We’re back after being hacked

So pleased we are back up and running after being classed a dangerous site by Google. Here’s how it happened…
2 month ago I suddenly started receiving thousands of email bounce backs in my inbox.
Investigating it, I found out through our hosting company that we didn’t have a “reCAPTCHA” on my Contacts Us page which somehow allowed the hackers (criminals) to use our contact us page to send out thousands of emails? go figure?

Then suddenly the domain name dadsonline.com.au was showing content for an Olive Oil company in Canada?
Our email inbox become unusable, we ended up paying for our hosting company Crazy Hosting for advance tech support where they were very helpful in guiding me to fix issues including changing passwords,  I had over 1500 people logged into Dads Online as a user.

After changing passwords, deleting all dodgy users, I finally felt like we were regaining our site back,  then, I was notified by Darren Lewis from Fathering Adventures saying he could not connect the Dads Online? It was showing a red Google Dangerous website notice.

I was unaware that someone had placed some code within the site which was spamming out emails to thousands of people using our email address. It was really terrible. When thinking about who had access in the last few months, I thought of Fivver, a site for freelancers. I used this site to find a WordPress developer to set up the Google Analytics (GA). I gave my login details to a developer who did set up GA but then all this happened afterwards, he had a 5 star reviews and I felt safe at the time of choosing him.

But i have to question… did my login details get distributed to online criminals? Was the developers security protocols not strong enough and leaked my logins? I don’t know? but strangely all this happened when I used this GA developer.

Finally, I had a local digital agency sweep and clean the site for links, codes and anything that Google would deem Dads Online to be dangerous. Still working to get GA configured properly but we are now classed as a “Safe” site by Google.

We are now looking forward again to providing all the wonderful Dads, Ideas, Tips, Information on Dads Health, Separation, Parenting, Self Care, Meals  support in way of useful blogs, online chat and podcasts.

Its great to be back, trust you have all been well during these crazy times of Covid lockdowns, don’t forget to visit our live chat bubble on the page (don’t be shy) and lets chat.

Best wishes

Peter