The VPS was attacked about 6 hours ago with by an unknown assailant via DDoS attack with a 529 megabit per second volume.
After the rather well put together email I received from MyHosting support, I reviewed the terms of service to refresh my memory - unfortunately, MyHosting is not tolerant of this kind of "abuse" of their network, and under repeated attacks my subscription will be forcibly terminated.
This is obviously not acceptable for a hosting service that is supposed to have at least 95%+ uptime - unpredictablility, as well as potential for immediate shutdown.
As such, it is necessary for me to cancel my subscription with MyHosting, as I really can't guarantee anything if someone can toss $10 to some seedy type with a botnet and take me down.
The question is, where too from here? One possible solution is to purchase a server from server4you, which is the host that Kalphiter used. This is an excellent option, and they will not shut me down if I get DDoS'd. However, there are two drawbacks:
Firstly, I need to flat out buy a server. Unless I get a refund from MyHosting, I'm down $85, which is well into "the red" and as I stated clearly in the OP, I cannot be in the red. A possible solution to that problem would be to contact the generous individuals who offered to fund me should I need it. This is... a valid option, but I'm not keen on entering debt just to make this work. I understand I could simply sell them servers, but I view it as a last resort.
The second problem with swapping to server4you is that I have to keep working on this service. As much as I want to run this service for you guys, I do not want to spend my days worrying about some starfish who can take me down for cheaper than I'm offering my service. Despite server4you not terminating my plan, a DDoS will shut me down during the duration of the attack. This is not acceptable by my standards. As far as I am aware, there is no way to mitigate the damage of the DDoS in my specific circumstance - if anyone knows how... let me know.
The biggest problem overally is that there isn't enough interest in this service. What with the market saturated by two free hosting services, there aren't enough people left. There are only two remotely enthusiastic people who really want a piece of my service, and there are few signs of others coming on. (Eg, no one saying "I might join up if this turns out good.")
Because of that, I have chosen to cut my losses and shut down the service for an indefinite period of time, likely permanently.
I have refunded the two clients I had. I apologize to Cca, and anyone who was quietly interested in buying, and the few who did say they might buy.
I have no evidence to point an accusatory finger in any direction. Do not speculate on who launched the attack - I want no hate to come from this.
Good luck, Hammereditor. I hope your internet can take it.
I will leave the topic open until I shut down the VPS at midnight tonight. One user has already cleared out, and I will terminate the VPS earlier if the other user leaves.
