Cloudeight: Ever hear of e-mail?

It's not uncommon for someone to e-mail me, or PM me via one of the many forums, to ask why a domain is listed, or ask for it to be removed, or even, ask for a domain to be added. Indeed, I've got 3 e-mails in my inbox at present, from 2 companies demanding their sites removed (Conduit and Ascentive) and threatening to sue me if I don't.

Alas it seems, some people can't even send an e-mail. I came across a rant over at thundercloud.net, that I found rather intruiging, not only because they were complaining about hpHosts and inferring I only do this stuff for money, traffic and fame (those that know me know otherwise, but what the hell, they're entitled to their opinion, and I've certainly been called worse). One thing they forgot to mention during their complaint however, was the domain that was blocked by hpHosts, and indeed, they failed to mention the fact they'd not bothered contacting me via any of the available methods (I've been through the hpHosts e-mails for the past 12 months and can't find a single one from Cloudeight or referencing thundercloud).

Interestingly, they also aren't the only ones to think that the "hpHosts comments" over on the Web of Trust scorecards, were written by me, I've had many an e-mail from people that think that. Alas however, they're to be disappointed, as they are not written by me, but are infact, automagically posted when WoT syncs with the hpHosts database (which FYI Cloudeight, is why "he seems to copy/paste the same vitriolic nonsense to every review he writes", had you contacted either myself or Web of Trust, you'd have known that).

Cloudeight also seem to be of the belief that I rant about the dangers of cookies, and am a self-proclaimed expert. As many who know me will tell you, I've never once called myself an expert, quite the opposite infact. As for cookies, I've never said they're dangerous, I've said they are plain text files that can be used for tracking purposes.

Anyway, to keep this short and to the point, I've been through the database and can't find any domains referencing either cloudeight or thundercloud, so until they do bother to get in touch with me, I've no idea as to which domains they are referring as having been blocked, and I've no intention of registering for their newsletter just to find out (though I think I'll fire them an e-mail as it's got me intruiged).

You can read the full rant over at;

http://thundercloud.net/infoave/answers/2009/confusion.htm

hpHOSTS - UPDATED December 3rd, 2009

hpHOSTS - UPDATED December 3rd, 2009

The hpHOSTS Hosts file has been updated. There is now a total of 111,950 listed hostsnames.

If you are NOT using the installer, please read the included Readme.txt file for installation instructions. Enjoy!

• Latest Updated: 03/12/2009 13:24
• Last Verified: 02/12/2009 09:00

Download hpHosts now!
http://hosts-file.net/?s=Download

hpHOSTS is a community managed hosts file. What that means to you is that you have a key role to play in improving hpHOSTS by submitting undesirable sites you think should be listed or by requesting removal of sites you think may have been added in error. This process is performed in our public forums and all decisions to add or remove sites are subject to public criticism and ongoing re-evaluation. If you would like to get involved, please register* at the hpHOSTS Hosts File Support Forum.

* Registration is free and is not required to download the hpHOSTS hosts file.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Alternative hosts file providers:

MVPS - http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/hosts.htm
Peter - http://pgl.yoyo.org/as/
Malware Domain List - http://www.malwaredomainlist.com/hostslist/hosts.txt

techonsupport.com, click4rescue.com, pcrescueworld.com: SupportOnClick revisited

Following on from the SupportOnClick scam, it would appear folks, that we've got a new contender for the worlds worst scammer award.

Reports are flowing online, of techonsupport.com, pulling the same scam as the folks over at supportonclick.com (other sites they're known to use are listed below. I first found out about them due to a comment over at DigitalToast.co.uk (I'd not noticed this one until a few seconds ago), but research suggests they've been doing this for a heck of alot longer, with the earliest report I can find, dating back to June/July this year;

3 weeks ago

http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic137600.html

4 weeks ago

http://www.wired2tech.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&p=1580
http://www.silobreaker.com/spoof-calls-to-uk-numbers-from-techonsupport-5_2262723359701729304

Others

http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090726184940AA3DjPK

http://www.hibeesbounce.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1097866

Registrant information for techonsupport.com

Registrant :
Name: GloWebSoftware GloWebSoftware
Organization: Glo Web Software
Address: 9A Gariahat Road,
City: Kolkata
State: West Bengal
Postal Code: 700029
Country: IN
Phone: 2093465
Fax:
Email: gloweb@gmail.com

Domain : techonsupport.com

Administrative Contact :
Name: GloWebSoftware GloWebSoftware
Organization: Glo Web Software
Address: 9A Gariahat Road,
City: Kolkata
State: West Bengal
Postal Code: 700029
Country: IN
Phone: 2093465
Fax:
Email: gloweb@gmail.com

Technical Contact :
Name: GloWebSoftware GloWebSoftware
Organization: Glo Web Software
Address: 9A Gariahat Road,
City: Kolkata
State: West Bengal
Postal Code: 700029
Country: IN
Phone: 2093465
Fax:
Email: gloweb@gmail.com

Created on.......: 2008-12-30
Expired on.......: 2009-12-30
Last updated on..: 2008-12-30

Domain servers :

Name Server: ns1.webmasterspack.net
Name Server: ns2.webmasterspack.net

Other sites these scammers are known to use are;

pcrescueworld.com

Registration Service Provided By: CAREER HUNTS
Contact: +91.3332490407

Domain Name: PCRESCUEWORLD.COM

Registrant:
Career Hunts
Kolkatabajar (kolkatabajar@yahoo.com)
Kolkata
Kolkata
West Bengal,700092
IN
Tel. +033.32490407

Creation Date: 04-Nov-2009
Expiration Date: 04-Nov-2012

Domain servers in listed order:
ns2.kolkatabazaar.org
ns1.kolkatabazaar.org

Administrative Contact:
Career Hunts
Kolkatabajar (kolkatabajar@yahoo.com)
Kolkata
Kolkata
West Bengal,700092
IN
Tel. +033.32490407

Technical Contact:
Career Hunts
Kolkatabajar (kolkatabajar@yahoo.com)
Kolkata
Kolkata
West Bengal,700092
IN
Tel. +033.32490407

Billing Contact:
Career Hunts
Kolkatabajar (kolkatabajar@yahoo.com)
Kolkata
Kolkata
West Bengal,700092
IN
Tel. +033.32490407

Status:ACTIVE

click4rescue.com

Domain Name: CLICK4RESCUE.COM

Registrant:
n/a
dipak lal (shapeyourimazination@gmail.com)
cr road no -10, q. no L4 -9, agrico
jamshedpur - 9
jharkhand
jamshedpur
Jharkhand,831009
IN
Tel. +657.2432845

Administrative Contact:
n/a
dipak lal (shapeyourimazination@gmail.com)
cr road no -10, q. no L4 -9, agrico
jamshedpur - 9
jharkhand
jamshedpur
Jharkhand,831009
IN
Tel. +657.2432845

Technical Contact:
n/a
dipak lal (shapeyourimazination@gmail.com)
cr road no -10, q. no L4 -9, agrico
jamshedpur - 9
jharkhand
jamshedpur
Jharkhand,831009
IN
Tel. +657.2432845

Billing Contact:
n/a
dipak lal (shapeyourimazination@gmail.com)
cr road no -10, q. no L4 -9, agrico
jamshedpur - 9
jharkhand
jamshedpur
Jharkhand,831009
IN
Tel. +657.2432845

Creation Date: 24-Sep-2009
Expiration Date: 24-Sep-2010

Domain servers in listed order:
ns7.anmoul.com
ns9.anmoul.com

Status:ACTIVE

Registration Service Provided By: ANMOUL.COM
Contact: +91.6572362335
Website: http://www.anmoul.com

Phone numbers associated them

01865 521065
01865 521001

If you know of any other sites associated with them, or indeed, associated with SupportOnClick, please let me know.

If you've been conned by them, report it!

For those in the UK/Ireland:
https://secure.consumerdirect.gov.uk/reportascam.aspx
http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/

For those in the US:

BBB (Better Business Bureau)
http://www.bbb.org/

FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation)
http://fbi.gov

For those in Australia:

Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
http://www.accc.gov.au

/update 02-12-2009 14:04

I've been informed recently, of another site associated with these scammers;

onlinepcdoctors.com

domain: onlinepcdoctors.com
created: 23-Oct-2009
last-changed: 11-Nov-2009
registration-expiration: 23-Oct-2010

nserver: ns57.1and1.com 74.208.2.9
nserver: ns58.1and1.com 74.208.3.8

status: CLIENT-TRANSFER-PROHIBITED

registrant-firstname: Gunjan
registrant-lastname: Poddar
registrant-organization: BusinessProDesigns
registrant-street1: J1/14, Block EP,Sector V,
registrant-pcode: 700091
registrant-state: WB
registrant-city: Kolkata
registrant-ccode: IN
registrant-phone: +91.3323572464
registrant-fax: +91.3323572465
registrant-email: ravi.kedia@limtexit.com

admin-c-firstname: Gunjan
admin-c-lastname: Poddar
admin-c-organization: BusinessProDesigns
admin-c-street1: J1/14, Block EP,Sector V,
admin-c-pcode: 700091
admin-c-state: WB
admin-c-city: Kolkata
admin-c-ccode: IN
admin-c-phone: +91.3323572464
admin-c-fax: +91.3323572465
admin-c-email: ravi.kedia@limtexit.com

tech-c-firstname: Hostmaster
tech-c-lastname: ONEANDONE
tech-c-organization: 1&1 Internet Inc.
tech-c-street1: 701 Lee Rd.
tech-c-street2: Suite 300
tech-c-pcode: 19087
tech-c-state: PA
tech-c-city: Chesterbrook
tech-c-ccode: US
tech-c-phone: +1.8774612631
tech-c-fax: +1.6105601501
tech-c-email: ravi.kedia@limtexit.com

bill-c-firstname: Hostmaster
bill-c-lastname: ONEANDONE
bill-c-organization: 1&1 Internet Inc.
bill-c-street1: 701 Lee Rd.
bill-c-street2: Suite 300
bill-c-pcode: 19087
bill-c-state: PA
bill-c-city: Chesterbrook
bill-c-ccode: US
bill-c-phone: +1.8774612631
bill-c-fax: +1.6105601501
bill-c-email: ravi.kedia@limtexit.com

hpHosts update and fSpamlist server

Just a note folks, due to something cropping up, the hpHosts update will be out tomorrow instead of today (sorry folks).

In addition, the fSpamlist server suffered corruption earlier, and sadly, rebuilding it didn't work (MySQL is playing silly buggers). As such, I've moved the site to a temporary server until I get some time tomorrow to rebuild the server from scratch.

Network downtime ....

Apologies for the latest downtime folks. Sadly the gateway died whilst I was asleep, leaving the entire network unaccessible. I've sorted that out and everything is now available again.

I was also meant to have an hpHosts release out a few days ago, but due to a few things cropping up, it will be out later today instead.