Host recommending re-install due to hack

[hothousegraphix]

My host is recommending a re-install of my VPS due to my server being hacked.

Understanding that I'll need to back-up each installed site, can someone point out pitfalls with this process?
Questions I have:
Will each Client, and their associated accounts need to be re-created?
Are the DB's associated with each client destroyed in this process?

Is there a definitive step-by-step guide that explains this process. I've scoured the net and can only find discussions but none explain the process further than back-up and remove all "plesk" associated files.

I'm not too comfortable with those limited instructions.

Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[stupidnic]

Plesk offers a backup solution that backs up all the data to a single file (or split files) that can then be used to recreate the accounts again.

I think the host is probably concerned that the server's OS has been compromised, so they want a clean slate (read: OS) to prevent any potential problems.

You would create this backup, then move it some place off server (but close with a fast connection because the files can be rather large depending on the number of accounts/sites). They would then wipe the OS, reinstall Plesk, and then restore your backup.

My suggestion, since this is a VPS, would be to install a new VPS server and install Plesk. Then migrate your data to the new VPS. Then once everything has been moved over, remove the old VPS and update your new VPS to use the old IP address. That is probably the best option going forward.

The real question is would your host allow you to do that?

Also, if the server was hacked by some sort of web method... copying over the files from one host to the next host doesn't really address the problem of how they exploited the server in the first place. That needs to be addressed or its only a matter of time before they hack into your server again.

Good luck.