If you’re looking up “how to check if website is blacklisted” then there’s probably a good chance you’ve just found yourself a victim of a hacking attack and want to know what to do about it. Here’s what you need to know.
How to check if website is blacklisted
There are actually several ways to check if a website is blacklisted. Possibly the most straightforward is just to look at Google’s Webmaster Tools for your page. This will tell you exactly what part of your website is blacklisted (it may not be all of it, although that’s possible), and the main reason why. For example, it may indicate that you have malware or that you are hosting spam content.
Having your website blacklisted is never a fun experience, but it doesn’t have to be a catastrophic one either. Once you have rectified the damage, you can submit it for a review and get yourself back in business (with your hard-won rankings back). Here’s what you need to know.
Step one - notify your host
If your website’s been blacklisted, there’s a good chance your host has already contacted you. In fact, your website’s probably been suspended. If, however, this hasn’t happened, then you need to get in touch with your host and let them know that you’re dealing with the situation.
Your host is unlikely to fix your site for your, at least not for free, but they may be able to offer some help, for example, logs, and advice. They may also be able to suggest third-party vendors you can contact for paid assistance.
Clean up the malware
Hacking attacks almost inevitably involve some form of malware. This may have been used on the website itself or it may have been used on the devices you use to connect to the back end of your website. It’s very common for hackers to try attacking local computers (and mobile devices) to get the administrator details for websites. Then they can basically do what they like with your website.
You need to install a robust website vulnerability scanner on your website. Any decent option will have an anti-malware component (and a website applications firewall). You also need a robust anti-malware product for your local computers and mobile devices (any decent option will come with an integrated firewall).
Check your administrator accounts
You should be able to recognize all of your legitimate administrators. If there are any administrator accounts you do not recognize, then the safest approach is just to delete them. At some point, you will need to change the passwords on the accounts, but it’s best to leave this until after the malware scans are complete.
Put your website back how it was
Those six words summarize what can be a long and painful process. If you have a really small site, then you may just be able to delete it and start again. If, however, your website consists of anything more than a handful of pages, then you’re probably going to have to repair it manually - or have a professional do it for you.
Repairing a hacked website means being prepared to undertake manual editing of files and database tables. You need to be sure that you have purged all malicious code but you also need to be sure that you leave any genuine code. Get either of these wrong and you set yourself up for even more trouble.
At this point, stick to putting the website back to its original state. Once this has been achieved, then you can see what you need to do to improve its security.
Make sure all passwords are changed
This means for all internal users, not just the admin account, and the hosting account and your FTP/sFPT server as well. If you haven’t already done this, now is a good time to implement two-factor authentication.
Undertake a security audit of your site
Hopefully, by this point, you’ll have identified the security issue which led to the breach. It is, however, dangerous to assume that this is the only security issue with your site. Give it a thorough security audit. If necessary get a third-party vendor to do it for you.
If you can’t arrange for this to be done quickly, go through any third-party extensions you use and, if necessary, pare them back to a minimum. Then check if any of your software needs to be updated and, if so, apply the updates.
Request a review of your site
With everything cleaned up, you need to contact your host, the search engines, and any other blacklisting authorities (e.g. the security companies) to request a review of your site.
Please click here now to have your website scanned, for free, by cWatch from Comodo.
Removal
Security stack layer 1
Malware Detect & Removal
Our malware detection scanning, preventive methods and removal enables you to take a proactive approach to protect the business and brand reputation from malware attacks and infections.
- Unsuspecting websites get infected with malicious code.
- Continuous website monitoring to detect any incidents.
- Identify and remediate the cause to hardening your websites.
Comodo cWatch Web can identify malware, provide the tools and methods to remove it, and help to prevent future malware attacks at the edge before it hits the network, included as a paid member.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Response
Security stack layer 5
Cyber Security Operations Center
Our exclusive C.S.O.C. is staffed with certified security analysts to monitor, assess and defend websites, applications, databases, data centers, servers, networks, desktops and other endpoints.
- 24 / 7 / 365 security monitoring using state-of-the-art tech.
- Engage clients of complex threats to resolve the issue.
- Real-time web traffic monitoring and proactive incident fixes.
C.S.O.C. checks for threats, identifies and analysis then performs the necessary actions to resolve the issue while offloading costs of in-house experts by using stack layer 3 to handle the heavy lifting.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Intelligence
Security stack layer 3
Security Information • Event Management
S.I.E.M. collects logs and events the network traffic and web assets, security devices, operating systems, applications, databases, and reviews the vulnerabilities using artificial intelligence to process.
- Reduces billions of events into prioritized threats real-time.
- Identifies changes in network behavior with activity baselines.
- Flows data searches in real-time streaming or historical mode.
S.I.E.M. senses and tracks significant threats to links to all online supporting data and context for easier investigation. While anomaly detection to identify changes associated with the network safety.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Prevention
Security stack layer 4
Web Application Firewall
W.A.F. by Comodo eliminates application vulnerabilities to protect websites and web applications against advanced attacks including Denial-of-Service (DDoS), SQL Injection and Cross-Site Scripting.
- Destroys malicious requests and thwart hack attempts.
- Protection to account registration forms and login pages.
- Malicious bots and brute force attacks are block and patched.
Combined with malware scanning, vulnerability scanning and automatic virtual patching and hardening engines provides robust security is fully managed for Comodo cWatch Web customers.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Performance
Security stack layer 2
Add a network of globally distributed servers designed to boost the speed for websites and web applications by transferring content to your user based on their proximity to the nearest CDN web server.
- Proven to increase search engine rankings and site scores.
- 29 worldwide CDN node locations to reach your users.
- Save your bandwidth by leveraging CDN browser caching.
CDN serves your users your website content with virtually unlimited capacity. Giving you the freedom to focus less on site maintenance, more on scaling the uptime of your traffic and target audience.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
Compliance
Security stack layer 6
Payment Card Industry • Data Security Standard
PCI • DSS ensures that your customers' cardholder info is kept secure from security breaches through a meticulous scan of your network and applications to identify and fix security vulnerabilities.
- Simple and automated way to stay compliant with PCI • DSS.
- Pass the requirements for the 12 points PCI • DSS standard.
- Schedule on-demand PCI scans to report quarterly results.
Establishes and implements a firewall, hardens your environment, disables unnecessary services & configures system parameters to prevent misuse, ensures system audit components are protected.
By clicking the button below, I agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Already have an cWatch account? Sign in here
© 2024 Comodo Security Solutions, Inc