Hosting Acct Hacked and Deactivated

9 replies
I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this...but anyway:

I received an e-mail from Bluehost this morning that my account had been deactivated for a TOS violation. I contacted them and they said that at least one of my domains had been hacked and had malicious files, causing the IP to be blacklisted by Spamhaus.

I called support and they told me which file caused it, and also ran a malware scan that revealed other files that needed to be deleted, which they provided me a list of. They also said I needed to purchase a dedicated IP, and after all this was accomplished I could call back to be reactivated.

So I did this and when I called back they said they couldn't reactivate because there were still harmful files. Basically they told me it was my responsibility to identify and delete all such files before my service would be returned. I asked if there was a software and they said my only option was to pay for a service like SiteLock or We Watch Your Website to do it for me.

Has anyone else had anything like this happen? And if so, what are my options? I cringe at the thought of paying MORE money per year for each site. Half of them aren't even making any money, and the other half don't make enough to cover if I have to keep buying services for them.

Please help,
Chad

UPDATE:
Did some cleaning up of my own, bought Sitelock through Bluehost, and just got re-activated. Hope it sticks.
#acct #deactivated #hacked #hosting #site security
  • Profile picture of the author flashisland
    Glad to hear that you got everything working again. Just make sure that you figure out exactly what caused the problem in the first place, and get it fixed immediately. If there is a security flaw in your code, no amount of scanning will protect you from getting hacked again.

    Also when you get hacked like that, it's usually best to do a total clean re-install of all your files if you can. That way you can be sure there are no lingering malicious files that will cause problems in the future.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6424460].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author nouvellevie
    Not to helpful that host. Move your sites somewhere else. I was hack last week and my host took care of it.
    Signature

    Quality funnels & solo traffic
    http://gordsolo.com

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6424481].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author so11
    It just doesnt make sense why they've asked to get a static IP??? They could've just assign you another one.

    Make sure to clean those files. If you get blacklisted with your dedicated IP, it might get more serious.
    Signature
    www.groupesoloviev.com
    We help businesses manage cyber risk and compliance requirements.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6424521].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author eluminousdev
    Friend,
    Not sure about the Bluehost but HOSTGATOR would be the good option for such service.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6432695].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author chadgatlin
    It does seem to me that it would be more their problem to take care of since the files reside on their servers. At least a 50/50 and not completely left up to me and my wallet. I just got a notice from Sitelock that they've shut my sites down and I will have to pay at least $200 to fix it, another $150 to "harden" my site, and another $50 to get a more comprehensive scan package. I can't afford all this crap.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6477947].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Kingfish85
    You shouldn't need to purchase an additional service. I'd say it's time to pack up and move. As stated above, HostGator is a good bargain host. Any hosting company with competent admins should be able to help get your site up and running.

    How was your site exploited? Are you using an out of date Wordpress install? Weak passwords? Unsupported plugins? (plugins that are no longer developed)

    Unfortunately most of the bargain hosts don't have the best reputation when it comes to security, and BlueHost is one of them. I couldn't begin to tell you how many customer accounts we have cleaned up during migrations.

    Take a look over at Web Hosting Talk - The largest, most influential web hosting community on the Internet or browse the WSO forum here. Remember to ask questions, and cheapest isn't always the best.
    Signature

    |~| VeeroTech Hosting - sales @ veerotech.net
    |~| High Performance CloudLinux & LiteSpeed Powered Web Hosting
    |~| cPanel & WHM - Softaculous - Website Builder - R1Soft - SpamExperts
    |~| Visit us @veerotech Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6478000].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Ayling
    I had my sites continually being hacked at a host to the point of me having to abandon an account and setup with a new host.

    It was a continual blame game between me and the host, until I just gave up and moved.
    Never had a problem since I moved to a VPS with Beyond Hosting. The VPS has a dedicated IP which might guard against automated hack tools.

    Also my baby croc server at hostgator has never been hacked since I moved hosts.
    Signature
    Software Marketing & Licensing System for WordPress Plugins, Themes & .NET Software
    >> 72 Hour Special <<
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6479849].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author TimPiazza
    I had a site on 1and1 hacked once. It was a dedicated server, so they were more or less "hands off" on dealing with it. We had backups and the site was still under development so we were able to wipe the server and reinstall. But geez, it showed me the value of support. MediaTemple gave some great help during a similar episode.

    You really have only two choices--either learn enough about LAMP servers to support them yourself, or invest in safeguard tools and services. The frustration of dealing with a server that has been turned into a mailbot is compounded by the hours and days lost trying to recover from it, then explain to clients what happened and how it will never happen again.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6483753].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author chadgatlin
    Actually turned out ok. One of my sites got blacklisted. It turns out that if you have Webmaster Tools, they show you what's wrong, where it is, and how to fix it. All FREE. I can't believe I almost got talked in to paying so much money to avoid getting blacklisted. It only lasted for 12 hours (less actually) and got my problem fixed. Google was my best friend in this case.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[6495044].message }}

Trending Topics