The tension. The endless cups of coffee. The sleepless nights.It’s time to know the truth: Has my site been hacked?Good news: You don’t need to stay up all night, wear down your nails, or guzzle all the coffee in the building to find out if your website has been compromised.There are numerous free (and reliable) tools at your disposal to assess your site’s security. Keep reading to determine if your website remains secure!Additionally, discover the six distinct methods to verify if your site has been hacked. Want to stay informed on creating a secure website and driving traffic? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter: Revenue Weekly.Wondering, “Has my website been hacked?” We’ve got the answers. Here are six ways to determine if your site has been compromised:
Review “Security Issues” in Google Search Console
Utilize Google’s Safe Browsing tool
Monitor notifications from hosting providers, browsers, and more
Examine search results on Google
Investigate website files
Check for cloaked hacked content with Google’s URL Inspection Tool
The most common response to “Is my website hacked?” is, “Have you checked Google Search Console?” Google Search Console is an essential tool in your security arsenal.No matter how you discover your website has been hacked, every guide will advise you to log into Google Search Console (or create an account) to view the “Security Issues” report. Follow these steps to review your report:
Log in to Google Search Console: https://search.google.com/search-console/welcome
Navigate to the “Security & Manual Actions” tab via the left-hand sidebar
Select “Security Issues”
Review your report
Here, Google will summarize several security issues, including:
Phishing and deceptive sites
Cross-site malware warnings
Code, content, and URL injections
Server configuration, SQL injection, code injection, and error template malware infections
If you have any security issues listed in your “Security Issues” report, it’s crucial to begin working with your team to resolve the matter. Your site has been hacked, and prompt action is required to restore and secure your website and protect visitors.Google provides one of the quickest and most effective methods to determine if your site has been hacked. 
With its Safe Browsing tool, you can instantly check your website’s status. Simply follow these steps:
Visit Google’s Transparency Report
Enter your site URL
View your results
For many webmasters, Google Safe Browsing offers the most current information on a site and its status. Google scans its index of sites daily, checking for malware. It also employs advanced statistical models to identify phishing websites.If your site appears as hacked or compromised in Google Safe Browsing, begin addressing the issue immediately.Once resolved, you can request Google to re-check your site via Google Search Console. Alternatively, Google suggests visiting StopBadware and submitting a website review request.Within 24 hours, Google should evaluate and clear your site as safe.Notifications can also alert you to a hacked site. Examples of notification sources include:Hosting providerIn most cases, your hosting provider, such as GoDaddy or HostGator, will notify you if your website gets hacked. When sites are hacked, hosting providers typically take the website offline and then email the owner.Check your inbox for notifications from your hosting provider.Internet browserYour web browser, like Google Chrome, can also alert you to a hacked site. For instance, Google Chrome will display a red screen notifying you of an unsafe website and offer the option to return to the previous page. Visit your site in your browser and look for an alert.Google Search ConsoleIf you have a Google Search Console account, you can also receive security alerts about your website.Depending on your settings, Google Search Console may automatically send emails about security issues and manual actions to you. Regularly check your inbox to catch security alerts quickly.Internet userIn rare cases, users on your website may alert your team to security issues. Someone may email or call your company, for example, to share unusual behavior, requests, or content on your site.Don’t ignore these users — verify their claims and address any issues.Malware scannerWebsites with malware scanners can also detect cyberattacks. IsItWP Security Scanner, for example, is a popular malware scanner for WordPress sites. While a malware scanner isn’t required, it’s a helpful tool for keeping your website safe and secure.Research and download one to maintain your site’s security. Taking a proactive approach to monitoring notifications, such as from your hosting provider, Google Search Console, and malware scanner, enables you to quickly identify a hacked website.Google search results are another common method for businesses to discover their site has been hacked. 
Follow these steps to search for a hacked site via Google search results:
Go to https://www.google.com/
Enter “site: domainname.com” and search
View the results
The search results should all come from your site. If not, ensure you’ve used the search operator (site: ) and spelled your domain name correctly, as that limits Google’s search to the specified domain name — your website. Look for the statement “This site may be hacked” under the first few search results. 
If you see this message, then Google has detected malware or phishing activity on your website.Alert your team and begin addressing the issue. For more information about what Google found on your site, log in to Google Search Console and view your “Security Issues” report. Once you fix the issue, you can request Google to re-check your site.Critical site files, such as your .htaccess and .php files, can also indicate a hacked website. If you don’t have a developer background, don’t worry about this tactic. You can use Google Search Console and Google Safe Browsing to detect and uncover hacking.Only use this strategy if you understand what you’re looking at — otherwise, it won’t help you.Within these files, you or your developer can look for malicious code and unsafe links. Developers can find unsafe links by searching for new pages on your site.Hackers create these pages to house spammy links, and then redirect other pages on your website to these link-filled pages. While developers can uncover unsafe links quickly, malicious code may take longer to find since it can resemble regular code.Google recommends using their URL Inspection Tool to check your site for cloaked hacked content if you suspect your site has been hacked.
Cloaking is a hacking technique that makes cleaning your site more challenging by displaying different content to different types of users. As a result, you might visit one of your site pages and see your content missing, leading you to believe the hacked content is gone.However, when a search engine like Google accesses your site, it will see spammy content and links.When you use the URL Inspection Tool, you’ll be able to view a rendered version of the page. In other words, you can view a screenshot of the page as Googlebot sees it.As a result, you can check for any cloaked content and ensure the correct content is displayed as intended for both yourself and Google.If your answer to “Has my site been hacked?” is yes, it’s time to take action. When it comes to repairing a hacked website, you have two options:
In-house: If your company has the team and expertise, you can restore your site in-house. In most cases, your team will need to analyze the situation before determining if you can fix the problem in-house or require the expertise of a specialized third-party.
Outsourced: If your business doesn’t have the team size or skill to fix your website, don’t hesitate to outsource the issue. Work with your hosting provider or another experienced company to remove the malicious code and repair your site.
Every website hack is unique, which is why there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach to fixing a site. Your solution will depend on several factors, such as the nature of the hack. What matters is that your team responds quickly to the issue and begins repairing your website as soon as possible.You should also notify any affected parties, like customers, without delay.Your website can be hacked quickly. Whether due to easy-to-crack passwords, malware software, or unsecure websites, a hacker can quickly exploit your site and the security of its users.That’s why your business must secure and protect its website as much as possible.At WebFX, we offer website maintenance services to keep your site’s security up to date. From monthly to hourly to after-hours, we provide a comprehensive package for protecting your website throughout the year.Contact us online or call us at 888-601-5359 to learn more today!
