5 reasons it sucked getting hacked.
So recently, my itty bitty blog took a hit from someone and it took me over the edge. Getting hacked sucks. After taking a couple weeks and some change to cool down, I thought, let’s channel some of this anger toward a post. Dude, so sorry. So even though it sucked, I want you to leave here with a bit more in your arsenal so you know what to do if this ever happens to you! Here’s how it went down, people.
1. what the what, man!?
Seriously, I don’t even know where to start. But I found out from a fellow blogger on Twitter, in the lobby waiting for an appointment that required getting my blood pressure as part of my check in. You can guess how that went. Thankfully, the person getting my reading for my blood pressure understood I dabble in blogging and that my site got hacked because I needed to blab out my frustration (this is where I’m sure she’s like checked out, because she’s not a blogger, and she was like hours away from her vacation.). She notated that it was “a little high”.
It would be at least an hour before I would be home to even start the process of fixing whatever mess was waiting for me. I just kept thinking. WHY? I write about my kid’s puberty happening, how I rock being a mom, and not wanting to adult. I don’t engage in debates where blood is shed. You know? I’m all about puppies & unicorns and laughing at stupid stuff. I like to engage as much as I can and with that, you create little bits of support around the bloggy town. Help each other when you can and say something. I don’t think I would have known as quick as I did had it not been for this Twitter Blogger not sent me a quick note!
I got home and opened up my computer and just stared. WHAT THE WHAT, MAN?
My Takeaway–Our Blogging community is supportive and looks out for each other. #Grateful
The Takeaway--Our Blogging community is supportive and looks out for each other. #Grateful Click To Tweet2. I didn’t even know where to start?
Who do I call? Where to I go? I literally had a moment where of course, I googled the word hacked (and reminded myself, keyword IS so important). Up popped way too many articles to read so I took a minute and stepped away. When I could snap out of the daze I had put myself in, I picked one of the articles. I read it. And then read it again. And kept telling myself to get my head together. Every minute I read, I kept thinking little hacker bots were making it’s way out of some hole and invading my computer and it’s precious contents.
My Takeaway—–Freak out for just a minute. Because you’ll need to. Get it out of your system. Because then, you can focus without that chatter of pure frustration going on in your head. Make your plan & execute it like a blogger boss!
Freak out for just a minute & then make your plan & execute it like a #bloggerboss! Click To Tweet3. i need to contact other people and wait.
I read the articles and told myself to just follow the instructions and get er done. Scan this, Scan that, contact this person, Contact that person. I did. And I waited. That part sucked. Not because they took long, but because waiting felt like an eternity. Waiting made me feel useless because once you’ve put out your distress call, you have to wait for backup. Do I pull the power plug out of the wall? Just in case it’s all Matrix like. Do I package my computer up back in her pretty box that saved and send her back? I don’t know how to sit and wait. I’m not very good at it. So I went to clean my fridge out. Ding said my phone and more guidance from the man who hosts my site was spilling from his email. (I’ll get to the rest of the fridge later).
My Takeaway—–The Internet world doesn’t want you to get hacked anymore than you do. Every single person & company for each plugin or program I used for my site that spit out a malicious code reached out back to me to look into why this could have happened with their product and advice on how to move forward.
Our community of computer people don't want you to get hacked anymore than you do, they will help. Click To Tweet4. it had me scared, and hiding from my own blog
That someone could just slide right into my blog, made me feel vulnerable. Like a thief coming into your home. Knowing someone was in your space unwanted left me not wanting to touch my blog. I don’t know how to take care of you obviously, sweet blog and In a world where all I wanted to do was leave my ramblings, someone else sees this as a game to see if they can infiltrate your bloggy house. And take a little or a lot. Thankfully, it was just a little. (But it still felt like a lot.)
I did everything necessary to trash what I needed to trash and protect my blog. But I felt like touching it, would make it vulnerable again. Still, as I’m writing this, I’m not all the way back to normal. I worry by just saying the word hacked invites those from that world to give me a go. But I’ve set myself up to be safe. I need to keep my bloggy head held high (but with caution). My hosting provider was AMAZING and he tipped me off to check this site to help scan my site and to ease my mind I can pop over here daily if I desire and see if it detects anything. Click the image to scan your own site and ease your mind. It’s helped me twice.
My Takeaway—–I got derailed. brush yourself off, get back on track and find your safe speed and proceed forward. don’t give up what you love to do.
Brush yourself off, get back on track & find your safe speed & proceed forward. Don't give up what you love to do. Click To Tweet5. my backup schedule was not good enough.
“Did you backup your blog?” The first answer, was yes. I did. The second answer, was no. I should just do it daily, but I didn’t. It was just a day away from it’s scheduled backup and I lost my latest content that was highjacked. Yah, that sucked right? Long deep sigh. If you don’t backup, DO IT! If you do, just look at your schedule and see if you need to tweak it. Imagine, if you got hacked. Are you able to bring your blog back to life?
So this has been in my drafts until I felt ready to go ahead and finalize it. And you know what? I was testing my RSS feed way back when and in my emails was my original post that got hacked so I could bring it back to life. THANK you bloggy Jesus! Big middle finger to you Hacker. You are not taking me down.
Again…BACKUP! Because what happened to me, was just a little hack on one post that led to some spam bots as well in a couple other posts that I could fix and redo. They could mess up your Theme, the plugins and how you customized your page. Some of us create our Blog (that can be a headache) or pay someone to do it (which cost money). Having to start the process again, can bring on a migraine or empty our pocketbooks.
My Takeaway—–Backup! Backup! Backup!
This can either cost you a big headache OR more money to have your web designer fix what the hackers broke #Hacked Click To Tweetgood luck!
Everyone tells you this when you’ve emailed them about your site getting hacked. And I know that if this happens, I do wish you good luck. Remember, YOU GOT THIS M’Fer! I’ve even made a dang info-graphic you can pin to your Pinterest Board as a resource to remember what to do, just in case. This is me virtually holding your hand and saying, this is what I did. Hope it helps.
Linking up with all these great linky parties here!
Aloha, I’m Selena, The Rambler of My Rambling Thoughts. A storyteller, wife & mother just trying to make it to the next day by hunting for the funny to stay sane! I inhale coffee to keep my brain functioning. I occasionally binge on Netflix. I beg my dog to just leave the toilet paper alone for one second when I’m using the potty, and I pray to all that is holy I can get through a homework session without breaking Google for whatever is making my child smarter for her future. And I humorously navigate my new life as a military spouse without embarrassing my husband wherever the Army sends us. Did I forget anything?
I was panicked when I heard about the hacks and realized how many of my blogging friends were getting taken down by these hacker assholes. I’m glad it is sorted and thanks for the info in case it ever happens to me! #EatSleepBlogRT
Holy shit.
I know what I am doing today,
What did you use to backup?
I use a plugin called BACKUPGUARD. There are a ton out there. Just go with what works for you and backs everything up =)
Wow, until now I’ve not really taken the threat of hacking too seriously. I will be now! #dreamteam
I always thought it would be someone else. Never me. That left me totally unprepared. Thanks for visiting! xo
Handy guide that I’ll be keeping for the future – so sorry it happened to you!! #dreamteam
It’s alright. Taught me more about taking care of my blog then I realized.
Thank you for this! I’m sorting out my backups right now! #bestandworst
You’re very welcome!
Oh, it’s so annoying when you get hacked. They hit my site a few weeks back. Luckily, the hosting sorted most of mine out I’ve also got the free version of Wordfence on it now. I didn’t even know firewalls for websites existed until after the event.
#BloggerClubUK
Absolutely agree! I’ll go check out what Wordfence is and look into adding that to my site! What I wouldn’t give to have an IT person just tell me they will take care of all this stuff that hurts my brain. Haha. Thanks for stopping by!
Oh gosh! How stressful.
I saw a lot of people hacked a few weeks ago and it was awful. I hope it never happens again.
#bestandworst
Hi, so sorry to hear you got hacked. Thank you for sharing the infonstion to help others out. No doubt many will be using it #bestandworst
ooooohhh myyy gosh. you never think it would happen to you because its like “why would anyone want to go in though my stuff”? but you just never know. there were a couple attempted log ins to my account from Russia and the Ukraine but i didn’t think anything of it! I’m going to start backing up my stuff now! i also love the blogging world – everyone has each others backs.
Absolutely!!! I’ve so appreciated anyone that’s shared how to make things better….I don’t know this stuff. I love to write…I don’t understand the tech side of it. Haha. Thanks for visiting!
Thanks for posting this. I’m kind of freaked out because a friend did tell me she got a weird spammy email from me but couldn’t identity the address it came from (??) I did change all my passwords and haven’t seen any effect on my blog, but I’ve been on high alert…Thank you for sharing this. I’m glad the damage was minimal.
No problem! I realized I truly didn’t have this kind of information as part of my “blogger must do’s. Hopefully all goes well for you!
OMG! What a nightmare. I am glad it worked out in the end for you and Thank you for the advice! I’m off to back up now! Thank you for linking up to #ablogginggoodtime ?
Absolutely! I’m glad it worked out in the end too! Like blogging and all we do for it isn’t hard enough. Haha.
I’m so sorry that happened to you – I’ve had Wordfence alert me to suspicious files a few times and I’ve caught them straight away before any real damage was done, but it’s still scary. Why would anyone want with my little blog? This is a good reminder to go do a backup right now. #ablogginggoodtime
Your the second person to tell me about Wordfence! I need to look into that. Thank you for that!
Bummer! Sorry this happened but thanks for sharing your tips
Ooh stuff like this makes me even less inclined to ever go self-hosted! I can see why you must have felt vulnerable and violated afterwards. It is just like when someone steals your purse. But it also sounds like you’re bouncing back, stronger than ever. It’s great how you’ve found positive lessons out of a bad experience. Thanks for linking up to #EatSleepBlogRT. Hope you join again next week.
Glad you got it all sorted. What do people get out of hacking blogs? They need a better hobby!
Thanks for linking up to #BloggerClubUK 🙂
Debbie
What a scary thing to experience! I have not backed up my blog at all. I will be doing that today!
Oh my goodness! I can only imagine how scary that must have been. Now I’m realizing that my backup schedule probably isn’t good enough either. Definitely going to do a full backup today and take a look at adjusting my schedule. Thanks for sharing your experience at the #happynowlinkup!
Super frustrating. When time is very little, and this happens, it really sets you back. xo
Whoa! This is scary. Thanks for sharing your experience and TIPS, and yes, I’m looking at my back-up schedule immediately after posting this comment. THANK YOU!
I’m glad the mess got sorted out!
#ablogginggoodtime
You are very welcome! The more we know, hopefully the less stressful it is. (sorta, still stressful).
Awww lovely I’m so sorry you were hacked. I had it happen to me too so I know how you feel. It’s really violating, isn’t it? I couldn’t manage so I hired a blogger who’s tech savvy who fixed it all for me – Zoe was a life saver! It’s great that the blogger community is so supportive & helpful in these times of crisis! Thank you for sharing with us at #BloggerClubUK x
Agreed! Thank goodness for people who are tech savvy that can help pull us out of that hole! xoxo
I am so sorry. If I had known, Jen’s Guy could have helped. He has wiped those bad boys out for some of my blogging friends before. I am glad you are back and that you shared your experience. Security for your blog and backing up is super important. Sorry they hit you so bad. That sucks hard!
Oh gosh this is awful! I can’t imagine how frightening this must feel. I am so sorry to hear.
I think you’ve got an absolutely fab post out of the horrible situation, though. I am totally bookmarking this in case anything like this ever happens to me or any of my blog buddies. I am so glad that you’re back on track and that you’ve been able to reframe the experience in a positive light – that is truly inspirational! #blogcrush
Bloggers worse nightmare. Will be making sure im all backed up, not hacked up… thanks for this. #bloggerclubuk
Totally! I’m liking your slogan there! “All Backed Up, Not Hacked Up”! =)
It looks like you use wordpress.org …do you know how to change the password for your admin login? I have been wanting to change mine
Let me just add #blogcrush ?
It’s in Settings on your left side of your WP dashboard and under General…(I think)…I’ll double check and reply back if I’m wrong =)
I really do need to look into this. I’m not self-hosted yet so I’ve always assumed wordpress take care of back-ups. I will definitely look into it today though.
#blogcrush
oh gosh that is so awful, I have honestly never even thought about getting hacked on my blog, like you I don’t debate serious issues and just figure who would bother. What is wrong with people seriously what the ….. I agree! People need to find better hobbies than hacking. My friends Insta got hacked recently and she had like 3 photos on it, it sucks! Great post! #bloggercrush
I am just catching up after a bit of a crazy week here, but man I am seriously so sorry you had to go through this. I will say, one of the things I recently did on top of using SiteLock with my site is switch hosting companies to SiteGround, who include FREE daily backups of my site, as well as awesome tech service. I am a WordPress designer, but still it helps to have piece of mind with my hosting part of the equation in all honesty. I thought about using a plugin, but having the backups included free daily with my hosting company was the way to go for me. That said, thank you for sharing your experience here and for all your advice from someone who had to go through this unfortunately. Hugs and just glad it all turned out OK in the end.
Your experience gave me nightmares I swear.
I totally dreamt my blog was the Matrix and Keanu Reeves was trying to save me.
What a nightmare! I will go and check my backup schedule right now. Thankfully my other half is a dab hand with IT, and he does (reluctantly) most of my support.
#BlogCrush
So sorry that my tweet messed with your blood pressure check but really happy to read you got it all sorted out. This is a really useful post for all bloggers, I definitely pinning it just in case.xx #BlogCrush
You totally saved me! =)
Oh this is so scary isn’t it? I would feel exactly the same as you did. Glad you got it sorted though and were able to take some positives from it. Although I hope I’ll never have to use it, I’ve pinned your infographic, thank you. How do you back up your posts? #BlogCrush
Hi!! I currently use the BackUpGuard plugin. The free version. =)
Love your post, so sorry to hear you got hacked. You made me laugh though, I must say! #blogcrush
Please, please, please write a post on how to backup your blog! I feel like a moron, but I don’t know where to start. I am so sad you went through this. Help us all! Please! #BlogCrush Oy vey
Eek, I shall try….haha. I’m so not the expert.