My website or email account has been hacked or is sending spam
Is your email account sending spam or has your website been hacked? Here's how to change your passwords, turn your account back on and restore a clean backup.
By Hermie Updated
Is your email account sending spam, or has your website been hacked? Then change your passwords right away. With a hacked website, you then update everything and restore a clean backup. If an account sends spam, we suspend it; you turn it back on yourself in DirectAdmin.
First: is the message real?
Phishing emails about a "hacked account" can be fake. Check the sender's address and don't click links in the email. In doubt? Log in yourself via my.planetnode.net or ask us through a ticket.
Your email account is sending spam
If an email account sends spam, we suspend the email account or your hosting. That stops the sending. You turn a suspended email account back on yourself:
- Log in to DirectAdmin via the link in your welcome email, or go to my.planetnode.net, open your webhosting product and click the login button.
- Go to E-Mail Management → E-Mail Accounts.
- Change the account's password. Choose a strong password that you don't use anywhere else.
- Turn the account back on.
- Enter the new password on all your devices that use this account.
Tip
Are you logged in to webmail while changing the password? Read I can't log in to DirectAdmin or webmail first, or you may get blocked.
Can't get into DirectAdmin because of the suspension? Then open a ticket.
Your website has been hacked
A website usually gets hacked through outdated software or a leaked password. Deal with both:
- Restore a clean backup from before the hack. See How do I back up and restore my website data?
- Update WordPress, all your plugins and your theme. Remove plugins and themes you don't use.
- Change all your passwords: DirectAdmin, the administrators in WordPress, your database user and your email accounts. See How can I change my account password?
Good to know
When you restore the backup, the old version of your software is back. That's why you update only after restoring the backup.
Can PlanetNode clean it up?
Cleanup by PlanetNode is not standard and not free, unless we explicitly say so. Would you like us to take a look? Ask through a ticket.
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