Decent Hosting Outside US, With Added Snowflakes

March 15, 2016 3:44 PM

I'm looking for a new hosting company for a domain I own and use for personal projects. I'm using Hostmonster at the moment. They're OK, but don't do HTTPS without a private IP, and don't do IPv6 at all. If I'm going to deal with the hassle of switching, I've got a laundry list of needs and wants.

Needs:

• Hosting company offices and servers located someplace that at least pays lip service to rule of law. By that I mean, at a minimum, none of the so-called "fourteen eyes" countries.
• Web hosting for a simple Wordpress site.
• Direct control of files under public_html/ either through FTP or some other standards-based means.
• Serve as an MX for my domain (about a dozen email addresses, all low-volume).
• Provide a smarthost for sending outgoing mail, with a reasonable chance of that mail getting delivered.
• Support for HTTPS using a certificate I provide. (It's fine if this is via SNI.)
• Support for native IPv6. (Native means that -- not Teredo, not 6in4, not NAT.)
• Server is Linux or one of the *BSD flavors. No windows. No VMs on Windows hosts.

Wants:

• Shell access via SSH.
• Reasonable cost. If I can get off under US$200.00 annually, I'll call it a win.
• Some kind of VPS? Not really necessary, but I'll take it if I can get it.

If you're wondering, I'm not planning on doing anything naughty. (No pirated software, no pr0nz, no spam, no malware.) My bandwidth needs in both directions are modest. I suspect posting a self-link has bad optics, but if you're curious what domain I'm talking about and I'm up to, click the "website" link on my profile page.

I'm strongly considering various hosting providers in Iceland. Anybody have direct experience with specific ones, good or bad?

Any other ideas or suggestions?

Right now, my domain is a .org which means my domain records are subject to arbitrary seizure by US authorities. I'm considering getting a new domain under a different toplevel that is not under US control. Suggestions for specific toplevels to use for this purpose would be appreciated as well.

posted by sourcequench to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Stay away from any of the EIG owned companies. You might already be aware as HostMonster is one. Here is a list.

You may want to check out siteground.com. I think they meet most if not all of your criteria. They do have server locations in the fourteen eye countries, but I believe they're in Bulgaria.

I personally have not used them, but am thinking I will get hosting there at the end of the year. I'd do it now, but I paid a year in advance for A Small Orange, and they started sucking.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 4:09 PM on March 15, 2016

I'm pretty sure Webfaction checks all your boxes. I've been hosting there for a couple of years and haven't had to file a single support ticket. I'm using US based servers but there is a check box on my control panel to request migration to off shore servers. I'm paying $9.95 a month.
posted by COD at 4:09 PM on March 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

Webfaction
posted by humboldt32 at 2:50 AM on March 16, 2016

Dreamhost hits everything except the "not in the US" bit. If that's a dealbreaker, so be it. But it's cheap and I've had a great experience with them - they just set up an integrated system to obtain free SSL certs from LetsEncrypt. Dead easy.
posted by caution live frogs at 10:13 AM on March 16, 2016

Response by poster: "In the US" is a dealbreaker. So is "has personnel or assets in a fourteen eyes country". So, thank you to everyone who has responded so far, but no siteground, Webfaction or Dreamhost.

If I'm willing to move "native IPv6" to the "want" column, it looks like orangewebsite or 1984 are suitable choices. I'd welcome any comments, positive or negative, from Mefites who have firsthand experience with either of these.

Thanks.
posted by sourcequench at 8:20 AM on March 17, 2016