We use Google Webmaster Tools with many of our clients, as it offers many resources to help us monitor their sites. Along with SEO-related items (such as xml sitemaps), it also has some tools to help monitor the security of your site. To extend that feature, Google has just added quite a bit more help if you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having a hacked site.
Here are a few screenshots of what you’ll see in the new “Security Issues” tab in Webmaster Tools if you have a problem:
In addition, they’ve set up a detailed “help for hacked sites” portal that has a lot of additional information to help you out. Here is a video with an overview of that portal:
Of course, your best bet is to avoid getting hacked in the first place. If you use WordPress, be sure to always keep it updated. In addition, keeping fresh backups is an essential step — whether a WordPress update fails, or site gets hacked, or you mistakenly mess something up, having a recent backup can be a life-saver.
Are you using Google Webmaster Tools for your site?
