vBulletin hacked forums: Clean Up Time
Step 9. If possible restore your MySQL database(s) from a recently verified and known clean backup. If restoring from backup, you may need to repeat Steps 1, 2, 3 and Step 6 outlined above again. To double check that your backups are clean and not infected you may also need to repeat all outlined steps in this article on your clean backup including after restoring the clean backup to change all your restored forum’s passwords again including any .htaccess passwords restored. Quickest way to restore MySQL database(s) is with SSH and root user access on VPS and dedicated servers is outlined in steps 2 and 3 of my vBulletin 4 upgrade guide.
For vBulletin make sure if you have avatars and attachments in filesystem, that they are also restored for the recent backup. It’s important that regular MySQL database and file (attachments) backups are made for just this reason and that these backups are also stored off site/off server remotely if possible. Consult with your web host if any possible recent backups can be restored from. Restore into new and different MySQL database names than previously used.
