Websites, hacking and scam? - a truly exhausting learning curve
WEBSITE DEVELOPING? -NEVER!
I never wanted to learn the website stuff. 3 years ago I hired a guy via Fiverr who created a huge wordpress site for me. It took a long time and much money, although the hourly fee was small. But the hours add up.
IN SEARCH FOR PEOPLE TO HELP
(If you don't have time to read all, skip the first part and go directly to the juicy stuff)
Then I needed another site, a landing page, for our Live Broadcasts. A guy from UK I had got to know in a G+ community created it and also the banners. It seemed to me quite expensive, but..... At least he taught me a little to use Gimp, but soon blocked me on G+ and didn't answer any more to my emails when I still needed help. I guess he had projected that I would by the weekly updates from him instead of creating them by myself. This is one of my latest creations:
A friend referred me to her VA who created a membership site for me, as My plans were to offer an online course for personal relationships. When I tried to use the site and upload my content, I didn't understand what to do, I didn't like how the site was built - and the girl didn't respond any more after I had payed.
Then finally a VA who seemed to understand her job. She re-created the WisdomFactory site from scratch, even wrote texts, I liked it. I began my broadcast series, and she filled the material in in the very last days. I asked her to teach me how to do things myself, Finally she created a short tutorial so, at least, I could post the replays myself - she would have done it with who knows how much delay.
Since then she is disappeared and I tried to figure out alone, with very little success. She had brought over my websites from Germany to Bluehost, because the German server had no customer service in English.
NOW THE ROLLER COASTER BEGINS.
The websites worked on Bluehost for about 2 months. Then came the notice that, for inner transformation on Bluehost, my websites were shut down and I needed to change the nameserver to Bluehost. Sounds easy, but still today it couldn't be done. With the help of an IT friend we managed - after 10 days - to have the sites public again by a brilliant work around.
Lat week: Bluehost shut down my account because of malware. I had to go to a security company SiteLock connected with them and pay for cleaning it up, subscribing for a monthly fee 10$ per site. What could I do? The sites were up again after a few days, Hurrah - (I thought).
I WILL BRING MY SITES OVER TO WA!
Now I thought about bringing my sites over here to WA. Support is helping me a lot, BUT.... Bluehost cpanel Backup doesn't work, the backup I still had from the former VA misses some files, they cannot be found. Hours and hours with support of 3 Webhoasting companies, I hope we will finally resolve that.
AND NOW: SCAM?
I got the notice from the security people that there was still malware in my site, not reachable with their machines. And it needed manual cleanup. I talked with still another person. She really scared me with statements like: the injections would stay in the source code and find their way into the site, that people now know how to get into my site, that it needed a permanent security, even if I redirect later, the domain is compromised etc...... I want to bring over here to WA all my sites, so I didn't worry too much, just wanted the site cleaned up properly and then good-bye. She talked and talked, I asked twice or more times how much the cleaning is.....
The cleaning is complementary, she said after me insisting, but connected with a monthly fee of $59(!). WOW. Now I really was convinced that they try to get money out of people's lack of understanding. I actually thought about that already when they first shut down my account and the only way out was hiring the security people.
My IT friend confirmed this. He told me that the source code can be sometimes somehow off, but his hosting company in the Netherlands clean it up for him with NO COST. He confirmed me with my decision to bring all bluehost sites over here to WA.
But don't think it will be easy, after the past experiences with missing files in databases and urls bought in Germany. Will take other weeks.
How was it? ONE STEP AFTER THE OTHER - but be aware to not fall when you keep your foot up high because the next step comes after days....
Recent Comments
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My heart goes out to you dear. I hired people to help me with some of my work load. I was having a lot of health issues and couldn't do the work myself. I gave them their jobs and they claimed they were doing what I told them to do. After my surgeries, recovery time, physical therapy, etc. I was getting able to work again. I got into my sites and they were a mess. Things weren't done right and they looked like shit. Fortunately, I wasn't a newbie when I came to WA but I still had problems. I was moving one of my sites to WA and they couldn't do it because the domain name had lapsed. Nobody told me that it needed to be paid while I was in the hospital. That site was off line for a few months! So I had to buy the domain name, build a whole new site and start over. Then go through the mill on how to get the files from the old site to the new site. It's all behind me now but it was a turmoil for me. I had to clean up two other websites on top of that, so I understand. But you didn't know how to do any of this for yourself before and they totally took advantage of you. Learning how to take care of this for yourself, is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Thank you so much, dear, for this kind reply to my story (which is not yet ended). I am glad that you have been able to set everything right, and that you are healthy again.
My domains renew automatically, but I had a hard time to redirect them to a new server. Now, that I am here, I will bring over all my sites - except the .de ones which nobody in America hosts. SO at least I have do deal with only 2 supports and 2 different systems.
Presently I am struggling to bring the right content to a domain which I have bought here. Many exchanges with support, one day a very helpful person, yesterday an impatient one which makes me feel somehow helpless again. But at least I am learning something........ (hopefully will bring me to the goal)
Consolidate your knowledge and your website hosting here and then successfully build step by step. Great post Heidi.
Yes, I am learning a lot, also by chatting with support of 3 different hosting services. brrrrrrrr. But I already am more confident in getting glimpses of how this website stuff and the servers work.
Thanks for your encouraging words!
Wow what a lot of issues you have had to deal with Heidi. Hopefullyit will all go well when you transfer.
Cheers, Linda
Sound like some of the car mechanics around here. Best to learn as much as you can on the subject these days or there will be plenty of people out there ready to rip you off.
This is the sad reality! Unfortunately, you can not learn about everything well enough to be able to decide well - and that's where they get the money out of you. Not a good way of human interactions, I am afraid...
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Thank you for sharing Heidi. I am pleased my websites are with WA. Hope everything sorts itself out soon.
I am working on that. Not easy, either, mainly because I cannot get proper backups from previous sites