Thank you for your replies
Before having to contact my host, what do you think of this solution, found here
docs.joomla.org/Security_Checklist_7
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To protect directories that seemed to need 777 permissions to run or as a default in your images/media folder try this code within a .htaccess file within the open folder.
# secure directory by disabling script execution
AddHandler cgi-script .php .pl .py .jsp .asp .htm .shtml .sh .cgi
Options -ExecCGI
especially in your images folder