[help] Malware code keep re-appearing and infecting .htaccess and other files

maria002 · Jun 17, 2023

Hello everyone,

When I met with this problem previously, I was able to fix it but this time, I am not able to do it on my own. I hope someone will advise me to restore my website.

This is very strange. I have shared web hosting with Hostgator. I have been using HostGator for a very long time and never had this problem but since this account had an outdated PHP version that couldn't be upgraded to the latest one as they were running low-end hardware, they offered me to move my account to CentOS6.

I was skeptical but had no choice so I gave go ahead.

But that's the day since then I started to face the problem.

I have about 12 websites hosted on hostgator and all of them are now infected with malware.

Every directory of these websites has a .htaccess file that keeps reappearing even after I delete them. Not just the .htaccess file, there are several other files that keep reappearing.

I replaced all the infected files with fresh WordPress files that I have downloaded from the internet but again after a few hours, they get infected.

I have replaced core files as well, scanned wp-content, and made sure there is no malicious code but when I uploaded it on the server and checked after a few hours, the .htaccess file with malicious code appears again and all the directories have infected files.

I don't see any solution and I am worried. I have written so much content on these websites and I can't leave them and start new.

Please help me to fix this problem. Hostgator people are offering me to buy their Sitelock service that I can't afford at the moment due to financial problems.
PLEASE HELP ME!

High_Stakes_Ads · Jun 17, 2023

maria002 said:
Hello everyone,

When I met with this problem previously, I was able to fix it but this time, I am not able to do it on my own. I hope someone will advise me to restore my website.

This is very strange. I have shared web hosting with Hostgator. I have been using HostGator for a very long time and never had this problem but since this account had an outdated PHP version that couldn't be upgraded to the latest one as they were running low-end hardware, they offered me to move my account to CentOS6.

I was skeptical but had no choice so I gave go ahead.

But that's the day since then I started to face the problem.

I have about 12 websites hosted on hostgator and all of them are now infected with malware.

Every directory of these websites has a .htaccess file that keeps reappearing even after I delete them. Not just the .htaccess file, there are several other files that keep reappearing.

I replaced all the infected files with fresh WordPress files that I have downloaded from the internet but again after a few hours, they get infected.

I have replaced core files as well, scanned wp-content, and made sure there is no malicious code but when I uploaded it on the server and checked after a few hours, the .htaccess file with malicious code appears again and all the directories have infected files.

I don't see any solution and I am worried. I have written so much content on these websites and I can't leave them and start new.

Please help me to fix this problem. Hostgator people are offering me to buy their Sitelock service that I can't afford at the moment due to financial problems.
PLEASE HELP ME!

best solution: get a vps and run everything yourself.
hostgator has been crap for years

maria002 · Jun 18, 2023

But how to handle the current situation. The pages are multiplying? how to stop them, how to get them to remove from Google?

RichMoney · Jun 18, 2023

Are these sites Wordpress?

I had the same issue for about 20 websites. I had to pay around 200USD to get a guy from Fiverr to fix it.

I swear I was about to lose my mind and I was pulling hair everyday until the shit was sorted.

Ambunbunmew · Jun 18, 2023

try cloudflair and start completely fresh

Deleted member 752298 · Jun 19, 2023

maria002 said:
Hello everyone,

When I met with this problem previously, I was able to fix it but this time, I am not able to do it on my own. I hope someone will advise me to restore my website.

This is very strange. I have shared web hosting with Hostgator. I have been using HostGator for a very long time and never had this problem but since this account had an outdated PHP version that couldn't be upgraded to the latest one as they were running low-end hardware, they offered me to move my account to CentOS6.

I was skeptical but had no choice so I gave go ahead.

But that's the day since then I started to face the problem.

I have about 12 websites hosted on hostgator and all of them are now infected with malware.

Every directory of these websites has a .htaccess file that keeps reappearing even after I delete them. Not just the .htaccess file, there are several other files that keep reappearing.

I replaced all the infected files with fresh WordPress files that I have downloaded from the internet but again after a few hours, they get infected.

I have replaced core files as well, scanned wp-content, and made sure there is no malicious code but when I uploaded it on the server and checked after a few hours, the .htaccess file with malicious code appears again and all the directories have infected files.

I don't see any solution and I am worried. I have written so much content on these websites and I can't leave them and start new.

Please help me to fix this problem. Hostgator people are offering me to buy their Sitelock service that I can't afford at the moment due to financial problems.
PLEASE HELP ME!

Make sure that you revert a backup of your website (scan it first with an anti malware tool such as WordFence or Malcare).

maria002 · Jun 19, 2023

Deleted member 752298 said:
Make sure that you revert a backup of your website (scan it first with an anti malware tool such as WordFence or Malcare).

Already done it several times.

I replaced core files as well.
Scanned the Wp-content folder for malicious injections, and replaced the suspicious file with freshly downloaded WordPress package.
but they keep reappearing over and again.

Every time I remove the files and malicious code, they are reappearing.

I have been using Hostgator for 7+ years. But facing this problem since they migrated my account to a new OS because the earlier version didn't have the hardware to update PHP to the latest version because I had been pushing them to upgrade PHP. They were using a very old and outdated version that necessarily had to update to the latest version if I want to install Rank Math Plugin.

Now all my website's Japanese links are indexed in Google and they are large in number. I have been putting in hours of work every day submitting removal requests from GSC.

I don't know what to do. I also checked if anyone had accessed my account and started a cron job as a malicious file (.htaccess and index.php) keep reappearing but there is no cron job.

I learned from a youtube video that someone (a hacker) can stay logged on to a hosting account using FTP and run a cron job on their pc that keeps uploading the malicious file again and again. I could relate it because I wasn't able to change the FTP password and had to take customer support's help to change the password.

Any valuable suggestion is highly welcomed.

[help] Malware code keep re-appearing and infecting .htaccess and other files

maria002

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High_Stakes_Ads

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maria002

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RichMoney

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