How-to

Guides you can follow start to finish

Each guide answers one task, in the order you would actually do it, with the sources we used to verify every step.

Guides are procedures. Each one assumes a specific starting situation — a Search Console warning, an unexplained traffic drop, a header rollout — and takes it through to a verified result, with the commands and checks written out rather than described.

They are deliberately ordered by dependency, not by difficulty. Detection comes before removal because deleting evidence first makes verification impossible, and closing the entry point comes before requesting a search review because a rejected reconsideration request lengthens recovery.

What this section covers

  • Detection procedures for injected spam, hidden links and hacked sites.
  • Removal and recovery, including the verification steps that close an incident.
  • Hardening procedures such as security header rollout and a practical site checklist.
  • Career and learning procedures for people entering the field without a security job yet.
  • SEO Spambeginner

    How to Detect SEO Spam on Your Website

    A repeatable detection routine: search-side checks first, then crawler-view comparison, then file and database review.

    Updated 26 Aug 2026 · 2 min read

  • SEO Spamintermediate

    How to Remove Injected Spam Links

    Removing injected outbound links without breaking your templates — and making sure they do not come back on the next cache rebuild.

    Updated 19 Aug 2026 · 3 min read

  • Website Securitybeginner

    How to Check if a Website Is Hacked

    Eight checks that reliably separate a compromised site from a slow or misconfigured one, in the order that finds problems fastest.

    Updated 27 Aug 2026 · 2 min read

  • Website Securitybeginner

    Website Security Checklist

    A prioritised checklist covering access, patching, backups, monitoring and response — ordered by how much risk each control removes.

    Updated 25 Aug 2026 · 2 min read

  • Website Securityintermediate

    Security Headers Explained

    What each HTTP security header protects against, sensible starting values, and the order to deploy them without breaking your site.

    Updated 24 Aug 2026 · 2 min read

  • Careersbeginner

    How to Start a Cybersecurity Career

    The sequence that keeps working: fundamentals, one specialism, demonstrable work, then applications aimed at roles that actually hire juniors.

    Updated 29 Aug 2026 · 2 min read

  • Careersbeginner

    Free Cybersecurity Training That Is Actually Useful

    Free material that teaches transferable skill rather than badge collection, grouped by what it prepares you to do.

    Updated 29 Aug 2026 · 2 min read