Just a note: I have finished all the initial fixes I wanted to do to strengthen my sites. I could have done TONS MORE, but I did the minimum because otherwise I might waste vast amounts of time. So I did what was needed.

Most importantly, I improved my own backups a lot, especially for if my sites are hacked again, and especially to protect data that might be lying around.

I also went and paid for additional backups that I never had before. So even if they want to wipe out EVERYTHING, I still can survive.

During this work, I was deleting anything that was superfluous, that a hacker might find. In the process, I did delete one thing that I actually need a lot. So I had to go back and fix things, so that wasted a bit of time. But otherwise, all is well now.

Things are looking much better.

I never paid the hacker the ransom. I also have not had a chance to report him to the Police. But I do want to do that.

Hackers might still be able to get in. These are possibilities. So nothing is certain. But I at least took my first steps forward in dealing with the threat of hacking. This is the first time this has happened to me in a decade.

I am not saying that all is safe. I could be hacked again. But I have taken actions that should make it quite a lot harder than last time. I will still improve security in small measures as time allows.