File Corruptions

[laura]

I seem to be getting file corruptions with increasing frequency. I cant see any reason why this has suddenly started - its not due to any changes that have been introduced. The corruption seems to be occurrring during the transfer from the PC to the server.

What happens is that files that are OK on the PC are not being properly transferred up to the server. The main affected files seem to be ".cat" although sometimes its a ".html" - and there is no apparent pattern to which files(s) get affected at which point in time. So a file might be fine, then we download orders and upload as normal, a file is corrupted in the transfer to the server, there is no warning or error message that a problem has occurred. We only find out because a customer tells us or an error appears in the server error log or we happen to check a page and find it. We upload again and the same file is fine but perhaps another one has now been impacted or maybe everything is fine for a few download/uploads before a problem happens again.

Of course most customers dont tell us of an error they just go elsewhere :(.

Since it appears to be random and since we only find out there's a problem when someone tries to access that page, this issue is driving me to distraction - of course most customers dont tell us of an error they just go elsewhere.

Has anyone come across this before?
Any suggestions how to fix it?

All help would be gratefully appreciated.

Thanks,

Laura

[guccij]

Who is your host?

[laura]

We are hosted by TotalChoiceHosting.

The Lembrassa site has been hosted there for about 18 months and we have not had any major problems.

Thanks,

Laura

[leehack]

A few days ago one of my customers had the script injection virus on his site, yet he was not seeing it his end, my anti-virus picked it up. He has now upgraded to malwarebytes and kaspersly as i have and the infection was found and gotten rid of. Perhaps this is similar, check your system and then change ftp and smtp passwords. I'd consider cleaning down the server and refreshing the whole thing again.

[laura]

Lee thanks for the suggestions.

We are already using Kaspersky and it is not showing anything that might casue this problem. We also downloaded and ran MalwareBytes and it gave the PC a clean bill of health.

We have cleared out the server and re-published the whole site on a few occasions recently to try and get rid of the problem. However, following that whenever we download orders and upload again one or more file corruptions may occur and so we are back in trouble again.

Thanks for taking an interest in this.

Laura

[leehack]

Hmmm...if you've changed passwords too, that kind of exhausts most of my ideas. My last one would be to change host, if that doesn't solve it, at the very least you've narrowed it down to either your system or actinic.

[laura]

Lee,

I think changing hosts would be a last resort for us and one we would be very reluctant to do. As you said there is no guarantee that that would even solve the problem.

We could download and re-install Actinic, but I thought perhaps someone else might have come across the same type of problem before and that it might be a known issue for Actinic under certain circumstances. In that case at least we might be able to change something and avoid those circumstances.

Thanks,

Laura

[guccij]

Have you been in contact with your hosts about this?

I see they have had some vulnerability issues (http://www.totalchoicehosting.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=38341) of their own in the past.

So I'd echo what Lee suggests - changing hosts. I know you think it's a last resort, but believe me, bringining your website "home" to a UK host could help you massively for all sorts of reasons.

[laura]

Guccij,

We are in touch with our hosting company, but it is difficult asking them to look for a needle in a haystack when the needle might not even be in their haystack at all.

As for bringing the site "home", a significant proportion of our sales are to non-UK customers, so I am not sure what benefits there would actually be in going to a UK host rather than a USA host.

And to make such a change and then find the problem still exists would be such a waste of time and effort - and would leave us no better off.

Still hoping that someone else has encountered something similar and either has overcome it or at least knows what caused it.

Thanks,

Laura

[leehack]

Sounds like you are delaying the inevitable Laura. The cost to try a different host, weighed up against your time trying to solve this and far more importantly the possible loss of sales is surely not even a contest?

I wish you the best of luck, just make sure your decisions aren't based on stubbornness or a refusal to change, it really is a quick process nowadays. It's never guaranteed of course, but i'd bet a large amount on you being completely live on a new package by 4pm at the latest if you actioned the change now.

[laura]

Lee,

Surely it's only inevitable if the problem is caused by the host? So far I can't see any evidence that that is the case. In fact everything so far, including the suggestions on this thread, seems to point to something in Actinic.

I am puzzled why re-hosting became a solution? To me it just seems like a desperation move with no indication of any benefits.

Laura

[leehack]

I am puzzled why re-hosting became a solution? To me it just seems like a desperation move with no indication of any benefits.
A desperation move is surely sitting there hoping for some random miracle to appear from a poster on a public forum, that sounds a bit more deperate than proactively trying something.

You're right, it's not guaranteed to fix it, but it is guaranteed at worst to eliminate a possible problem, which in itself is progress. When you stalemate on a problem, you have to keep trying to solve it in my eyes, fingers crossed and a cup of tea won't do that.

Your system is virus free, you've changed passwords, you've cleaned down and refreshed the server, you pass a network test. All you have left is hoping for a miracle or trying a host change. Which one you choose, is completely inconsequential to me, just trying to move you forward on the problem solving road. Everything points to hosting for me, not actinic.

[leehack]

http://www.lembrassa.com/acatalog/error.err - lots of time errors showing, maybe your expiry period needs increasing, perhaps the cross pond hosting is causing an issue with time?

[pinbrook]

I seem to be getting file corruptions with increasing frequency. in order to offer other suggestion rather than a change of host it would be helpful if you explained exactly what file corruptions you are seeing, ie how is the file corrupted? when is it corrupted, and what is the result for your site visitors?

[laura]

Lee, I appreciate all suggestions and of course this forum is not the only route we are using to try and find a cure. In terms of the timing issue you refer to, there has been an lot of correspondence on that on another thread and it doesn't seem to be related to the geography of the host. People hosted in the UK are experiencing it also.

Pinbrook, I think Lee has included a link to the error log in his last mail but here is a typical message we are seeing:-

Program = SHOPCART, Program version = 22725 , HTTP Server = Apache/2.2.11 (Unix) mod_ssl/2, Return code = 999 , Date and Time = 2010/01/19 16:46, Internal Errors = /home/mxqpsmoa/public_html/acatalog/A00081.cat is corrupt. The signature is invalid.

only the affected file varies unpredictably - differing ".cat" file, sometimes ".html", sometimes other types.

Thanks again for all the feedback. It is just as important to rule things out so that we can narrow down where the problem lies.

Thanks,

Laura

[Golf Tee Warehouse]

Is changing the script ID worth a try?

[laura]

Darren, if you mean the ID number then yes we did try changing that at one point, but unfortunately it made no difference.

Thanks,

Laura

[Golf Tee Warehouse]

Yes, I was referring to the 'CGI Script ID Number' in network settings.

[pinbrook]

My only suggestion is to do a refresh from the troubleshooting menu, ensure that all cat, fil pl and pm files get replaced. Change script Id to 2 just for the sake of it.

After you've done this, examine the webspace to check all permissions are correct. and that all files have the new datestamp.

Save the error.err file to PC and put and empty one back on the server.

Now monitor for 24 hours.

On another note you say your main business comes from the states, is that what you are targetting or is that just what has happened? the reason for this is of course down to the fact you use both US hosting and a com TLS. If you wanted more UK business you need to take more steps with Google to get your location recognised as UK.

[laura]

Jo, thanks for the suggestions.

On your other point, I don't think I said that most of our customers are in the States (or if I did I apologise). What I meant is that a significant part of our sales are coming from elsewhere than UK. The UK is still our single biggest country, but the likes of Denmark, France, Poland, Australia, USA, and many others are increasingly appearing on our order list and are very important to us. For our main keywords we are already on page 1 or page 2 for Google in the UK and seemingly in other countries also. So if we focused all our efforts on improving the UK standing then we might at the same time lose in other areas?

Thanks,

Laura

[Mike Hughes]

Actinic digitally signs the .fil and .cat files to prevent hacking. The error message you're getting is saying that someone / something has altered the file and the digital signature is no longer correct.

You're unlikely to get this on .html files as these aren't digitally signed.

The reason people are suggesting that this looks like either:

a) a security issue, or

b) a server issue

is that if it were actinic making mistakes we'd expect to be seeing a lot more of it. This problem usually occurs very rarely and typically disappears with a site refresh.

Two things I can suggest are:

1. Compact your database, just in case in an error has crept in somewhere.
2. Follow the suggestion in this thread. http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?t=3674 to clear out and refresh all cat and fil files.

If the problem continues I personally would try a different host. You can get trial hosting from lots of people (including Actinic) and if that works without problems then it kind of points the finger at your current hosts.

Mike

[NormanRouxel]

What make is your router?

I recall a few years ago some people using Netgear DG384 routers having uploaded files munged by the router. See http://community.actinic.com/showthread.php?t=13557 for one thread.

[laura]

Mike,

Thanks - that makes things a lot clearer for me.

I will be trying a number of the suggestions made on this thread to see if they resolve the situation more than temporarily.

And as you said if none of these provide the result, then it must be something to do with the server or host provider and we will have to take act on that basis.

Thanks again for putting things so succinctly,

Laura

[laura]

Many thanks to all who contributed and assisted with this issue.

As sometimes happens in these cases, the problem has turned out to be a combination of elements each of which had to be fixed before the whole situation could be resolved.

Security was not an issue - thank goodness. The problems were all at the client end not at the server at all. The host put in a lot of time and effort working with us and checking logs and settings at their side. All credit to them since they never believed it was their issue but still were very co-operative and put in the work to help diagnose the root cause.

The final piece of the jigsaw, which I mention because it may help others in future, was significantly increasing the default timeout periods on the FTP options under Advanced Network Options in Actinic.

Thanks from a much relieved site owner.

Laura