Will you know first if your website is hacked?

Hacking may seem a~modern phenomenon~but it has been around~since the early days of computing. Starting as a~relatively~harmless pastime for~geeks in~basements and~bedsits,~cyber attacks have~acquired~a much darker side.~They~now~pose such a threat~that~the US classifies cyberspace as a new domain of battle as significant as air, land or sea.

Knowing if your website has been hacked isn’t always obvious, and unless you use a~website monitoring service, you may not be the first to know.~But~finding out as soon as possible helps to reduce~website and business~downtime, limit compromises to personal safety, prevent~damaged reputation and loss of business~revenue.

There can be a variety of signs that indicate you’ve been hacked, and it may be clients or prospective customers that notice first. Common tell-tale signs include:

1/~Homepage has changed: If a page or pages on your website have changed, they have been “defaced”. This type of hacker~may leave~a “hacked by…” message taking credit for the hack.

2/~Admin access denied:~If~you can no-longer access the cPanel on your website, hackers may have altered the password.~If you use~a CMS such as Joomla,~WordPress~or Drupal,~keep the software up-to-date.~Expired software~is frequently targeted by hackers.

3/~Google warning:~If Google bots find~malicious~code when crawling, a~user-facing warning label~will be displayed on your site. Notification will also appear in search results.~For added reassurance~keep an eye on~Google’s Safe Browsing diagnostic page for your site. Simply~replace "example.com" in the following URL with your site's domain:

http://google.com/safebrowsing/diagnostic?site=http://example.com

4/~Anti-virus software warning:~Anti-virus warnings are often issued when~a~website~is trying to install a Trojan~or another type of virus on your computer.

5/~Page won’t load: If you haven’t changed anything on your website, this could suggest a hacker has possibly modified a database so it no-longer functions or removed files from where it is supposed to be.

6/~An email from Google. If Google~bots~identify~the problem first they will~attempt to~email you.~Google’s message in Webmaster Tools will help you identify the nature of the compromise. Its “Fetch as Google” tool in Webmaster Tools shows you the parts of your site the way Google’s detection systems see them.~You can also use the Google Alerts to monitor queries like: example.com viagra OR casino.~You will~then~receive an email alert~if~these keywords are found within your site.

Website monitoring puts you in the know first.

Taking proactive steps to~prevent~hackers from accessing your site is far better than cure.

Most attacks occur because of vulnerabilities in your site’s security, so~it stands to reason that you should keep~all your software updated and~remove~scripts, plugins and other software you no-longer use.~Always make sure you have a clean backup of your site. If you~do~get hacked, backups can be performed manually or automatically with relative ease.

While Google bots will alert you~if they detect suspicious code when crawling your site,~the best way to be the first to know of any compromise or security risks~is~through~website monitoring.~Website monitoring services remotely monitor your website~and~send~you~instant email/SMS alerts~if~suspicious activity~is detected.~They will also notify you~of~any~security~gaps that could make you vulnerable to~a phishing, defacement or~malware attack.~And in an~age of increasing competition,~it stands to reason that~paying to proactively detect~security holes or threats~doesn’t just~save you the sfrustration and hassle of cleaning up a hacked site.~It can prevent reputational damage. Something~no business wants to incur.

Site24x7 offers free and paid global website, application and server monitoring to support business growth.