Reasonable expectations.
WHAT AFFECTS THE COST
Site complexity How long the compromise persisted Whether data was involved Whether backups exist
WHAT A PROPER CLEANUP INVOLVES
Investigation File and database cleaning Credential changes Verification Prevention advice
That is not a five-minute job.
WHAT A SUSPICIOUSLY CHEAP SERVICE DOES
Runs a scanner and deletes flagged files.
That is not a cleanup. The entry point remains.
WHAT TO ASK FOR
A report of what was found and how it got in.
Without that, you have no assurance.
WHAT TO AVOID
Paying for repeated cleanups of the same site.
That indicates the cause was never addressed.
THE ALTERNATIVE
Rebuilding from clean sources.
For a simple site, sometimes faster and more certain than cleaning.
WHAT TO BUDGET FOR AFTERWARDS
Prevention: licences for legitimate software, backups, maintenance.
Cheaper than the next cleanup.
