back to article DomainMonster mash: Hundreds of websites vandalized after Brit web host server hacked

Hundreds of websites have been defaced by hackers who hijacked a web-hosting server run by UK domain registrar DomainMonster. The index.php pages on the attacked sites were rapidly vandalized by miscreants late on Tuesday, with 612 domains and sub-domains overwritten within seconds of each other. Among the websites hit include …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Perhaps

    They should be snapped-up by Talk Talk ?

  2. Captain DaFt

    I really shouldn't... But...

    They did the Hack!

    They did the Monster Hack.

    They did the Hack!

    It was a website bash.

    They did the Hack!

    Those punks are trash.

    They did the Hack!

    I hope they get a rash!

    1. Solarflare

      Re: I really shouldn't... But...

      You shouldn't, but you did, and I salute you for it.

    2. frank ly

      Re: I really shouldn't... But...

      I'm sure you can manage at least one more verse. Go on :)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: I really shouldn't... But...

      Oh alright ill continue...

      They were hacking on the web late one night.

      When their eyes beheld a buggy site.

      Then suddenly with flair and knack.

      They had a hack...

      See chorus above.

  3. John Smith 19 Gold badge
    Unhappy

    Web site security is rarely a priority when IT is a non core activity

    Oh wait...

    I hope DomainMonster is really cheap, because as it's been hit twice now it's clearly not very secure.

  4. purplerobot

    I host two charity websites on their server and both have been 'hacked'. It's only ever been a basic service but it's all that was needed for these sites.

    I've had no updates from DomainMonster and no answer on the phone. The kicker is I only renewed it yesterday!

    1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge

      Have you lost access? or can you re up your files?

      1. purplerobot

        I've had no access via ftp and no news or updates from their support team on when I'll be able to access it.

        Luckily I have offline backups ready to restore from when the time comes. Meanwhile I'm on the hunt for a better host.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    I'm not surprised Domain Monster got hacked so badly since they are owned by the same muppets that own 123 Reg & Heart Internet.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Whats that...

    Getting rekt on the web, is it a monster?

    *airhorn*

    Just for a modern spin on the monster mash.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    no biggie

    just kids having fun it looks like , no malicious intent

    old skool

    just a jolly jape

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Can confirm Domain Monster are muppets

    Moved away from them since they have not updated their systems since 1999 ... really bad at routing, really bad at hosting, really bad at customer service.

    You speak on the phone and you are honestly saying "you realise it is 2017 right"

    Their online interface does NOT work, don't try and do anything creative with the DNS.

    Their email service was down for 3 weeks in December.

    THIS IS A COMPANY TO AVOID.

    They were good in the 1990s, but literally stopped all progress, guess that was the new owners.

    1. BrianV

      Re: Can confirm Domain Monster are muppets

      I was interested to read the comments by jeremy 3 and by a previous writer on the deficiencies of Domain Monster and their successor 123-reg. I am a researcher in English Literature, and use data-processing for authorship attribution studies. I had a website on D-M that contained a lot of research data. In March I receved an email from D-M to say that my site would be transferred to 123-reg, respecting the annual fee that I had already paid. I went through a process of registration with 123-reg and was assured that all was OK. In June, however, D-M sent a mail saying that all accounts would be cancelled. -- I was on holiday at the time, and didn't notice that my site was "down", i.e. gone. I recently spent hours on the phone at 123-reg (literally) to find out what was wrong, and was finally told to contact D-M. I rang their UK number and talked to a man called Iosua in Romania, who told me that since I hadn't replied to their June email, they had cancelled my site and returned the fee to my cc. account. He promised to "raise a ticket" for me, to see if they could still access the content, but no reply since. -- OK, this is a cautionary tale for what can happen to a novice in this field. But, as I start to assemble all the content again, this is my query: where can I find a web-hosting service with better security? I'd be grateful for experienced and informed comment. Thank you! BrianV

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