What To Do When You Have Malware

Malware Scanning is available on modern VPS, Dedicated, WordPress, Podcast Websites, and post-2011 Shared hosting accounts only.

What is Malware?

Malware is malicious software devised to infect, destroy, and damage your website.  If your account gets infected, you risk data loss, website defacement, or, if left untreated, having your sites disabled.

What To Do When You Have Malware

If malware is found on your account, it is very important to determine how it was placed there. Most malware infections are the result of outdated software packages, so simply deleting the malware will not resolve the problem. Our Pair Networks Security Team combines decades of experience in identifying malware intrusion points. If you are unable to identify the intrusion point on your own, simply reply to your Weekly Malware Report and we will work to identify the vulnerability at no cost to you.

Once the intrusion point has been identified you will want to have the malware removed as quickly as possible. If you are comfortable working closely will your site files, these files may be deleted using SFTP, SSH or the Account Control Center.  We encourage you to review each file before deleting as they may be integral to the functionality of your website.

If you would prefer the assistance of a malware professional, we offer several services to clean and restore your site.  You may read more about these offerings on our Security page.

You are of course under no obligation to use pair Networks for your malware removal needs as there are many reputable companies available that can work within our server environment.

Once the malware has been removed, the following actions should be taken to secure your account,

• Update all packaged software to its latest release
• Audit all account logins and remove any that you do not recognize
• Assign new passwords to all backend users
• Additional steps may be assigned by our security team depending on the intrusion point.