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  1. #1

    Exclamation AdvantageHost => a HOAX/SCAM!?!

    This is frustrating - has anyone else had problems signing up with this free host???

    Would be interested in hearing other peoples' experiences with it ... after my bad experiences with it, I've come to the conclusion that it could very well just be a HOAX ... (I may be wrong though - hope I am).

    I came across AdvantageHost (http://www.advantagehost.co.uk) a few weeks ago (you guys have probably heard about it by now).

    Sounded brilliant ... big, unbelievable promises ... FREE hosting with the following features:

    [but it seems quite fishy to me, lol ... I've noticed some rather odd things about it - I have a very strong suspicion thats its a hoax ... you'll see why later on ]

    -----------------------------------
    No Ads!
    250MB Disk Space
    20GB Bandwidth
    Sub Domain / Domain Name Hosting
    PHP, Perl and SSI
    MySQL Database, PostgreSQL Database
    Frontpage Extensions
    FTP, Online FileManager
    24/7 Ticket Support / Email
    Email Accounts (POP3/SMTP)
    E-mail Auto Responders / Forwarders
    Miva Merchant / Pre-installed Scripts
    Graphical Usage Statistics
    Custom Error pages
    Password Protect Directories and SSL
    Cron Jobs
    Web-based Control Panel: CPanel™ 9.0
    --------------------------------------


    [ That's what they claim anyway, lol ]

    Even though I thought it seemed a bit toooo good to be true (their claims are quite wild as well as quite over-ambitious for a free host, lol) I decided to try and sign up anyway, just in case. Plus 20gb bandwidth would be awesome for free!

    First they do a email-verification check (no problem with that bit). But then they make you sign up for some referral program (e.g. luckysurf etc.) and ask you a 'fill-in-the-blanks' question to confirm that you've joined the particular referral program that they ask you to join at the time.

    Quite an annoying & long-winded process IMO .... and the problem is at the end of it all you find out that your account doesn't even seem to exist! Yes, after having to go through the stupid, long signup process the system doesn't even allow you to login!! ... Says the username/password doesn't exist! (dunno' about other people, but thats what I've experienced anyway).

    And after completing the signing process, NO membership confirmation was even sent! Doesn't even say if you're going to get a confirmation email or not! (My email address received the first email-verification email fine, so I know that my email address IS compatible with it .... NO problems with my email at all!).

    The 'forgot password' page also seems BOGUS/FAKE - the 'send' button is JUST an image ... it doesn't link to any page/script! Here, I'll show you what I mean ... go here and try to click the send button: http://www.advantagehost.co.uk/forgot.php

    [^^^ The 'Send' button doesn't work .... and if you look at the html source of that page you'll see that it really is JUST an image that doesn't do anything!]

    Also noticed that quite a few other people have noticed these problems too:

    See the complaints these ppl made:
    http://www.free-webhosts.com/reviews/AdvantageHost.php

    I tried signing up again (twice) using different email addresses too - I got the SAME problems EVERY time!!!

    But here's the thing: I haven't noticed many other similar complaints about it yet (other than on that one site) ... and its seems that a couple of other people have managed(somehow!??) to get it to work as I've noticed that a few people have managed to get an advantagehost subdomain! This strikes me as a little odd .... it makes me wonder if they've just stopped further signups or something (telling us about it beforehand though would be nice - would prevent us from wasting our time having to go through the long-winded, pointless sign-up process!!). Either that or its just one big HOAX/SCAM!!

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    2,270
    You get what you pay for. If it is free then that might tell you what you will be getting.... Now sometimes you might find a decent free host but somewhere their must be a way they can cash in. A cheap host might be better for you, do some search's around here or a host quote maybe. Possibly if you have a decent site that could get some advertising a company might sponsor your site as well. Lets of options, hopefully they help.
    Greg Lubbelinkhof

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    east coast
    Posts
    64
    No offense, but what kind of scam/hoax has the goal of fleecing a potential mark out of $0?

    It just sounds like a bad idea to me.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    Kelowna B.C.
    Posts
    1,686
    They have your email address, no doubt the company is given credit by those other companies for getting the client to fill out a survey form. They survive off of surveys, opt-in email campaigns that other companies pay for.

    From what they offer, it is not a viable business.

    Looks like they started marketing in May of this year....so they haven't hit that brick wall yet.
    Hosting.Express | Affordable Web and Email Hosting
    Shared | Reseller | 24/7 Support | NSA Free
    SPECIAL OFFER - domain name, email and cPanel web hosting = $3.73 per month | Contact Us: 1-800-861-1888

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    1,036
    Originally posted by outsource
    No offense, but what kind of scam/hoax has the goal of fleecing a potential mark out of $0?

    It just sounds like a bad idea to me.
    Exactly

    There really isn't a whole you can do when you receive their services free of charge

    I'd suggest looking around here a bit, there are many inexpensive hosting plans around.
    CybexHost.com - Shared and Reseller Hosting Solutions on cPanel/WHM Linux Servers
    ModernTweak.com - Discount ModernBill Licenses, Hosted Installations, and Professional Services
    :: Pay for your discount ModernBill license with PayPal
    :: admin[at]cybexhost.com :: AIM: CybexH

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2002
    Posts
    544
    Because this is the same person who did realwebmasters.net, Freehu.com and megawebspace...etc..

  7. #7
    Originally posted by Beachcomber
    Because this is the same person who did realwebmasters.net, Freehu.com and megawebspace...etc..
    Uh, I remember Realwebmasters.net who can forget that 500Mb Space for Free and Unlimited bandwith for free, lol...
    ^_^

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