How to Fix a Japanese Keyword Hack on Your Website Fast

Although it is not a common problem, the Japanese hack error on websites still causes businesses a lot of trouble and hurts site performance. So how do you fix it? In this article, MONA Media has gathered highly effective solutions to help you fix this problem as quickly as possible.

What is the Japanese hack error on a website?

When we talk about the “Japanese hacked website” problem, people usually think of a site attacked by hackers, with unwanted Japanese keywords added to Google search results. This is not a rare situation for website admins.

When a website is hacked, hackers usually exploit its security holes to add inappropriate Japanese keywords or get Japanese links indexed. This can include: 

• Injecting malicious code
• Virus
• Or changing parts of the site to create untrustworthy links and content.

As a result, Google may ‘index‘ these Japanese keywords and index these Japanese links into its database. And when users search for something related to your site, Google may show your site in search results with unrelated Japanese keywords, causing confusion and hurting the site's credibility.

So when a site gets ‘Japanese hacked website‘ hay “Japanese Google index”, it is not simply an attack, but also harms the site's search performance and its credibility on Google. Admins need to detect and fix the problem quickly, and also improve security to avoid being hacked and keep the site trusted by users and search engines. 

Signs that your website has the Japanese hack

To help you spot the Japanese hack index error easily and fix it in time, MONA has compiled the detailed signs below:

• Keywords suddenly drop in ranking and fall out of the top.
• The site contains lots of strange English content.
• Content is often stuffed with keywords or hidden links to untrustworthy sites (gambling sites, adult sites, etc.).
• The site has malware installed and redirects to pages with spam, adult or gambling content, etc.
• The site receives a large number of backlinks from untrustworthy, spammy sources, etc.
• The site is indexed in Japanese. This is a sure sign your site has been “hit” by the Japanese hack. At this point, you need to quickly find the cause and apply effective fixes!

Causes of the Japanese website hack

Some “seemingly harmless” causes are quietly affecting your site and raising the risk of the Japanese Google index error, such as: 

Weak or leaked passwords 

Using easy-to-guess passwords like “123456” or “password” makes admin accounts easy to attack. If a site admin's password has been leaked in earlier data breaches, hackers can use it to log in and hack the site. 

MONA's advice here is to use a strong password that is long and complex, and change it regularly to protect your account as well as you can. 

Software not updated properly

Besides that, not updating to the latest versions of your CMS, plugins and themes also leaves security holes. Hackers can use automated tools to scan websites and find the ones that have not been updated to attack. 

For this reason, you should regularly update your software, plugins and themes to the latest versions to protect your site from security holes.

Malicious code injected through login or comment forms

With this cause, hackers can inject malicious code, viruses in Japanese, etc. into input fields such as login forms, comments or contact fields on your site. When users visit and enter data into these fields, the malicious code can run and open a security hole in your site.

The best way to avoid malware infection in general, and the Japanese hack in particular, in this case is to check and filter input data and use security tools to stop malicious code from being injected into the site.

Using unsafe plugins or themes

If you use plugins or themes that have not been carefully checked, they may contain malicious code or security flaws. Hackers can then exploit the holes in these plugins to attack and hack your site.

So when using plugins or themes, choose them from trusted sources, check them regularly and update them to the latest versions.

Security holes in the website leading to fixing a website hacked with Japanese text

Security holes in a site's source code are also a common weakness. They may come from using unsafe functions or methods, or ones that have not been checked carefully.

Example: A site can be attacked through an SQL Injection hole, where hackers add SQL commands to access or change data in the site's database.

To keep this from happening, the best approach is to check your source code regularly to find and fix security holes in time. Also apply protections such as data encryption and the principle of least privilege to strengthen your site's security.

How to fix a hacked website showing Japanese text

Step 1: Update admin information to fix the Japanese hack error

First, log in to your site's admin system (for example: WordPress, Joomla, cPanel) and change the passwords of all admin accounts. Make sure the new password is strong, with special characters, numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters. You should also consider creating a new admin account and removing all unnecessary ones.

Step 2: Find and remove malicious code from the website

At this stage, use malware scanning tools such as Sucuri, Wordfence (for WordPress) or a similar tool for other admin systems. Scan the whole source code of the site to find files, code snippets, Japanese viruses or malicious scripts. Then identify and remove this malicious code carefully so none is left behind.

Step 3: Remove the site from the Google Search Console list

If your site has been flagged as unsafe on Google Search Console, you need to request removal from this list after fixing the error. This keeps Google from showing your site in search results while you are fixing the site.

Step 4: Delete strange content from the website 

In this step, check all the pages and posts on your site carefully. Delete any unwanted or unfamiliar content, including English pages (if the site is mainly in Vietnamese) and any content that does not seem to belong to your site. 

Step 5: Find and remove hidden content and outbound links on the website

Check your site to find and remove any hidden content added by hackers. This can be code JavaScript or CSS injected into HTML files. Also remove or change outbound links from your site if they are unrelated or unsafe.

Step 6: Re-submit the site to Google Search Console

After fixing and cleaning the site, register it again with Google Search Console. Once verified, Google will recheck your site and confirm that it has been fixed and is safe.

Step 7: Rebuild the sitemap and re-submit it

Create a new sitemap for your site that includes only the official pages and leaves out unwanted or unrelated ones. Submit this new sitemap to Google Search Console so Google can re-index your site correctly.

Step 8: Disavow links and remove links

Use Google's Disavow Links tool to report and remove unwanted or harmful links. Review the links pointing to your site and remove any that may be the source of the problem.

Step 9: Send a review request to Google after the fix

After completing the fixes, send Google a request to review your site again. In the request, give details of the steps you took to fix the problem and keep the site safe.

How to prevent the Japanese website hack

When doing business online, no one wants to lose data, hit errors or get hacked! It is not only lost revenue but also lost reputation and customer trust. So, to put effective protections in place for your site, you can use the powerful security services that MONA.Host provides.

Part of the ecosystem of The MONA, MONA.Host is built to provide fixing, upgrade and security services for your website. Notable among them are the powerful security servicesthat stop and handle any problem caused by outside interference. Specifically, you get the great benefits below when you choose MONA.Host security services:

• Strong firewall protection: MONA.Host installs and configures a strong firewall to block attacks from outside into your system.
• Regular malware scanning and removal: Runs regular automatic scans to detect and remove malicious code from your site.
• Regular system and application updates: Monitors and updates your system and applications to the latest versions to guard against security holes.
• Protection against SQL Injection and XSS: Applies security measures to stop SQL Injection and Cross-Site Scripting (XSS) attacks from unsafe input.
• Protection against DDoS: MONA.Host's security service provides protection against DDoS attacks, so your site keeps running normally in every situation.
• Regular data backup and recovery: Backs up data regularly so you can restore your site if it is attacked.

In addition, if you sign up now, you will get WEBSITE MALWARE SCAN PACKAGE with exclusive technology from MONA.Host, in extremely limited numbers! With MONA.Host, you get full support in keeping your website safe.

CONTACT US with MONA.Host via Hotline: 1900 636 648 for direct advice and guidance on buying the right hosting plan

That covers the fixing a website hacked with Japanese text and the fastest ways to fix it. We hope the new information MONA Media shared above is useful to you and helps you choose the most effective way to fix and prevent this error. Good luck applying it!