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Website Security

I think my site was compromised (hacked), what can I do?

There are only two ways your site can be compromised. One involves usernames and passwords; the other involves software security holes.

(A.) If you share your username and password or have an easy-to-guess username and password:

With your login information, a hacker or even someone you know can gain access to your account and do what they please. If you suspect that this is the case for you, change your password immediately (your username cannot be changed). To be safe, remove all the files from your domain and reload with fresh uncompromised copies. Quarantine any files you download to ensure you don’t accidentally upload them again in the future.

(B.) If you have installed software on your site (your own or a third party's):

A security breach can occur if you have installed any software on your domain. You may have written your own software and accidentally created a security breach, or if you have downloaded and installed third party software, it may have a security flaw. These security breaches allow a hacker to probe and gain access to your domain, then add, modify, or delete files. These files may include “scripts” that can send a large volume of spam. They can also create phishing sites designed to collect other people’s personal information.

If you have written or modified software installed on your site, then inspect your code to find and fix the security hole. If you have installed third party software, contact the vendor and ask about security patches or known security holes.

Again, to be safe, remove all the files from your domain and reload with fresh uncompromised copies

Please remember that software from any source can potentially have security flaws. Software from both large and small vendors, free and commercial, has been known to have significant security issues. Always check with the vendor or source if you have installed any software on your domain and ask if security updates are available. An online search may also bring up more information.

If you believe that neither of these two scenarios is a likely possibility, then please contact Globat.com Technical Support and inform them that you have read and understand this FAQ and believe your site has been compromised in some other way. Please be prepared to provide the names of the malicious files on your domain that you did not place there. Globat.com will investigate further.