Unwanted Link Embedded in Sidebar

sounds like your site probably got hacked.

Review:

https://codex.www.ads-software.com/FAQ_My_site_was_hacked
https://www.ads-software.com/support/topic/268083#post-1065779
https://smackdown.blogsblogsblogs.com/2008/06/24/how-to-completely-clean-your-hacked-wordpress-installation/
https://ottopress.com/2009/hacked-wordpress-backdoors/
tutorial how to fix hacked WP blog: https://www.jtpratt.com/how-to-fix-a-hacked-wordpress-blog/

Then implement security tips of this guide to harden your WP installation: https://codex.www.ads-software.com/Hardening_WordPress

Malware Scan

Thanks so much for the links! And yikes…hard to believe a site could get hacked so easily. I’ll definitely try to amp up the security.

I’m not convinced, though. I don’t see any malicious or out-of-place code in any of the places the articles recommended I check. The problem is only on the homepage. On other tabs, the sidebar (and the donate button) functions as expected. And the weird, misplaced link goes to a page on our own site. Does this still sound like a hack?

Again, thank you! These articles were super informative – definitely a wake up call, as I hadn’t even thought about security for such a small endeavor.

I agree – thankfully, it’s not a hack on this occasion. ?? If you examine the source of your generated home page. just above the sidebar, you’ll see:

<a href="”https://tzreads.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Flag_Tanza</p">

It’s the unclosed (malformed?) link that is causing the whole sidebar to turn into a link.

Thank you, esmi! I think I got it fixed. Thank you thank you thank you!

You’re welcome ??