Did you download and get your Minecraft server infected with malware? Things may be serious, however, cleaning viruses from your server is very easy.
To recover your Minecraft server from malware, delete all plugin jars and replace them with newly downloaded ones. Keeping safe copies of your server can also help you recover faster.
How do servers get infected with malware?
Minecraft servers often get infected with viruses and malware due to downloading untrusted plugin files, or other server downloads. It’s an easy and efficient way to cause malware infection by just adding ransomware plugins, that can inject code into your whole server. Some of these include locking your files entirely, while others are just spamful advertisements.
In other cases, hackers can attack your server through your hosting provider, if they don’t use encrypted connections and safeguards.
How to recover Minecraft server from malware
The easiest way to recover a Minecraft server from malware and trojans is to delete all plugin jars. This way, you can start your server clean, and remove the self-activating scripts. Afterward, you can try downloading jars one by one and testing how your server responds. If any jar file activates the scripts once again, delete it with the plugin folder.
The plugin may not be safe and has injected files, which causes your server to spam or act oddly.
Another effective way is to keep server backups up to 30 days. This is an option that not many hosts offer, however, a backup can help to save your server.
How can I protect my server?
The best way to protect your server is to use a good hosting provider and secure connections. By downloading plugins from untrusted sources, the chances of getting infected are very high. Another issue for getting hacked is not masking your real IP addresses. Cloudflare offers free proxy plans, which can protect your server from brute-force attacks.
And finally, installing an antivirus on your PC or using shields from your hosting provider can save you from issues in the future. A professional hosting provider always includes high-level protection for clients.
