Website Help

[JPSmit]

I (we) have a small website for work. (www.cnob.org if you are interested.) Recently we had the host contact us with the following message:

Dear John-Peter,

During a routine scan, the security team at iPage
discovered infected files in your "cnoborg" account.
Typically, these security vulnerabilities are due to the presence of
an outdated application or script in your account.

You can view a list of the infected files in the /stats directory of your
account, in a file named 'websitescan.txt.' You can find more
information on how to access this file, interpret its contents, and
remove infected files in the article below:

[deleted by basil]
Please make sure to check any file backup(s) you have for a clean copy
of the infected files. If you have clean copies, you can upload those. If
not, once you get the infected files cleaned or removed, we recommend
you keep regular backups of your website going forward

However, If you don’t feel comfortable removing the infected files yourself,
or would like to talk to a security expert, we recommend that you contact
our preferred partner, SiteLock. You can find out about their security
solutions at [web address removed as precaution ] or call them
directly at [removed]

Finally, to learn more about how to keep your site safe, visit the article below:
[web address removed as precaution].+



So, I called and the guy at the other end told be that we have been the recipients of bots and there are many "links?" to pharmaceutical products - I understand none of this as the website doesn't seem to reflect any of this. At any rate, he wants to sell me a package to keep it clean that to my mind far exceeds the value of the website. So, what do I do? ditch the site? Can I clean it myself? is there software I can purchase reasonably to help this?

any thoughts?

thanks all!​

 

[number6]

I think they are trying to play you.

 

[coldplugs]

I agree.

I wouldn't go so far as to call this a scam, but I do think it's misleading marketing of a partner's services. Unless they can give you a concrete example of a problem with your site, I'd ignore it. I looked quickly at the source for your site's home page and saw nothing unusual. (This doesn't mean there are ~no~ problems but it's a fair indication.) As far as I know, iPage is a reputable website host but I'd check the reviews for SiteLock (Just google "sitelock").

 

[Basil]

JP, out of an abundance of caution, I removed the specific links just in case they link to malware (never know). I don't think it affects the point of your post.

 

[JPSmit]

JP, out of an abundance of caution, I removed the specific links just in case they link to malware (never know). I don't think it affects the point of your post.

thanks Boss

 

[Basil]

Keep us posted on what you end up doing about the infected files. I notice you are using Wordpress and wonder if the files might be associated with a WP plugin.