I have a domain name that is in need of renewal in the next 5 days. When I set it up, I chose manual renewal instead of auto. It was an oversight, but not a big deal, as long as I do it.

This is a note to my web hosting customers in Portland and elsewhere, but since it applies universally, I’m posting the info here…

OS Commerce and PHPbb are free, or “open source” software programs available with all PDXTC web hosting packages. Upon installation from your web hosting control panel, you have access to the latest version, and any known security vulnerabilities are patched upon installation.

I got a text message saying Spamcop got a report that our mail server IP address was sending spam. After checking my mail 1/2 hour later, I determined that it was a flook, and surely Spamcop wouldn’t blacklist me.

So I sat down and banged out about 4 email replies and a couple of new ones and hit “send and receive”…

That’s right - our webhosting server was hacked, and I’m not trying to hide it. Instead, I’m writing this to brag about how quickly the problem was discovered, and how quickly it was repaired and locked down again.

It started back in August of 2004, all my personal domain names were on an old hosting account with an insecure password. At that time, a hacker got in and defaced the index page of all of my personal sites.

Looking for a local Portland contact for your web design or hosting services? Newer technology and software improvements now enable you to have a high quality website designed for a fraction of what it cost just a couple of years ago. Whether you need a website for your Portland Oregon or Vancouver Washington business, or whenther you’re located else where in the world, our single page web sites start at just $99 and multiple page sites start at $299. To see sample sites or to get a quote, visit the Oregon web design page of my website…