Are you noticing unexpected or unusual behavior on your WordPress website? It could be a sign of malware. In this post, we share 9 common warning signs to help you identify if your site has been compromised.
1. Sudden Drop in Website Speed
Are you facing a sudden slowdown of your website? It could be because of the malware attacks on your WordPress site. Hackers may have injected malicious scripts or code that could overload your server, causing your web pages to slow down.
2. Unexpected Redirects
Another sign that shows your website has been infected with malicious code is the redirection of web pages to suspicious websites. Hackers add redirect codes to the folders or files of your WordPress website to generate ad revenue or trick users into phishing sites.
3. Strange Pop-Ups and Ads
When your WordPress website starts displaying strange pop-ups or ads, it’s a strong signal that your website has been infected with malicious code. When you experience this kind of situation, you must hire a WordPress expert to repair your website immediately. The longer you delay, the more damage the malware can cause—like data theft or loss of customers’ trust in your website, or your website being blacklisted by search engines.
4. Website Blacklisted by Google
Have you ever opened a website on Google’s Chrome browser and saw a message like “The site ahead contains malware” or “Warning: Visiting this site may harm your computer“? Did you still open this website or quit immediately? Your potential customers will also leave when they see these errors on your website, and the reason for these errors is that Google could blacklist your website because of a malware attack on it.
5. Suspicious Admin Accounts
If you see multiple/unknown admin accounts in your WordPress ‘Users’ section, this could be a strong indication that your website has malware. Hackers usually gain access and create backdoors to control the victim sites. If this happens to your WordPress site, don’t delay and hire a WordPress expert to clean & secure your website.
6. Unexplained Spike in Bandwidth Usage
Have you received any emails from the hosting provider stating that your website has recently seen an unexplained spike in bandwidth usage? If yes, this could be because of the malware in your WordPress files. Hackers may attack and misuse your server’s resources to do malicious activities such as sending out spam emails. This issue is critical and must be addressed immediately.
7. Broken or Defaced Website Content
Another sign of having malware on a WordPress website is its broken or defaced content. If your website shows broken or changed content that looks unfamiliar to you, there could be a possibility that hackers have compromised your WordPress site.
8. Blocked Emails or Spam Complaints
If your customers complain about receiving spam from your server’s email, or if your emails bounce because your domain is blacklisted, your website may be infected with malicious code.
9. Strange Files or Scripts in Your Server
This is one of the most common behaviours that most WordPress webmasters face when their site contains malware. The effect of malware in this case can be seen through the creation of suspicious files on the server. In some cases, it can be seen in the form of strange or suspicious code in the existing core files of WordPress. In most cases, these errors are identified and rectified by WordPress developers because it may be impossible for a layman WordPress site owner to check the code in the files.