Page Change Detection
Monitor your website for unauthorized content changes, defacements, and unexpected modifications. MerySpeak detects when your page content changes and alerts you instantly so you can investigate and respond quickly.
What is Page Change Detection?
Page change detection monitors the content of your web pages for modifications. MerySpeak creates a cryptographic hash (SHA256) of your page content during each check. This hash acts as a unique fingerprint - if even a single character changes, the hash will be completely different.
When a content change is detected, MerySpeak logs the event with a timestamp and can send you an email alert. This allows you to quickly investigate whether the change was expected (like a planned update) or potentially malicious (like a defacement or injected malware).
This feature is especially valuable for security-conscious organizations, e-commerce sites, and anyone who needs to ensure their content remains unaltered between planned updates.
Key Features
Content Hashing
SHA256 cryptographic hashing ensures reliable detection of any content modifications.
Instant Alerts
Receive immediate email notifications when page content changes are detected.
Change History
View a log of all detected changes over 24 hours, 7 days, and 30 days.
Security Monitoring
Detect defacements, injected malware, or unauthorized modifications quickly.
How It Works
-
Content Download
MerySpeak downloads your page's HTML content during each monitoring check.
-
Hash Generation
A SHA256 hash is computed from the page content, creating a unique fingerprint.
-
Comparison
The new hash is compared against the previously stored hash from the last check.
-
Change Detection
If hashes differ, a PAGE_CHANGE event is logged with timestamp details.
-
Alert Dispatch
You receive an email notification so you can investigate the change.
Use Cases
Hackers who gain access to websites often modify content to display messages, inject malware, or redirect visitors. Change detection catches these defacements immediately, minimizing the time your visitors are exposed.
Regulated industries need to document when website content changes. Change monitoring provides an audit trail showing exactly when modifications occurred, supporting compliance requirements.
Monitor competitor pricing pages, product listings, or marketing messages. Get notified when they make changes so you can respond to market movements quickly.
After deploying updates, change detection confirms the new content went live. If you don't see an expected change event, you know the deployment may have failed.
Ensure important pages like terms of service, privacy policies, or product specifications aren't accidentally modified by team members or CMS glitches.
What Changes Are Detected?
MerySpeak's page change detection catches any modification to the HTML content:
- Text changes: Added, removed, or modified text content
- HTML structure: New elements, removed sections, layout changes
- Links: Changed URLs, new links, or removed navigation
- Images: Changed image URLs (not the image files themselves)
- Scripts: Injected JavaScript, removed scripts, or modified code
- Forms: Modified form fields, actions, or hidden inputs
- Meta tags: SEO changes, social media tags, or headers
Note: Dynamic content that changes on every page load (like timestamps, random elements, or personalized content) will trigger frequent change alerts. For best results, monitor static pages or pages with stable content.
Detect Unauthorized Website Changes
Monitor your pages for defacements, hacks, and unexpected modifications. Get alerted instantly when content changes.
Start Monitoring FreeFrequently Asked Questions
What is website change detection?
Website change detection monitors your web pages for content modifications. MerySpeak creates a hash (digital fingerprint) of your page content and compares it with each check. When the content changes, you receive an alert. This helps detect unauthorized changes, defacements, or unexpected modifications.
How does page change monitoring work?
Page change monitoring works by downloading your page content and creating a SHA256 hash (a unique fingerprint). On subsequent checks, a new hash is generated and compared to the previous one. If the hashes differ, the page content has changed. MerySpeak logs these changes and can alert you via email.
Why would I need to monitor website changes?
Website change monitoring is important for detecting security breaches and defacements, catching unauthorized content modifications, monitoring competitor websites for updates, ensuring content integrity after deployments, detecting accidental changes or deletions, and verifying that intended updates went live correctly.
Can I monitor competitor websites for changes?
Yes, you can add any public website URL to MerySpeak for change monitoring. This is useful for tracking competitor pricing pages, product launches, or content updates. Note that you're monitoring publicly accessible content, which is legal and commonly done for competitive intelligence.
What types of changes are detected?
MerySpeak detects any change to the page's HTML content, including text modifications, added or removed elements, changed links, updated images (if URLs change), injected scripts or malware, and template or layout changes. Very minor changes like timestamp updates will also trigger detection.
Will dynamic content cause false alerts?
Yes, pages with dynamic content that changes on every load (timestamps, random elements, personalized content, ads) will trigger frequent change alerts. For best results, monitor static pages or key pages with stable content. Consider monitoring specific landing pages rather than dynamic homepages.
How often are pages checked for changes?
Page content is checked with every monitoring interval - every 1 minute for Pro users or every 5 minutes for free users. This means changes are detected quickly, usually within minutes of occurring.