So apparently one of my sites contained malware in the content and host gator says I'm responsible for removing it myself before they can enable my sites... I notice they sent me an email with the malware and its in the public html, wp-includes, and a theme that I don't use.. How do you go about removing the affected content so they can restore everything back?
Are you using any Wordpress plugins? Were you using an old version of Wordpress? First step is to back up your website's database and download a copy of it to your local computer (using phpMyAdmin). And the easiest way to get rid of an exploit is to delete all the files in your account's public_html folder and restore with files that you know are not infected. If you use a custom theme, you should have a backup copy that you can upload. And you can install Wordpress from scratch and change the wp-config.php settings to use your existing database. However, it is a good idea to check content tables in your database for malicious javascript or frame code before you start using it. Does HG have a virus scanner in their cPanel? You could try using that and maybe find some (but not necessarily all) of the exploit code. One thing hackers like to do is put in multiple back doors so they can find a way back in if the original exploit is found. https://codex.wordpress.org/FAQ_My_site_was_hacked
They do not clean malwares also do not protects again ddos. If you just clean the infected file will not help in the future. If you get infected again you will get kicked-out from hostgator. If you are not familiar with malwares hire sineone to do it right.
That's why it's advisable to setup an automatic backup creator. Worst case scenario, your won't be able to restore it anymore.
If you don't want to do it yourself, Sucuri will do it. It's $199 per year, but well worth it to have a hack cleaned and a year's worth of security monitoring should it happen again.
Take a backup of your sites, then look through the files and remove the infected file, you can also pay someone to remove the infection for you. Most Providers do not remove infections for you although some small providers with a personal touch will offer help.