Inspire Networks

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Posted by juhmpa, 06-15-2006, 10:18 PM
Hey all, Is Inspire Networks completely down? I can't access their main site, my site doesn't work, no responses to emails, and when I call the owner, Mike Bayes, I get his voice mail. Any tips on what to do? It's been over 12 hours already. Thanks
Posted by avit, 06-17-2006, 01:22 AM
I first noticed the outage Thursday at 6AM PST. It's 40 hours now. Looks like they are very much down, but--technically speaking--not out: Earlier today I couldn't even get anything from their nameservers, like they completely fell off the internet. Has anyone seen this before? Is this some kind of DoS attack? I also left 2 messages for Mike, please if anyone gets a response with some kind of info, post back!
Posted by Twey, 06-17-2006, 03:46 PM
Still down. Nobody has any info?
Posted by maconlysource, 06-17-2006, 09:48 PM
They have not returned phone calls (canada411 for Mike Bayes). Enom has not returned emails either. They have taken down my 2 sites as well
Posted by maconlysource, 06-17-2006, 11:30 PM
They have disappeared, and along with them my 2 sites.
Posted by Amy-T, 06-17-2006, 11:48 PM
Did you register your domains though them as well? If not you can get your site back up and running on a new host.
Posted by lastminutehosting, 06-18-2006, 12:19 AM
I hope you have backups this is why it important to. And yes if you control your domain get a new host and get your site backup. Best of luck to you hope everything works out with your next host.
Posted by avit, 06-18-2006, 04:33 AM
I wouldn't jump to conclusions and call it fraud. They are very obviously having some serious network problems. If you look at the pings above, it shows that the servers are there but struggling to respond... If you have the patience, you might even be able to load half a http page request before the connection dies... Your sites are likely still there, they just can't get out! I can only suspect some kind of DDoS attack.
Posted by Twey, 06-18-2006, 05:00 AM
Still doesn't bode well for our sites I suspect Mike is currently away -- that would explain the lack of replies and so on. I wonder why eNom didn't reply, though? Last edited by Twey; 06-18-2006 at 05:05 AM.
Posted by maconlysource, 06-18-2006, 10:26 AM
Then why have they not used alternate email means of communication to contact their clients. They have many people who work at Inspirenetworks who could contact the clients ti inform them if they are still alive or have gone packing to the Ivory Coast.
Posted by Twey, 06-18-2006, 11:29 AM
Nobody but Mike is mentioned by name in the whois query... it could well be a one-man business.
Posted by ldcdc, 06-18-2006, 11:36 AM
I tried visiting their site. My browser actually got their page title, but failed to load the rest of the page. It could be that the server is overloaded or they're under attack?
Posted by Interdit, 06-18-2006, 11:38 AM
Is the ip still reachable ? was it a cpanel server ?
Posted by Amy-T, 06-18-2006, 12:02 PM
I could as well yesterday but today I can not even do that.
Posted by maconlysource, 06-18-2006, 12:03 PM
Must be the mother of all attacks as they have been down for 6 straight days. I have dealt with at least 4 people, and have yet to get any info from anyone. I know you should give the benefit of doubt to them, but...........
Posted by juhmpa, 06-18-2006, 12:25 PM
Hi all, Just a quick update: 1) His phone message says "This is Mike Bayes from Wiband Communications". Do a search for "mike bayes" wiband, and you'll see that he's listed as working for them. I did a google search, and this is a company in Winnipeg, where he is based (btw, the address provided on a whois ifor inspirenetworks is a private house; adds credence to the one-man show idea). Here's the info for Wiband: (866) 469-4226; wiband.com So, he's a tech there, I figure. I tried calling in the evening but got an answering service, who sends out techs to trouble sites. She didn't/couldn't tell me anything. Anyone wanna give them a call during regular business hours on Monday, and see if you can reach him at the office? 2) His site (as well as mine) are working half-way. Images are not appearing for me (the image with the servers is actually a flash animation), nor can I access my cpanel (I can enter my username/pword, but it times out). I contacted iWeb.ca, which is where he/they are buying server space and bandwidth from (where my site, and some of the nameservers, point to), and they said that they have "notified Inspirenetworks of the problem" and that they can't give 3rd parties (such as myself) information about another client. Also, eNom says that as far as they know, he's still in business, but they said that if I heard nothing in 24 hrs, to let them know and they'd see what they can do to get me control of my sites back, so that I can change the nameservers to elsewhere. I wrote back to them, but as it's the weekend, I doubt I'll get a response until Monday (especially seeing as I/we are not actually their clients). Anyone else find this information already, or maybe something else? In any case, even IF this is a DDoS attack or something like that (which seems strange, seeing as the servers are actually at iWeb.ca, and are not his own; they should have been able to handle it), I've already decided to switch host. Not letting his clients know what's up for SEVERAL DAYS is completely unacceptable.
Posted by juhmpa, 06-18-2006, 12:30 PM
Hey there, You say that you've dealt with 4 people?? Who? Go see my post in the "Host ODwn" section for more info. Maybe we can continue this conversation there, so as to keep all the info in one place.
Posted by maconlysource, 06-18-2006, 12:51 PM
Unfortunately they all had "name"@inspirenetworks.com address. Also, they were all through tech via their website.
Posted by Interdit, 06-18-2006, 01:18 PM
Did you try to call them via their Whois info ?
Posted by Interdit, 06-18-2006, 01:23 PM
As it seems a Cpanel host and if your are moving to another and that you have control over the domain name and nameserver, we could try a cpanel import from server to server. It might work to get your backup files and so move on. Good luck
Posted by edwavinci, 06-18-2006, 02:44 PM
Hi , my website also is down and no answer at Who's site phone. I found the his real phone (204) 895-8757 Hope anybody can contact him and post here some news . Edward
Posted by Twey, 06-18-2006, 03:43 PM
As you say, they're not his servers; so if they're having problems, he quite possibly can't even access the database to get hold of our contact details -- even if he's realised (which, if he's currently away, he might not have). Also, he may well have posted notice about his absence -- on his site.
Posted by avit, 06-18-2006, 06:38 PM
forum.iweb.ca/en/viewtopic.php?t=586 I posted a question in the iWeb tech forum earlier today. Hopefully they can give us some answers in there... Not sure what politics are involved with colo/resellers, in terms of what they can tell us though. (sorry, I can't make the above into a [ url ] link. Forum policy for new members...)
Posted by maconlysource, 06-18-2006, 10:37 PM
Inspirenetworks has disappeared. Under whois, my site is reg. through enom. How do I change my DNS servers (is there a link) to new DNS servers for a new hosting company? Thanks.
Posted by avit, 06-18-2006, 10:50 PM
No, there is no link for you to do that since the domain is managed under inspirenetworks' account at eNom. Phone them to start the process. I'm guessing they will need to determine that Mike Bayes is in fact unreachable to confirm the transfer for you, and then they'll need to confirm your identity through some document or signed letter (I hope your name is on the whois record).
Posted by juhmpa, 06-18-2006, 11:05 PM
For twey: Well, I understand that you want to give him the benefit of the doubt, but here's my response to your 2 points: 1) He hasn't posted anything on the site (the homepage is now sometimes accessible), nor did he before everything went bad. 2) Assuming that his client database is on the server, and he can't access it, that still doesn't excuse things. He should definitely have had an offsite backup of that side of the business (emails, etc) in case of problems, if he was at all a responsible busniessman. So thank you for reducing my confidence in him even more.
Posted by anon-e-mouse, 06-19-2006, 12:10 AM
Threads merged.
Posted by briand74, 06-19-2006, 11:04 AM
After several tries to contact via email and phone, most emails weren't getting through, but I did get a reply from technical support (Al) on late Friday. He indicated they were aware of the problem and were working on it. No additional details were given. Luckily, my site in not a commerce site, but I'm still concerned. Inspire has been good to work with in the 6 months I've been with them. I always assummed it was a small operation, and it would be nice if they had a way to keep us informed. But it would appear something serious has gone wrong, and hopefully they can get things back up shortly. Brian
Posted by avit, 06-19-2006, 12:37 PM
Got this reply on iweb.ca forum:
Posted by Twey, 06-19-2006, 12:45 PM
Bah... some damn script kiddy. Still... we should have been contacted.
Posted by juhmpa, 06-19-2006, 12:46 PM
Huh.. It would have been nice to hear that from them directly, or to hear something, at least. Mike could have / should have let some kind of information out somewhere. Here, even. He is a member here. Anyway, let's see what happens next.
Posted by edwavinci, 06-19-2006, 01:17 PM
I contacted Mike and he's gonna call me back in a few minutes !
Posted by Twey, 06-19-2006, 02:20 PM
What did he say?
Posted by avit, 06-19-2006, 03:39 PM
Any reply from Mike yet? Please post back to the forum even if he hasn't called back. It's been a few more hours, not just a few minutes now... X fingers crossed X
Posted by Twey, 06-19-2006, 05:01 PM
Nameservers are down again...
Posted by avit, 06-19-2006, 05:06 PM
I didn't notice they were up at all today?
Posted by edwavinci, 06-19-2006, 07:19 PM
Finally I've talked to Mike (1- (204) 895-8757) He said the site has been attacked. When I asked him if planning to repaire the problem, he said no very sure , maybe! So, for me I assume that the site has been banned forever!! I've already move to other host . In another words we are all simply ********!! Edward
Posted by edwavinci, 06-19-2006, 07:20 PM
Repeat we are F....... Assssss Holesssssssssss
Posted by Twey, 06-19-2006, 08:27 PM
Hm... I'm sure that can't be legal. I paid a year in advance... Does he have any plans to return money?
Posted by Ham Guy, 06-19-2006, 08:44 PM
I find it difficult to believe that Mike would leave things in such a state. I have prepaid for two years of re sellers service and have 14 different sites on the server, I have gone to a backup server until hopefully things are backup and running again. My major concern is two domains I purchased from Mike and the fact that they are locked and can not move them. It is hoped Mike will do the right thing and at least release the locks on the domains so his clients can get back in operation. You know the old saying about rats leaving the sinking ship......well lets hope the ship hasn't sunk yet!....hope to see a posting from the captain soon! Jim
Posted by avit, 06-19-2006, 08:51 PM
Just got this email from Inspire Networks, hope this helps some of you who may not be able to get your email:
Posted by Ham Guy, 06-19-2006, 09:33 PM
hello avit, Could you send me the e-mail address for Mike so I can contact him about releasing the lock on two of my domains. Please reply to va3ku@rac.ca Thank you, Jim
Posted by Twey, 06-19-2006, 10:13 PM
That's very well and good, but what about the refunds? I have no email account... I suppose I'll create a free one somewhere. avit: Can you post the email address here?
Posted by Yuande, 06-20-2006, 02:20 AM
They are out of business ..... and what about the money ? Will we see a little bit of it ? I don`t think so .... F********* B******** I hate this. It`s just unrespectufll for us ... So, if i don`t get my money back, I will go to justice ... Who follow me ?
Posted by Yuande, 06-20-2006, 02:44 AM
inspirenetwork@hotmail.com ou alwhalen11@hotmail.com Informations founded on his whois : >> His name is MIKE BAYES Tel. +1.2049992687 58 Costello Drive Winnipeg, MB R2Y1W Canada Mr. Bayes, if you read this topic, can you answer to us ... it will be very appreciate by your customers ... Thanks
Posted by juhmpa, 06-20-2006, 09:46 AM
Hi everyone, As of right now (9:45 Eastern) I am able to get to the Customer Login page (http://www.inspirenetworks.com/login.html) as though everything was normal, but can't log in to billing or my site. My site is still down. Also, if you try going to another page, you get a 404 error, an improvement over the timeouts that have been the norm since the beginning of this problem. Anyone get a response from Mike, after replying to the email from hotmail last night?
Posted by Twey, 06-20-2006, 10:31 AM
http://www.inspirenetworks.com/ The servers are down -- he's pointed the domain elsewhere in order to announce that.
Posted by Yuande, 06-20-2006, 10:37 AM
Well, hope they will do what they said ... I have sent an email to inspirenetwork@hotmail.com this morning and got their answer this evening : ''David, we will be dealing with any refund issues in the coming days. Today we are focusing on getting our former customers their files back and getting them moved to a new service. We will be in touch tomorrow regarding the payment. Thanks.'' >>> Who is David ? I don`t know ... but, I really hope they will give back our data and refund our payment ....
Posted by Yuande, 06-20-2006, 11:02 AM
and then, I've got the answer to my inquiry from iWeb.ca : ----- Original Message ----- From: "Francis Picard" To: Sent: Tuesday, June 20, 2006 8:51 PM Subject: [RQ #976782] Inspire Networks > Bonjour, > > Inspire Networks est client chez iWeb et leurs serveurs ne sont pas > accessibles pour des raisons que je ne peux malheureusement pas vous > divulguer, dû à la confidentialité. > > Il vous faudrait contacter directement les gens de Inspire Networks afin > qu'il puissent vous donner un statut sur leur situation. > > Cordialement, which mean : I.N. is a customer of iWeb and their servers are not accessible for reasons i can unfortunately not divulge, because of confidentiality. You should contact directly people of I.N. in order that they give you a status of their situation. Cordially >>> quick answer from iWeb .... Well, wait and see ... Hope I.N. will refund our money without need to argue ...
Posted by Twey, 06-20-2006, 02:27 PM
It certainly sounds as though they intend to.
Posted by soniczero, 06-23-2006, 03:01 AM
whats everyone doing then. What actions are ppl taking. i just signed up for a new host, is that what most of you are doing?
Posted by himik, 06-23-2006, 10:24 AM
I got said that my domain is unlocked... I am still asking my money back.
Posted by juhmpa, 06-23-2006, 02:02 PM
Yup, I have my domains back, now I have an account with eNom. Registration renewals will be more expenseive, I gather, but I'd rather stay there, in case something like this happenes again with my new host (I hope not!!), I'll be able to change nameservers, etc directly without having to go through a 3rd party. Upload your backup to the new host, change nameservers, and presto! Back in business. No news on refunds yet, though.
Posted by Twey, 06-25-2006, 09:10 AM
Aye, I'm using InternetRunner now. Still looking for refunds, though. I emailed IN again, but no response.
Posted by avit, 06-25-2006, 11:39 AM
For the record, I was treated well by Inspire in light of the problems they had to deal with. My backups were made available, and the money I recently paid for some SSL certificates that didn't come through was refunded. I had to deal with registrars myself to get the domains unlocked & transferred. Most of the domains had my name on them (some had my clients'), so it wasn't too bad. It just took some time. If there's one thing I've learned from this it's to keep domain registrations and hosting at separate places. That way if the hosting goes down, you have someone to reach for pointing the DNS elsewhere.
Posted by TheTrueHero, 06-25-2006, 03:16 PM
I'm still here waiting. I, in my ignorance, attempted to transfer my domain name to my new host (dot5), but failed. All I need now is my god damn domain so I can change the name servers. Also, no news on refunds anyone else?
Posted by Twey, 06-26-2006, 01:19 PM
I've received an email regarding refunds:
Posted by juhmpa, 07-12-2006, 10:28 AM
Has anyone else gotten refunds yet? I haven't gotten that email posted above, and I tried contacting them, no response. Anyone else have any luck?
Posted by himik, 07-12-2006, 06:44 PM
I got half of what I expected.

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