Website security
& malware cleanup
in Seattle

The cost depends on the severity of the infection, the platform the site runs on, and how deeply malicious code has penetrated files, the database, and server configuration. A straightforward cleanup on a WordPress site for a Seattle professional services firm differs significantly from a full recovery on a custom platform serving a life sciences company near the University of Washington with sensitive research data or a healthcare organization affiliated with UW Medicine where a compromised site carries regulatory consequences beyond the technical incident. We confirm exact pricing after an initial audit. Most cleanup projects start from a few hundred dollars and scale with infection severity, platform complexity, and the scope of post-cleanup hardening required.

We treat infected websites as urgent. For Seattle clients, we aim to begin the cleanup audit within one business day of receiving access credentials. In cases where Google has flagged the site as dangerous — suppressing visibility in a market where Seattle's tech-literate, search-reliant consumer base makes organic search traffic business-critical — or where the hosting provider has suspended the account, we prioritize getting the site clean and restored as fast as possible. For Seattle businesses in professional services, healthcare, or e-commerce where website downtime has direct revenue and reputational consequences, emergency response options are available.

Any business with an online presence is a potential target, but the highest-risk profiles in Seattle are e-commerce stores processing payments, healthcare practices handling patient contact forms affiliated with the broader UW Medicine and Swedish Health Services networks, professional services firms whose websites serve as primary lead generation tools in Seattle's competitive B2B market, and nonprofits in the Belltown and Capitol Hill corridors whose limited IT resources make consistent security maintenance difficult to sustain. Seattle's high concentration of tech-industry employees also means that a compromised business website is more likely to be noticed and reported quickly — which creates reputational urgency that goes beyond the technical incident itself.

We start with a full site audit — scanning all files, the database, and server-side scripts for malicious code, unauthorized admin users, injected redirects, and backdoor scripts that allow reinfection after a surface cleanup. Once the infection is mapped, we remove all malicious elements, restore clean versions of compromised files, and verify the site functions correctly across all critical pages and user flows before handing it back. We then submit a review request to Google if the site was flagged in Search Console or Safe Browsing, to restore search visibility. Seattle clients receive a written incident summary covering what was found, what was removed, and what changes were made to the site and server configuration.

Cleanup alone does not prevent reinfection if the root vulnerability remains open. After removing malware, we identify and close the entry point — whether that is an outdated plugin, a compromised admin credential, a vulnerable theme, or a server-side configuration issue — and apply a hardening checklist that reduces the attack surface significantly. For Seattle businesses in sectors where a second infection would compound reputational damage — legal firms, financial advisors, and healthcare practices serving the Puget Sound professional market — we strongly recommend the post-cleanup hardening pass as a required component of the project rather than an optional add-on.

Hosting suspensions due to malware are common and resolvable once the site is fully cleaned. We handle the cleanup, document the work performed, and communicate with your hosting provider on your behalf to request account reinstatement. For Seattle businesses whose hosting accounts serve multiple sites — a common setup for companies with separate service area pages, event microsites, or subsidiary brands — we audit all associated sites as part of the process to ensure the infection has not spread across the account. Reinstatement timelines vary by hosting provider, and we set accurate expectations during the cleanup process rather than promising faster resolution than the provider's review process allows.

Once you provide access credentials — hosting control panel, CMS admin, and FTP or SSH access where applicable — we handle all technical work independently and communicate at defined stages: audit complete, cleanup complete, hardening applied, and final verification done. We do not require your team to be available throughout the process. For Seattle businesses managing active operations while the cleanup is underway — a common situation given the city's high-intensity work culture — this structure means minimal disruption. We flag any decisions that require your input — such as whether to restore from a backup that predates recent content updates — before acting rather than making those calls unilaterally.

After cleanup and hardening, we offer a security monitoring retainer covering regular malware scans, uptime monitoring, plugin and core update management, login attempt monitoring, and monthly security reports. For Seattle businesses in sectors where website trust directly affects client acquisition — medical practices, legal firms, financial advisors, and tech companies serving enterprise clients who conduct vendor security assessments — ongoing monitoring is the difference between catching an issue in hours and discovering it days later when Google has already flagged the site and search visibility has collapsed. Retainer pricing is fixed monthly and confirmed based on your platform and site complexity.