Solid Website Hosting Deal, HostPC

[dchakrab]

Bump...an hour or so left to get in on 2 for 1.

Dave.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: tcsenter

So far I have been impressed with MyBB which I am using on PresarioTalk.com (under development). It's free, doesn't look ugly and takes about 10 minutes to install:

Heads up:

MyBB 1.03 Released - Critical Security Update

Posted on January 31 2006 @ 10:55 am (GMT) by Chris Boulton

Thanks for the link!

 

[dchakrab]

2 for 1 is now over, but deal's still fairly hot...their regular pricing is hard to beat for the level of service / commitment. 6 sites @ $35/yr. = $5 and change per site for a year's hosting.

-------------
Dave A. Chakrabarti

HostPC Website Hosting Review

Nirman - Interactions with a dishonest nonprofit organization based in Varanasi, India.

 

[harrkev]

Thanks OP. I got in on the deal for my wife's new business. Much appreciated.

 

[dchakrab]

You're welcome...I signed up for another account with them recently for a nonprofit I'm starting, and everyone I've referred to them seems happy so far. They've had a few hiccups with the conversion to Dovecot in DirectAdmin, but it's mostly taken care of now as far as I can see. Even at regular pricing, they're great.

I'm thinking about trying out a hosting package from DeviousTrap at some point, when I've got another project ready. I think I saw somewhere that RossMAN was also offering hosting for ATers?

Dave.

-------------
Dave A. Chakrabarti

HostPC Website Hosting Review

Nirman - Interactions with a dishonest nonprofit organization based in Varanasi, India.

 

[BRObedoza]

damn. my current webhost deal expires in a few months and i wanted to jump on this. oh well i'll wait for the next sale.

 

[Abhi]

Originally posted by: RossMAN

Originally posted by: Abhi
Been using HostPC for over a year now....

Been great for me.

I remember first referring you to HostPC, has it really been 1 year already?

My how time flies.

yup, been over one and a half year.

I renewed in July 2005...

Edit: Btw, Thanks

 

[dchakrab]

Hmmm...in the process of posting this and writing that review, I just realized how many clients and others I've referred to HostPC. I'm wondering where the break-even point is for a reseller package...i.e, if I signed up for one and then began offering website hosting to the people I refer to HostPC. I'm thinking about it more as a way of covering my website hosting costs than making a profit.

On the other hand, I'd also be first point of contact for support issues, and I'm not sure I'm going to be happy in that role, especially for tech-challenged nonprofits. I'd also have to figure out a way to process payments (shouldn't be too hard, paypal cart + drupal form, most likely) and things along those lines. Hmmm. The idea of a "website hosting for nonprofits" shingle appeals to me.

Any thoughts? I know there are members here who've switched from user accounts to reseller accounts...what were your experiences like?

Dave.

-------------
Dave A. Chakrabarti

HostPC Website Hosting Review

Nirman - Interactions with a dishonest nonprofit organization based in Varanasi, India.

 

[swage]

Thanks OP. just signed up.

 

[jewelzdaggy]

I don't know if this has already been asked, but does this provide you with the domain also, or just host it? I know when I had dreamhost they allowed me to register a domain without paying.

 

[dchakrab]

Edit: Soon after writing this, HostPC suddenly took a turn for the worse (did I jinx them?). Their helpdesk support (one thing I always loved) is growing progressively worse...they tend to close tickets without reading them fully, provide inadequate or inaccurate responses, and sometimes just fail to respond.

They also did something unforgiveable (to me) recently...they locked a thread I posted in their forums which was critical of the way they were handling things. Link to forum, though they may just delete the thread if it's getting too much attention:

HostPC Email Support Forum

What's worse, they also deleted another thread I'd posted in the same forum, on a different email issue. Instead of addressing any of the concerns I had, Joe (the owner) simply apologized and said to open a helpdesk ticket asking for a pro-rated refund. This would indicate that he prefers losing customers who have difficult problems to actually fixing the problems.

This is a disturbing trend. Because of their price, I'm keeping them for a few personal sites, but I think some of my work sites will move to a more responsible host in the near future. If I find a similar host for the same price range, I may move my personal sites as well.

So strange to be crapping on my own thread...I've had very, very positive experiences with HostPC for several years now, prior to this, and recommended it to others. Now, I'm forced to rethink my recommendation, or at least color it with a somewhat sour user experience. Buyer beware.

Dave.

 

[dchakrab]

Edit: double post.

 

[dchakrab]

What the...did I triple post?

 

[McDealer]

Our position has been stated in this matter here: http://www.hostpc.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=2747

 

[dchakrab]

Hi Joe,

I believe you're confusing the two issues. My first thread was about the mail outtage, which was *not* a Thunderbird issue. It was a routing issue (most likely). That *was* on your end...or rather, upstream of you. It was shared by at *least* one other user, who posted in your forum to say so. It was also at 5:00 in the morning, so it's likely that other users simply weren't awake to be affected.

My second thread was on using Thunderbird to handle multiple accounts. It was right below the other thread, and it had (I believe) one other user posting in it. It vanished. I posted a solution to that problem in the forum, which is the thread you're replying to (and linked to above). It wasn't something I expected HostPC to support (since it was client-side) ...though some notice that your servers were going to do a "sender-verify" from now on would have been nice, since it breaks the default setup for both OS X Mail and Thunderbird. I posted it in the forums because it wasn't a HostPC support issue, but might be useful to your support staff and to other users.

My original email problem *was not* experienced by me alone. It was also experienced by another user, who posted to say so.

"Nick" posted in the locked thread with what appears to be a different problem.
"thisisms" posted with the *exact* same problem, at the same time I was experiencing it.

Both posts are in the locked thread here: HostPC Forum Thread

Seriously, Joe, I'm not trying to start an anti-HostPC session...it's just that I've had clients who I've recommended to HostPC (such as my boss) become fairly upset over a string of problems in the recent past. My boss has specifically voiced dissatisfaction with the helpdesk support he's received. I don't want to change my user reviews drastically...I still think HostPC offers a great value for money; I just don't think it's as great as it's been these past couple of years.

I haven't sent in a cancellation ticket because (as I've said both here and on my site review) I'm most likely going to keep my personal site with you. Whether my clients move or my boss decides to move all of the sites my organization hosts with you is up to him. I'll make sure he's aware of the posts on the HostPC forum, and then it's his decision...I don't have the authority to do more than advise / make recommendations.

I was confused by that thread vanishing and by the other one being locked, at the same time...it seemed like a censorship attempt. If it wasn't, then I apologize.

To end, I'll reiterate: HostPC *is* still a great hosting company. I personally believe that their standards have slipped a little (and I honestly mean a *little* ...no sarcasm intended) in the recent couple of months since the hurricane + dovecot conversion. Since I have a longer history with HostPC as a satisfied customer, I'm hoping things will turn around. Since my boss and a couple of people I've referred have a much shorter history with HostPC, they tend not to be as hopeful. I've only made this edit in this thread (which I started) and on my site, since I'd like to moderate my endorsement of HostPC a little.

I've posted similar comments in helpdesk as well, and the result seems to be that you've started treating me as a troublemaker. I even volunteered to help out if you needed it, and if I had the time. I'd much rather we tried to constructively figure out solutions than find reasons for HostPC not being responsible for my problem.

Dave.

 

[Devil2U]

some info from a friend of mine who had hostpc cancel his service...

Hello,

I'm sure that you know this by now. Well I at least hope you do. But the server that my site is on was hacked last night and it may have been going on for some time. I have a friend that visits my website and he noticed it being slow. With my permission he investigated the problem and came to the conclusion that the site was being hijacked.

Here is the information that he told me in regards to the hacker status and information that he picked up about the users.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-Info=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Them they used an apache exploit, and they should update their apache version. They used this exploit to create a backdoor with "rootedoor" and "r0nin". Once they made the hole all they had to do was telnet XXXXXXX.com 1666 (and a numerous amounts of other ports) then they get dumped to a shell with apache privileges.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=Port Details-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
BEFORE

PORT STATE SERVICE
21/tcp open ftp
22/tcp open ssh
25/tcp open smtp
53/tcp open domain
80/tcp open http
110/tcp open pop3
111/tcp open rpcbind
135/tcp filtered msrpc
136/tcp filtered profile
137/tcp filtered netbios-ns
138/tcp filtered netbios-dgm
139/tcp filtered netbios-ssn
143/tcp open imap
163/tcp filtered cmip-man
199/tcp open smux
443/tcp open https
445/tcp filtered microsoft-ds
1666/tcp open netview-aix-6 BACKDOOR
1720/tcp filtered H.323/Q.931
1863/tcp open unknown
2222/tcp open unknown
3127/tcp filtered unknown
3306/tcp open mysql this should be disabled, and only viewable by localhost
4400/tcp filtered unknown
5150/tcp filtered unknown
5151/tcp filtered unknown
5190/tcp open aol Dont know why that is there
6667/tcp filtered irc IRC, that they were on
7000/tcp filtered afs3-fileserver
8090/tcp open unknown BACKDOOR
8587/tcp open unknown BACKDOOR
9865/tcp open unknown BACKDOOR
27374/tcp filtered subseven
44464/tcp open unknown BACKDOOR

AFTER
PORT STATE SERVICE
21/tcp open ftp
22/tcp open ssh
25/tcp open smtp
53/tcp open domain
80/tcp open http
110/tcp open pop3
111/tcp open rpcbind
135/tcp filtered msrpc
136/tcp filtered profile
137/tcp filtered netbios-ns
138/tcp filtered netbios-dgm
139/tcp filtered netbios-ssn
143/tcp open imap
163/tcp filtered cmip-man
199/tcp open smux
443/tcp open https
445/tcp filtered microsoft-ds
1720/tcp filtered H.323/Q.931
3306/tcp open mysql
5190/tcp open aol
6667/tcp filtered irc
7000/tcp filtered afs3-fileserver
27374/tcp filtered subseven

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=Hackers Information-=-=
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

200.138.70.151 --- HOSTNAME=200-138-070-151.mganm7004.dsl.brasiltelecom.net.br

WHOIS
nic-hdl-br: BTA17
person: Brasil Telecom S. A - Abuso
e-mail: abuse@NOC.BRASILTELECOM.NET.BR
address: CNRS - Telebrasilia - SCN Quadra, 03, Bloco A
address: 70710-500 - Brasilia - DF
phone: (0800) 6414040 []
created: 20030624
changed: 20030624

nic-hdl-br: BTC14
person: Brasil Telecom S. A. - CNRS
e-mail: suporte@NOC.BRASILTELECOM.NET.BR
address: SCN Quadra 3 Ed. Telebrasilia, S/N, S/C
address: 70000-000 - Brasilia - DF
phone: (61) 0800 [6414040]
created: 20031003
changed: 20031003

remarks: Security issues should also be addressed to
remarks: nbso@nic.br, http://www.nbso.nic.br/
remarks: Mail abuse issues should also be addressed to
remarks: mail-abuse@nic.br

195.23.58.100 --- HOSTNAME=195-23-58-100.net.novis.pt

WHOIS
inetnum: 195.23.0.0 - 195.23.255.255
org: ORG-NTS3-RIPE
netname: PT-IPGLOBAL-961101
descr: PROVIDER
descr: IPGlobal, Informatica e Telecomunicacoes, SA
country: PT
admin-c: NVSA1-RIPE
tech-c: NVST1-RIPE
status: ALLOCATED PA
mnt-by: RIPE-NCC-HM-MNT
mnt-lower: IP-MNT
mnt-routes: IP-MNT
changed: hostmaster@ripe.net 19961101
changed: hostmaster@ripe.net 20011016
source: RIPE

route: 195.23.0.0/18
descr: IPGlobal, Informatica e Telecomunicacoes, SA
origin: AS2860
mnt-by: IP-MNT
changed: pfig@ip.pt 19990129
source: RIPE

organisation: ORG-NTS3-RIPE
org-name: NOVIS Telecom, S.A.
org-type: LIR
address: Novis
address: Edificio Novis
address: Estrada da Outurela, 118-A
address: 2795-606 Carnaxide
address: PORTUGAL
phone: +351 210100000
fax-no: +351 210129259
e-mail: novis-admin@ip.novis.pt
admin-c: PC203
admin-c: HS131
admin-c: RC23-RIPE
admin-c: PL69-RIPE
admin-c: PM300-RIPE
admin-c: TFD
admin-c: PAC
admin-c: LIMA
admin-c: ZEF-RIPE
admin-c: RRC19-RIPE
mnt-ref: IP-MNT
mnt-ref: RIPE-NCC-HM-MNT
mnt-by: RIPE-NCC-HM-MNT
changed: hostmaster@ripe.net 20040415
source: RIPE

role: Novis Admin Contact
address: Novis
address: Edifício Novis, Estrada da Outurela, 118 - A
address: 2795-606 Carnaxide
address: Portugal
phone: +351 2 1010 4400
fax-no: +351 2 1010 4459
e-mail: novis-admin@ip.novis.pt
admin-c: NVSA1-RIPE
tech-c: NVST1-RIPE
nic-hdl: NVSA1-RIPE
mnt-by: IP-MNT
changed: novis-tech@ip.novis.pt 20010913
changed: novis-tech@ip.novis.pt 20011203
source: RIPE

role: Novis Tech Contact
address: Novis
address: Edifício Novis, Estrada da Outurela, 118 - A
address: 2795-606 Carnaxide
address: Portugal
phone: +351 2 1010 4400
fax-no: +351 2 1010 4459
e-mail: novis-tech@ip.novis.pt
admin-c: NVSA1-RIPE
tech-c: NVST1-RIPE
nic-hdl: NVST1-RIPE
mnt-by: IP-MNT
changed: novis-tech@ip.novis.pt 20010913
changed: novis-tech@ip.novis.pt 20011203
source: RIPE


Joe
Most of your information above is incorrect. Access was not gained to the server, tho your visitors attracted nearly 10,000 attempts to do so. The ports you're quoting were never opened on our server.

Nonetheless, I can not, and will not allow this type of activity - and due to the nature of your site content, it seems that it will do nothing but attract this type of behavior.

Please submit your payment receipt so that recurring billing can be cancelled. You'll need to find new web hosting arrangements.

 

[dchakrab]

Hmmm. Not sure if that's the whole story on that one, since Joe mentions specifically that the site's content seems guaranteed to attract more attacks of this nature. That seems to be more the problem than the fact that the server was hacked.

Incidentally, I'm also wondering how your friend that had much access to the server...did he crack (or try cracking) it himself to see how it was done?

I've had sites on HostPC compromised twice (phpBB exploits) and mailbombed once, and also had one incident where a form on one of my sites was compromised and used to send out a ton of spam. HostPC was supportive on all of those occasions, and helpdesk + user forums helped me deal with each issue. Was never asked to find alternate hosting arrangements.

D.

---------------
Dave A. Chakrabarti

HostPC Website Hosting Review

Nirman - Interactions with a dishonest nonprofit organization based in Varanasi, India.

 

[Carazariah]

Sorry, glitch

 

[vick]

Thanks for the glitch. I missed this one in February and didn't realize I wasn't the only one. I've just been officially invited to not renew - not that I was going to anyway. For over a year I got great service on my reseller account. Last May, they double billed my credit card, once for the $119.40 they were supposed to charge, and then again for $180.00. When I asked if I'd ordered something else, they said they would send a refund. I never received it, or a satisfactory explanation. Then 256 days after I first complained, Joe said:

The bank assured me this check had cleared, but has been unable to provide proof of it despite numerous attempts to get it.

I'll have a new check cut in the morning and resent to you. Sorry for the delay in this issue.

Oh yeah, during this time they closed my ticket twice.

Well, that reply was three weeks ago, so after over two weeks, I again ask what is going on. This evening I get a refund by PayPal for $119.40, not the $180 they overcharged me, along with this message:

A refund has been sent to your paypal account, and a stop payment order has been issued on the check that was sent to you - which has not been returned.

Your account expires on 2006-04-24 - you'll need to find new hosting arrangements before that time, your account will not be renewed at Hostpc.

So I have to agree with Dave's assessment of their drop in service. I had one other recent issue. They were filtering out my Yahoo Groups mail, and offerred absolutely no solution. Of course they blame Yahoo, and SpamCop, but even SpamCop suggests that they not delete mail ion the blacklist, but only flag it. I asked repeatedly for a way to receive my mail. Maybe that is why they don't want my business.

They still have great prices and a great package of services, as long as you don't need customer service, all your e-mail, or mind being double billed.

Sadder, but wishing I was wiser. I guess quality budget hosting is an oxymoron.

Vicky

 

[McDealer]

I agree, we dropped the ball on this refund. This was a result of a paypal subscription you had setup - then we allowed you to renew at a lesser rate - however you never cancelled the paypal subscription ... we'll take most of the responsibility in this, but we can't take it all. Several months passed between responses from you.

As for the blacklist/spamcop lists those IP's are on, we can't help that. You'd need to speak with the authors of Exim and the exim configuration that tosses blacklists instead of flagging them. I can get you their email addresses if you'd like. If a mail IP is on a blacklist, 99.9% of the hosts on the market will filter based on that. Why not use a gmail account or a yahoo mail account that forwards? I checked gmails blacklists, they too are flagging and tossing into spam folders mail from certain yahoo group mailservers.

As for the rest of your post, I wont discuss that in public.

 

[AbsolutDealage]

I agree with the drop in service.

I went to one of my sites today, only to be greeted by a suspension notice. Great... that looks real good to my customers.

Supposedly a script I am running has been compromised, and someone is spamming out of it. It would have been nice to recieve a warning email about this, but whatever. In the past, the support people have been more than willing to help me with any problems, etc. But now, they want $35 to un-suspend my account. WTF is that all about?

I am getting serious deja-vu... I was sucked in to the whole Steve Gunnels thing a few years back and this whole situation just reeks of it. With vick's refund story and now this... I don't know what happened. All good things must come to an end I guess.

 

[McDealer]

Your site was suspended because you uploaded a script that is a violation of our TOS and compromised server security (shell script). The only email address on file for you is @ aol - which was blocked due to spam from your domain...

Would you prefer that we leave the site/server vulnerable till your renewal when you contact us?

 

[dchakrab]

I'll add that I haven't had any recent problems with HostPC. Since the last time I posted, I've had most of my problems taken care the way they used to be: quickly and carefully. Of course, sometimes something screws up that's beyond first tier tech support, but they've been good about letting me know when it's going to take a little longer to work out. No new complaints, and I'm glad I stuck with them.

My only criticism is that sometimes I've felt that Joe and company are too eager to send a customer elsewhere if they think he's being difficult. In the past, I've been offered a refund repeatedly when what I wanted was a solution to a problem. HostPC can be touchy about criticism sometimes, which is a shame, since it interferes with (otherwise) great tech support / service, which is what kept me with them in the first place. I suppose that's where the limitations of budget hosting lie...if you need something more involved, with more dedicated support, you may have to forget about cost saving with shared hosting and upgrade to colo.

Hopefully, I've made it clear that I'm interested in sticking around, since I kept my own sites there (and still refer clients to HostPC). My supervisor also decided to keep our work sites there, though we're looking into colo funding options for nonprofits. I've updated my HostPC review as well, since I've received great service from them in recent months.

In response to the comments above, it sucks to suddenly find a suspension notice on your site, but it seems the prudent thing to do. If I'm on the same server as you, I'd like to think the hosting company is making every effort to keep server security at optimum levels. If you've got an insecure script running, there isn't much room for compromise.

I think a more up to date contact management system on their end might help the situation, though. I've had several different email addresses "on file" since I started with HostPC, and I actually don't know what they have listed for me right now. If something happens, I'd like them to have updated phone numbers and email addresses (even mailing addresses) for me listed for all my domains, work domains, and client sites I'm responsible for.

Joe, have you considered using CiviCRM (part of CivicSpace) or something similar to make this easier for you / us?

D.

---------------
Dave A. Chakrabarti

HostPC Website Hosting Review

Nirman - Interactions with a dishonest nonprofit organization based in Varanasi, India.

 

[theGlove]

2 for 1 deal this june?

 

[MiataPaul]

Originally posted by: theGlove
2 for 1 deal this june?

I was wondering the same thing.