Error Message - Not sure where to look for issue

When I go this a site that I have, I get the message below.  I am not sure where to begin my search for the issue...any help would be great.

"Warning: Unexpected character in input: '\' (ASCII=92) state=1 in /usr/home/kimberly/public_html/aviation/components/com_sef/sef_func.php on line 7

Parse error: syntax error, unexpected T_CONSTANT_ENCAPSED_STRING in /usr/home/kimberly/public_html/aviation/components/com_sef/sef_func.php on line 7"

First reset your settings to default value because false settings can cause errors.
Remove everything from URL replace and Encode exceptions in SEF Advance configuration and try again.

I was not able to login to the back end so we are sorting that out now   What started this was the hosting company was having network issues and the connection to the server was going up and down for several hours.  So I am thinking it was some kind of file corruption as this has been working for a year with no problem.

Can you look and see if you got a returned email from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. as the host is trying to investigate why your email to me for forum validation never got to me and why my upgrade request also never arrived here.

thanks