point a nice-looking man named Matthew (thank you if you’re reading) came to my rescue. After Matthew’s intervention, I was able to restore my main site, although it suffered some major functionality. The other five sites weren’t so lucky, and were forced to crumble to dust, leaving a bad taste in my mouth. It was a frustrating and stressful experience, especially considering I got little help from Bluehost's support reps. Yes, I just ratted on you Bluehost. Suffice to say, this is the second time I've been hacked on their shared hosting package . I need to start learning.
Disclaimer : My experience does not change the fact that you may have had a great time with your host - it is simply my isolated experience.
What did Matt do differently? He made me a malware.txt file containing detailed information about the corrupted files. Most of these files were easy to clean, but it meant deleting important plugins and replacing core files, which left my main site with serious problems. However, it was restored in no time, which is better than nothing. The other five I deleted completely because they were corrupted, and the backups – according to the support reps – were also corrupted. You know, like, unrecoverable. Too bad. Now I have to start working on five different sites, which is very disappointing for a company as big as Bluehost. Anyway, I gave Matt a great review, but other reps weren’t so lucky. But I’m still worried about getting hacked again, and that’s not the mindset you want when running a business. All that said, getting hacked is not something you want on anyone, even your worst enemy. Even if you eventually get your site back up , it will cause you unnecessary stress and cost you valuable time and money. If your hosting sucks like mine, you risk getting hacked a second time. You'll lose traffic and sales , and the bitter memories will linger for a long time. Your credibility is on the line, too, so yeah, getting hacked is no fun.
So what do you do when some idiot somewhere hijacks your WordPress site and destroys all the effort, time, money, and ambition you’ve put into your project ? Is there a number you can call? The internet police, maybe? Is there a quick fix button you can press that will restore your site in minutes instead of days? Should you go through the same harrowing experience I did, or will your hosting provider realize that you’re already stressed out about losing your digital assets? What’s a WordPress user to do? Should you be wary of hackers, or can you protect yourself? Here are some tips you can use to hopefully never have an experience like mine.
Contents hide
1 WordPress Security
1.1 Invest in great web hosting
1.1.1 Price vs. Value
1.1.2 Quality Maintenance
1.2 Get Clean WordPress Themes + Plugins
1.3 Updating Themes + Plugins + WordPress
1.4 Backing up your WordPress site
2 How to Recover a Hacked WordPress Site
2.1 You can still log in
2.2 Oh, you're blocked.
2.3 Revision
3 Resources
4 In the end…
4.1 Related publications:
WordPress Security
They say prevention is better than cure, and I agree. WordPress security is key. At the same time, no matter how hard you try, the bad guys always know where to strike and hack your hardened site. I say this because I have used top-notch security plugins on my sites and I still got hacked. Whether you are a WordPress neophyte or a seasoned webmaster , you should always focus on hardening your WordPress security rather than trying to restore your site when it is already in pieces. Before we discuss how to restore a hacked WordPress site, let’s look at what preventative measures are available. How can you increase your chances of staying unscathed even if hackers throw all their weight at your WP business? Here’s the juice.
Invest in great web hosting
