Bob`s Tech Blog

Well looks like they got the sendmail problem sorted. I did update my ticket at some point because nothing was happening. Here is my update, and then their reply the next day.

Me:
What is the status on this? sendmail not working is really jamming me up. i need this fixed and the ticked has been on hold all day.

Lesya G., Sun Feb 22 07:04:32 2009
Ticket Status was changed from On-Hold to Resolved
Dear Robert,
Let me express the most sincere apologies regarding the issue you have faced. Our system administration team identified and fixed the sendmail issue for your domain. Thank you for cooperation and your patience.
Should you have any further questions, feel free to contact us at anytime, we are available 24/7.
With regards,
Lesya Geychenko
CR Department

I called IX this morning to report that my sendmail was not working. That means that none of my contact forms, much of the communication on my main website doesn't work and new registrations wont send the activation and confirmation mails. The support person put me on hold for a few minutes, came back and told me that he had tried the send mail through a PHP form that he dropped in my directory and in fact it was not working. (duuuuuuuuu!!!).

So since apparently they cant do much, he submitted a ticket for me to the "admin" stating that sendmail wasn't working.

____________________________________
I have forwarded your issue to the appropriate department. It is being researched and resolved. Thank you for contacting us and feel free to contact us anytime for assistance.

Thanks,
John
Tech Support
____________________________________

After it was submitted it was promptly put on *hold*.

According to IX documentation "on hold" means:

On-Hold: When a customer service representative reviews your ticket, they
may place the ticket in an On-Hold status. The ticket may require more time
or a response from our administrators to complete your inquiry.

However last time my ticket was put on hold, it seemingly was never addressed until i called in again and yelled at them for not fixing my issue.

So here i wait. When i first signed up for IX webhosting they promised a 1 -2 hour turn around on trouble tickets. Last one was a day (before i called and yelled at them), this one has been there for 8 hours.

Is this related to the yahoo counter starts infection? Sounds suspiciously similar. If it is, this has been going on longer than most people iv talked to know about. Considering this was article written Friday, 2 March, 2007!

Check out this article if you haven't found it already.

http://asap.ap.org/stories/1262675.s

I got this email from my web host today. The one that i mentioned in some of my other blog posts when i was talking about the Yahoo Counter Starts code injection problem that was, and from what i can tell still is a huge problem for thousands of web sites, and iv started also finding it in other large hosts such as http://www.hostmonster.com.

The email i received from IX is below:

We would like to inform you of the new security updates we are making at IX Web Hosting. In our ongoing efforts to maintain security, we have dedicated our system administration team to investigating all possible vulnerabilities. One of the necessary updates we are making to enhance security is to change all FTP passwords. This will ensure that all of the protective measures we have and will be taking remain impervious to outside influence – this includes any security compromises that exist on the Internet that may negatively affect your account.

If you experience any problems logging in to your account via FTP, please take a look at the following information to regain FTP access.

You can visit http://www.ixwebhosting.com/index.php/pages.manual14 for an in-depth tutorial with screenshots on how to update your FTP password, or you can follow the simple steps below.

* Visit https://manage.ixwebhosting.com and login.
* Look for the section called "Hosting Products" and click on the Manage button for your hosting account.
* Look for an icon called "FTP Manager" and click on it. In this area, you will find an icon that resembles a pencil and paper. Click on it to change your FTP password. Please note: to ensure the security of your website, you should not use the same password as your previous password.

It is always recommended that you choose a strong password. We have provided you with a website which will help evaluate the strength of the password you choose:
http://www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/checker.mspx

We are in the process of performing several upgrades to strengthen security. As new developments are made on the server-side and in regards to your FTP account, we will be sure to keep you informed!

We would like to sincerely thank you for your understanding and also, of course, for hosting with us. If you have any questions about this topic, please contact us via ticket, live chat or our 24/7 phone support. We are here for you 24/7 and would be happy to address any concerns you might have!

Thanks again,
Sammie Taunton
Director of Customer Relations
www.ixwebhosting.com

Alrighty, well i switched one more time to PHP-Fusion, a fully supported and updated CMS with all the bells and whistles i need to keep my site under control. I'm pretty darn sure this will be the last switch. Hope you like it too!