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Are you familiar with white hat hacking? If you aren’t, you should be. White hat hacking is a planned attack that checks your systems for vulnerabilities. After the hacker successfully (and harmlessly) compromises your environment, they tell you what to do to fix it.

Even though most security loopholes are well-documented, I’m surprised how many open exploits are in applications that we security scan here at INetU. So stand by for a little White Hat Hacking 101, where I’ll teach you how to hack into your own site.

Hack One: Injection Attacks

I’ll start with injection exploits because most IT professionals, even though they have cursory basic understanding of the dangers, leave too many sites open to the vulnerability, according to the Open Web Applications Security Project (OWASP). Injection is passing malicious user-supplied data to an interpreter. The most common form is SQL Injection, where the hacker passes a SQL command to your database. Are you at risk? Let’s find out.

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\\ tags: Hacking, Security, SQL Injection, xss

Nowadays, domain names are cheap. Everyone’s grandmother can easily get one at less than $1. Because of that, the web hosting industry has become more competitive. There are so many web hosting plans out there that are good and not so good. So, the important question is, how in the world do I narrow down my choices and choose a web hosting company that fits my needs and grows with me? Below are 7 factors to consider before realizing a mistake.

Top 10

This is the easiest way to choose. Just google it and you will fine tons of websites listing out top 10, 20, 30 web hosting companies. However, the problem is that there are certain websites that will only list out web hosting companies that they are affiliated with. Be careful in that area. You may be influenced into registering with their No.1 choice, only to find out hidden terms and conditions days later. That time, it’s too late.

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\\ tags: Webhost

Data is bits and bytes of information stored in electronic memory. Data center is the facility used to house mission critical computer systems and associated components which includes environmental controls (air conditioning, fire suppression, etc.), redundant/backup power supplies, redundant data communications connections and high security. As data is a crucial aspect of most organizational operations, organizations tend to be very protective of their data. A data center must therefore keep high standards for assuring the integrity and functionality of its hosted computer environment. This is depicted in its physical and logical layout.

Let’s take a high end data center for an example. Let’s take Hosted Solutions’s Managed Server Colocation Charlotte NC as an example. Services offered by Charlotte Data Center Solutions include :

• Colocation

- buying a web server that it is physically located in the premises of a third-party company that provides the networking.

• Dedicated Server

- a computer on a network that is assigned to function only as a resource server and cannot be used as a client. Gamers of half-life should know what dedicated servers are.
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If you are new to web hosting, you have probably often seen the term “dedicated server”. Or maybe you are familiar with the dedicated servers and have witnessed their popularity during your process of finding a web host provider. Which ever category you fall under, this article will shed more light on the subject and will help you ascertain when it may become necessary to obtain a dedicated server and find the right provider.

Dedicated vs. Shared

When choosing a web host, you generally have two options – to lease space on a shared server or lease a dedicated server. With a shared hosting server, your site or sites are sharing server space with others sites. However, by leasing a dedicated server, you receive the complete server along with a network connection all to yourself.

Shared servers are more affordable than dedicated servers and generally require a much lower level of technical skill. This is due to sophisticated control panel software and the fact that the host handles the majority of the actual server administration. For this reason, shared servers often make the best solution for personal individuals and small businesses who do not receive high volumes of web traffic.

A larger company on the other hand, may find themselves rather limited on a shared server.

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\\ tags: Dedicated Hosting, Web Hosting

A website is an important piece of virtual real estate for the individual involved in any sector of e-commerce.  If you want to get online with a business of your own, its safe to assume that you are going to need some form of web hosting.  While the incredibly low price attracts many people to a shared hosting solution, there are a few individuals who realize they need much more.

What is Dedicated Server Hosting?

Most of the web hosting companies that make up the market provide clients with accounts on shared servers.  In this environment, you are literally sharing resources with hundreds or possibly thousands of other clients.  This includes precious bandwidth and storage space, two of your most critical assets.  Some hosts make use of multiple shared servers while others only have access to one.  Unfortunately, you also share a host of security problems and traffic issues.

Hence the name, a dedicated server is one dedicated solely to your hosting needs.  This prevents you from all the restrictions that come along with shared hosting, giving your business tremendous opportunity for growth.  Here are some of the benefits you’ll enjoy:

Extensive Capacity – with an entire server of your own to work with, you have more space available for your files, images, web pages and features.  The same holds true for your bandwidth.  Server response time will no longer be an issue as you do not have to compete for transfer.  This enables visitors to easily access and interact with your website.

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\\ tags: Dedicated Server, Hosting, Web Hosting

Hosting your site on a dedicated server is more expensive than the shared hosting environment. However, dedicated server hosting proves far more advantageous in the end.  Despite the claims of a shared web host, the servers they use can never be 100% stable, simply because they are maintaining hundreds to thousands of sites.  Their servers are prone to a number of variables such as overloading, poor scripting by shared users and so forth.  The dedicated server allows the webmaster to avoid these common issues as the only site you have to worry about is your own.

The very nature of a dedicated hosting account reduces your dependency on a traditional provider, allowing you to bypass probable expenses and time delays.  This environment gives you tremendous flexibility to offer a hosting service of your own, something that it is not possible with a shared host.  A dedicated server will enable you to provide the same type of fast, reliable service you look for in a web host.  This is critical in a business where word of mouth can work against you or in your favor as an effective promotional tool.

While a dedicated server isn’t for everyone, it is simply invaluable for website and graphic designers who demand a powerful hosting solution.  This approach makes it easier to generate revenue with a solid performance and stable platform that significantly reduces downtime.  With full access to your server on a 24/7 basis, you can easily adjust, edit and update the sites of your clients in minutes.  This reduces labor expenses for the end-user and creates more profits for you when your clients are satisfied with the overall quality of service.

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\\ tags: Dedicated Server, Hosting, Web Hosting

Normal web hosting is great but it does have its restrictions. While you may be able to control the administrative functions and design of your website, you have limited control in regard to the server hosting the site. Additionally, the server is likely to contain sites from other clients purchasing service from a particular provider, a factor that leaves you with limited resources and possibly exposed to the activities of others.

Benefits to Consider

With dedicated hosting, you are actually allowed to control the behavior of the server. A host provides you with administrative access to the machine in which you can then install and run any type of software you desire. You can choose to host multiple sites on a single account, or even start your own web hosting company and host sites for your own clients on the server – the possibilities are endless.

When choosing dedicated hosting, you are leased a server box that is dedicated solely to you. As a customer of dedicated hosting, you have exclusive rights to the server including memory, bandwidth and disk storage. The server can be set to your preference with the applications and features of your choosing. Because of the overall freedom and flexibility, dedicated hosting has become quite popular. This type of hosting plan is well suited for both individuals and organizations that operate high-traffic sites or those that require the resources, versatility and enhanced performance of a dedicated server. It is also a great solution for database management, gaming sites and shared hosting as well.

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\\ tags: Dedicated Server, Web Hosting

Data access and communications are essential to any businesses.  All aspects of the operation from the email service and website to network routers and servers must be protected in order for the business to stay up and running.  When these tasks can no longer be handled in-house, many businesses turn to colocation hosting.  Before choosing a provider, there are a few things you need to know about this service.

Redundant Systems

A colocation facility cannot run efficiently without multiple redundant systems.  Every point of the operation requires sufficient capacity from the equipment to climate control systems.  Some companies will utilize multiple data centers to handle capacity, although it doesn’t equate to redundancy.  A provider maintaining more than one unit should run them both at less than 50% capacity.  By doing this, the other facility will be able to handle the load if one fails.  If three units are operating, they should be run at no more than 66% capacity.

Efficient Climate Control

When making the move to colocation hosting, you should know that the actual design of the facility has a huge impact on the overall performance of the housed systems.  Rooms that maintain servers and other equipment should control the air flow in between each row.  As the heat generated by the machines blow from one row, cooler air should be drawn toward them from another.  This hot-cold row system enables the air to circulate while keeping the servers from overheating.

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\\ tags: Colocation Hosting, Web Hosting

Large companies are increasingly turning to colocation services for all of their hosting needs.  In general, the core charges for this type of service is based on two elements, with the first one being the amount of space a company’s server will require at the colocation facility.  The two terms most commonly used to refer to this amount of space are U’s (units) and cabinets.  The second element is the actual equipment that will be stored in a facility.

Racks

Colocation providers standardize computer and networking equipment on a 19-inch rack design.  The rack comes in the form of a stand or cabinet with horizontal mounted hardware spaced at 19-inches apart.  This makes it possible for hardware manufacturers to design products that can be easily installed directly inside of a rack.

The height of items stored inside of a rack typically varies.  However, a standard size is selected to determine the height of required components.  A standard U height for a rack mount casing is an estimated 1.75 inches high.  The components are assigned their height standards in regard to the number of U’s.  The industry standard size for servers is usually 1U while the majority of networking hardware such as routers or switches is 2U.

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\\ tags: Colocation Hosting, Web Hosting

For most small and medium sized businesses, colocation hosting is unchartered waters, a vast ocean filled with uncertainty. Along with the fact that this solution offers a totally different environment, the vast amount of misconceptions also attribute to a clouded decision making process. In this article we will detail some of the most widely spread colocation myths and debunk them accordingly.

Colocation is just another name for managed hosting: This is far from the truth. In a conventional managed arrangement, your site’s programming language resides on someone else’s server which is also owned by the web hosting company. In the colocation environment, you own the hardware and software components and physically locate them on the grounds of another company. Instead of sharing server space with hundreds to thousands of users, your website has it’s own server and associated components. This setup prevents you from competing for critical resources such as bandwidth, storage and CPU.

Colocation makes it difficult to manage your systems: The overall convenience of colocation all depends on the host you choose and where their data center is located. When upgrades and maintenance needs to be handled, members of your IT staff can make the trip and take care of them. For most daily operations, an offsite data center isn’t any more convenient than having your equipment stored in-house. However, a colocation facility is likely to provide more space with better organization and security than the small area you designated as a server room.

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\\ tags: Web Hosting