{"id":24089,"date":"2018-12-14T10:07:22","date_gmt":"2018-12-14T08:07:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hetzner.co.za\/help-centre\/?p=24089"},"modified":"2025-12-30T13:52:30","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T11:52:30","slug":"website-hacked-search-console","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/website\/managing-website\/website-hacked-search-console\/","title":{"rendered":"How to tell if your website has been hacked with Search Console"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can use the Search Console, a <\/span>free service <\/b>offered by Google, to tell<\/span> if your website has been <\/span>hacked<\/b>. <\/span>This tool<\/span> can be used to <\/span>track<\/b> and <\/span>fix<\/b> website errors to optimise your website’s performance, <\/span>safety<\/b>, and visibility. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Register<\/b> and <\/span>verify<\/b><\/a> your site in <\/span>Google Search Console<\/b><\/h4>\n
    \n
  1. Select <\/span>Start Now
    \n\"\"
    \n<\/b><\/li>\n
  2. Copy and paste your <\/span>Site URL<\/b> in the open field. Use the\u00a0<\/span>exact<\/b> address, for example, include https:\/\/.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>If your site supports multiple<\/b> protocols (http:\/\/ and https:\/\/), you must add each as a separate<\/b> property.<\/li>\n
  3. Select <\/span>Add Property
    \n\"\"<\/b>
    \nData collection<\/b> for a property (website) starts as soon as the property is <\/span>added<\/b> in any Search Console account, even before it is verified.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. A pop up will appear with a <\/span>recommended verification<\/b> method. Other verification methods will also be offered<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Proceed<\/b> with your preferred site verification method. If you choose the recommended verification method, <\/span>download<\/b> the file to your desktop and <\/span>upload<\/b>\u00a0it to your site via the File Manager<\/a> in your Control Panel.
    \n<\/span> \u00a0\"\"<\/span>
    \nOnce the download is complete, Google will provide you with an\u00a0<\/span>authorisation code<\/b>.
    \n<\/span>Confirm<\/b> the successful verification file upload by visiting your site <\/span>followed by the verification code<\/b> in your browser.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Select <\/span>Verify
    \n\"\"<\/b>
    \n<\/b><\/b>After your site verification has been confirmed, do not remove the HTML file<\/strong>. If you\u2019re struggling with the verification process, \u00a0you can refer to the     Common verification problems<\/a> page.
    \n<\/b><\/li>\n
  7. Once the site verification process has been <\/span>completed<\/b>, sign into the<\/span> Search Console<\/b>.<\/span><\/span>
    \n

    If you are using the new <\/b>version of Search Console, select Coverage<\/b> under Index on the left-hand side.<\/h4>\n

    \"\"<\/h4>\n

    \"\"<\/span><\/p>\n

    If you are using the old<\/b> version of Search Console, select Security Issues<\/b> on the left-hand side under Dashboard.
    \n\"\"
    \nGoogle will confirm there are no issues with your site\u2019s content at this time if no issues have been detected.\"\"
    \n<\/span><\/p>\n

    If<\/span> an <\/span>issue has been detected<\/b> or if your site has been <\/span>hacked<\/b>, this will be confirmed under the Coverage or Security Issues section, depending on the version of Search Console you are using. \u00a0You will be required to <\/span>fix these issues <\/b>to avoid them reoccurring. <\/span><\/p>\n

    “This site may be hacked” will display when browsing to your website if your site has been compromised. This warns visitors not to proceed to your site. \u00a0<\/span>Google will not remove this notification<\/b> until action has been taken to <\/span>fix the errors<\/span><\/a> that have been outlined. <\/span><\/li>\n

  8. Once the issue(s) has been fixed you will need to <\/span>request a review<\/b>. This option can be found in the same place the security issue was.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Google will <\/span>review<\/b> your site. If everything has been <\/span>fixed<\/b> and your site is no longer compromised, they will remove the message displayed.<\/span> If you are struggling, you can make use of the <\/span>Help<\/b> drop-down option on the top right-hand side of your Search Console dashboard.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false,"plain":"You can use the Search Console, a <\/span>free service <\/b>offered by Google, to tell<\/span> if your website has been <\/span>hacked<\/b>. <\/span>This tool<\/span> can be used to <\/span>track<\/b> and <\/span>fix<\/b> website errors to optimise your website's performance, <\/span>safety<\/b>, and visibility. \u00a0<\/span>\r\n

    Register<\/b> and <\/span>verify<\/b><\/a> your site in <\/span>Google Search Console<\/b><\/h4>\r\n
      \r\n \t
    1. Select <\/span>Start Now\r\n\"\"\r\n<\/b><\/li>\r\n \t
    2. Copy and paste your <\/span>Site URL<\/b> in the open field. Use the\u00a0<\/span>exact<\/b> address, for example, include https:\/\/.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span>If your site supports multiple<\/b> protocols (http:\/\/ and https:\/\/), you must add each as a separate<\/b> property.<\/li>\r\n \t
    3. Select <\/span>Add Property\r\n\"\"<\/b>\r\nData collection<\/b> for a property (website) starts as soon as the property is <\/span>added<\/b> in any Search Console account, even before it is verified.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    4. A pop up will appear with a <\/span>recommended verification<\/b> method. Other verification methods will also be offered<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    5. Proceed<\/b> with your preferred site verification method. If you choose the recommended verification method, <\/span>download<\/b> the file to your desktop and <\/span>upload<\/b>\u00a0it to your site via the File Manager<\/a> in your Control Panel.\r\n<\/span> \u00a0\"\"<\/span>\r\nOnce the download is complete, Google will provide you with an\u00a0<\/span>authorisation code<\/b>.\r\n<\/span>Confirm<\/b> the successful verification file upload by visiting your site <\/span>followed by the verification code<\/b> in your browser.<\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    6. Select <\/span>Verify\r\n\"\"<\/b>\r\n<\/b><\/b>After your site verification has been confirmed, do not remove the HTML file<\/strong>. If you\u2019re struggling with the verification process, \u00a0you can refer to the Common verification problems<\/a> page.\r\n<\/b><\/li>\r\n \t
    7. Once the site verification process has been <\/span>completed<\/b>, sign into the<\/span> Search Console<\/b>.<\/span><\/span>\r\n

      If you are using the new <\/b>version of Search Console, select Coverage<\/b> under Index on the left-hand side.<\/h4>\r\n

      \"\"<\/h4>\r\n\"\"<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf you are using the old<\/b> version of Search Console, select Security Issues<\/b> on the left-hand side under Dashboard.\r\n\"\"\r\nGoogle will confirm there are no issues with your site\u2019s content at this time if no issues have been detected.\"\"\r\n<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf<\/span> an <\/span>issue has been detected<\/b> or if your site has been <\/span>hacked<\/b>, this will be confirmed under the Coverage or Security Issues section, depending on the version of Search Console you are using. \u00a0You will be required to <\/span>fix these issues <\/b>to avoid them reoccurring. <\/span>\r\n\r\n\"This site may be hacked\" will display when browsing to your website if your site has been compromised. This warns visitors not to proceed to your site. \u00a0<\/span>Google will not remove this notification<\/b> until action has been taken to <\/span>fix the errors<\/span><\/a> that have been outlined. <\/span><\/li>\r\n \t
    8. Once the issue(s) has been fixed you will need to <\/span>request a review<\/b>. This option can be found in the same place the security issue was.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Google will <\/span>review<\/b> your site. If everything has been <\/span>fixed<\/b> and your site is no longer compromised, they will remove the message displayed.<\/span> If you are struggling, you can make use of the <\/span>Help<\/b> drop-down option on the top right-hand side of your Search Console dashboard.<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Use Google Search Console to tell if your website has been hacked. Track and fix website errors to optimise your website’s performance and safety.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lsx_disable_title":"0","_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[168],"tags":[],"topics":[],"class_list":["post-24089","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-managing-website"],"acf":[],"additional_meta":{"category_title":[{"term_id":168,"name":"Managing your Website","slug":"managing-website","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":168,"taxonomy":"category","description":"Managing your Website","parent":166,"count":52,"filter":"raw","term_order":"83","cat_ID":168,"category_count":52,"category_description":"Managing your Website","cat_name":"Managing your Website","category_nicename":"managing-website","category_parent":166}],"tag_title":false},"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"janine.g","author_link":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/author\/janine-g\/","author_avatar":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/60563272a8fc98e284410c640884d1e02e7271b28f06b7526c5f7dd877cb33f9?s=96&d=mm&r=g"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24089","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24089"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24089\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24089"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24089"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24089"},{"taxonomy":"topics","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xneelo.co.za\/help-centre\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topics?post=24089"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}