Slashdot Mirror
Worst Web Hosting experience?
Tim asks: "I have just come through an experience with a web hosting company. Basically, a script on the server was compromised, because of incorrect security settings on the server, and used as a zombie phishing mailer script. My account was suspended for phishing, and through the course of several tickets, it was made clear that I had nothing to do with the phishing. Still throughout the entire ordeal, they refused to give me any of my files, saying that they could not be released now, or ever for 'legal evidence reasons.' So, here I am without a database (I should have backed up!), and without several files I was working on. What is your worst web hosting experience, and how have you dealt with it?"
1and1 (I'm not going to link them as it would help their pagerank) is HORRIBLE. They offer a free webhosting trial (easy signup, just need to give a phone number so they can call you to verify), but then when the trials over, they force you to go out of your way to cancel or they start billing. Of course canceling involves printing out a form, filling it all in & signing it, then faxing it to their offices (on a fax number that most of the time is busy or out of service). Then a few months later they'll try and send a collection agency after you.
Avoid them at all costs. They also go as '1und1' in germany, and oneandone in the uk I believe.
Pain lasts, kid. Its how you know you're alive. Sometimes I think this growing up thing is just pain management-TheMaxx
As an owner/operator of a small hosting company (I am not going to pimp my own company here), I can say this kind of thread is a bit irritating, because it happens way too often. I am regularly dealing with web server security issues caused by users.
/month.
Security is always important, but so is the user experience. I would love to only allow users to select from known good preinstalled scripts. But is that realistic? No.... I would love to run PHP in safe mode by default, but then I get plenty of customers jumping ship because their scripts no longer work.
The point is ignorant users are going to cause problems. Hopefully only to their accounts, but often enough those problems extend to everyone on a shared (read cheap) server.
If you buy cheap hosting, you get cheap hosting. Do not expect a hosting company to bend over backwards for $5
You install a poorly written script...Then your site gets hacked. Popular scripts make popular targets. How hard would it have been to do a google search BEFORE installing? another tip, get the script from the original author or official site. Web scripts are usually patched quickly, but often old versions hang around on mirrors and software search sites.
In this case, how much do you think your little screw up cost the hosting company? Did you ever stop to think that your mistake probably cost the company more $$$ than they will ever see from you?
Hosting company at a MINIMUM pays for:
1. The wasted bandwidth your error caused.
2. The administrators time to stop the problem.
3. The technical support persons time to deal with you.
4. The administrative time it takes to collect the files and cover their asses, in case law enforcement becomes involved.
5. The admin and support time it takes to deal with the numerous complaints that will flood them. Likely they heard from end users pissed off that they got spam/malware that originated from their IP range. They probably also had to answer to their upstream providers, and give them detailed evidence that the problem has been dealt with.
So your little error has cost the hosting company, in an best case scenario, hundreds of dollars by the time you add up the hourly costs for the administrator(s), technical support, the BW, storage and other overhead.
So how much did you pay them for hosting your site? $5 a month? $10 a month? You will probably move on to the next $2.50/month hosting offer you find, long before they recover the cost of your blunder.
Like, I said I deal with this situation regularly, it is not pleasant for anyone involved. It really is a lot easier (and cheaper) for you to install a copy of PHPMYADMIN and backup your database, and download your web site. Than it is for a hosting company to commit resources to holding your hand through every technical blunder you make.
If your data is important it is ultimately your responsibility that the data is taken care of, not your hosting company, not your ISP, not the maker of your PC or of your hard drive. If your data gets lost it is YOUR problem.
Yes, there are slime ball hosting companies (I personally hate them because they tend to make customers pretty paranoid, but at least their shittyness provides me with additional business). But customers need to understand that they have responsibilities and obligations too. Otherwise the hosting experience isn't likely to be a good one for anyone involved.
-Ms2k