Boy was I ever a sad puppy this afternoon. About 1:30 this afternoon my websites and blog were suddenly disabled because someone had hacked into my hosting account and attempted to use it as a SpamBot. My hosting company disabled my account as soon as spam started to flow from my account. Needless to say I was taken aback when I got the E-mail from my host telling me they shut me down. I was upset and comforted at the same time. I sure didn’t want my sites down but even more so I didn’t want my sites to be SpamBots. I think my host did the internet a great service by shutting the spambot down. I only wish more companies would do the same. No tolerance should be the only policy across the board.

Being Sunday I was resigned to having to wait till the next day to get this straightened out. I called support right away so that first thing tomorrow support could get to work. But to my great delight the answering service forwarded my message to the owner and he went right to work on the issue. Now it wasn’t just one web site but 5 he had to go through and it did take some time. After about 5 hours I still wasn’t up and running so I E-mailed him again and said to knock off, go to dinner and start again in the morning. Well two hours later I got the message the account was restored. He saved the day and all I had to do was restore the index page of each site.

I must admit it was my own fault. I had let my virus program expire (I got tired of it making my computer slow to a crawl) and must have picked up some trojan/spyware/keylogger/something from somewhere. The ‘freeware’ piece of junk I was using as a stop gap program just wasn’t up to the job.

The owner recommended (after I asked) a virus and malware program (ESET NOD32 and Malwarebytes’ Anti-Malware) and I went and got both. Sure enough they each found a couple of things my ‘freeware’ didn’t pick up. Both are running now and I haven’t noticed a performance hit on the computer, it’s running as fast as if there was nothing running in the background

I know most bloggers are using free services and those that don’t already have a host. But if anyone is looking for a great company QWK.net is the place to go. They are more expensive than many other hosting companies but you can’t beat the dependability and service this privately owned company provides. I’ve been with them over 7 years now and the few times I’ve shot myself in the foot the owner himself has come to my assistance. I can’t recommend QWK.net highly enough.

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• Comments(5)

5 Responses

1. Ratty Says:
   March 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 am

   I’m glad it didn’t mess everything up permanently, and everything is alright now. It must have been nerve wracking for a while.

   Ratty,
   I was sweating bullets for a while. If the blog got nuked I’d be up a creek without a paddle. Having things stored on-line always makes me nervous since I have no back-up on my computer. The web- sites are no problem, everything is completely backed-up on my computer and all I would need to do is up-load all the files.

2. rainfield Says:
   March 23rd, 2009 at 6:31 am

   It surprised me when I was not able to enter to your website earlier. I’m glad it was up so fast.
   You are alive again!!!

   rainfield,
   I figured some people would wonder but I knew you’d be back. Who cares about the others

3. Monica Says:
   March 23rd, 2009 at 8:57 am

   I have my domain name (for a small website) through Yahoo and I can bet their customer service would not be that responsive! I’m interested in what freeware program you were using. I have both Norton Antivirus and Spybot (freeware), both of which seem to do the job, but, you’re right–they slow the computer waaaaaay down. Molasses, January anyone?

   Monica,
   My mother said if I didn’t have anything good to say I shouldn’t say anything. That’s why I rarely talk about myself. I won’t mention the freeware either. It was more a trial version of something without full capability and it wouldn’t really be fair to speak ill of it since it’s my own fault for being cheap.

   But the two programs I mentioned are fast, good and inexpensive.

4. Susan Says:
   March 24th, 2009 at 4:32 pm

   I have just found your blog and must say I’ve fallen in love with it. So glad you are back online!. I will be visiting you every day and will give your link to my friends.There is so much I want to write, but I’m sure you have no time to read.
   Love your cat, I have 8 now, and your dog brought tears to my eyes. I lost my Rottie to cancer last year, and at 125lbs, she still was a lap dog!
   You have brought this grandmother a breath of fresh air and sunshine today. I’m off to explore your links.
   Susan

5. patricia russell Says:
   March 29th, 2009 at 12:25 pm

   love your web site an all your bfrocks lol keep up the good work. it’s a breath of fresh air. pat

   Pat,
   Thanks, nice to know someone thinks so. Hope you come up for more air soon.

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