---
layout: post
title: Fixing the gibberish hack
date: 2015-01-01
updated: 2022-03-04
description: >
  This guide is created specifically for a type of hack that adds keyword-heavy gibberish pages to your site.
tags:
  - security
---

{% Aside %}
Unsure whether or not your site is hacked? Start by reading our
[how to check if your site is hacked](/secure/how-do-I-know-if-my-site-was-hacked/) guide.
{% endAside %}

This guide is created specifically for a type of hack that adds
keyword-heavy gibberish pages to your site which we'll refer to as the
gibberish hack. It's designed for users of popular
[Content Management Systems (CMSs)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_content_management_system#Notable_web_CMS),
but you'll find this guide useful even if you don't use a CMS.

We want to make sure this guide is really helpful to you. Please
[leave feedback](https://docs.google.com/a/google.com/forms/d/12iF45BaZuEgwn29A7DOW73rd1Hi_7NiAHCFWB3zMu0U/viewform)
to help us improve!

## Identifying this type of hack {: #identifying }

The gibberish hack automatically creates many pages with non-sensical
sentences filled with keywords on your site. These are pages that you
didn't create, but have URLs that might be compelling for users to click.
Hackers do this so the hacked pages show up in Google Search. Then, if
people try to visit these pages, they'll be redirected to an unrelated
page, like a porn site. Hackers make money when people visit these
unrelated pages. Here are some examples of the type of files you might
see on a site affected by the gibberish hack:

* `www.example.com/cheap-hair-styles-cool.html`
* `www.example.com/free-pictures-fun.html`
* `www.example.com/nice-song-download-file.php`

Sometimes they appear in a folder composed of random characters and
use different languages:

* `www.example.com/jfwoea/cheap-hair-styles-cool.html`
* `www.example.com/jfwoea/free-pictures-fun.html`
* `www.example.com/jfwoea/www-ki-motn-dudh-photo.php`
* `www.example.com/jfwoea/foto-cewe-zaman-sekarang.php`


Start by checking the
[Security Issues](https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/security-issues)
tool in Search Console to see if Google has discovered any of these hacked
pages on your site. Sometimes you can also uncover pages like this by
opening a Google Search window and typing in `site:_your site url_`, with
the root level URL of your site. This will show you the pages that Google
has indexed for your site, including the hacked pages. Flip through a
couple of pages of search results to see if you spot any unusual URLs.
If you don't see any hacked content in Google Search, use the same search
terms with a different search engine. An example of what that would
look like is below.

{% Img src="image/kheDArv5csY6rvQUJDbWRscckLr1/Tly4nzXP8q1ndhqoaMtJ.png", alt="Search results showing pages from this hack.", width="600", height="402" %}

{% Aside %}
Notice that the search results here contain many pages not created by
the site owner. If you look closely at the descriptions, you'll see
examples of the gibberish text that this hack creates.
{% endAside %}

Typically, when you click a link to a hacked page you will either be
redirected to another site, or you will see a page full of gibberish
content. However, you might also see a message suggesting that the page
does not exist (for example, a 404 error). Don't be fooled! Hackers will
try to trick you into thinking the page is gone or fixed when it's
still hacked. They do this by [cloaking](//support.google.com/webmasters/answer/66355)
content. Check for cloaking by entering your site's URLs in the
[Inspect URL tool](https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/9012289)
tool. The Fetch as Google tool allows you to see the underlying hidden content.

If you see these issues, your site has most likely been affected
by this type of hack.

## Fixing the hack {: #fixing }

Before you start, make an offline copy of any files before you remove
them, in case you need to restore them later. Better yet, back up your
entire site before you start the cleanup process. You can do this by
saving all the files that are on your server to a location off your
server or searching for the best backup options for your particular
Content Management System (CMS). If you're using a CMS, you should
back up the database as well.

### Check your `.htaccess` file (2 steps)

The gibberish hack redirects visitors from your site using the `.htaccess` file.

#### Step 1

Locate your `.htaccess` file on your site. If you're not sure where to find it
and you're using a CMS like WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal, search for
".htaccess file location" in a search engine along with the name of your CMS.
Depending on your site, you might see multiple `.htaccess` files. 
Make a list of all of `.htaccess` file locations.

{% Aside %}
The `.htaccess` is often a "hidden file." Make sure to enable showing
hidden files when you're searching for it.
{% endAside %}

#### Step 2

Replace all `.htaccess` files with a clean or default version of the
`.htaccess` file. You can usually find a default version of a `.htaccess` 
file by searching for "default `.htaccess` file" and the name of your CMS.
For sites with multiple `.htaccess` files, find a clean version of each one
and perform the replacement.

If no default `.htaccess` exists and you've never configured an `.htaccess`
file on your site, the `.htaccess` file you find on your site is probably
malicious. Save a copy of the `.htaccess` file(s) offline just in case and
delete the `.htaccess` file from your site.

### Finding and removing other malicious files (5 steps)

Identifying malicious files can be tricky and can take several hours.
Take your time when checking your files. If you haven't yet, this is a
good time to back up the files on your site. Do a Google search for
"back up site" and the name of your CMS to find instructions on how
to back up your site.

#### Step 1

If you use a CMS, reinstall all the core (default) files that come in the
default distribution of your CMS, as well as anything you may have added
(such as themes, modules, plugins). This helps ensure that these files are
clear of hacked content. You can do a Google search for "reinstall"
and your CMS name to find instructions on the reinstallation process.
If you have any plugins, modules, extensions, or themes, make sure
to reinstall those as well.

{% Aside 'caution' %}
Reinstalling your core files can cause you to lose any
customizations that you've made. Be sure to create a backup of your
database and all files before you reinstall.
{% endAside %}

#### Step 2

Now you need to look for any other malicious or compromised files left.
This is the most difficult and time-consuming part of the process,
but after this you're almost done!

This hack typically leaves two types of files: `.txt` files and .php
files. The `.txt` files serve are template files, and the `.php` files
determine what type of non-sensical content to load onto your site.
Start by looking for the `.txt` files. Depending on how you're connecting
to your site, you should see some type of search functionality for files
Search for ".txt" to pull up all the files with a `.txt` extension. Most
of these will be legitimate files of text like license agreements,
readme files, and so on. You're looking for a particular set of `.txt`
files that contain HTML code used to create spammy templates. Below are
snippets of different pieces of code that you might find in these
malicious `.txt` files.

Hackers use keyword replacement to create the spammy pages. You'll most
likely see some type of generic word that can be replaced throughout
the hacked file.

```html
<title>{keyword}</title>
<meta name="description" content="{keyword}" />
<meta name="keywords" content="{keyword}" />
<meta property="og:title" content="{keyword}" />
```

Additionally, most of these files contain some type of code that positions
spammy links and spammy text off the visible page.

```html
<div style="position: absolute; top: -1000px; left: -1000px;">
    Cheap prescription drugs
</div>
```

Remove these `.txt` files. If they're all in the same folder you can remove
the entire folder.

#### Step 3

The malicious PHP files are a bit harder to track down. There could
be one or many malicious PHP files on your site. They could all be
contained in the same subdirectory or scattered around your site.

Don't get overwhelmed by thinking that you need to open and look
through every PHP file. Start by creating a list of suspicious PHP
files that you want to investigate. Here are a few ways to determine
which PHP files are suspicious:

* Since you've already reloaded your CMS files, look only at files that
  are not part of your default CMS files or folders. This should eliminate
  a large number of PHP files and leave you with a handful of files to look at.
* Sort the files on your site by last modified date. Look for files that
  were modified within a few months of the time that you first discovered
  your site was hacked.
* Sort the files on your site by size. Look for any unusually large files.

#### Step 4

Once you have a list of suspicious PHP files, check to see if they
are malicious. If you're unfamiliar with PHP, this process might be
more time consuming, so consider brushing up on some
[PHP documentation](https://php.net/docs.php). If you're completely
new to coding, we recommend [getting help](/secure/build-a-support-team/). In the meantime,
there are some basic patterns that you can look for to identify malicious files.

If you use a CMS, and are not in the habit of editing those files
directly, compare the files on your server to a list of the default
files packaged with the CMS and any plugins and themes. Look for files
that do not belong, as well as files whose sizes seem larger than their
defaults.

First, scan through the suspicious files you've already identified to
look for large blocks of text with a combination of seemingly jumbled
letters and numbers. The large block of text is usually preceded by a
combination of PHP functions like `base64_decode`, `rot13`, `eval`,
`strrev`, `gzinflate`. Here is an example of what the block of code might
look like. Sometimes all this code will be stuffed into one long line
of text, making it look smaller than it actually is.

```txt
// Hackers try to confuse webmasters by encoding malicious code into
// blocks of texts. Be wary of unfamiliar code blocks like this.

base64_decode(strrev("hMXZpRXaslmYhJXZuxWd2BSZ0l2cgknbhByZul2czVmckRWYgknYgM3ajFGd0FGIlJXd0Vn
ZgknbhBSbvJnZgUGdpNHIyV3b5BSZyV3YlNHIvRHI0V2Zy9mZgQ3Ju9GRg4SZ0l2cgIXdvlHI4lmZg4WYjBSdvlHIsU2c
hVmcnBydvJGblBiZvBCdpJGIhBCZuFGIl1Wa0BCa0l2dgQXdCBiLkJXYoBSZiBibhNGIlR2bjBycphGdgcmbpRXYjNXdmJ2b
lRGI5xWZ0Fmb1RncvZmbVBiLn5WauVGcwFGagM3J0FGa3BCZuFGdzJXZk5Wdg8GdgU3b5BicvZGI0xWdjlmZmlGZgQXagU2ah
1GIvRHIzlGa0BSZrlGbgUGZvNGIlRWaoByb0BSZrlGbgMnclt2YhhEIuUGZvNGIlxmYhRWYlJnb1BychByZulGZhJXZ1F3ch
1GIlR2bjBCZlRXYjNXdmJ2bgMXdvl2YpxWYtBiZvBSZjVWawBSYgMXagMXaoRFIskGS"));
```

Sometimes the code isn't jumbled and just looks like normal script. If you're
not certain whether or not the code is bad, stop by our
[Webmaster Help Forums](https://productforums.google.com/forum/#!forum/webmasters)
where a group of experienced webmasters can help you look over the files.

#### Step 5

Now that you know which files are suspicious, create a backup or a local
copy by saving them onto your computer just in case it wasn't malicious,
and delete the suspicious files.

### Check to see if your site is clean

Once you're done getting rid of hacked files, check to see if your hard
work paid off. Remember those gibberish pages you identified earlier?
Use the Fetch as Google tool on them again to see if they still exist.
If they respond as "Not Found" in Fetch as Google, chances are you're in
pretty good shape and you can move on to fixing the vulnerabilities on your site.

Note: You can also follow the steps in the
[Hacked Sites Troubleshooter](https://support.google.com/webmasters/troubleshooter/6155978)
to check if there's still hacked content on your site.

## How do I prevent getting hacked again?

Fixing vulnerabilities on your site is an essential final step for
fixing your site. A recent study done found that 20% of hacked sites
get hacked again within 1 day. Knowing exactly how your site was
hacked is helpful. Read our 
[top ways websites get hacked by spammers](/secure/top-ways-websites-get-hacked-by-spammers/)
guide to start your investigation. However, if you're unable to find out
how your site was hacked, below is a checklist of things you can do
reduce vulnerabilities on your site.

* **Regularly scan your computer:** Use any popular virus scanner to check
  for viruses or vulnerabilities.
* **Regularly change your passwords:** Regularly changing the passwords to
  all your website accounts like your hosting provider, FTP, and CMS can
  prevent unauthorized access to your site. It's important to create a strong,
  unique password for each account.
* **Use
  [Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two-factor_authentication):**
  Consider enabling 2FA on any service that requires you to log in. 2FA
  makes it harder for hackers to log in even if they successfully steal
  your password.
* **Update your CMS, plugins, extensions, and modules regularly:**
  Hopefully you've already done this step. Many sites get hacked because
  of the outdated software running on a site. Some CMSs support auto-updating.
* **Consider subscribing to a security service to monitor your site:**
  There's a lot of great services out there that can help you monitor your
  site for a small fee. Consider registering with them to keep your site safe.

## Additional resources {: #resources }

If you're still having trouble fixing your site, there are a few more
resources that might help you.

These tools scan your site and may be able to find problematic content.
Other than VirusTotal, Google doesn't run or support them.

[Virus Total](https://www.virustotal.com/),
[Aw-snap.info](http://aw-snap.info/),
[Sucuri Site Check](https://sitecheck.sucuri.net/),
[Quttera](http://www.quttera.com/): These are just some tools that may be
able to scan your site for problematic content. Keep in mind that these
scanners can't guarantee that they will identify every type of
problematic content.

Here are additional resources from Google that can help you:

* [Google Webmaster Help Forum](//support.google.com/webmasters/go/community)
* [Google Webmaster Help for Hacked Sites](//developers.google.com/webmasters/hacked/)
* [Google SafeBrowsing](//safebrowsing.google.com/)

{% Aside %}
Missing a tool you think might be useful?
[Leave feedback](https://docs.google.com/a/google.com/forms/d/12iF45BaZuEgwn29A7DOW73rd1Hi_7NiAHCFWB3zMu0U/viewform)
and let us know.
{% endAside %}

