Why Is My Website Redirected To Another Site?
If you’ve ever visited a website and clicked a link, only to be redirected to another website (often porn or out-of-the-country pharmacies), then you’ve probably been a victim of malware.
Browser redirects are common when a site has been hacked with malware. Redirecting visitors to another site will not only make your customers confused and angry, but it also has serious consequences, including the loss of business!
What can you do about a malicious redirect on your website? Getting rid of browser hijackers isn’t an easy task, and those DIY toolkits or antivirus software often do more harm than good.
Keep reading and discover what you can do to avoid malicious browser redirects.
Warning! Your Website Could be Hacked Right Now!
In addition to a malicious redirect, your site could be hacked if you see any of the following:
- Your Homepage Has Changed– If you haven’t made changes to your landing page but see different photos, strange words, or any other unauthorised changes, you may have been hacked.
- Disabled Security Features– If your firewall or security measures, including security plugins, have been disabled, this is a sure sign your site has been hacked.
- Unknown Pop-Ups– If you see popup ads that were not approved, especially for bogus claims, you may have been hacked.
- Unknown Users– These are often Admin accounts. If you don’t recognise these accounts, delete them immediately and change your password.
- Very Slow Loading– Poor performance is not only frustrating to your users but also a common reason for SEO engines to dinge your site. Most people will not wait more than 3 seconds for a page to load.
- SEO Warnings– Google Chrome is often good with warnings telling you that your content is suspicious or that browser extensions have malware infections or other types of warnings. Pay attention to these as they are 99 per cent accurate!
- Unexplained Drop in Traffic– If you suddenly have a drop in website visitors, it could be that you’ve been hit with browser hijackers or that SEOs are penalising you for spam or malware.
There are other signs but the ones above are the most common.
Website visitors won’t be happy with a poor web browsing experience and will most likely never go to your site again!
Protect your business and your reputation by contacting Website Helpers Perth today!
The Hidden Dangers of a Hacked Website
Too many people think that a hacked website is just an annoyance, but it is so much more!
Not only can browser redirects cause you to lose business, but it also means that a hacker has found your system vulnerable.
They could have stolen sensitive information and credit card details from your clients and added suspicious browser extensions, further eroding your customer’s confidence in your site!
Many hackers add a “backdoor” access so that even if you remove their malware, they can gain access to your site at another time.
Imagine spending hours removing malware, those browser redirects, and any other software hackers may have installed, only to find it has returned in a couple of weeks. Ugh!
Oh NO! Lawsuits!
If your clients have had their sensitive information or credit card details compromised, they might sue your business for not promptly addressing the problem.
Even if a judge should declare that you did everything possible to remove that redirect hack, would you be happy paying those lawyer and court fees?
Don’t rely solely on Google Chrome’s setting for blocking redirects. It can block most redirects but not all!
Signs Your Website Has Been Infected- Don’t Ignore These!!
Your website needs help ASAP if you are experiencing any of the following- Website owners TAKE NOTE!
- Redirects– If your clients are being redirected to malicious websites, you’ve been hacked!
- Very Slow Performance– Malware uses large amounts of memory and processing power so it is common to find your website speed drastically reduced. Search engines will penalise you for this.
- Unusual Content or Homepage– If you see images or text on your landing page or other pages that you did not authorise, you have been hacked!
- Unknown Admin Users– This is a sure sign you’ve been hacked! Security vulnerabilities allow hackers to add themselves as Admins and they can even lock you out of your own account! Website owners need to pay attention to this and remove an unauthorised username!
- Security Warnings from Your Host or Google– If you are receiving warnings that your site may be spreading malware via browser redirects or any type of warning message from Google, your site has been compromised!
Speaking of spreading malware, do you know just how fast this can spread to your client’s own computers or other websites?
Every Second Counts! Look at How Fast Malware Spreads!
Literally within seconds, malware will look for security vulnerabilities in your site and add a malicious redirect. Clients who click and end up on a different website will inadvertently download software that can spread the malware to their computer!
Malware will also infect any other computer on the same network. Within a few minutes, malware can spread across various computers and devices via the internet and install itself in every device or computer it can.
Sound scary? It is, and malware is notoriously difficult to remove.
Why DIY Fixes Won’t Save You (And May Make Things Worse!)
While those DIY malware removal tools may sound good, they often don’t remove everything, such as malicious code.
Hackers often create a backdoor that will allow them to relaunch the software later.
As you might expect, hackers know you will try to remove their software and stop a malicious redirect, so they study most DIY tools and find ways to beat them.
To make things worse (as if you needed more bad news), these DIY tools can leave your site inoperable when they delete important files and change coding. They can actually trigger malware to install itself even deeper into your site!
Without expert removal services, a website owner can inadvertently cause permanent damage to their website and entrench malware even further into their browsers.
What should you do if you believe your site may have been hacked?
Act NOW Before It’s Too Late!
If this sounds scary, it actually is!
Malware leads to lost sales, lost customers, loss of customer confidence, possible lawsuits, a big reduction in your SEO traffic, and even being blacklisted from Google!
As mentioned above, malware spreads faster than a seed in the wind so you need to act quickly to get your site back under your control.
Website Helpers Perth- Fast, Affordable, Reliable Malware Removal!
Does the thought of malware make you want to throw up your hands in frustration? Do you feel overwhelmed and unsure whether you know how to remove it completely?
Then you should call Website Helpers Perth!
We are Australian-owned and operated. Our experts deal with malicious pop-ups, browser redirects, malware, viruses, and so much more.
Services We Offer
When it comes to malware, you can’t be too cautious. We offer the following to help you get your site back and keep it free from hackers:
- User Login and Login Security Monitoring
- Weekly Audit of User Accounts
- Software Updates
- Daily Backups of your Website
- Daily Scans for Malware
- Strengthening of File Permissions
- Complete Removal of Malware if Found
- SEO Cleanup
- Installing Two-Factor Identification
- A Manual Review of All Files
- Complete Removal of Backdoors, Corrupted Files, Adware, Spyware, and/or Corrupt Code
We Also Offer Monthly Maintenance Plans 
The best way to avoid hackers and malware is to keep your site current, up-to-date, and monitored for possible issues.
Website Helpers Perth offers the removal of malware, spyware, or other malicious codes, as well as maintaining your website to prevent hackers from gaining access in the first place.
Whether you don’t have time or the knowledge to maintain your website or to remove malware, it doesn’t matter.
Your business is too valuable to allow it to be taken over by hackers!
Call Website Helpers Perth today! We will be happy to discuss any problems you might be having and help you set up a plan that will protect your valuable website.
Drive traffic TO your site, not away from it! Call Website Helpers Perth Today!