Authentication is a process that plays a major role in securing your website and applications. When a user comes to your site and needs to access a particular area, they provide their username and password to authenticate themselves and prove their identity. The application then provides the user with access and provides them with a set of pre-defined privileges based on the their identity and credentials entered. While authentication is intended to give you an extra layer of security, a hacker can use the common HTTP protocol to manipulate this process and gain entrance into your website.

When a hacker uses authentication to break into a website, they are able to do so by proving to the application that they are a known and valid user. This in turn, gives them access to whatever privileges you have assigned to the legitimate user. So, if an attacker is able to enter the system as a normal user, they may only have limited to specific information. However, if they manage to gain access as an administrator with unlimited access across the system, they would likely have total control of the victimized application and all the data it contains. This could be very damaging if you are storing customer data and other critical information on your website.

The Hacking Tool of Choice

In the average authentication attack, the hacker first attempts to gain access to the screen where the application requests login and password credentials from the user. The next step is to enter the details the application recognizes as valid to grant access to the system. Although it isn’t the most sophisticated attack, many hackers have found that guessing the password is one of the most powerful tools to defeat authentication. This technique can be employed manually or through automation as many tools exist for this very crime. Without a secure password, a brute force attack can bypass authentication in a matter of seconds.

Fighting Back Against Authentication Attacks

In order to learn whether or not their attack was successful, hackers use automated tools that access error codes and web page information from the web server. A good way to deter this attack is to configure the server where any errors or unexpected requests generate an “HTTP 200 OK” response opposed to standard 400-type errors. By doing this, you will make it harder for the attacker to differentiate between valid and invalid logon attempts.

One of the most effective ways to prevent automated authentication attacks like brute force is to add random content on the web page presented to the authenticating browser. In order for this to work, the browser must have the ability to successfully submit random content as an inclusion of the authentication process, thus enabling one to proceed further in the application or website. You can do this by presenting the random phrase in a graphic format such as GIF, JPG or PNG using random fonts or colors every time. This will make it almost impossible for the hacker’s automated tool to succeed and crack authentication.

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With Colocation services, Instead of trying to run a costly in-house operation, you outsource your infrastructure by housing the equipment in another location. However, if the facility isn’t inadequately equipped, your business could suffer from damaged hardware, excessive downtime and eventually the loss of customers. Colocation can be an extremely beneficial service but only when the facility is built on redundancy.

What is Redundancy?

In the world of data centers, redundancy is based on the N+1 formula. This simply means that a particular system has the capacity it needs plus one additional unit. For example, if the power system contains two UPSs, both should be running at a maximum capacity of 50%, so if one fails, the other can then take over without overloading. Before investing in a colocation solution, you need to make sure the provider has redundancy covered at three critical points.

Redundant Power

Data center redundancy is crucial, especially when it comes to power systems. Not only will a power outage take down your server hardware, but also your climate controls, fire suppression systems and internet connection. One failure could essentially take down the entire operation. Because this could be such a disaster, you need a host that ensures redundancy in the form of UPS systems and backup generators. Keep in mind that a colocation provider’s generator must have enough capacity to support the entire load of the facility.

Redundant Cooling

A busy colocation facility must be designed to specifically support the hardware of its customers. Servers generate a significant amount of heat and without an efficient cooling system in place, the entire facility can overheat within a matter of minutes. A colocation facility must have redundant cooling systems that stay running around the clock. We recommend finding a provider that utilizes CRAC (computer room air conditioning) units to pump chilled water throughout the server room and prevent the hardware from overheating.

Redundant Internet Connections

In order to get the best out of colocation, you need a provider that offers redundant connectivity. This goes for service as well as network hardware such as routers and switches. Redundant service simply means that multiple internet backbones are available to maintain reliability and performance. Additionally, the level of connectivity should be able to ensure low latency and packet loss so even if a major backbone does fails, the connection remains stables and most importantly, keeps you online.

Find the Right Home for Your Hardware

The best way to determine if a colocation facility is designed to support your infrastructure is to ask questions and get as much information possible. While each system is unique in its own right, there are specifics you need to know about power, cooling and connectivity systems. How many units are there? What is the load on each individual unit? Are these systems redundant? Outsourcing your infrastructure to someone else’s data center is a big move so you must be very selective when choosing a provider. In the end, it is their IT setup that will determine how successful you will be.

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Web servers and all their associated technologies introduce a new level of complexity to the world of computing. This is true whether the platform is Windows, Linux or Unix. Because of these technical challenges and responsibilities, many opt for managed hosting as a less stressful alternative. While the concept involves a seamless process that completely lifts the burden, not all managed services are the same. The hosting provider must perform these key tasks in order for you to get a quality service.

Systemwide Updates

There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes of a managed hosting service and software is a major part of the entire operation. The network can’t run efficiently without frequent updates of critical system components. This includes every piece of software from the operating system and web server to SQL database servers and PHP packages. Maintaining software alone can be a full time job that many organizations just can’t handle in-house. Always remember, this is why managed hosting companies exists.

Reliable Security

Web servers are prime targets for hackers looking to steal sensitive information and expose prominent corporate networks. The web is filled with a plethora of malicious traffic so it is vital that your provider has security mechanisms in place to detect intrusion, prevent attacks and preserve network resources. A few security features you want to look for in a managed hosting solution are firewalls, intrusion detection systems, anti-malware and DDoS protection technologies. Your hosting provider must be dedicated to staying on top of security and keeping your server protected.

Backup and Recovery

You should never enter a managed hosting arrangement without knowing what measures are being used to protect your data. Anything can go wrong in a data center whether it’s a corrupt operating system, hardware failure or a power outage. Therefore, finding a host that performs daily backups of its servers is highly recommended. Equally important are the methods employed to ensure a successful recovery following a disaster. Backup servers, uninterrupted power supplies and generators should all be a part of the hosting provider’s recovery plan.

Network Monitoring

Even the most high-powered network needs a set of extra eyes. While all the other systems are doing their job, it is important to have that central monitoring unit to keep watch over the operation. This separate system should have dedicated lines or the aid of a trusted third-party source. Network monitoring is critical to the life of your dedicated server because it can alert administrators about issues related to overloads, server failures, lost connections, network intrusion, malware infection and more.

Don’t Settle for Less

Managed hosting is tied to a number of complicated operations that the average customer wants no part of. Though most companies are able to provide a good service, you should never expect absolute perfection from every host, especially without checking them out first. Manage hosting is supposed to let you focus on other critical business aspects, but it could lead to more stress if you’re not careful.

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Most website owners are unsure of when it is time to move along from their existing shared hosting platform and upgrade to a dedicated server. It is a significant decision and should you conclude that is the right move, note that there a number of key factors to consider to ensure a successful migration. Before planning the move, keep the following aspects in mind:

Overall Expense

Investing in a dedicated server is usually far more expensive than shared hosting. However, fierce competition across the market has led to a shift in cheaper services. While the overall quality depends on the hosting provider, as the old adage goes, “you get what you pay for.” With that said, there are more than enough respectable hosts on the market to ensure that you can find a dedicated server solution that comes at a reasonable price and great value.

Hardware Specification and Redundancy

One of the most important yet overlook aspects of choosing a dedicated hosting solution is the specifications of the actual server hardware. This is where you want to carefully access your requirements and determine exactly what your server needs to thrive. Do you need a single, dual or quad core server? How much RAM and hard disk space capacity do your require? This depends on personal requirements but one type of hardware you may want to avoid is legacy equipment. Old hardware is not recommended for anyone looking to get a couple years of a quality use out of their server. If want a long lasting solution that requires few upgrades, be sure to learn more about the hardware specifications.

Hardware redundancy is equally important for the simple fact that you are probably upgrading to a dedicated server to eliminate as many points of failure as this environment will allow. You can better assure this by choosing hardware equipped with RAID hard drives. In addition to hard drives, you also want to consider redundancy through the use of dual power inputs and multiple UPS (uninterrupted power supplies), as this will provide for continuity should an outage occur. When investing in dedicated hosting, the solution you end up is only as good as the hardware and its related components

Network Reliability

Unknown to most, but the hardware component that is the most likely to fail is the NIC (Network Interface Card) installed in the server. For this reason, you need to strongly consider a piece of hardware that offers more than one or your could suffer when the original unit fails. Although the host is responsible for replacing hardware components, that does nothing to reverse the downtime you are bound to endure because of it. Other critical network features that deserve attention are bandwidth and the carriers providing connectivity. You could have the best breed of server hardware but without a reliable network, consistent availability may be a rarity.

Migrating to a dedicated server is a move not to be taken lightly. If you want all the performance, flexibility and reliability this environment offers, you need to do your homework and find a host that can provide you with the best service possible. Look at the hosting firm as a business partner and you can enjoy a long successful tenor with your server.

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Using ecommerce web hosting, you can get the very latest in technology and make it suit the style of your company and it is also helpful in providing solutions for the website as far as its functioning and scale are concerned.

The benefits to using ecommerce web hosting are felt by both the buyer and also the seller when they conduct business online and you can find many suitable e-commerce web hosting services.

In fact, such services are of great interest to a wide range of people including web developers and most certainly to those who are engaged in business and who need to hone in the latest in commerce that is conducted electronically and this is most noticeable in the fields of finance and also retail selling.
What’s more, most of the websites hosting packages that are available today are pretty affordable and they also come with their fair share of web tools that help considerably in getting the most out of your website.

And, with E-Commerce web hosting the online business will certainly flourish much more and you can use it for having wide-ranging catalogues that are stored online and which include all the goods and products that you are interested in selling and which can be searched or are just used for processing credit card sales and purchases that occur in real-time. That is where ecommerce web hosting will prove its worth to online business community.

Ecommerce web hosting is thus considered as one of the top web hosting methods and with this new method of web hosting you can grow your online business and prosper and achieve all that you want to as far as online business transactions are concerned.

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Deciding to collocate your server hardware and network equipment is huge a move, one that calls for you to carefully consider numerous factors. Among the most important is space. After all, without enough space, collocating your equipment could be the equivalent to storing it in a small office closet, which would essentially defeat the overall purpose.

Full Cabinets vs. Shared Cabinets

Most colocation providers offer a wide variety of common space options. The old method involved purchasing a rack in a shared cage. The major disadvantage of this option relates to the sharing aspect. If someone sharing the cage comes in to work on implementing their rack, they could inadvertently but easily trip on a power cord or line and take down your collocated services. This can all be prevented by opting for a full secure locking cabinet. These cabinets are ideal because they are modular and isolated from such mishaps. In addition, they make it easy to add additional cabinets and assure that each individual unit is secure. Establishing cross connections is easy within state of the art colocation facilities. Because some providers charge extra for cross connecting, it is advisable to check into this to find out if the facility can accommodate the growth of your business.

The Benefits of Full Cabinets

While some can get away with leasing a shared cabinet, several others cannot. When contemplating your cabinet options, keep the following in mind:

Better Security – A full cabinet results in improved security because it is exclusive to your company. You don’t have to worry about sharing cabinet space with another company and all of the potential disasters that might come of it.

Higher Availability – Should you only buy a portion of a rack, you will be forced to share both cabinet space and power. Your server hardware would also rely on the same power circuit used by other companies sharing the cabinet. If that company happens to overload the circuit and causes an outage, your equipment will go down right along with theirs. By securing your own cabinet with its own dedicated power circuit, you can make sure your power is not being shared with others and prevent disasters like this from occurring.

Convenient Path to Upgrades – Another significant benefit of investing in a full cabinet from the very beginning is related to convenience. Let’s say that you initially leased a shared cabinet for two servers but now need to upgrade to something more. Well in order to do this, you would have to move your equipment to a new cabinet and set up the network again. More than likely, this will result in unnecessary and costly downtime for your business. You would be much better served by starting out with a cabinet size that provides for easy upgrades.

The point of colocation is to store your equipment in a secure environment where stability, performance and availability are ensured. Though some companies offer shared cabinets, these providers are not looking out for your best interests as growth will be restricted and threatened by many possible scenarios. If you even think that you will require more space in the near future, invest in a full cabinet and spare yourself the hassle.

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All organizations who run their business online should consider web application scanning. This type of solution scans applications in search of vulnerabilities that could allow a hacker to gain access to sensitive business data. Common web applications such as shopping carts, forms and content management systems have proven to be the weakest link in an IT security scheme. Because of this, hackers now use these applications as their medium for penetrating corporate websites and thieving confidential information. Web application scanning probably isn’t as widespread as it should be, but this article will explain why it should be a priority within your security infrastructure.

Web Applications are Easily Compromised

In recent times, security vendors have made life much harder for the avid hacker. The array of intrusion detection systems and other security mechanisms on the market have made it difficult to bypass perimeters and gain unauthorized access to the large corporate networks they seek to compromise. These days, malware protection software, firewalls and various types security scanners are prevalent in almost all corporate network environments. Due to such constraints, attackers have been forced to come with alternative ways to breach IT infrastructures.

Unfortunately for online businesses and website owners, hackers have discovered a way around these security mechanisms, targeting the one component organizations overlook the most – the commonly used web application. These applications are designed to be available to internet users 24/7, a convenience that allows hackers to easily gain access and entry through applications that have not be properly secured. Although the rapid adoption of web technologies has provided organizations with numerous benefits, it also opened up the doors to a wide range of security gaps that were previously unknown. when not adequately secured and scanned for vulnerabilities, web applications represent the biggest security risk for a company’s IT infrastructure.

What to Look for in a Web Application Scanner

The functionality of web application scanners varies depending on the product and developer. However, there are some key aspects that all programs should have in common. When evaluating solutions for your security, keep the following qualities in mind:

- The ability to analyze a wide variety of programming technologies such as ASP, PHP and Python.

- The ability scale in order to support a growing website.

- The ability to generate comprehensive and actionable results regardless of the administrator’s security expertise.

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For the small or medium sized business, colocation can offer tremendous cost and performance benefits in comparison to hosting the same systems in-house. Choosing this type of service is only practical for the company that lacks the financial resources and physical space to maintain their internet hosting operations. If you can’t build your own data center, why not share one with another organization? Cost and convenience aside, a colocation can provider numerous benefits to your business.

Physical Security

Even with all the advanced security systems that can be installed, there is really nothing stopping a vandal or disgruntled employee from breaking into your office and making off with confidential information. The easiest and most common way for someone to steal sensitive data is directly off a disk or even a hard drive if they’re bold enough. While you could invest in tape backups, video surveillance and armed security guards, colocation is one of the most effective and affordable ways to secure your data.

Robust Power Supply

A good colocation facility will provide redundant power sources on a level that is very costly to duplicate in-house. Companies leveraging state of the art data centers offer full surge and lightning protection, multiple battery backups, and diesel-powered generators to compensate for extended outages. Their services also come along with a more expertise and equipment than most companies can afford. If you choose to run your network operations internally, you stand the risk of losing critical data and suffering extended periods of downtime due to blackouts, ice storms and other electrical disasters.

Cheaper Bandwidth

Though you may not realize it, most of the time, you are only using a small portion of the bandwidth available to you. However, if your server is run in-house, you will end up paying a lot more to compensate for probable traffic spikes, a factor that can make bandwidth very expensive. When leasing bandwidth from a colocation provider, you will only end up paying for the small percentage of bandwidth you actually need. Because many data centers have huge data pipes, if spikes do occur, the capacity will be available when you need it.

Environmental Protection

A colocation facility can protect your sensitive data and keep your servers running under a wide range of conditions. A well built data center will protect you during a flood or fire as well as other environmental conditions such as humidity and air pollution. Depending on the location, you may also be in the clear against earthquakes and hurricanes. What does this extra protection cost? Well, for the most part, it is shared amongst you and the other users who have their equipment stored in the data center. Considering that such a well designed facility isn’t cheap, it is far more cost effective to share the cost with other businesses rather than eating these expenses with the in-house route.

Any business looking to make the most out of their network technologies and equipment should consider colocation hosting. This type of solution will give you benefits that just cannot be obtained from running your systems internally. If you are sure this is the right move, jot down your list of needs, and compare service providers.

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Investing in a dedicated server is a big step underestimated by one too many customers. This is very unfortunate because even though prices on the hosting marketplace are generally affordable, leasing your own server could still cost you a pretty penny. Whether you are upgrading to your first dedicated hosting package or switching service providers, this process can turn out to be a nightmare for the novice or even the experienced IT professional.

Achieving success calls for you to gather a lot of information and in the case of a live site, migrate a number of essential pieces. All of this can make for a rather complex and frustrating process. The good thing is that these blunders can be eluded. What we recommend is paying close attention to a few key details.

Plan Ahead

Before you even load any software services onto the machine, devise a well thought out project document that entails all the plans that will be used for the new server. For example, jot down all the software you plan to install, focusing on specifics that range from the operating system and control panel to the web server application and sever-side programming packages. To be thorough, include system requirements, version numbers and even the order these programs need to be installed in. Make comparisons between the full list of system requirements and the technical specifications of the server. There have been an alarming number of server deployments gone bad due to the lack of planning. This is not a situation you want to find yourself in.

Devise and IT Team

If at all possible, you do not want to be alone in the process of maintaining a server. If you have the physical manpower, gather other members of your team and get them on board. If you can, get the aid of your vendor partners as well. Once you have all these elements together, have your site developer, appliance supplier and application vendor on stand by the day you plan set things in motion. This will better ensure a successful deployment as you can have help with issues related to server implementation.

Stay on the Offensive

Planning shouldn’t stop just because you have the server up and running. You need to think about how the server is going to be utilized on a daily basis. If you have a medium to large sized business, you must not only consider how these processes will impact the IT group, but other teams in your organization as well. Make sure that account logins, contact numbers for support and other vital information is distributed to all relevant parties. It is this type of planning that results in high performance and as little downtime as possible.

No one ever said that setting up and maintaining a dedicated server was easy, but it can be done with efficiency. By prioritizing through careful planning and documentation, you can avoid many of the common pitfalls that have swallowed those to come before you. When thinking ahead, you can make sure that your transition to a dedicated server is smooth and pain-free.

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For many small to medium sized businesses, managing their IT hosting infrastructure in-house is difficult, if not impossible. Hosting a web server and all the elements that come along with it is a demanding task. In many cases, one much larger than what your existing IT team can handle.

This is when you have to consider bringing in a new workforce to maintain the complex hosting operations. In both scenarios, the company often ends up on the losing end as they either must shell out extra cash on additional manpower or overload the current staff with more work on top of their normal responsibilities. Many organizations are faced with these internal dilemmas and several more are discovering that managed hosting is the most viable alternative.

Lifting the Weight

From the moment you outsource your IT tasks to a managed service provider, most of the responsibility shifts to the hosting company. This basically means that it is up to them to perform all the operations needed to ensure that the network as well as your server stays and running. Outsourcing these aspects also gives you the opportunity to save tremendously on upfront investments. In this type of arrangement, you don’t necessarily need your own equipment and systems in order to establish a web presence. A managed hosting solution allows you to leverage the provider’s infrastructure complete with all the hardware and software components you need to run your business. With the right service, you can rest assured that all the necessary methods are being employed to ensure availability throughout various circumstances while doing your part from the client-side.

Who Benefits the Most?

Large enterprises typically do not outsource all their hosting and other IT-related operations to a single provider. Since they have deeper resources, many of them can efficiently run streamlined in-house setups or simply outsource these tasks to a variety of third-party sources. This is why managed hosting makes such a good choice for the small to medium sized business which may not have quite enough to handle the technically challenging aspects of their organization.

Managed hosting is easy to afford and with little to no complexities to deal with, you can put your focus on other areas of your business. However, it is these companies that must also be the most cautious when it comes to choosing a service provider.

Get Yourself a Good Partner

Managed hosting can be a match made in heaven but only when choosing a company that strives for high reliability and great performance. These qualities can be more difficult to obtain than they should be in a market filled with fly-by-night companies, deceptive marketing ploys and providers who simply can’t live up to their claims. Because there is so much that goes into managed hosting in terms of your specific requirements, it is vital that you perform thorough market research and find a company you feel comfortable outsourcing your IT operations to. While there are several reliable hosting providers on the market, strategy and planning is needed in order to elude some of the more common disasters.

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