suspended on bizarre host

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Konstantinnovation

Gawd
Joined
Jun 25, 2001
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677
I had an educational website for my students on a shared hosting package on bizarre host.

In 48 hours they responded once to my questions via their 'ticket' system saying :
"Hi, Your account has been suspended because of a spamming abuse."

I do not have any intentionally malicious code, though it is possible that my php was not perfect since i learned it over a weekend to put a registration for login /w email verification together.

They have not responded to my "emergency ticket" or my other questions. Has anyone had experience with this host? It had good reviews....

They do not have a phone number, and my students are going without their spring break assignment because of this. What would you all do in my situation?
 
sickpuppy said:
They do not have a phone number, and my students are going without their spring break assignment because of this. What would you all do in my situation?
Click to expand...

Keep trying to get ahold of them, and move to another host as soon as possible.
 
That's definitely "bizarre" (ok bad joke) but keep hammering at them until they get you fixed. Even if there is a rouge script that ended up on your account. A good host would help you resolve your issue. This also might be a reason I have never heard of them. Also +1 for finding another host asap! Support is at the top of the list when it comes to things you need from your hosting provider.
 
Go through your logs to figure out what your site was doing. For what you're paying, you can't expect software development or computer security forensics consulting. It's up to you to make sure your site is safe.
 
"2009-04-10 11:25:15
A script in your public_html folder was used that is all I know now, we are still investigating this and can not un-suspend your account until we are done with this and can safely say that your were not the one causing the abuse."


I cannot see any logs... i have no access...

They don't seem to care to do this quickly. I never need "support" but since they had a problem they should say something first to let me fix it.... I was using the site to learn dynamic web design and put something up for my students, I know it was probably a rough php script, maybe someone tried to sign up on my forums with a script and effectively mailbombed someone... i didnt have a CAPTCHA(sp) because that was too complicated to implement for a simple forum with email verification for my students.

also...
Post #4 in this thread is how i found them. http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=758618
Not famous but they did seem good from the other sites that reviewed them.
 
Last edited:
If you want to fix it your self, you'll need access to your logs. Otherwise, you'll have to wait.
 
heh, wouldnt be surprised if a student was involved ;)

but yah, expose an easy way to email someone from an account other than your own and it'll probably get abused eventually. don't necessarilly need something like a captcha right off the bat...some as simple as a database of questions/answers (what color is the sky? blue. what is 5 plus 4, after you take away 1? 8, etc.) might even do. though i'd look into it pronto, its basically a fundamental part of running a website these days
 
Did you show your PHP code to someone with more experience? He or she might be able to pin-point a possible cause of abuse by an external source. I wouldn't mind looking at it either as long as it isn't too much code ;)

BTW, you wrote a forum with a mail script? That'd be a popular point of abuse indeed.
 
The way i set it up, you get a confirmation email when you sign up for the forums. The only way to make it mail is for a student to sign up for the forums, and use their student ID number. They would have to switch their email to something different and then ask for it to send again, thus allowing them to spam but it is cumbersome and not worth the effort.

What actually happened was there was a file in my root public_html directory called mail.php that I must have been using to test the mail function when i was learning how it works. I never removed it and it was used to spam. With a name like that any crawler could have found it.

bottom line: bizarre-host is not a host with the most
It took them 3 days to "investigate" the problem, and never notified me when it happened. I will switch service provider's when my year ends, or sooner if i feel inclined to find a new host. I would NOT recommend this web host to anyone.

The recommendation from the " Hosting Feedback - Where can I get hosting..." thread in post 4 is VERY inaccurate
It suggests you can get responses quickly from the company which may have been true, but is not any longer. They Responded ONCE every 24 hours, and they were not busy with service tickets, because when i submitted a new one the ID number of the request was only 2-3 higher than my prior one.
 
Glad you found the issue at least :)

I prefer to keep such test scripts on my LAN-based webserver :p
 
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