Usacomplaints.com » Internet & Web » Complaint / Review: Softlayer Technologies AKA The Planet - Softlayer Technologies, The Planet Sam Snelling softlayer, the planet, Lance Crosby, Sam Snelling, web hosting, dedicated server, bbb softlaye. #786832

Complaint / Review
Softlayer Technologies AKA The Planet
Softlayer Technologies, The Planet Sam Snelling softlayer, the planet, Lance Crosby, Sam Snelling, web hosting, dedicated server, bbb softlaye

Softlayer Technologies also known as "The Planet" has constantly and repeatedly provided bad service to me for many years. I had periods where my server was offline for several weeks and had to beg and threaten them to fix the issues. SEE TICKET COPIES BELOW.

The reason that this complaint is being filed is that I expressed my discontent with softlayer's ever changing policies. About a year ago The Planet merged with this unreputable company called "Softlayer Technologies". Ever since then customer service and technical support have went rapidly downhill. They discontinued services like "security". And advanced services which helped with more advanced problems. They also started hiring incompetent technicians that had no clue how to even fix the simplest of issues. This past month I complained that my reverse DNS records were not correct. After about a MONTH they said they had fixed the issue. Now I cannot even send mail because it says that my reverse dns information is not correct. One month of pleading and my mail still does not work. After expressing my discontent to Sam Snelling the supervisor of accounting at the planet he personally out of spite put a cancellation notice for my server effective in 5 days. The date is December the 21st 4 days before xmas. Remember I have been paying them for over 7 years total. What a way to treat someone who has paid you so much money.

So I had 5 days to find another server company and to move 180 domains. I strongly urge you to reconsider if you plan on using "Softlayer Technologies" for web hosting. The only thing I did was wrong was complain to them and they disconnected me. No reputable company would do this. I plan on filing complaints each for the next several months. I will cut and paste copies of the tickets I have submitted begging for help over the years. Feel free to reply to me and I will send as much information as possible. If you are interested in starting a class action lawsuit against softlayer contact me. So far I have gotten ahold of a few people who are going to file BBB reports and usacomplaints. Coms about the bad service that they received from softlayer. Softlayer is a company that does not care about it's customers. They have and F rating with the BBB. There are many other reputable hosting companies such as rackspace or mochahost.

Employee Response - Dec-16 15:32 (GMT-0600) [Update 12]

Good Afternoon Mr. W,

At your request, SoftLayer has attempted to reach out to you several times at xxxxxxx between the hours of 11:00A and 3:00P CST this afternoon. As we have been unable to reach you to further discuss your issues, please let the following serve as your notice of termination via our legal staff:

Please let this correspondence serve as notice that SoftLayer Technologies, Inc. (f/k/a ThePlanet.com Internet Services, Inc.) ("SoftLayer") is not renewing, and accordingly, terminating any and all hosting services and associated agreements with Outsource America, Charles Winters, and/or related entities ("Outsource") pursuant to among other clauses Section 1 of the Terms of Services of the Master Services Agreement between SoftLayer and Outsource. Please note that this termination and non-renewal will be effective five (5) days after December 16. SoftLayer reserves all of its rights and remedies (including without limitation legal claims) that survive the effective date of this termination/non-renewal notice.

Effective 12/21 at 3:30P CST, your server will effectively be reclaimed and all ties cut between SoftLayer and your company. Please make the necessary arrangements to back-up your data prior to this time.

Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Regards,

Sam S.
Supervisor, Revenue Services
www.softlayer.com

Report Filed by Charles
Hollywood, CA

Ticket 4807120

Company: Web FX Guy
Address: 12245 chandler blvd
City, State Zip North Hollywood, CA 91607 (US)
Office: 310-651-4200
Alternate:
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

Ticket Owner: c27628outs
Ticket Owner Email: @gmail.com

Title: Server Responding Very Slowly
Group:
Status: Closed
Created: May-14 05:31 (GMT-0500)
Modified: May-27 06:03 (GMT-0500)
Billable: No

Attached Server Information:
None
Attached CloudLayer Computing Instance Information:
None
File Attachments:
None

Ticket Contents:

User: c27628outs - May-14 05:31 (GMT-0500) [Update 1]
We were unable to process your home page (http://www.medithc.com) because your server did not respond within the timeout interval. While we were able to resolve your domain name, we were not able to connect to your Web Server. Please check to see if your URL was entered correctly. If it is correct, there may be a networking problem between our server and your Web Server.

Response - May-14 06:00 (GMT-0500) [Update 2]
Dear Customer,
Per our phone conversation, it appears the server is running a high load. I was able to access the server and send a reboot as request. The server finely started the reboot and now waiting for it to come back online. If you do not see the server back on line in about 10 minutes please feel free to open a reboot request.
Thank you for choosing The Planet,
James A.
Technical Support Specialist
www.theplanet.com

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Response - May-14 06:12 (GMT-0500) [Update 3]
Dear Customer,
The server did come back online with out problems. I checked for way the server was running with a high load and found that the server appears to be compromised by a php script. You can see from the information below some of what I found in the server. I suggest checking your server? S sites scripts and verify there are no forums allowing access to the server. This is what caused the server to have Perl running and the high load. If you have further questions please feel free to update this ticket.
Thank you for choosing The Planet,
James A.
Technical Support Specialist
www.theplanet.com

[root@xxxxx ChuCu]# ls -lah
total 360K
drwxr-xr-x 7 apache apache 4.0K May 14 05:57.
Drwxrwxrwt 3 root root 4.0K May 13 16:18..
-rwxr-xr-x 1 apache apache 288 Sep 6 2004 config
-rw - 1 apache apache 1002 Mar 9 config. H
-rw-r—r— 1 apache apache 51 May 14 05:56 cron. D
-rwxr-xr-x 1 apache apache 339 Sep 6 2004
drwxr-xr-x 2 apache apache 12K May 31 help
-rwxr-xr-x 1 apache apache 198K Mar 10 httpd
-rw - 1 apache apache 712 May 14 05:57 JaM5
-rw-r—r— 1 apache apache 15 May 14 05:56 JaM5. Dir
-rw - 1 apache apache 712 May 14 05:57 JaM5. Old
drwxr-xr-x 2 apache apache 4.0K Jan 12 lang
drwxr-xr-x 2 apache apache 4.0K May 14 05:56 log
drwxr-xr-x 2 apache apache 4.0K May 13 16:50 motd
-rwxr-xr-x 1 apache apache 14K Nov 13 proc
-rw - 1 apache apache 5 May 14 05:56 psybnc. Pid
-rw-r—r— 1 apache apache 33K Mar 9 README
-rwxr-xr-x 1 apache apache 64 Sep 6 2004 run
drwxr-xr-x 2 apache apache 4.0K Jan 2 scripts
-rwxr—r— 1 apache apache 22K Sep 25 2002 xh
-rwxr—r— 1 apache apache 182 May 14 05:56 y2kupdate
[root@charleswinters ChuCu]#

Ticket 4922574

Company: Web FX Guy
Address: 12245 chandler blvd
City, State Zip North Hollywood, CA 91607 (US)
Office: 310-651-4200
Alternate:
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

Ticket Owner: c27628outs
Ticket Owner Email: @gmail.com

Title: PHP - Awaiting Manager Review 26-June
Group:
Status: Closed
Created: Jun-25 19:25 (GMT-0500)
Modified: Jul-10 09:02 (GMT-0500)
Billable: No

Attached Server Information:
None
Attached CloudLayer Computing Instance Information:
None
File Attachments:
None

Ticket Contents:

User: c27628outs - Jun-25 19:25 (GMT-0500) [Update 1]
I am having problems with yet another script working.
This is happening with almost all scripts since the new version of plesk and apache were installed.
I need to find out why this keeps happening so I can resolve the issues myself or I would like to downgrade to the version of plesk apache and php that I was using previously. Please advise:
http://myjobzter.com/
This script worked fine before the upgrade.
Now I get a blank page.

Response - Jun-26 00:17 (GMT-0500) [Update 2]
outsource america,
Can you be more specific as to whether this is a section of Plesk that is malfunctioning or a custom script you wrote that is no longer working? If this is a custom script, we cannot assist you as we do not troubleshoot custom scripts.
If you have any further questions or need further assistance, please
update this ticket.
Thank you
Jeff Y
Technical Support
www.theplanet.com

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User: c27628outs - Jun-26 08:03 (GMT-0500) [Update 3]
The problem is that most of my scripts that worked with the previous version of plesk and apache now do not work.
This is a big problem for me.
I got the script below to work but now cannot login to the admin area.
I see that i do have iptables setup.
The Planet had said i did have iptables then i didnt.
But I see iptables folder when logged in with ssh.
Something is causing most of my scripts not to work.
I am not happy with the version of plesk that was installed. I was told it was a new update to plesk.
It had to be forced. I am not happy.
I am not happy with it at all

Http://www.myjobzter.com/admin
username is admin
password is admin
why can't i login?
This is another script that worked fine before the os reload.

Response - Jun-26 08:46 (GMT-0500) [Update 4]
Dear Customer:
As we are unmanage hosting, this is outside our scope of support. We do have professional service which may be able to assist you on the situation, however they charge $150 and hour, one hour minimum. I see you have gold manage service which any hours available can be used for the following situation. Please update if you will like to proceed with a quote on the situation.
Thank you,
Technical Support
www.theplanet.com

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Response - Jun-26 18:50 (GMT-0500) [Update 5]
Dear Mr. W,
I am updating this ticket at your requested in reference to our recent telephone conversation.
At this time we will be forwarding the current issue over to our Professional Services department so that they can further communicate with you as to what options they see available and some best/worst case scenarios regarding any other options or choices that they may come up with.

Current the problem you are having is that most if not all of your php scripts are failing on your current server. This has been determined in the past with one script to have been caused by using deprecated variables and other aspects of PHP4. X while you currently have PHP5 installed.
You would like for someone to offer you alternatives to ensure that your current scripts are functioning without requiring an OS/Reload.
At this time we are not 100% sure that the problem is directly related to PHP5 which will need to be determined as well.
Please standby for further updates.
Regards,
Sean Buehler
Supervisor, Technical Support
www.ThePlanet.com

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User: c27628outs - Jun-26 19:04 (GMT-0500) [Update 6]
I need to speak with the head of technichal support.
My server is unusable with the current version.
Almost all of my scripts are NOT working anymore.

Response - Jun-26 20:40 (GMT-0500) [Update 7]
I am forwarding this ticket to technical support management.

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Response - Jun-26 20:54 (GMT-0500) [Update 8]
Dear Mr. W,
At this time we have received your request and I will be updating my manager so that he can further communicate with you when he returns to the office tomorrow during normal business hours.
In the meantime should you wish to go forward with any ProfessionalServices assistance please create a new ticket and reference this ticket as this ticket is now in Technical Support awaiting manager review.
Further if you would like to request an OS/Reload to an earlier version of any software that you had prior to your compromise and subsequent OS/Reload you may order such via your Orbit portal. As promised should you wish to revert back to your previous operating systems version I will honor my word and waive the fee's for a standard automatic OS/Reload.

Regards,
Sean Buehler
Supervisor, Technical Support
www.ThePlanet.com

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User: c27628outs - Jun-27 17:56 (GMT-0500) [Update 9]
I need to know what needs to be done so that most scripts will work again as they were before the os reinstall.
If I have to take down all my sites AGAIN I need to have backups setup temporarily so that I do not have to do everything by hand a THIRD TIME.
I would much rather have php 4 added then reinstalling the os. IS THAT GOING TO HELP?
What is the problem causing my scripts not to work anymore???
I need to know the cuase and the suggested solutions.
If it is an os reload then I need to have backups enabled temporarily so that I can restore the domains easily this time. No manager has contacted me today???
I need to know what needs to be done to rectify the problems i am having not just offering the fix each script individually for $150 an hour.
I need to knw what is causing this and the best solution.
I have been a customer for over 5 years and I AM VERY UNHAPPY with the service I am receiving to say the least.
For the first time in 5 years I am considering closing my account with the planet.

Response - Jun-29 09:57 (GMT-0500) [Update 10]
outsource america:
Support for the installation, configuration or use of scripts and applications provided by yourself or a 3rd party are not supported as a complimentary service from The Planet. Such support is available through our Professional Services team at the rate of $150/hr with a 1 hour minimum. This is not a fee for $150 per script worked on, but for the time involved. Backups are managed by you, if you need to enable backups, you can upload these to the server to do so. The Planet does not perform any backups of your data nor restore your backups for you.
You ask if installing php4 will help with this issue. From the note in this ticket it appears this will resolve the problem on at least some of the scripts as some of your scripts use functions available in php4 that have since been deprecated. Without billable admin time we cannot offer assurances that this will resolve the issues across the board for your scripts.
I see you have multiple requests to be contacted by a manager on this issue and have not yet been contacted. I have emailed my manager, although he is out of the office and I do not expect a response before Monday morning as he is out of the office over the weekend. I believe that the resolution will remain unchanged after discussing this with a manager as there does not seem to be any cause to deviate from the established policies that were put in place to deal with issues of this exact nature.
Thank you for choosing The Planet!
Michael M. - RHCE
Sr. Technical Support Specialist
theplanet.com

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Response - Jun-29 10:08 (GMT-0500) [Update 11]
outsource america:
To clarify and sum up the technical points in this ticket. It appears that an OS Reload would be your best resolution as this problem started after your server was compromised and OS Reloaded. Troubleshooting has found that at least some of these scripts are using functions not available in PHP versions greater than 4. X. X and you have PHP 5 installed. This leads to the assumption that rolling back the OS/PHP version may be a resolution to this problem, but is no guarantee. Billable admin time can be used to troubleshoot this script by script if you prefer, but it seems best to roll back the PHP version to resolve this. We can OS Reload your server to do this, Professional Services can install PHP4 by hand and have both PHP 4 and 5 installed, or you can configure this to suit your needs. If Professional Services performs work on this, that work is billable. The OS Reload fees were already offered to be waived if you selected this option:
"Further if you would like to request an OS/Reload to an earlier version of any software that you had prior to your compromise and subsequent OS/Reload you may order such via your Orbit portal. As promised should you wish to revert back to your previous operating systems version I will honor my word and waive the fee's for a standard automatic OS/Reload."
As your server was OS Reloaded due to a compromise, then this may not resolve the problems for all scripts. If whoever compromised the server modified a script in any way, then such scripts may not function until individually troubleshot.
Thank you for choosing The Planet!
Michael M. - RHCE
Sr. Technical Support Specialist
theplanet.com

Ticket 5215897

Company: Web FX Guy
Address: 12245 chandler blvd
City, State Zip North Hollywood, CA 91607 (US)
Office: 310-651-4200
Alternate:
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

Ticket Owner: c27628outs
Ticket Owner Email: @gmail.com

Title: HTTP Exploitation Attempts - 67.19.13.82 [C27336200]
Group:
Status: Closed
Created: Oct-21 18:25 (GMT-0500)
Modified: Oct-23 22:41 (GMT-0500)
Billable: No

Attached Server Information:
None
Attached CloudLayer Computing Instance Information:
None
File Attachments:
None

Ticket Contents:

Response - Oct-21 18:25 (GMT-0500) [Update 1]
Dear Customer,
We have received reports of php exploitation attempts originating from this server. This indicates possible server compromise, and is your responsibility to investigate and resolve. However, should you require help, please contact our professional service. Be advised that should we receive further reports we may be forced to step in to prevent further abuse of our networks.
For your convenience, please see attached report.

Regards,
Andrew
Abuse Department
The Planet

67.19.13.82 - - [19/Oct:13: 03:28 0000]"GET
/forums/index.php? Showtopic=3515/index1.php? Inc=http://www.sweetdreamestates
.com/plugins/calendar/calendar_mods/bo. Do??? HTTP/1.1" 200 67012 "-"
"libwww-perl/5.805" (www.malwarebytes.org) "-"
67.19.13.82 - - [19/Oct:13: 03:29 0000]"GET
/forums/index1.php? Inc=http://www.sweetdreamestates.com/plugins/calendar/cal
endar_mods/bo. Do??? HTTP/1.1" 404 5751 "-""libwww-perl/5.805"
(www.malwarebytes.org) "-"
67.19.13.82 - - [19/Oct:13: 03:29 0000]"GET
/index1.php? Inc=http://www.sweetdreamestates.com/plugins/calendar/calendar_m
ods/bo. Do??? HTTP/1.1" 404 5751 "-""libwww-perl/5.805"
(www.malwarebytes.org) "-"
67.19.13.82 - - [19/Oct:13: 11:22 0000]"GET
/forums/index.php? Showtopic=3515 / index1.php? Inc=http://www.sweetdreamesta
tes.com/plugins/calendar/calendar_mods/bo. Do??? HTTP/1.1" 200 67012 "-"
"libwww-perl/5.805" (www.malwarebytes.org) "-"

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

Thank you for contacting The Planet! I am directing your request to the right person to assist you. If you have any further questions please contact Billing Care at 1-866-325-0045 or through live chat at www.theplanet.com.
Thank You for choosing The Planet!

Thank You,
Cassandra B.
Billing Care Specialist
www.theplanet.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

Response - Aug-10 19:33 (GMT-0500) [Update 3]
Customer,
Please advise of the time frame that your system was not responding to Ping requests. I have checked your IPalert records for the last month and do not show any downtime.
I do see that you put in reboot request ticket 5032644PLNT on 08/08 at 1:51PM CDT. Again, the IPalert history logs do not show this system as down in that time frame. It is possible that the system suffered from a Kernel Panic, but was still pingable.
Please let us know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Kennith W.
Supervisor, Data Center Operations

User: c27628outs - Oct-06 18:50 (GMT-0500) [Update 1]
I received this email today:

Dear outsource america,
Your account with The Planet is delinquent at this time due to your credit card declining. We must receive payment in full for your monthly recurring charge by 10:00am on October 8th or services will be subject to disconnection. We will continue to try your credit card each day until then. If you need to update your credit card information, please use this link in Orbit:
I normally receive this email:
Dear outsource america,
Your account with The Planet is delinquent at this time due to your credit card declining. We must receive payment in full for your monthly recurring charge within 5 (Five) business days or services will be subject to disconnection. We will continue to try your credit card each day until then. If you need to update your credit card information, please use this link in Orbit:
https://orbit. Theplanet.com/nav_accounting/a3_credit_card_change_request.html
Please Note: If the server (s) is disconnected for non-payment, there is a $50.00 reconnect fee payable at the time of reconnection.
Why has my disconnect date been moved up a few days???
The economy is having trouble so why would you move up the disonnect date???
I have been a customer for over 5 years and have always had five days grace period from the date I received the first email from the planet.
Now I receive an email saying that I only have 2 business days. Please check the dates that I have been making my payments each month and you will see that I always paid 5 days after receiving this email.
I am not happy about moving up the disconnect date.
Can the head of accounting please call me at (310) 651 4200
I wish to have the 5 day grace period from the first email that I received just like I had for the past 5 years.
I think this was a very bad move consideriing the problems with the economy.

Response - Oct-06 18:57 (GMT-0500) [Update 2]
Hello Charles,
I am forwarding this ticket to the Accounting department for further assistance. Please standby for further updates and should you have additional questions, please feel free to contact us at 1-866-325-0045. Thank you for contacting the planet!
Thanks,
Alejandra C.
Billing Care Specialist
www.theplanet.com
1-866-325-0045

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Response - Oct-07 13:50 (GMT-0500) [Update 3]
Charles,
Please agree to changing your bill date to the 5th of each month.
Thanks,
Michael

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User: c27628outs - Oct-07 14:13 (GMT-0500) [Update 4]
I agree to changing my billing date to the 5th of each month.

Response - Oct-07 16:07 (GMT-0500) [Update 5]
Your bill date change will be processed shortly. I will ensure that you are not charged a prorate for the 3 day change and will be extending your current bill date 3 days.
Thanks!

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Response - Oct-07 16:16 (GMT-0500) [Update 6]
Dear Customer,
We have changed your bill date. Your next bill due will be on November 5th. Your October bill will need to be paid by 10:00 am on 10/10/08 to avoid any service interruption. We will now be closing this ticket. We hope you have a great day.
Regards,
Melissa

Ticket 5226292

Company: Web FX Guy
Address: 12245 chandler blvd
City, State Zip North Hollywood, CA 91607 (US)
Office: 310-651-4200
Alternate:
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

Ticket Owner: c27628outs
Ticket Owner Email: @gmail.com

Title: Ripped off by alpha services BBB report being filed
Group:
Status: Closed
Created: Oct-25 10:58 (GMT-0500)
Modified: Oct-30 08:59 (GMT-0500)
Billable: No

Attached Server Information:
None
Attached CloudLayer Computing Instance Information:
None
File Attachments:
None

Ticket Contents:

User: c27628outs - Oct-25 10:58 (GMT-0500) [Update 1]
Please see this ticket:
5223692PLNT
I paid for alpha level security and monitoring.
The package included unlimited troubleshooting of security related issues.
I have a security related issue and alpha services is trying to charge me money for troubleshooting a security related issue.
I am in the process of preparing a 3 page better business bureau complaint.
I have been mislead about what the security pacakage covers.
What does unlimited trouble shooting of security related issues mean. It doesn't say unlimited troubleshooting of security related issues at the reduced rate.
I even spoke with the manager of sales to clarify what I was ordering BEFORE I ordered it.
I need to get this resolved today or I am filing the complaint.
I have been hacked 3 times this year.
I have been a customer for 5 years.
My server has been down for 2 days.
Now all my customers see placeholder pages instead of thier websites.
I asked that my files be checked for amy corrupted or malicous files PRIOR to the drive being mounted.
A technician named Asad mounted the drive without checking the files first which has caused the server to once again be compromised.
I know this because the planet techs told me that the logs of what Asad did was blank.
I am calculating the damages caused now to forward to my attorney
I am charging my phone now to call in one hour.
You may also call me at (310) 651 4200

User: c27628outs - Oct-25 10:59 (GMT-0500) [Update 2]
The ticket to reference is:
5223692PLNT

Response - Oct-25 11:27 (GMT-0500) [Update 3]
Hello Charled,
Thank you for choosing The Planet! I am forwarding your ticket to our Sales department for review by one of their managers. We apologize for the problems you are experiencing and hope we can get this resolved for you. If there is anything else we can assist you with pleas feel free to contact us.

Thank you,
Allison N.
Billing Care
www.theplanet.com
1-866-325-0045

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User: c27628outs - Oct-25 12:56 (GMT-0500) [Update 4]
Here is the list of places that I have compiled so far to complain to:
http://forums. Theplanet.com/
http://www.ftc. Gov/ftc/complaint. Shtm
http://www.flimflam.com/
http://www.fraud.org/info/repoform.htm
http://usacomplaints.com
http://www.webhostingtalk.com/
http://www.dallas. BBB.org/WWWRoot/Report. Aspx? Site=50&bbb=0875&firm=37008397
And a large number of yahoo and google web hosting groups as well as utilizing blogger and digg to ensure that my complaints will be indexed well.
Let's get this resolved so that I am not forced to file these complaints.
I have been a customer for 5 years and wish to remain so.
The description of the service that I ordered says:
unlimited troubleshooting of security related events.
Now I have a security problem and I am being told that I have to pay for this?
I am loosing customers and am starting to assess damages.
I have several large accounts that are now in danger.
I have been hacked 3 times this year and the reason i ordered the service was because I was told that "if my server were to be compromised again in the future that the planet would fix the server with my files on it.
My files were on the server when alpha services was added to my account. This means that I should be covered just like insurance. I was under the alpha services plan when the server crashed.
The sales manager also said that if the files needed to be reloaded onto another server that this would also be covered.
I am also unhappy that I asked the planet to check my files before mounting the drive several times.
These requests were ignored which caused compromised files to be uploaded to the server.
I was told that my log files were blank which means that there is some problem especially if the os was just reloaded.
One of the planet techs Ricardo actually tried to say:
Maybe there is a limit on the number of hours that they will provide. Unlimited means unlimited. What was he talking about?
The wording is deceptive if there is still a charge it should not say unlimited troubleshooting.
It should say "unlimited troubleshooting at a reduced price". It is misleading to say the least.
All I want is my domains working again.
I am not trying to cause trouble but, I cannot allow this to happen without a fight. I will be put out of business.
I am already paying almost $220 per month for a pentium 4 server with the add ons that I have.
Paying this amount is difficult already.
I do not have the $1,000 that the alpha services department says it will cost.
I cannot understand the large number of hours that they say this will take considering that the tech "Asad" was able to get the domains working in one hour and a half and he is not even an alpha services tech.

I will wait to see what the response is back one more time but, after that I will be forced to start filing complaints.
I see that the planet has resolved other complaints that it has gotten. 19 in the last 36 months.
Some of the places I will be filing at the comments cannot be edited or responded to such as usacomplaints.com
I would like to resolve this before starting to file complaints but, I am prepared to do so if neeeded.
I don't need to talk with sales because I already have.
I also checked the description of the service that I ordered which confirms the coverage:
once again it says:
unlimited troubleshooting of security related events.
The problem that I am having is definitely security related.
This is just like an insurance company that doesnt want to pay after filing a claim.
As you can read in this ticket I am extremely upset.
Once again let's get this resolved quickly.
My server has been down for 3 days.
If my domains are restored soon i will sign something stating that I will take no legal action because of the losses that I have incurred as a result of this incident.
I spoke with my attorney yesterday and he says that I have agood case because of the wording describing the

User: c27628outs - Oct-25 12:56 (GMT-0500) [Update 5]
service.
I do not want to go that route but, again if that's what it takes both I and him are ready.

Response - Oct-25 23:31 (GMT-0500) [Update 6]
Charles,
I am sorry to hear that you are having trouble with your self-managed server. After reviewing the tickets related to the issue, I do not find that we should be fixing your server within the scope of the Advanced Services Security plan. If it was in working condition after the OS Reload, it probably makes the most sense to do an OS reload again and restore it from the backups you used originally. I will be happy to have the fee associated with the OS reload waived.
Since, it is very clear that this problem occurred before any Advanced Services were performed on your machine, a pre-existing condition, I would be more than happy to remove Advanced Services Security from your account and make sure that you are refunded any fees that you may have been charged in relation to Advanced Services. That seems an appropriate remedy if you are unhappy with the scope of the services.
If you would still like our help with repairing the box, I will also honor the quote that you were provided for the discounted hourly rate.
Regards,
Sean
Sean Richards, Manager
Advanced Services
www.theplanet.com / www.planetalpha.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Oct-26 00:29 (GMT-0500) [Update 7]
I am sorry but, I do not feel that this is an appropriate offer. Since the files were mounted and working properly for at least 13 hours that means that the server was running properly during that period. That is the future.
The reason that I chose the alpha services plan was because the sales manager told me that if the server went down in the future that it would be fixed and if necessary the files uploaded to another machine.
Since this is the 3rd time that the server was hacked in one year I wanted some type of insurance so that if the server went down again I would be covered.
Now the server has crashed after being operational again and I try to use the service I am being told that all I am getting is a discounted rate?
When I read the details of the service on your website it states:
"unlimited troubleshooting of security related issues".
Did the planet leave off the part that should have said "at a discounted rate"?
This is NOT how I understood the plan and anyone who reads the plan will think the same as I did especially since that is what the sales department is telling people including the sales department manager.
How about starting by having the 30 minute assessment done as a courtesy?
This may be as simple as having the 30 minute assessment.
How about crediting the 30 minute assessment so that we can start to get this situation rectified?
I will be here working and would be happy to start working out some type of resolution.

I will wait until Monday to see if the situation can be resolved before filing any additional complaints.

Response - Oct-26 01:11 (GMT-0500) [Update 8]
Charles,
Since, my team (Advanced Services) hadn't performed any work on the server and it was hacked before it came to us, the current issue is not covered under our plan. If we had been given a clean server, opportunity to run our audit and then harden the box, after that we would take responsibility for cleaning up any security issues that may arise. You cannot insure a previously wrecked vehicle and then expect your insurance company to fix it. The intention of our security product is prevention, with the assurance of fixing a problem after preventative measures have been taken.in this situation we never had an opportunity to put those measures in place.
I don't have a problem providing a courtesy assessment as a sign of good faith. I do think from my perspective that this is going to require another OS reload, secure the box and then restore from backup. If you are continuously being hacked, it is usually out of date software that is the culprit. There are some major problems with changing the version of RHEL on Plesk and trying to restore. I will ask my Administrators to generate a recommended plan of action based on their findings.
How many websites did you have on this server?
Regards,
Sean
Sean Richards, Manager
Advanced Services
www.theplanet.com / www.planetalpha.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Oct-27 12:46 (GMT-0500) [Update 9]
i have 50 websites on the server. Seems to be working ok.
All i want done now is to have the files that are on the server scanned for problems.
I cannot take my server down again.

Response - Oct-27 15:38 (GMT-0500) [Update 10]
Charles,
I've had John run clamscan on your server to see if it turns up anything. Are all of your applications, Joomla etc, that these websites run up to date? That's the number one way web servers are penetrated.
Regards,
Sean
Sean Richards, Manager
Advanced Services
www.theplanet.com / www.planetalpha.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Oct-27 16:01 (GMT-0500) [Update 11]
ok I appreciate the scan.
I have a collection of scripts that I use.
Most are the latest versions.
I would like to use what i have and try and close any vulnerbilities. If the vulnerbilities can't be closed on ceratin scripts I will the take action to update the scripts. I appreciate the help.

User: c27628outs - Oct-28 17:17 (GMT-0500) [Update 12]
was the clam scan ran on the old drive only?
I updated looking4now.net with the latest version of the classifieds script.
Also I had register globals turned off.
It said in the readme file that "if register globals is left on it posed a servere security risk".
This was most likely the problem I think
thanks, charles

Response - Oct-30 08:59 (GMT-0500) [Update 13]
Charles,
Please let me know if you have any further concerns.
Regards,
Sean
Sean Richards, Manager
Advanced Services
www.theplanet.com / www.planetalpha.com

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Ticket Home | Search Tickets | Search Orbit Tickets | Add Ticket | SoftLayer Status | Real-time Notification - Twitter
Orbit Ticket View - 5278259 support: tickets

Ticket 5278259

Company: Web FX Guy
Address: 12245 chandler blvd
City, State Zip North Hollywood, CA 91607 (US)
Office: 310-651-4200
Alternate:
Fax:
Email: [email protected]

Ticket Owner: c27628outs
Ticket Owner Email: [email protected]

Title: another script that won't work???
Group:
Status: Closed
Created: Nov-13 14:22 (GMT-0600)
Modified: Dec-12 07:36 (GMT-0600)
Billable: No

Attached Server Information:
None
Attached CloudLayer Computing Instance Information:
None
File Attachments:
None

Ticket Contents:

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 14:22 (GMT-0600) [Update 1]
please disable performanace caching.
According to this script error performance caching is the problem and may be causing the other issues that I am having. I have been trying for days since the oshardening to get anything working and ma getting frustrated.
This script has error and brings up this page:
http://uber-uploader. Sourceforge.net/? Section=flength

Script is at: www.xtubin.com
www.xtubin.com/siteadmin
admin
northridge
Please get my server working again correctly.
Please forward this to alpha services asap.

Response - Nov-13 14:27 (GMT-0600) [Update 2]
Dear Customer,
I am forwarding this to Advanced Services. Please stand by.
Danny M
Technical Support
www.theplanet.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 14:47 (GMT-0600) [Update 3]
The website url is:
www.xtubin.com
Please try and upload a video and you can duplicate the error. There is a link with how to fix the error.
It mentions performance caching.
No scripts that I have are able to upload video.
I was able to upload video before the oshardening?
The username and password for admin area is:
www.xtubin.com/siteadmin
user: admin
pass: northridge
thanks

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 14:50 (GMT-0600) [Update 4]
ERROR: Failed to find flength file

Response - Nov-13 14:53 (GMT-0600) [Update 5]
Charles,
What steps can we take to replicate this error? I am unable to login to the upload form using the username and password you provided, and I am unable to locate any means of uploading via the Admin area. As such, could you please provide us with the specific steps necessary to replicate this error?
Regards,
Tim Garrison
Systems Engineer
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.planetalpha.com / http://www.theplanet.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 15:02 (GMT-0600) [Update 6]
sorry user credentials are:
username charles
password northridge
admin credentials:
username admin
password northridge

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 15:10 (GMT-0600) [Update 7]
error is:
ERROR: Failed to find flength file
on step 2 of uploading a video

Response - Nov-13 15:56 (GMT-0600) [Update 8]
Hello,
We are investigating this issue as promised and will have an update for you shortly. We appreciate your continued patience.
Regards,
Adam VanKirk
Level I System Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

Response - Nov-13 16:05 (GMT-0600) [Update 9]
Hello,
I did not receive that error message, in fact I am presented with a 404 error. This is because you placed your cgi-bin in a location that is not set as the ScriptAlias in the httpd config. Plesk control panel always places scripts in the cgi-bin in the location of:
[root@charleswinters cgi-bin]# pwd
/var/www/vhosts/xtubin.com/cgi-bin
You have created a cgi-bin in:
[root@charleswinters cgi-bin]# pwd
/var/www/vhosts/xtubin.com/httpdocs/cgi-bin
This is not how Plesk is designed. Please move your scripts to the appropriate cgi-bin as this is not part of the security settings in any way, shape, or form, this is how Plesk creates the httpd configuration for its websites.
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 16:51 (GMT-0600) [Update 10]
Could I have the cgi bin operate under httpdocs?
Can something be added that allows scripts to opertae under httpdocs?
I have installed yet another different script and the exact same error is occuring.

ERROR: Failed to find flength file
Same error and yet another different script?
This is the third script?
I copied the file from the cgi-bin folder into the proper cgi-bin folder and it still does not work
I uploaded the file to the proper cgi bin same error on both scripts.
ERROR: Failed to find flength file
http://etubin.com
user admin
password northridge
same error copies of uploader file have been placed in the proper folders and still neither script will function.
That makes 3 non working video scripts?
Please take a look and tell me what is stopping the scripts from working.
I placed the files for both scripts in the actual cgi-bin and still they do not work

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 16:59 (GMT-0600) [Update 11]
I want to talk with someone at alpha services about rolling back the oshardening.
It has made my server unusable.

Response - Nov-13 17:01 (GMT-0600) [Update 12]
Hello,
I can write a custom vhosts. Conf to include to your httpd. Conf to automatically change the location of the ScriptAlias cgi-bin to the directory under httpdocs for billable administrative time.
I went to etubin.com
logged in with:
user admin
password northridge
Clicked on upload, filled out the form, clicked on Upload button at bottom of form, browsed to a test video file, chose to upload it and received a:
"
Forbidden
You do not have permission to access this document.
Web Server at etubin.com
"
Where are you seeing this flegth error at?
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 17:11 (GMT-0600) [Update 13]
when video files are uploaded.
Go to www.xtubin.com
sign in as
user charles
password northridge
or another script same error at
www.etubin.com
user admin
password northridge
3rd site that cannot upload videos is:
www.porncitypages.com/admin
user webmaster
pass webmaster

Try uploading a small video to these sites and you will see the error.
This makes 3 different video scripts that are setup correctly and will not upload video.
These problems are putting me out of business.
There is no way there is an issue with all three scripts???
I amde sure they are all setup correctly.
The xtubin script that says it is problem with server setting.
Did you disable write caching as outlined in:
http://uber-uploader. Sourceforge.net/? Section=flength
This link appears when you try and upload ANY video files.
There is an issue with the server settings according to the error message

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 17:14 (GMT-0600) [Update 14]
to start with I need these turned off:

# Turn off mod_security filtering.
SecFilterEngine Off
# The below probably isn't needed,
# but better safe than sorry.
SecFilterScanPOST Off

If the above method does not work, try putting the following lines into the file

SetEnvIfNoCase Content-Type
"^multipart/form-data;""MODSEC_NOPOSTBUFFERING=Do not buffer file uploads"

Mod_gzip_on No

Response - Nov-13 17:27 (GMT-0600) [Update 15]
Hello,
"
3rd site that cannot upload videos is:
www.porncitypages.com/admin
user webmaster
pass webmaster"
I just went to this site and uploaded a test video without a single issue. No errors reported.
Also:
I went to etubin.com
logged in with:
user admin
password northridge
Clicked on upload, filled out the form, clicked on Upload button at bottom of form, browsed to a test video file, chose to upload it and received a:
"
Forbidden
You do not have permission to access this document.
Web Server at etubin.com
"
Are you seeing otherwise?
As for writing the custom vhosts. Conf includes, I can certainly do this work at a billable adminstrative work, please repsond with "Approved" and I willl begin working at a billable rate immediately for your custom vhosts. Conf includes.
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 17:39 (GMT-0600) [Update 16]
Hello,
Yes the video uploads at porncitypages but the video will not play and no thumbnail is generated?
I get a different another error first with link to this page: http://uber-uploader. Sourceforge.net/? Section=flength
Then there is a forbidden error also.
Seems that where the video files are being stored is being blocked
I have attached screen capture of error

Response - Nov-13 17:44 (GMT-0600) [Update 17]
Hello,
You have another ticket open with us 5278644PLNT regarding the removal of our Security subscription. Would you like to proceed with that?
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 17:45 (GMT-0600) [Update 18]
i have two seperate video script setup one at etubin.com and the other at xtubin.com
Neither will upload videos. Is mod security enabled?
Please try and disable what you can to get these working.
I think it has to do with on the fly folder creation permissions.
Is there a way to change this?
I am having so much trouble.
I have been a week and one half trying to get a video script working.
This is a nightmare I cannot make any money if nothing I install works.
This is how I make my living and now after the hardening was done none of my scripts work.
I'm afraid if we cant get these working then i will need to have the hardening rolled back.
These is no reason all three scripts would have trouble.
If I don;t get these issues resolved this week i will be out of business

Response - Nov-13 17:54 (GMT-0600) [Update 19]
Hello,
Regarding www.porncitypages.com/admin, I seem to recollect that we disabled a PLESK feature of open_basedir that allowed you to then use the ffmpeg and other related software on your server with that domain. Perhaps you need to do the same with the others? Mod Security is enabled as it is part of our Security settings, if you want us to remove our hardening and thus your Security subscription, we can certainly do this. We can also customize your configurations as Billable Administrative Work. If you would like me to begin customization of your vhosts. Conf includes, I will need approval of billable administrative time to do the work.
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 18:09 (GMT-0600) [Update 20]
Can you disable these settings server wide:
http://uber-uploader. Sourceforge.net/? Section=flength

Response - Nov-13 18:23 (GMT-0600) [Update 21]
Hello,
After further discussion with my senior administrator, another administrator already disabled mod security per your requests. We also disabled PHP suhosin. This means that none of our security implementations that affect Apache and its related services could be causing your issues. I also just double checked this myself to ensure that mod security and PHP suhosin was not loading.
We would certainly be able to troubleshoot your video upload issues at a billable administrative time.
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 18:31 (GMT-0600) [Update 22]
Can I have an assessment done and find out how long this will take and what the cause is?

Response - Nov-13 18:39 (GMT-0600) [Update 23]
Hello,
Certainly, we can spend a good half hour troubleshooting and determining the cause, and when we determine the cause, we will proceed to correct it. This will be done in the initial 30 minute assessment and should more time be needed we will notify you. As you are an existing Advanced Services client, I will bill this initial 30 minute investigation/correction at a discounted rate noted below.
Before we can proceed, we require your authorization for our hourly administration charges ($37.50 per half hour if you are an existing Advanced Services client, $62.50 per half hour if you are not an existing Advanced Services client).
Once the charges are approved, we can perform our initial impact assessment (30 minutes) to determine if more time will be required to either correct this issue or to perform the requested procedures. We will let you know how much more time is needed after the initial impact assessment is complete.
Please reply to this ticket with authorization for the initial 30 minute charge.
Regards,
John Alder
Level I System Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 18:49 (GMT-0600) [Update 24]
could i have the impact assessment done as a courtesy and then if more work is neeeded i will approve the charges?
I would like to install the script on a different domain first though because I want it working on the clients domain.

Response - Nov-13 19:10 (GMT-0600) [Update 25]
Hello,
Let us know when and where it is installed and we will take a look.
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 20:10 (GMT-0600) [Update 26]
I installed the script here:
www.bighotbox.com/videos
credentials for admin is:
admin
longbeach
user credentials:
www.bighotbox.com/videos/
charles
northridge
Same error as before when uploading videos.
If you are able to fix it please tell me how so I can fix the other installations.
Thank you for your help.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 20:15 (GMT-0600) [Update 27]
Ran system check in admin and found some errors:
System Check
FLVIDEO Directorywritable (0777) (/var/www/vhosts/bighotbox.com/httpdocs/videos/flvideo)
VIDEO Directorywritable (0777) (/var/www/vhosts/bighotbox.com/httpdocs/videos/video) THUMBS Directorywritable (0777) (/var/www/vhosts/bighotbox.com/httpdocs/videos/thumb) CHANNEL Directorywritable (0777) (/var/www/vhosts/bighotbox.com/httpdocs/videos/chimg) PHOTO Directorywritable (0777) (/var/www/vhosts/bighotbox.com/httpdocs/videos/photo) TMP Directorywritable (0777) (/var/www/vhosts/bighotbox.com/httpdocs/videos/tmp)
Safe Mode0 Open Basedir
Maximum Upload Filesize200M (max_upload_filesize) Maximum Post Filesize8M (max_post_size)
PHP CLI missing (/usr/local/bin/php) MEncoderfound (/usr/local/bin/mencoder) MPlayerfound (/usr/local/bin/mplayer) FFMpegfound (/usr/local/bin/ffmpeg) FLVTool2found (/usr/bin/flvtool2)
JPEG Supportfound (/usr/lib/libjpeg. So. 62 (0x006e0000) LAME Support missing () XVID Supportmissing () THEORA Support missing (X264 Support () FAAC Support missing ()

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 20:28 (GMT-0600) [Update 28]
I know that lame support was already added.
Maybe script is not finding lame?

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 20:30 (GMT-0600) [Update 29]
I ran test for php cli:
http://www.bighotbox.com/phpcli.php
shows as text

Response - Nov-13 20:44 (GMT-0600) [Update 30]
Hello,
I could not login with:
www.bighotbox.com/videos
credentials for admin is:
admin
longbeach
or
user credentials:
www.bighotbox.com/videos/
charles
northridge
Can you please double check your user credentials.
Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 20:47 (GMT-0600) [Update 31]
so sorry I changed the user password to:
user credentials:
www.bighotbox.com/videos/
user charles
pass: northridge

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 20:49 (GMT-0600) [Update 32]
admin is
http://www.bighotbox.com/videos/siteadmin/login.php
user admin
pass longbeach

Response - Nov-13 21:35 (GMT-0600) [Update 33]
Hello,
The Plesk permissions were wrong for the cgi-bin causing suexec errors. I have corrected the suexec errors. The uber-uploader is throwing errors now. I figured out how to correct this and can prove so as you see there is a video uploaded (I reverted my change), but per our department requirements I cannot fix this scripting support without APPROVED Billable Administrative Time.

Regards,
John Alder
Level I Systems Administrator
Planet Alpha Advanced Services
http://www.PlanetAlpha.com/

Responses for Legacy ThePlanet tickets cannot be rated.

User: c27628outs - Nov-13 21:48 (GMT-0600) [Update 34]
Hi John,
I appreciate the effort.
Can you fix what the problem is?
Also can you fix the problem server wide and document what was done so that if I install this script on another domain name I won't have any issues?
I tried uploading a video and it was the same error as before on my end.
Also I spoke with Stephanie with customer support who said that I could have you invoice me a few days prior to my billing date for the server.
Of you can correct the issue and


Offender: Softlayer Technologies AKA The Planet

Country: USA   State: Texas   City: Dallas
Address: 4849 Alpha Road Dallas, TX 75244
Phone: 2144420600
Site:

Category: Internet & Web

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