Have I been Hacked?

You may have been hacked if:

1. Spam is appearing in your posts or pages
2. Your passwords have changed
3. Content appears/disappears that you had nothing to do with
4. One or more of your plugins have started acting funky (ie: mailing plugin gets marked as spam, your twitter plugin starts displaying someone else's tweets, etc)
5. Your settings have changed
6. Your blog is no longer working properly (like the White Screen of Death)
7. Anything fishy

Why do I have to check my database for users? Can't I check my users through my dashboard?

Hackers can create "hidden" users that appear only in your database tables, that wouldn't show up in under "Users" in your dashboard.

Why did I get hacked?

If you have not updated WordPress to the latest version, you are more likely to get hacked. Stay up to date. Update!

How can I tell if I've been hacked?

Hackers wont always leave a trail, but they sometimes do in the form of a hidden user. To check if you have any hidden users registered on your website, log in to your web hosting control panel, locate your database, once inside your database, you'll  need to click on your users table, "XX_users", click browse, then check to see if there are any unusual users listed. You can check the list that appears in your database with the one that appears in your Dashboard.

What do I do now?

Delete the users that don't belong. Change your passwords. And keep your WordPress updated. You will also have to eradicate any spammy elements that have been added to your content or your files.

Here are some plugins that can help:

Did you change your database password (or database username, database name?)

Probably, huh?

You need to update your wp_config.php file with the new password. Find the code that looks something like this: Make sure they are up to date.

define('DB_NAME', 'XXX');    // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', 'XXX');     // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'XXX'); // ...and password

Still having problems? Leave a comment.

Well,  you're not alone.

There are three common reasons why you are getting this white screen of death:

1. Your server is down. This can happen to the best of us. This is your web host's responsibility and if you are not that worried about it, I'd recommend waiting 5-15 minutes and trying again. If this does not work, try displaying errors as shown here, then call your web host to alert them of the problem.

2. You are making edits to your theme file and you've created invalid php. HTML/CSS seem to be much more forgiving, whereas a single character of incorrect php seems to crash the whole site. If this is the case, and you still have the file you are editing open, just undo your previous actions until the site comes up again. This is a good time to mention ALWAYS back up!  You should consider refreshing your web page every time you make a change, to make sure your php validates. If you've already closed your file, display php errors as shown here, to try and figure out which file is corrupt. Try to restore.

3. If the white screen of death appears on a new install of a WordPress theme or plugin, immediately deactivate said theme or plugin. If the white screen of death extends to your dashboard, and you cannot login, you'll have to attack the problem through the database. Try displaying php errors as shown here to verifiy it is said theme/plugin.

To change it in your database you will need:

1. Your WordPress database name
2. your username and login to your webhosting control panel.

Login to your control panel, find  your database, go into DB Web Admin (phpMyAdmin),  select wp_options table ('tableprefix_options'), from the top options choose "browse".

Disabling a theme

Find both the 'template' and 'stylesheet' tables and edit them with the name of desired theme ('default' if you aren't sure).

Disabling a plugin

Find the table titled "active_plugins", click edit, remove (recommend cutting and pasting) the string containing the plugin name ie:

i:0;s:54:"all-in-one-video-pack/all_in_one_video_pack_widget.php";

You can deactivate them all by cutting the whole string and pasting it somewhere else. Click save.

Voila!

php_flag display_errors on

Important: once you've found out your errors, you should remove this line, as it may breach your security.

The uploaded file could not be moved to /usr/local/www/vhosts/domainname.com/httpdocs/wp-content/uploads.

If you are trying to upload images and get an error similar to this, you need to make sure your files are User, Group, World "Read, Write & Execute"

For images you should check your "uploads" file, files in the path previous, and files down the path. For image errors and errors in general you should also check your .htaccess file.

How to Make your file/folders Writable

Find file/folder in your FTP client. Left-click or ctrl+click (mac) on the file/folder and choose "get info"

When the Info window pops open, make sure all three (User, Group, World) are checked Read, Write & Execute.

This should solve the upload image problem. Any thoughts?

I've been super busy working @ Cruzio,  OOZ and Oz and getting ready to move to Washington! Sorry I've been lacking in the blog department. If anyone cares!? .

But check back soon for these upcoming blog posts:

Trouble shooting wordpress white screen of death!

Finding Creativity, a Tutorial

Best WordPress Theme Modifications

Premium WordPress Theme Giveaway

& more!

See ya soon!