This section describes a file in which redirect hack code is often embedded, which causes a WordPress-created site to jump to another site when accessed (redirect).
What files are being tampered with in the redirect hack?
If you are experiencing symptoms that when you access a WordPress site (or access that site from a search result), you are taken to another site without permission, it is likely that the site has been hacked, tampered with, and malicious programs embedded in it.
Most redirect hacks are implemented in a script called JAVASCRIPT, which is executed by the browser.
In rare cases, embedded advertisements or external scripts loaded from external sources may contain or replace malicious code and cause the above symptoms.
Hackers want to execute malicious redirects on every page.
Hackers want the malicious redirect code to run on every page of the WordPress site.
For this reason, they often embed malicious code in files that are loaded on all pages due to the structure of WordPress.
This file will look like the following file.
index.php
wp-config.php
header.php of your theme
footer.php of your theme
sidebar.php of your theme
functions.php of your theme
Rarely
single.php,singlar.php of your theme
page.php of your theme
wp-include/functions.php
We will explain what functions each file has.
index.php, wp-config.php
These two files are the files that are executed when all WordPress pages are accessed.
WordPress aggregates access for all site displays in index.php, and depending on the URL structure, its content is read from the database according to the settings in wp-config.php, and the design is pulled from the theme files.
For this reason, hackers very often choose these two files to tamper with.
Your theme’s functions.php
The functions.php file included in your theme is the file that is loaded whenever the theme’s design is adapted to the site’s data, and the contents of the program it describes are executed.
header.php, footer.php, and sidebar.php of your theme
Your theme’s header.php = the program used to output the HTML code for the header section of all pages.
Your theme’s footer.php = The program used to output the HTML code for the footer portion of all pages.
sidebar.php = The program used to output the HTML code for the sidebar portion of every page.
If the redirect hack code appears in the header, footer sidebar, or other areas, we suspect tampering with the above files.
Single.php, singlar.php, page.php, and wp-include/functions.php of your theme
The files single.php, singlar.php and page.php are the output files for all WordPress posts and fixed pages.
In addition, the core WordPress file wp-include/functions.php is also embedding redirection code in an increasing number of cases nowadays.
If you have embedded redirect hack codes, you can use the following plug-ins to inspect, detect, and remove them.
Free WordPress:Malware Scan & Security Plugin [Malware and Virus Detection and Removal].
