Welcome to WebSense Pro, where we address crucial issues affecting website security and provide practical solutions. In this blog post, we will discuss the recent wave of WordPress website hacks caused by a malware targeting essential add-ons for Elementor. Specifically, we’ll focus on the Japanese keyword hack and guide you through the process of removing it from your WordPress website.
Defending Your WordPress Website: Removing the Japanese Keyword Hack
WordPress developers are likely familiar with the alarming increase in hacked websites. This malware has led to the appearance of Japanese malware on affected websites and the indexing of unusual pages on Google. If you’ve noticed strange search results associated with your website, such as indexed pages filled with Japanese keywords, it’s crucial to take immediate action to safeguard your online presence.
Unmasking the Japanese Keyword Hack
To determine if your website has fallen victim to the Japanese keyword hack, start by conducting a Google search. Type “site:yourdomain.com” into the search bar and assess the results. If you find unfamiliar pages or suspect your website has been compromised, it’s time to proceed with the remediation process.
Utilizing Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a powerful tool for website owners and developers. By accessing the “Crawled, Currently Not Indexed” section within the console, you can identify the pages injected with malicious code, which resulted in their false inclusion in Google’s search index. This step is crucial to understanding the extent of the issue and taking appropriate action.
Safeguarding Your Website
To prevent search engines from indexing the spammy pages injected with Japanese keywords, it’s essential to make modifications to your website’s robots.txt file. By adding two lines of code, you can instruct search bots not to index URLs ending with “.html.” This ensures that your legitimate WordPress pages, which lack file extensions, are accurately recognized by search engines.
Installing the “404 to Homepage” Plugin
Enhance the security of your WordPress website by installing the “404 to Homepage” plugin. This plugin automatically redirects visitors from spammy pages to your website’s homepage, eliminating 404 errors and enhancing your site’s overall search engine optimization (SEO). By ensuring a seamless user experience and removing spammy pages from your website, you can regain control and protect your online reputation.
Creating and Uploading a Sitemap
To further mitigate the Japanese keyword hack’s impact, it’s crucial to create a .txt file containing all the affected URLs. This file will serve as a sitemap, which can be uploaded to Google Search Console. By doing so, you prevent the spammy URLs from reappearing in search results and expedite the process of removing them from Google’s index.
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