Bluehost suspended all my web sites due to

25 replies
Malware virus. I have been dleteing files, starting fresh , asking them for help all week. Even got this from thsm last night:

Hello,

I visited the website and did not get any errors on possible malware. If this is not so for you still please refer to these helpful articles: https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/578 https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/570 https://my.bluehost.com/cgi/help/511
I type in my URL today and "this site is suspended" Every single site is "suspended"

Well....I kind of half expected it. It's the way big biz treats small biz owners on the Net. Suspend quick to appease the big guys. Been treated like sh** since 1999 AND i'VE HAD ENOUGH..

So...tha't's it. I am 100% out of I.M. I am in a way glad it happened. "The straw that broke the camels back."

So off i go. Good luck and good bye.
#bluehost #due #sites #suspended #web
  • Profile picture of the author Fernando Veloso
    Backups?
    Different Hosting?
    Get some fresh air?
    Think positive?

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  • Profile picture of the author Cataclysm1987
    Get a lawyer?
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  • Profile picture of the author EllesBelles
    I'd maybe take a few days off before deciding to quit for good. I can imagine how frustrating that would be but it doesn't need to be the end. You could seek legal advice, and you should change hosting to someone who actually has some customer service.

    All the best if you decide to leave IM though.
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  • Profile picture of the author J Bold
    Can't they just restore your sites to the time before they were infected? Seems like hostgator regularly does this for their clients.
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  • Profile picture of the author Cataclysm1987
    First mistake: using bluehost.
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  • Profile picture of the author Curt7
    Leaving IM? You must be independently wealthy, or totally in love with your day job. Most of us don't have decent options to IM for income.
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  • Profile picture of the author Farish
    In the last week, about 30000 wordpress websites have been infected by a malware that would redirect people to fake antivirus scanning websites. 85 percent of them were websites hostedin the United States. Your sites may have been some of them.

    Some of the sites were using a plugin call Toolspack which open a backdoor to their wordpress installation. That may not have been the case with you, rather put the name of what I am aware of in here so everybody can see it.

    Since your sites were infected, nobody was seeing your content anyways. Bringing your sites down was safer for your reputation. Also taking your sites down protects bluehost and the safe sites they were hosting.

    When your sites come backup I would double check all the plugins you use and use a security plugin to protect your site also.
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    Bluehost did you a favor... its much more damaging to be flagged by all the major browsers and security software as an infected site than to be suspended temporarily which is usually reversible once you resolve the issue.

    It is also very possible that you were infected by Bluehost themselves. Pretty much ANY shared hosting environment is susceptible to an attack. Also if you are infected in a shared hosting environment then you can infect others in that same environment depending on the type of security issue.

    This is what was happening on Hostgator to a LOT of their clients. In one case where they were informed of an infection they told the webmaster to "leave it" so that they could investigate.

    Sure it sucks that you got hit but consider that Bluehost was merely trying to protect their business and their other users.

    In the future just go dedicated... but realize that if you are not managing your own security properly you run the risk of causing damage to your website visitors.
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    Yeah thx guys...but I've not been happy in I.M for a long while...burnt out from it. I have kind of slapped my sites back up..these used to be authoirty sites but I lost everything about a year ago when my web guy died....(didn;'t even tell me he was going to die on me..) and of course I was lapse in not backing up. So I started again.....and then get hit with this Malware crap. Just seems every week there is another problem and I have no control over it.

    So....I have to finally cut my losses and stop moaning about it and take action. And for me that's out. I tried to create a big business from my sites from 2000 to 2005 but I kept hitting one huge set backs after another. Bans, slaps, scams People stealing, copying, cloning, I couldn't do it. I am sure had I have put my efforts into an oflline biz i would have had something more tangible now without the stress.??

    Good luck. I know there are some good guys out there but many, many scams as well. Just use common sense.

    I'll try and leave this forum to conentrate else where. Bye. See you in the next life!
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    well....I need to do other things and I know inside i am not happy in this industry. Easier? Probably not.


    Leaving IM? You must be independently wealthy, or totally in love with your day job. Most of us don't have decent options to IM for income.
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    why do you say that? Not that I am concrend now I cancellee my accounts with them.


    First mistake: using bluehost.
    YesI understand this but also they told me not 6 hours before the sites were fine and I've ben trying to ask them for help this past week.
    Bluehost did you a favor... its much more damaging to be flagged by all the major browsers and security software as an infected site than to be suspended temporarily which is usually reversible once you resolve the issue.
    I was flagged as a potential harmful site last week. Cleared that up..Even BH said the site was clean last night.. Any how not to worry.

    Adios my friends. Good luck.
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  • Profile picture of the author Miles Kral
    Sorry to hear that, I know how frustrating it is when someone messes with your business. But you know the saying "when one door closes, another one opens". Who knows, this may be what you needed to get to the next step in your life. I hope everything works out for you.
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  • Profile picture of the author wizzard74
    Why don't you ask them the re-instate your sites? All they're doing is redirecting your url to their suspended page, you'll probably find all your site files are still there.
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    • Profile picture of the author BlueLayerHost
      You definitely don't need to jump from shared hosting to a dedicated server in order to have security on your website.

      Keeping your website secure, especially with a WordPress site is keeping the site and its plugins up-to-date.

      See if they'll give you access to a back up of your files/database or preferably allow you access to Cpanel (if they use it) and if so, we can clean out your site for you and move you to one of our hosting solutions for free.

      -Jason
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  • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
    "You definitely don't need to jump from shared hosting to a dedicated server in order to have security on your website.

    Keeping your website secure, especially with a WordPress site is keeping the site and its plugins up-to-date."
    Baloney.

    There is so much more to security... ESPECIALLY in a shared environment where security in large part is out of the control of the client and in the control of the shared hosting company.

    Hostgator for example had an issue with malicious script that gained elevated permission access to the console, provided a window across accounts, and could propagate itself.

    Dedicated just helps you avoid that particular type of issue and other issues that often happen in shared environments... but then YOU must also manage your own security.

    Also keeping your "site and plugins up to date" is NOT security... as you have stated. It's smart... but just because wordpress, themes, and various plugins are up to date does NOT guarantee that there are not still holes available to exploit especially since third party publishers of plugins and themes are under no obligation to keep them "up to date."
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    • Profile picture of the author BlueLayerHost
      Originally Posted by Josh Anderson View Post

      Baloney.

      There is so much more to security... ESPECIALLY in a shared environment where security in large part is out of the control of the client and in the control of the shared hosting company.

      Hostgator for example had an issue with malicious script that gained elevated permission access to the console, provided a window across accounts, and could propagate itself.

      Dedicated just helps you avoid that particular type of issue and other issues that often happen in shared environments... but then YOU must also manage your own security.

      Also keeping your "site and plugins up to date" is NOT security... as you have stated. It's smart... but just because wordpress, themes, and various plugins are up to date does NOT guarantee that there are not still holes available to exploit especially since third party publishers of plugins and themes are under no obligation to keep them "up to date."
      There is NO guarantee when it comes to security..........
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      • Profile picture of the author bizadpros
        Let me chime in here - your former hosting with Bluehost...was this a shared hosting account, or were you on a VPS or dedicated server?

        Unfortunately, shared hosting accounts for a lot of issues, including SPAM and more...one bad site/account truly affects all the accounts on that particular IP address, etc.

        More importantly, backups of your website(s) is a must - in case something like his happens.
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      • Profile picture of the author Josh Anderson
        Originally Posted by BlueLayerHost View Post

        There is NO guarantee when it comes to security..........
        So then why do you post incorrect information regarding security to an Internet Marketing forum if you supposedly are representing a hosting company?

        Bad advice is bad advice and your's was bad and incorrect.
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  • Profile picture of the author john_kennedy
    When a phishing site is discovered, it is usually discovered by a company other than your host. Usually, the host will get a notice that xyz.com has been infected and should be shutdown until the infection has been removed and the security flaw remedied. I received several of these notices when I had my hosting company from customer's sites that were compromised. Once the site was cleaned, the suspension was removed and everyone was happy again.

    So, what domains do you have to sell?
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  • Profile picture of the author Sitestomp
    First of all, don't use Bluehost.

    Secondly, aren't you over reacting a bit? Quitting the industry because a few of your sites got suspended? If you have backups, why not just move your sites to a new host?

    Also, taking a few days off from time to time is a great way to clear your head and come back with a new focus.
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  • Profile picture of the author Troy_Phillips
    Good luck in your future endeavors Sloanjim
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  • Profile picture of the author TestiVar
    Do you know of a single successful dot com that uses BlueHost?

    Enough said. Do what successful companies do and you get the same results.

    Do what scammers and spammers do and you get those results.
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  • Profile picture of the author avhow
    One thing I'd do if you decide to keep working in IM - switch your domains to a different company just for the domain registration (I use Netfirms).

    Then keep your hosting separate. Run regular backups and download backups to your computer.

    If you ever get shut down like this you can then purchase new hosting - upload yopur files and switch the nameservers over to point your domains to the new hosts.

    Never register your domains with your webhost, for this very reason.

    Hope this helps.

    Cheers

    Adam
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    Dont know what happened. Used to have hundreds of posts on here. Left for a while - came back and everything gone... no-one answers my emails.... So guess I'll just start from scratch... :0(

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  • Profile picture of the author Tadresources
    If you want my advice, take a DEEP breath, take a day and cool down. I feel your pain, I would be incredibly frustrated too.
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  • Profile picture of the author Sillysoft
    Let me guess, wordpress?

    Man someone would make a killing offering their services to actively monitor and secure wordpress installations. I have worked with wordpress for years now and never once had a problem, you just have to understand how things work.
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