Imagine waking up to find your Joomla website has been hacked, leaving your online business vulnerable and your customers at risk. With Joomla having a user base of nearly 2 million active users in 2024, fixing a hacked Joomla website might seem overwhelming, but don’t worry—help is at hand.
From finding out what’s been damaged to cleaning up the infection and boosting your site’s defenses, we’ll give you straightforward advice and expert tips.
By the end, you’ll know how to restore your site’s security and keep it safe from future problems, ensuring a strong and protected online presence.
How to Check if Your Joomla Website is Infected or Hacked?
list of symptoms indicating that a Joomla website may be hacked:
- Unexpected Web Page Changes: Look out for unfamiliar messages, links, images, or ads appearing on your web pages.
- Redirection: Your site may redirect visitors to unknown or suspicious websites.
- Automatic Logout: You might experience unexpected logouts from your admin account.
- New Admin Names: Unfamiliar administrator names may show up in your user list.
- Traffic Spikes: You could see an unexpected increase in website traffic.
- Slow Page Loading: Your website may load slower than usual.
- Altered SEO Settings: You might find changes in your SEO settings or metadata that you did not make.
- Unusual Server Logs: Check for any unusual activities recorded in your server logs.
- Email Spam: Your website may start sending out spam emails.
- Disabled Site: Parts of your website may become unexpectedly disabled or non-functional.
- Modified .htaccess: Use FTP to check the .htaccess file in your root folder for any unauthorized changes or added codes.
Fix the hacked Joomla Website
1. Database cleanup
To clean up the compromised Joomla database, utilize a database management panel such as PHPMyAdmin or tools like Search-Replace-DB or Adminer.
2. Secure the server
If the hosting provider detects a malware infection on a website, it may temporarily suspend your site to prevent the infection from spreading to other websites on the same shared server.
Additionally, even a secure installation can be vulnerable to Joomla hacking due to server malfunctions. Here are some important security measures to keep in mind:
- Close all open ports.
- Remove any unused subdomains.
- Regularly check for configuration issues.
- If sharing a server, consider subnetting or using a VPN.
- Prevent error messages from revealing sensitive information.
- Use strong, random passwords for FTP accounts and databases.
- Ensure you have a firewall or other security solutions in place.
3. Set The Permissions
Always manage file and directory permissions carefully, avoiding full access with permission set to 777. Instead, use 755 for folders, 644 for files, and 444 for configuration.php files.
4. Check Hacked or Modified Files
If any scan or diagnostic tool reveals malicious domains or payloads, begin by searching for those files on your Joomla! Network Server. By comparing the infected files with known clean files from official sources or reliable backups, you can identify and delete any malicious changes. To manually remove the malware infection from your Joomla! files, follow these steps:
- Log in to the server via SFTP or SSH.
- Before making any changes, create a backup of the site files.
- Search your files for the malicious domain or payload identified earlier.
- Locate the recently modified files and verify their legitimacy.
- Check the files flagged by the diff command during the core file integrity check.
- Use clean backups or official sources to restore or compare any suspicious files.
- Remove any unfamiliar or suspicious code from your custom files.
- Test the site to ensure it functions normally after the changes.
5. Reinstall of Extensions
After a hacking incident, it’s important to reinstall all extensions to ensure they work correctly and there’s no leftover malware. Also, make sure to delete any inactive templates, components, modules, or plugins from the web server.
Sometimes, we forget to remove files linked to these outdated modules and plugins, which can still create security gaps. So, be sure to delete these files as they might have serious vulnerabilities.
Once you’ve cleaned your hacked Joomla website, create a backup. A solid backup strategy is essential for good security practices. Store the backup in a remote location, as keeping it on the server can also expose it to hacking.
6. Backup The website
The backup serves as a crucial safety net. Now that your Joomla website is clean and you’ve implemented important post-hacking measures, it’s time to create a backup! A solid backup strategy is fundamental to maintaining a strong security posture.
Regularly backing up your files and database archives can help prevent future issues. Extensions like Akeeba Backup offer automated scheduled backups that can be restored later if data is lost due to hacking. Learn how to back up Joomla effectively.
Tips to secure the Joomla website
1.) Keep your Joomla version updated
It’s simple but effective: keep your Joomla site safe by regularly updating it. Joomla releases new versions with bug fixes and improved security features.
Updating your site to the latest version can fix many vulnerabilities and keep it safe. It might be a hassle with all the extensions like plugins and templates, but it’s worth it for your site’s security.
2.) Change the default database prefix (jos_)
Hackers want to hack websites, then they try to get data from the database, to get all the passwords and usernames from the site’s admin. To protect the website from this attack, it’s important to change the default prefix to a random one.
3.) Change your .htaccess file
This is another way a hacker could take control of the website.
Joomla CMS, by default, has writing permissions to the .htaccess file because it needs to update it for SEF (Search Engine Friendly) URLs. This makes your site vulnerable to attacks, so it’s best to set your .htaccess permission to something like 440 (read-only) or 444 (read-only) or something similar.
4.) Get away with old extensions and trash leftover files
Keep your extensions updated, delete the unsupported and old ones, and find suitable alternatives.
Sometimes you install an extension but later find it doesn’t serve your purpose. Don’t just leave it there forever or keep it unpublished. This can compromise your site’s security. Use the uninstall feature to safely remove unwanted and useless extensions.
5.) Don’t give write permission on your any .php files
This is another reason hackers exploit your site. Giving written permission to Joomla *.php files could be why hackers visit your site and hack it easily. Always set the permission of all *.php files to 444.
Whether you’re a big corporation or a small business, you’re never fully safe until you routinely implement security measures. Hackers are always looking for vulnerabilities to exploit.
Is there a way to prevent Joomla’s websites from being hacked again?
Of course, making your Joomla website a hundred percent secure is impossible. However, you can always follow the steps below to help secure your website.
- Ensure that you have installed the newest versions of Joomla Core and other Joomla extensions.
- Utilize a reliable and robust username and password for the Administrator.
- Ignore installing any unnecessary extensions
- Utilize a security key to log in to the main Admin account
- Restrict directory permissions and Regulate file paths
- Make sure to back up your website using a reliable Joomla extension regularly.
- Strengthen PHP configuration
- Enable a web application firewall
- Systematically monitor your Joomla website.
- Do not set directory or file permissions to 777, as this permits everybody to write any kind of data, and hackers might very well exploit it. All directories and files must also have appropriate CHMOD configuration.
- Allow Search Engine Friendly (SEF) URLs, as this will mask the information available to any visitor or hacker.
- Uninstall nulled plugins and templates that are not in use anymore and have not been updated.
Additionally, you could employ various Joomla security extensions to increase website security. We’ve compiled some useful extensions.
Safety extensions
| Akeeba Backup | It allows one-click backups, exclusion of specific directories/files, and easy restoration. The best part is the convenient management and creation of backups for your Joomla site. |
| Brute Force Stop | It helps protect your website against hacking by the brute-force approach. It logs failed login attempts, which you can review and take prompt action on. You’ve got the choice to set up a reminder alert while a failed login and blocked IP addresses. |
| R Antispam | It’s perfect for preventing spamming in blogs and forums. It’s based on the Bayesian algorithm and works more efficiently with Akismet. |
| AntiCopy | It restricts copying page contents, web page printing, right-clicks option, and copying using JavaScript. It helps you to secure Joomla website content from everyone trying to copy or misuse it. |
| Incapsula | With Incapsula for Joomla, you can manage both website security and CDN from the Joomla admin panel. Incapsula offers performance and protection, featuring vulnerability detection, instant virtual security patching, advanced analytics, and exclusive bot detection technology to reduce spam. |
| Antivirus Website Protection | This is a site security software by SiteGuarding that detects/prevents and excludes viruses, malicious threats, and suspicious codes. It could help you detect worms, adware, Trojans, spyware, etc. |
| Secure | This permits you to utilize an additional security key to log into Admin. It acts as the login protection extension by needing a security key each time you have to access the login page. It‘s basically in the form of a secret word after administrator. |
Conclusion
In conclusion, securing your Joomla website is crucial for protecting your business and customers. By addressing vulnerabilities and taking proactive steps to safeguard your site, you can prevent future attacks. Maintaining and monitoring your site are key to ensuring a safe and stable online presence.
