Beware of the Malware 100% SCAM from HostGator & SiteLock

[dumitru]

Unbelievable! Though I'm sorry this happened to you - I'm glad that somebody with your knowledge and expertise has called them out on this scam. I'm sure the vast majority of people just thank their lucky stars that there is a safety net who will take their money and blindly pay the slimy thugs.
This story needs to go viral!.

I just shared the link with a group 3000 web developers! That might get some reactions going
.

This has been the general consensus from those who read by post:
"Hostgator is one of the worst hosting companies on Earth. My Wordpress clients who host there are always subject to throttling, suspensions for 'resource abuse' and other rubbish. Typical of 'cheap' hosting companies shoving 1000's of sites onto underpowered servers."
.

Any suggestions of a desirable hosting company? I'm not with Hostgator, but looking to change from my present folks.
.

I intentionally avoid this topic, as this was not the point of me writing about the situation. I don't want people to start thinking: "I bet this guy works for a competitor".
But honestly, I don't even know a good hosting company that would fit my requirements. When there are 2 photographers in the family, that limited disk space that most providers offer is frightening.
And considering that the owners of HostGator own another ~150+ hosting companies, it is like a minefield out there.

 

[dumitru]

Oh, and here's something I found, which in retrospect is too funny to pass:
PHOENIX, Nov. 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- SiteLock today announced it ranked No. 85 on Deloitte's Technology Fast 500™, a ranking of the 500 fastest growing technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and energy tech companies in North America. SiteLock grew 1046 percent during this period.
"We are honored to be recognized among this year's Deloitte Technology Fast 500," said Neill Feather, President of SiteLock. "This recognition is a testament to the success of SiteLock's excellent products, customer service, and support that are unrivaled in the security space. We look forward to continuing the growth that has been integral to our success as we help more customers seamlessly integrate security into their sites."
Feather credits wider understanding of the importance of web application security among website owners and extraordinary relationships with strategic partners in the service provider space for the company's 1046 percent revenue growth.
I wonder how they did that? Oh wait...

 

[EmptyNest]

Unbelievable! Though I'm sorry this happened to you - I'm glad that somebody with your knowledge and expertise has called them out on this scam. I'm sure the vast majority of people just thank their lucky stars that there is a safety net who will take their money and blindly pay the slimy thugs.
This story needs to go viral!.

I just shared the link with a group 3000 web developers! That might get some reactions going
.

This has been the general consensus from those who read by post:
"Hostgator is one of the worst hosting companies on Earth. My Wordpress clients who host there are always subject to throttling, suspensions for 'resource abuse' and other rubbish. Typical of 'cheap' hosting companies shoving 1000's of sites onto underpowered servers."
.

Any suggestions of a desirable hosting company? I'm not with Hostgator, but looking to change from my present folks.
.

I intentionally avoid this topic, as this was not the point of me writing about the situation. I don't want people to start thinking: "I bet this guy works for a competitor".
But honestly, I don't even know a good hosting company that would fit my requirements. When there are 2 photographers in the family, that limited disk space that most providers offer is frightening.
And considering that the owners of HostGator own another ~150+ hosting companies, it is like a minefield out there.
.

You will be interested to know that dozens of web developers posted they had the same problem you did!!! They said ADIOS to HostGator and subsidiaries

 

[Jcam]

Unbelievable! Though I'm sorry this happened to you - I'm glad that somebody with your knowledge and expertise has called them out on this scam. I'm sure the vast majority of people just thank their lucky stars that there is a safety net who will take their money and blindly pay the slimy thugs.
This story needs to go viral!.

I just shared the link with a group 3000 web developers! That might get some reactions going
.

This has been the general consensus from those who read by post:
"Hostgator is one of the worst hosting companies on Earth. My Wordpress clients who host there are always subject to throttling, suspensions for 'resource abuse' and other rubbish. Typical of 'cheap' hosting companies shoving 1000's of sites onto underpowered servers."
.

Any suggestions of a desirable hosting company? I'm not with Hostgator, but looking to change from my present folks.
.

I intentionally avoid this topic, as this was not the point of me writing about the situation. I don't want people to start thinking: "I bet this guy works for a competitor".
But honestly, I don't even know a good hosting company that would fit my requirements. When there are 2 photographers in the family, that limited disk space that most providers offer is frightening.
And considering that the owners of HostGator own another ~150+ hosting companies, it is like a minefield out there.
.

You will be interested to know that dozens of web developers posted they had the same problem you did!!! They said ADIOS to HostGator and subsidiaries
.

amazing free marketing for EVERYONE else! lol

 

[dumitru]

OK, so a higher-up from their customer service got in touch and pretty much blamed everything on a new employee, a member of their security team. And to back-up the claim they brought to my attention that there were multiple mistakes from their behalf, so it is obviously human error and not company policy.
I wonder how much business will they lose after all this?
The article has been read ~1,200 times in these last 2 days...

 

[Aspiring Martha]

Unbelievable! Though I'm sorry this happened to you - I'm glad that somebody with your knowledge and expertise has called them out on this scam. I'm sure the vast majority of people just thank their lucky stars that there is a safety net who will take their money and blindly pay the slimy thugs.
This story needs to go viral!.

I just shared the link with a group 3000 web developers! That might get some reactions going
.

This has been the general consensus from those who read by post:
"Hostgator is one of the worst hosting companies on Earth. My Wordpress clients who host there are always subject to throttling, suspensions for 'resource abuse' and other rubbish. Typical of 'cheap' hosting companies shoving 1000's of sites onto underpowered servers."
.

Any suggestions of a desirable hosting company? I'm not with Hostgator, but looking to change from my present folks.
.

I intentionally avoid this topic, as this was not the point of me writing about the situation. I don't want people to start thinking: "I bet this guy works for a competitor".
But honestly, I don't even know a good hosting company that would fit my requirements. When there are 2 photographers in the family, that limited disk space that most providers offer is frightening.
And considering that the owners of HostGator own another ~150+ hosting companies, it is like a minefield out there.
.

And of course there's no way of knowing which ones. So, we all may be sitting ducks

 

[dumitru]

Unbelievable! Though I'm sorry this happened to you - I'm glad that somebody with your knowledge and expertise has called them out on this scam. I'm sure the vast majority of people just thank their lucky stars that there is a safety net who will take their money and blindly pay the slimy thugs.
This story needs to go viral!.

I just shared the link with a group 3000 web developers! That might get some reactions going
.

This has been the general consensus from those who read by post:
"Hostgator is one of the worst hosting companies on Earth. My Wordpress clients who host there are always subject to throttling, suspensions for 'resource abuse' and other rubbish. Typical of 'cheap' hosting companies shoving 1000's of sites onto underpowered servers."
.

Any suggestions of a desirable hosting company? I'm not with Hostgator, but looking to change from my present folks.
.

I intentionally avoid this topic, as this was not the point of me writing about the situation. I don't want people to start thinking: "I bet this guy works for a competitor".
But honestly, I don't even know a good hosting company that would fit my requirements. When there are 2 photographers in the family, that limited disk space that most providers offer is frightening.
And considering that the owners of HostGator own another ~150+ hosting companies, it is like a minefield out there.
.

And of course there's no way of knowing which ones. So, we all may be sitting ducks
.

Actually there are some websites and blogs that have updated lists of hosting providers owned by EIG, some of the popular ones:
Arvixe, BlueHost, FatCow, Homestead, HostGator, HostMonster, iPage, NameZero, NetFirms, Site5, TypePad and many more.

 

[Morticia]

Unbelievable! Though I'm sorry this happened to you - I'm glad that somebody with your knowledge and expertise has called them out on this scam. I'm sure the vast majority of people just thank their lucky stars that there is a safety net who will take their money and blindly pay the slimy thugs.
This story needs to go viral!.

I just shared the link with a group 3000 web developers! That might get some reactions going
.

This has been the general consensus from those who read by post:
"Hostgator is one of the worst hosting companies on Earth. My Wordpress clients who host there are always subject to throttling, suspensions for 'resource abuse' and other rubbish. Typical of 'cheap' hosting companies shoving 1000's of sites onto underpowered servers."
.

Any suggestions of a desirable hosting company? I'm not with Hostgator, but looking to change from my present folks.
.

I intentionally avoid this topic, as this was not the point of me writing about the situation. I don't want people to start thinking: "I bet this guy works for a competitor".
But honestly, I don't even know a good hosting company that would fit my requirements. When there are 2 photographers in the family, that limited disk space that most providers offer is frightening.
And considering that the owners of HostGator own another ~150+ hosting companies, it is like a minefield out there.
.

And of course there's no way of knowing which ones. So, we all may be sitting ducks
.

Actually there are some websites and blogs that have updated lists of hosting providers owned by EIG, some of the popular ones:
Arvixe, BlueHost, FatCow, Homestead, HostGator, HostMonster, iPage, NameZero, NetFirms, Site5, TypePad and many more.
.

Well, looks like I dodged a bullet by getting a new hosting company!

 

[Te]

I'm so sorry this happened to you! And you needn't thank us for the listening ears. I'm sure your well documented account will help many people; it's good you got to get it off your chest in such an extensive and thorough manner. It must have been a very challenging experience. Congrats on finding the appropriate platform to help share fresh details and help the rest of us!

 

[Te]

whoops! double post!

 

[drsergz]

Same problem here. Now how can we remove malware automatically in my CPANEL or WP? any software needed?

 

[JimBoone]

Same problem here. Now how can we remove malware automatically in my CPANEL or WP? any software needed?.

Same problem here. Now how can we remove malware automatically in my CPANEL or WP? any software needed?

Looks like Dumitru's original post was a couple of years ago, you may want to send him a PM. Some years back when I had on going issues with others accessing my website and being told it was a problem of my design for which they would sell me additional services, I moved my site to another host, it seemed to be a lack of security on the part of the host, not been a problem with the current host.

 

[zicjam]

Do WordPress websites also get affected by malware and other kind of malicious attacks.Actually I am currently suffering from this situation and have taken the help of Antnan to solve it.Does anyone here know anything about him? https://antnan.com

 

[Stasia]

It was a plug in called Blog designer. Once it was updated it screwed up my site. Made it redirect to some virus malware thing. Hostgator tech support was really great at identifying that it was a plug in that caused the redirect. I then disabled plug ins one at a time to find the problem one. Then walla... Deleted that pile of %^#$&