In the last year, I’ve experienced two clients who have had their websites hacked.
In one case, a Russian hacker was putting text at the bottom of their pages with links to other Russian sites. Some of the links were unseemly.
In another, the hacker was creating new pages, complete with URL, that looked like my client’s website. These pages also had external links, which appeared to be legitimate businesses. That makes me wonder if the hackers are selling these links to unsuspecting businesses?
In both cases, my clients had CMS (content management system) websites. Common CMS systems are WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal.
In my two client’s cases, they were using an outdated version of a Joomla theme. Although there were warnings in the Joomla editor upon signing in that the site should be updated, their web developers had not updated the websites.
Not updating is what made them vulnerable.
Spammy external links on your site tells the search engines your site is not a reputable site and can hurt your company’s search rankings.
It may not happen right away, but you don’t want to take the chance. Besides, your customers may stumble onto those page and wonder what-the-heck?
Easy Web Tip #186: Do not ignore notices to update to the latest version of your CMS theme.
