I have been having trouble for the last 3 days trying to access my website.

I just tried to access my site again only to see that I have been "Hacked by Trex".

Honestly, what the H*ll is wrong with these people? Hacking other people's sites just to prove you can. There was nothing political, sensitive or controversial on my site.

I chatted with someone at FatCow who says it's an isolated incident, but I sincerely doubt it. I have another domain hosted with them that now has the same http 500 error, so I can only assume it has been hacked as well.

Has anyone else who uses WordPress been hacked?

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Heather
Robinson Business Solutions

Originally Posted by hdmrobinson

Has anyone else who uses WordPress been hacked?

I haven't had any of my WP sites hacked, but my advice would be to do a total uninstall of WP (including any themes you might have installed) by using your cpanel at fatcow to access the backend of your installation - check the list of your files after uninstalling for any files that are left behind and delete them. I would also delete any databases associated with this install if using the uninstall feature doesn't (hackers can gain access by using an SQL injection hack, to name one).

Also, do a thorough scan of your computer with a virus scanner to make sure the computer(s) you use to post to WordPress are free of spyware, malware, adware, and virus infections, and are running secure, stable versions of your applications.

You can then do a fresh install of WP. WP is actually pretty savvy about keeping their software secure, so hopefully a new install with the most current version will get you up and running again.

I have been thinking about including an article in my monthly TVE articles on Web Design about this. It's not a common problem, but when it happens it can be devastating to lose all your hard work, let alone feeling so violated because of it.

My heart goes out to you, Heather. HTH a bit.

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Jules, SunRise Virtual Solutions - WordPress Customization & XHTML/CSS Web Sites

Jules, in this kind of situation, is there any way to retrieve her archives (can she copy the posts and/or database before deleting) ?

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Mary H. Ruth/Virtual Writing & Communications
http://www.writingVA.com

Originally Posted by virtual writing

Jules, in this kind of situation, is there any way to retrieve her archives (can she copy the posts and/or database before deleting) ?

Boy Mary, that's a tough one. Because of the nature of hacker attacks and how they can hide their code in your php scripts in your blog/site and theme, can be disguised in jpg files, your database, and in post files through the backend, etc. JMO, if there was no backup of everything before the hack I would just do a clean install of the newest version - and also get the newest version of any theme used too.

And backup, backup, backup once done!

Hey, I discovered a plugin a while back (haven't installed it yet, so no feedback to give) called Exploit Scanner: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/exploit-scanner/ I'm going to install this and see what the reports show me. It can take awhile to do a scan, and put a load on the server, so I plan to just do this a couple times a month (more if it doesn't take a terribly long time to run it).

I guess I would just be really leery about using anything (posts included) that is from the attacked site.

Does this answer your question?

I'm off to BACKUP my site!

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Jules, SunRise Virtual Solutions - WordPress Customization & XHTML/CSS Web Sites

Hi thanks for the suggestions,

I have tried removing all files and reinstalling Wordpress and what I get is a 404 message Page not Found.

I probably should stop trying to fix it myself and let the techs work on it but it is maddening that it is still not working.

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Heather
Robinson Business Solutions

I had no idea a website could be hacked like this! It is horrible, and I am sorry that it happened to you. Thank you for posting this information, and I hope your site is up and running again soon.

I know it may be too late for this information, but I use a WordPress plugin called WordPress Database Backup http://ilfilosofo.com/blog/wp-db-backup/ it backs up your entire site and based upon how you choose to set it up it emails you a link that contains your most recent information. This is definitely worth installing because in the event a situation like this ever happens (I hope not!), you will not have to start from scratch.

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LaTosha Johnson
http://www.targetstars.com

Thank you for the WordPress plugin!!!!

Also add Secure WP as a plugin. I found this to be good.

wow, great info. I am really leary now about my whole wp site. Jules, what themes do you use on wordpress? Is your site a premium site, or just one from Wordpress? I went through and DELETED all the "FREE" WP themes, (just as a precaution) and went back to the standard theme that came with my wordpress.org install. I'd love to have a more custom site, but now I'm really re-thinking the whole blog thing!! Also, wondering if anyone else has any plugins they've used on Wordpress to back up, or secure their info!? Thanks!!

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Tina Thelen
Virtual Office Assistant