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Sites Keep Being Targeted By Phishing Scams... What Can I Do?

by trentonlaura
8 replies
I have a few sites which I rarely use but I get messages from my hosting providers every now and then that phishing files were uploaded to my site without my knowledge. Then I have to go in and delete them manually via my control panel. Just today I even got a message from the RSA saying that one of my sites was "hacked by a fraudster" and phishing files were uploaded.

My sites are all WordPress run and I make sure they're updated generally to the latest version.

Please tell me anything I can do to secure my sites so this doesn't happen anymore; thanks!
#phishing #scams #sites #targeted
  • Profile picture of the author isaacsmithjones
    May be to do with your host...

    Also, it may be to do with your password(s).

    Ask Yourself:

    Do you use the same password for multiple sites?

    Do you have letters, numbers and symbols in your passwords?

    Do you change your passwords at least every month?
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    • Profile picture of the author trentonlaura
      Originally Posted by isaacsmithjones View Post

      May be to do with your host...

      Also, it may be to do with your password(s).

      Ask Yourself:

      Do you use the same password for multiple sites?

      Do you have letters, numbers and symbols in your passwords?

      Do you change your passwords at least every month?

      Each password is a random assortment of numbers, letters, and characters. I don't update the password but I also only log into the sites but maybe once a month if that and that's just to update the WordPress version.
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      • Profile picture of the author Tony Marriott
        Most current malwares are exploit kits
        see Virus Encyclopedia | Threat Detection Portal | AVG Threat Labs

        These malwares grab your login details and store them on their own servers so if you don't change password they simply rewrite it back.

        1. Change all/any ftp/cpanel passwords.
        2. Change all admin/other login passwords.
        3. Scan you own PC with a couple of different antivirus scanners. I have found AVG and Malware bytes (both free) do the job well.
        4. Install the plugin WordPress › Anti-Malware (Get Off Malicious Scripts) « WordPress Plugins and scan/remove malware from all your sites (free but you have to register).
        5.When you are happy all is clean then change your logins again**********
        These things have a nasty habit of coming back if you don't get this 100%

        rerun PC scans and site scans regularly until you are confident all is good.

        Try scanning site with this free tool.
        Sucuri SiteCheck - Free Website Malware Scanner

        It's good if it finds it but if it shows "clean" don't take it as gospel.

        good luck
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        • Profile picture of the author trentonlaura
          Originally Posted by Tony Marriott View Post

          Most current malwares are exploit kits
          see Virus Encyclopedia | Threat Detection Portal | AVG Threat Labs

          These malwares grab your login details and store them on their own servers so if you don't change password they simply rewrite it back.

          1. Change all/any ftp/cpanel passwords.
          2. Change all admin/other login passwords.
          3. Scan you own PC with a couple of different antivirus scanners. I have found AVG and Malware bytes (both free) do the job well.
          4. Install the plugin WordPress › Anti-Malware (Get Off Malicious Scripts) « WordPress Plugins and scan/remove malware from all your sites (free but you have to register).
          5.When you are happy all is clean then change your logins again**********
          These things have a nasty habit of coming back if you don't get this 100%

          rerun PC scans and site scans regularly until you are confident all is good.

          Try scanning site with this free tool.
          Sucuri SiteCheck - Free Website Malware Scanner

          It's good if it finds it but if it shows "clean" don't take it as gospel.

          good luck
          Thanks for the advice, I'll give all this a go for all of my sites.
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          • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
            Banned
            Just a question, Laura, but when you install your WordPress blogs, do you do that "manually", or by using a "one-click installer" in a C-Panel or equivalent?

            (I don't even use WordPress myself, but it seems to me - just from what I read - that people having these problems may often/normally be those who have done a one-click installation, and I suspect those aren't too secure? That's why I was asking, anyway ...).
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  • Profile picture of the author wwhitley
    Protect Young Entrepreneur Start-up Business Websites with WebsiteDefender I use It and it help with your problems.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tony Marriott
      You can, and should add additional security to your WordPress installations.
      WP is an open source application and as such anyone is free to examine the files. in fact WP themselves give full access and detailed explanations of how WordPress works and even tell everyone when a exploit or security hole is discovered.

      This is fantastic for hackers and the massive user base makes it's viable too.

      There are lot of things you can do to lock down your WP installation.

      One great security plugin is Better WP Security. It offers the option to protect against most of the known exploits. It does require some configuration and (potentially) can lock you out of your blog if mistakes are made so make sure you know what you are doing before adding any of the non-default options.

      There are others and some can be used in combination to get what you want but if you are not familiar with the are of security then for sheer completeness I like this one.

      I forgot to mention earlier.

      Ensure plugins, themes and WordPress itself is kept up to date.
      Remove any plugins and themes you are not using. They don't have to be active to be a risk.
      Make regular backups so worst case you can restore your site.
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  • Profile picture of the author so11
    Originally Posted by trentonlaura View Post

    I have a few sites which I rarely use but I get messages from my hosting providers every now and then that phishing files were uploaded to my site without my knowledge. Then I have to go in and delete them manually via my control panel. Just today I even got a message from the RSA saying that one of my sites was "hacked by a fraudster" and phishing files were uploaded.

    My sites are all WordPress run and I make sure they're updated generally to the latest version.

    Please tell me anything I can do to secure my sites so this doesn't happen anymore; thanks!
    Hello,

    some good advices there, but the problem with security is that if you didn't correct it the right way, it will come back.

    just PMed you.

    good luck
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