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List: full-disclosure
Subject: Re: [Full-disclosure] #hostgator exposed: blackhat spammers,
From: Josey Yelsef <hg_exposed () yahoo ! com>
Date: 2010-10-29 18:28:32
Message-ID: 34384.34454.qm () web120310 ! mail ! ne1 ! yahoo ! com
[Download RAW message or body]
> > Anonymous sources...
Hostgator FAQ 2010-10-29.
http://www.hostgatorfaq.com/full-disclosure-host-gator-exposed-blackhat-spammerssock-puppet-trolls-harassing-critics-google-bombing-post-httpbit-lybvk2qu.htm
http://bit.ly/aNcVEi
Accessed: 2010-10-29.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5tqaU27IP)
--- On Fri, 10/29/10, Christian Sciberras <uuf6429@gmail.com> wrote:
> From: Christian Sciberras <uuf6429@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Full-disclosure] Host Gator exposed: blackhat spammers, sock puppet trolls, \
> harassing critics, google bombing
> To: "Josey Yelsef" <hg_exposed@yahoo.com>
> Cc: full-disclosure@lists.grok.org.uk
> Date: Friday, October 29, 2010, 6:23 AM
> Anonymous sources....how convenient!
>
> Don't waste our time, ok?
>
>
>
> From: PsychoBilly <zpamh0l3@gmail.com>
> Subject: Re: [Full-disclosure] Host Gator exposed: blackhat spammers, sock puppet trolls, \
> harassing critics, google bombing
> To: full-disclosure@lists.grok.org.uk
> Date: Friday, October 29, 2010, 6:40 AM
> Ahahahha
> Very foonny
> http://twitter.com/hostgator
> "@kyledonovan please stop spamming your affiliate link"
>
> I noticed them 10 years ago spreading IE4 toolbar malware
> shit.
Original message:
I first noticed this business years ago when I set up a website for a friend's forum. He was \
extremely appealed by the deal. After hosting with them for a very short time he parted ways. \
At first I thought they were just another lowly shared host. Recently, I checked back to see \
how this web host innovated.
Instead of innovation, such as cloud architecture, exchange or inhouse solutions, they're \
making millions google bombing and spamming their homepage, and are one of the most prolific \
corporate spammers I've seen. By my estimates, they likely spent well-over 7 figures on \
blackhat SEO campaigns which earned the #1 result for hosting on Google search.
Further, They are Google bombing results like "Hostgator sucks" and "Hostgator scam" to bury \
criticism and constantly policing blogs for any critical comments. If it's a fraudulent bill, \
it was a mistake out of odds. If it's an ex-employee, they'll say it's a personal grudge over \
incompetence firing.
What is most despicable about this business is their management and lackey employees scour and \
attack people who have legitimate criticism of their business.
Real ex-employee reviews
1.) "Terrible company, stay away". 2010-10-28
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-HostGator-com-RVW690066.htm
http://bit.ly/cqTnB6 Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toGFVrXM)
2.) "The 5/5 review was written by Hostgator management". 2010-10-28. \
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-HostGator-com-RVW598581.htm \
http://bit.ly/99MpO5 Accessed: 2010-10-28. (Archived by WebCite ® at \
http://www.webcitation.org/5toGJpPo1)
3.) "Just Another Callcenter". 2010-10-28.
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-HostGator-com-RVW562768.htm.
http://bit.ly/93ZDq3 Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toGO2o9b)
4.) "Not disgruntled but disappointed". 2010-10-28. \
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-HostGator-com-RVW306863.htm \
http://bit.ly/crwXrU Accessed: 2010-10-28. (Archived by WebCite ® at \
http://www.webcitation.org/5toGUotjs)
5.) "#1 Reason for an IT Union". 2010-10-28.
http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-HostGator-com-RVW292019.htm
http://bit.ly/94v04q Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toGdxKeJ)
6.) EX-HOSTGATOR.COM EMPLOYEE SENTENCED FOR COMPUTER INTRUSION. 2010-10-28.
http://www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime/wadeSent.pdf
http://bit.ly/beVXBK Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toHZOuFr)
7.) "Hostgator is a very unprofessional, and unethical company to work for."
2010-10-28. http://rateyourjob-rateyourboss.com/?p=52
http://bit.ly/bZDC7k Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toHjggqs)
========================================
Consumer reviews:
1.) "Company is full of idiots". 2010-10-28.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/Web Hosting/HostGator/hostgator-do-not-deal-with-hos-bpfa3.htm \
http://bit.ly/aY0HX2 Accessed: 2010-10-28. (Archived by WebCite ® at \
http://www.webcitation.org/5toHrr2uP)
2.) "They claim they give unlimited bandwidth and ... claim anything to make a sale".
2010-10-28.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/web-hosting/hostgator/hostgator-they-claim-they-giv-75ce5.htm \
http://bit.ly/9Ltl29 Accessed: 2010-10-28. (Archived by WebCite ® at \
http://www.webcitation.org/5toI0ZrID)
3.) "... They seem more like thieves". 2010-10-28.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/web-hosting/hostgator-com-llc/hostgator-com-llc-after-cancel-f4c8e.htm
http://bit.ly/dBAg5J Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toI7NCsP)
========================================
Here is a list of anonymous Host Gator employees sock puppeting and trolling critical \
comments, scam and fraud allegations:
1.) Ex-employee harassed by hostgator's sockpuppet commenters. 2010-10-28.
http://www.googlelady.com/1281/exhostgator-employee/
http://bit.ly/9ZGoz6 Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toFY9HVi)
2.) "try spelling it CORRECTLY". 2010-10-28.
http://www.ripoffreport.com/advertising-deceptive/hostgator-hosting-co/hostgator-hosting-com-does-not-9f59a.htm
http://bit.ly/ci6dDJ Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toIBLwIi)
3.) hgfan sockpuppet. 2010-10-28.
http://www.hostingdiscussion.com/web-hosting-reselling/23460-hostgator-nightmare.html
http://bit.ly/d4CSCk Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toIIA6KR)
=========================================
Legal threat to censor hostgator-sucks.commenters
Host Gator takes a bite. Takedown threat. 2010-10-28.
http://www.chillingeffects.org/domain/notice.cgi?NoticeID=4029.
http://bit.ly/ai0Ne5 Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5tpYhg16c)
=========================================
Here is a list of Host gator google bombing with fake websites and prolifically \
self-aggrandizing "sponsored conversations" to bury negative reviews:
1.) "I think HostGator has been successful because it has innovated in the industry while at \
the same time keeping to its roots as an honest web hosting company that strives to deliver \
personal service." (As of October 28th, 2010, Hostgator uses Cpanel) Hosting secrets revealed. \
http://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.com/featured-articles/10-questions-with-hostgator/ \
http://bit.ly/9cHueg Accessed: 2010-10-28. (Archived by WebCite ® at \
http://www.webcitation.org/5toFiyzPP)
2.) "Hostgartor.com [sic] likes to brag about numbers", "Even though Hostgator has their own \
building, it does not appear they have their own server center, and they to [sic] like the \
first three companies I reviewed that are also using theplanet.com.", "Even though \
Hostgator.com is only in number 5th position, they probable [sic] should be in the top position \
at webhostingstuff.com." 2010-10-28. \
http://hosting-reviews-exposed.com/unlimited-hosting/hostgator-bad-web-host-read-honest-hostgator-review.html
http://bit.ly/9T4wpR Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toFua6jj)
3.) "They don't have too many bells and whistles, marketing ploys, or anything of the sort.". \
2010-10-28. http://www.clickfire.com/hostgator-review/
http://bit.ly/IetFt Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toFzkmnH)
4.) "My only regret about Hostgator is that I didn't join them earlier and ignored all the good \
hostgator reviews for too long". 2010-10-28. \
http://myeasyonlinepay.com/one-year-on-has-hostgator-lost-its-appeal/ http://bit.ly/6hgOAH \
Accessed: 2010-10-28. (Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toGxxCpe)
There literally thousands more. They have spent 6 or 7 figs burying negative reviews, making \
them one of the top black hat spammers on the internet. This is pure blackhat SEO. A sponsored \
conversation means Host gator paid bloggers to write a puff piece, see sites like \
https://payperpost.com/. Rarely do you see a legitimate client, out of 20 pages of sifting \
through hostgator ads, almost 9/10 of them were bought through ad services.
They will likely proffer it's by rogue affiliate advertisers. This is for the most part untrue \
- they're not even pretending to hide it with affiliate or referral links. They are that sloppy \
and obvious about it.
Hostgator even claims their own spam campaign speaks in their favor them:
"From the above number, only 1 out of every 10000 pages about HostGator says that this hosting \
sucks. This is still quite good considering other hosts we have looked at have way worst [sic] \
ratio.". 2010-10-28. http://www.hostingsthatsuck.com/hostgator-sucks/
http://bit.ly/bxV6w8 Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5tpYmmFZL)
======================================
A Small Orange: Brent Oxley, a trust funder from Boca Raton Florida, owner of hostgator bought \
a small orange. The owner of a small orange said: "ASO will not be turned into a HostGator \
clone by any means. I am very interested in continuing to develop ASO as a high-end hosting \
company that prides itself on quality customer service."
To which an ASO user responds:
"I hope that's a promise :) HostGator seem to suck in a lot of newbies with over-inflated \
packages for below-reasonable prices and almost certainly with unfair conditions to stop you \
using it."
ASO user bboard. 2010-10-28.
http://forums.asmallorange.com/topic/13626-how-will-the-hostgator-acquisition-impact-aso/
http://bit.ly/bSaObj Accessed: 2010-10-28.
(Archived by WebCite ® at http://www.webcitation.org/5toITkkXG)
That is my fair and truthful review of hostgator. Haadquartered in Houston, Texas. In 2010 it \
opened a satellite in Austin, Texas. Your unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, shared \
hosting services has been exposed.
_______________________________________________
Full-Disclosure - We believe in it.
Charter: http://lists.grok.org.uk/full-disclosure-charter.html
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