There is already a scam alert about this "service" here: http://drupal.org/node/211166
I just thought, I'd share my experience with you guys too, so that you don't fall victim of their false advertisement, and get burned the way I and my friends did.

The features they advertise do look pretty good, but for your own sakes DO NOT FALL FOR IT. This "service" is a DISASTER from beginning to end, it is simply unbelievable that a "service" of this quality and this much contempt and disrespect to the customers is still around.

First of all, you'll be lucky if your uptime is 60%. Yes, half of the time you or your users try to access the site, it is down. Disks fail, servers shut down ... and on, and on and on ... The other half of the time, it is up, but you have to be REALLY patient to get the page loaded, it is so slow, I sometimes think they are just typing the content in by hand as it is loading. I was running a standard BB engine there, nothing fancy.

You think this is all? Oh, no, just wait, this is only the beginning. So, if you get some kind of traffic coming in (and I mean just SOME traffic - maybe, 100 hits per DAY, nowhere near real traffic), their puny servers start to collapse, and come down to a CRAWL. And then (get this!), they blame YOU for your db queries being "slow"! My 12 year old PC runs these same queries in milliseconds (not tens of milliseconds, single digits).

So, they let you run this parody on a website for a while, and accumulate enough users, and user-contributed data, they just ... shut it down! Yes, without any kind of a warning or anything, in the middle of the day, the site just disappears, and all your users start getting redirected to some stupid and irrelevant upsell page for the webhosting, instead of the site they were looking for, without explanation or any message whatsoever. And they won't tell you about it. You'll have to wait til one of the users thinks about notifying you to find out your site is gone.

Naturally, when this happens, you login to your account to see what is going on ... and that's when you find out that your "slow queries" violated their TOS. Needles to say, there is nothing in TOS about "slowness" of your "queries", I mean, one would have to be a complete idiot to put something like that in their TOS ("our servers are way too weak to sustain anything remotely resembling a database, you are better off hosting it on your damn laptop").

Anyway, so, what do you do now? I suppose, write them a polite letter where you apologize sincerely for inadvertedly straining their "servers" with your "slow queries", promise, that it will never happen again, and humby point out, that there is actually nothing in the TOS speaking to the effect of the speed of the db queries, and thus technically you are not even in violation.

At this point, you are, probably, not even interested in reinstating your account anymore. I for one, had enough of this "service" by now. It's nothing but trouble, problems all around. NOTHING works as advertised ... So, I don't even ask them to reactivate the account, just give me my data back, simple enough, isn't it? Let me download the content of the database, and I'll be out of your hair. Simple enough, isn't it?

Well ... that's where the most interesting part begins! The response I got from their "support" person, states that:
accounts that they THINK are in violation of something, are cancelled immediately
Once the account is cancelled, all data pertaining to it is DESTROYED, not just on the server disks, but even in the backups, and there is absolutely no way to recover it.

Now, I don't know about you, but I found this "policy" absolutely EYE POPPING. Not only, they shut you down whenever they fell like it, but they will allso INTENTIONALLY and WILLFULLY DESTROY ALL OF THE CUSTOMER'S DATA. Not because of some catastrophic failure or an act of sabotage, but AS A MATTER OF POLICY.
"Hosting service", destroying their customer's data on purpose? That's a new one ...

I just could not believe my eyes when I read their reply. I figured, there must be something I am missing, misunderstood, it just cannot be true. So, I write back, and ask for a clarification. Here is the exact reply I got back from their "suport":

--- QUOTE
Hello,

Your account is gone. Nothing can be recovered. All backups are removed. Any or all data is gone. I don't see why you are nit picking at everything.

Regards,
Damien | I hate signatures
--- END QUOTE

Now THIS left me speechless. Just WOW.

Perhaps you are thinking something along the lines of "well, this will never happen to me, because I always make backups". Think again! If you have more then 10M of data, the db backups won't work with this hoster either. They crash in the middle of the download. I tried many times and not once was able to download successfully. And when I asked "support" about it, I got a reply to the effect that "yeah, we know, it does not work".

Well, enough said. I hope, I was clear enough to persuade you to stay as far away from this "service" or from any other "service" ran by these fraudsters (notably, hosting24.com is their creature too - I urge you to stay even father away from it!) for your own sake.
There are plenty of hosting choices around the net, and this one is BY FAR THE WORST ONE!

Comments

WorldFallz’s picture

Sorry but I have to say it-- what do you expect for free / cheap?

You get what you pay for-- I don't know why anyone would expect it to be any different with web hosting.

emilyren’s picture

Yes, I totally agree with your word of "You get what you pay". Web hosts also make business, so how can you expect them guarantee you a good hosting without paying or only paying such a little? This is the main reason as I never choose the free or cheap hosting.

JamesOakley’s picture

Errmm....

You do know that you just replied to a 5 year old thread?


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Jaypan’s picture

Someone else had dragged it up from the dead earlier in the day (there is a new post further down the page).

villecoder’s picture

I recently posted an entry on my website about 000webhost.com which basically boiled down to the same point. I've even got pictures of the ticket conversation I had with customer no-service about my account.

What sandysite says is pretty much the truth and pretty much what happened to me and my WoW guild's website. We had a drupal installation set up on one of their servers. Downtime was not unexpected, but we had a lot of problems with the database being down more often than the webserver. This naturally prompted a host of error messages in Drupal as well as several emails from our SMF installation. Then after about 6 months of being online, our site was suddenly taken down without warning. Unlike sandysite, our ToS violation was never disclosed.

Yes, I understand that you get what you pay for. So I'm willing to ignore the downtime and even the site reviews (i.e. they take your site down for "review" while they make sure you're not hosting anything against their ToS). But the sudden cancellation for a perfectly legitimate website? There's just no excuse for that.

Stay away! Just say no!

Tommy Kaneko’s picture

My client also started with hosting24.com, and it has been a headache too! It seems not much has changed since your experience. I won't go into details here, but to summarize and emphasise:

hosting24.com + Drupal (or MySQL for that matter) = waste of your time

I'm not sure if it is ok to mention a company I have had a good experience with on these forums (I think as long as there is no link, it's ok?), but since so many people are looking for a good hosting for their install of Drupal, I thought I'd go ahead. If you are in the UK (or maybe outside, I'm not certain), register1.net is very good with their VDS. They accommodate all sorts of requests, like installing extensions for the Apache server on request. They don't have cPanel, and some of their user interfaces do look a little old, but they more than make up for it in their responsive support. No shell scripting, but they can write a shell script for cron jobs, however, so it's not that bad.

I just feel that I need to mention these guys every so often since so many hosts are so awful.

Design is my game http://tomkaneko.com

vitamino’s picture

Hello,

i don t manage to go on my accout!

it is noticed as "Canceled", can you give reasons and solutions?

Regards,

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Posted by Staff Member, on December 11, 2011, 09:25:47
Hello X,

I'm sorry, but your account was canceled for Fraudulent Order Details. If you believe this is a mistake, please contact paypal for more Details

It has been my pleasure to assist you today. If you have any further questions or concerns feel free to contact us again.

Thank you for using our services,
Gibson R.
Help Desk Staff

Business Enterprise Hosting Media
www.hosting24.com

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Posted by X, on December 11, 2011, 15:24:49
i didn t received any message from paypal, i have the invoice confirming the payment, my status in paypal is "verified".

I am not agree to pay the days i am waiting for the connection.

please check on your side, i am trying this month paying full 7$ in order to test the service. if ok we go further.

Best regards,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Posted by Staff Member, on December 11, 2011, 15:29:33
Hello X,

Your account was canceled due to fraudulent / incorrect order or payment details. This might have happened if you were using a card that belongs to your relative or friend, or if incorrect information was input in the payment registration form.

Please contact the payments processor - Paypal.com (you can submit them a support ticket from the "Resolution Center") and write them your payment ID. They will be able to assist you further and they will explain you why they have marked your payment as "fraudulent". If they approve your payment, we will setup your account.

Please contact us with any additional questions.

Best Wishes,
Arnold F.

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Posted by X, on December 13, 2011, 04:50:19
Hello,

i contacted with them directly and still have this automatic process, i wish to solve this rapidly now, can you tell me if my domain name is registered?

The fact is i didn't get any advise about this trouble! my payement is validated on my bank and paypal account.

regards,

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Posted by X, on December 14, 2011, 03:58:20
Dear Sir,

I am totaly reconcidering our possible collaboration, i have had contact with Paypal by phone, they confirmed me that first time, on the 4th of December, payement has been done and confirmed.

I putted it as "litige process" in order to have a formal answer also they now have sent again the payement.

Can you give me information about this "possibility of fraud" given by paypal.

Do you now have received the payement?

I see my domain name as "closed" can you give me details about it?

Not having insurance about complience of the service or money back on my account tomorrow 15, i will enter in procedure against your service.

Thank you for your understanding,

Regards,

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Posted by Staff Member, on December 14, 2011, 05:07:01
Hello X,

Your account was canceled for fraud details as you have selected ZZZZ as your country and your IP shows that you are from YYYY, can you tell us why?

Should you need additional assistance, have further questions, comments or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us again.

Many Thanks,
Lewis M.

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Posted by X, on December 14, 2011, 05:36:51
Hello,

Sorry... i can't tell you why, i consider that you don't have to know about my PERSONAL life!!! but the fact is that my adress for invoices is in ZZZZZ and i am ZZZZ citizen.

after for "additional assistance, further questions, comments or concerns":

as in my last message:

Can you give me information about this "possibility of fraud" given by paypal.

Do you now have received the payement?

I see my domain name as "closed" can you give me details about it?

Regards,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Posted by Staff Member, on December 14, 2011, 07:25:32
Hello X,

Unfortunately your account will not be activated as we do not allow buying with different card than your current location

Contact us for a consultation or with any additional questions you may have.

Regards,
Lewis M.

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Posted by X, on December 17, 2011, 07:52:31
Hello Hosting24 team,

you have the right to choose your customers also i accept your decision to not activate my account.

On the other hand, if you do not allow buying with different card than my location, you do not have to accept payement from PAYPAL!!!

Your non answer to my questions seems confirming that you well received money on your account, as also confirmed by PAYPAL!

thanks to the 30 days money back guarantee i expect from your part a fast and effective reaction in order to GIVE ME BACK WHAT I HAVE PAID : $7,84 USD `

regards

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Posted by Staff Member, on December 17, 2011, 08:09:55
Hello X,

Your money is at PayPal, You should ask them for support getting it back.

We look forward to being of service.

Regards,
Arnold F.

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Posted by X, on December 17, 2011, 08:36:42

THEY ALREADY CONFIRMED ME THAT YOU HAVE RECEIVED THE MONEY!!!

ref S-AAAAAAAAAAAA

I have the invoice. made a litige process, had them on the phone. closed the litige.

do i have to contact you there?

Société en Commandite par Actions
Siège : 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg
RCS Luxembourg B 118 349

just to tell you, i am not going to wait 1 month in order to see that i can t have my money back.

regards,

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Posted by Staff Member, on December 17, 2011, 09:09:01
Hello,

I am forwarding your ticket to the sales department for their review. You should receive a response shortly. We appreciate your patience in this matter.

Thank you,

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Posted by X, on December 21, 2011, 16:03:37
hello,

when are you going to give me an answer? 4 days waiting!
do i have to contact Paypal and other organism showing them you are liers... or "fraudulent"?

regards

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Posted by Staff Member, on December 22, 2011, 10:20:08
Hello X,

Your payment was now refunded.

Should you need more information, please don't hesitate to contact us.

Thank You,
Lewis M.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The end...

they gave me back my money without anymore information, i understand they can have an internal policy but in this case, saying that Paypal is responsable is fully unacceptable... and more when they are telling you a fake story. They had my money from the beginning!

at the end i am happy to not have been further with them.

Be carefull, be reactive, be happy

jacob-g’s picture

I used to run a site on their servers. It was a great site, and was very popular among my friends, and it was well known in several communities that serve the same purpose as that site. But, about a month ago, one of my friends went and visited the site, and told me there was a "Forbidden" error on every page he tried to visit (still there as I type this). I went on FTP to see if the files were still intact there, and it gave me an FTP forbidden error as well. So, I logged in to the members area, and it said my account was shut down for "excessive CPU usage". I looked through their terms of service, and it was not mentioned one time there. So, I decided to submit a support ticket to get my files back, and switch to a different host. Here is a little transcript of our conversation:
—Me:—

To whom it may concern,

The site mod-share.webuda.com has been (unjustly) suspended for “exceeding CPU limits”. I believe your system is fraudulent and unfair, but that is besides my point.

All I want from 000webhost now is to get the entirety of my uploaded files back. There are some important files for me.

Regards,
Jacob

—Them:—
Hello,

Please upgrade to our premium UNLIMITED hosting at http://www.hosting24.com to get your account reactivated

Regards,
Helpdesk Staff
http://www.000webhost.com

—Me:—
Mr Staff,

I know how to read, thank you! I do not wish at all to get my account reactivated. I wish to get the files back (possibly through a ZIP folder download) and switch to a different hosting provider.

Distinct Regards,
Jacob
—Them—
Hello,

To get a backup, your account must be unsuspended. Please upgrade to get your account restored.

Thank you for using our services,

Lawrence

Volunteer Staff
http://www.000webhost.com
—So...—
I ran a perfectly legitimate website, and the HTTP response was rather slow, and it was down often. Then, they acted like this was my fault (the site probably got no more than 50 hits a day). They will blame you for their problems, and shut down your own site. I would be better off hosting the site on my 1987 Macintosh, given their quality. As for their support, they reply within 24 hours with the same answer every time: upgrade and your problems will magically go away. The original host for my site was also bad, but at least they didn't shut it down for no reason! I've had sites hosted on a lot of sites. I've had some sites hosted on acceptable hosts, some on good hosts, and a few on great hosts. But, I've never seen one like this before. Their hosting software is among the worst in the entire world of web hosting. Their software is out of date. Their server can't handle a simple HTTP request without crashing every other time. You would be better off hosting your site on your laptop.

Garry Ricketson’s picture

Thank you for sharing this, I started with them in 2011, never had much problems, but yesterday, it happened. They pulled the same thing, suspended my account, no warning before. I get the same message pasted into the reply, from support. 3 years of work lost, oh I do have stuff backed up, but it took time to get listed in the google search, etc. That can not be replaced, I have started a new site, now using paid hosting,, I also had bad experience with hosting24.com, My advice is stay away from both, they seem good at first, but after you have spent a lot of time building your site up, etc, they will "screw" you. I learned to hard way, hopefully others see these, and don't waste their time on 000webhosts or hosting24

JamesOakley’s picture

Your Google rankings should be unaffected - if you have a backup, just restore it with a new host, and Google will carry on indexing your site as before. They have a number of days that a site can be down before they penalise you for it by assuming the site may be offline forever (they don't publish such details) - so move fairly quickly and you should lose nothing.

At least you have a backup. Thousands of people don't bother to keep them.


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Mahmoudc’s picture

To avoid losing huge amount files just save them on your computer, So even if they suspend your account or something you still have the files you need to get your site back running, but first you need to find a new hosting service then when you have done that upload the files that you have saved on your computer.

Hope this could help

kenkit’s picture

I had set up a site at 000webhost, this was my first site actually and it was a great site,I was just backing up data on the Controll panel and then when I decided to check the site again then
Bam !!
Forbidden
You don't have permission to access /zyro/ on this server.
Additionally, a 403 Forbidden error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.

and in the Controll panel a message talking about 1000 emails.
I have just finished submitting a ticket requesting they check the problem, if it turns out that the whole thing was a scam I will copy your post and add it to all of my blogs and social media requesting people to avoid such scams, so that nobody will go through the same issue.
But all in all I have lost alot of data from that server.

jeanpolcr’s picture

Hey,
happen to step on this story, I know it's old, but people didn't stop to comment on it even after several years, so I decided to share the experience that I'm having with them today.
I joined 000webhost half a year ago, was a beginner, had no idea about coding (still have only a little), s it was the perfect experiment since the service was free. In any case, everything turned out for the best, the web builder was very easy to use and I started my first page in no time (for it seemed like sth incredible). After some time, I would start to get traffic, so naturally had to upgrade and move to Hosting24. The 24/7 support they provide there is simply amazing. The staff is quick to answer and does it professionally.
I don't know what it was like then, but today they really are doing a great job, I believe they have improved a lot, since they are called one of the leaders in free hosting services. Hope that they can keep up their standards!

JamesOakley’s picture

That's great to hear - good stories are always refreshing.

What domain do you host with them?


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filipinomil’s picture

Hosting24 is a scam hoting company

This site is not Trusted, they offered with the low price and they said $4.50 every month lifetime, BUT don't trust because when you need to extend your subscription, the price is higher than what they said.

My first payment for 3 months is $13.50 and now they collect me a 20.97 for 3 months .

BIG LIE
BIG SCAM

domey’s picture

I've read a lot of mixed reviews about 000webhost but still took the chance.
Since the service is free, I have nothing to loose.
And everything turned out for the bright side, I learned a lot, have a good looking website and a friendly community in the forum that helps me a lot, so believe that have no right to complain.
I can really recommend them to all who want to learn and are new.

JamesOakley’s picture

Here's what I asked the person above who said something similar:

That's great to hear - good stories are always refreshing.

What domain do you host with them?

They never replied, which was a shame.

Given that the vast majority of web hosting reviews on the internet are shills, I advise people to pay no attention to reviews that aren't verified in some way. That's therefore what I'd advise anyone reading this who's come across jeanpolcr's review.

Which is your domain?


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Hadi Farnoud’s picture

those good old days of 000webhost.com

I had the same issue with them! I lost months of work due to not having a backup of my blog. it's sad but ultimately my fault. they have no obligation to keep the service running when you are not paying