(updated March 14, 2016)
Well, I continue to get emails supposedly from people I know that are, in reality, bogus. They contain links that I suppose would take me to a viral website (at worst) or to a website trying to sell me things I don’t want (at best).
Of course I don’t click the links! These emails are the result of breached email accounts. Many times the links may go to legitimate websites, but they’ve been hacked.
There continues to be story after story of websites being hacked and then all the time and money required to get them back into shape. So much so, that Google now offers an entire series of videos and articles called “Webmasters help for hacked sites.” They offer information starting with images and description to know whether or not you have indeed been hacked, on through how to resolve the situation. In a Google Webmaster blog article, New First Stop for Hacked Site Recovery, the following advice is offered as preemptive action website owners can take to prevent the painful experience of having your website destroyed:
- Be vigilant about keeping software updated
- Understand the security practices of all applications, plugins, third-party software, etc., before you install them on your server. A security vulnerability in one software application can affect the safety of your entire site
- Remove unnecessary or unused software
- Enforce creation of strong passwords
- Keep all devices used to log in to your servers secure (updated operating system and browser)
- Make regular, automated backups of your site
If this maintenance is something you think you can keep up with on a monthly basis, you will probably never feel the hacker’s sting. However, if you lack the time or technical understanding to do this maintenance, I advise you to have a webmaster do it for you. Voice Over Web Design offers WordPress Website Technical Maintenance on a bi-monthly basis.
Whether you choose to have this professionally managed or do it yourself, just make sure it gets done!