Web Hosting Box

Security is perhaps one of the most important aspects of a web hosting plan, especially for webmasters that conduct a significant volume of e-commerce on a daily basis. A single security lapse could lead to widespread data loss, site downtime, slow loading pages, and a reduction in daily traffic levels. However, one security issue that is often overlooked and underestimated is spam, which is defined as any excessive and/or forceful communication with or use of a Web server or online system. Although web hosting providers offer integrated modules that are specifically designed to help webmasters maximize spam prevention, there are certain measures that website owners can take to completely eliminate site spam.

Why Should Spam Be Prevented?

Spam is a threat not only to the security but also to the productivity of every online business. Most websites become successful because of their continually updated content, which is of a high quality that visitors gain interest in. However, if your site becomes heavily populated with unmoderated spam comments and low-quality content, it is possible to experience a significant reduction in daily traffic levels and search engine rankings. In fact, it is even possible to be completely de-indexed from some search engines because of a large volume of spam on your site. Spam can also be seen in the form of automated e-mails that are submitted through contact forms on your website. E-mail spam can cause webmasters to waste a lot of time in cleaning up their inbox, reducing productivity and ultimately lowering the value and responsiveness of their customer service.

What Is a Captcha Script?

A captcha script is basically a script that is installed on your website which displays a unique image containing a random combination of characters (including letters, numbers, and sometimes symbols), which visitors must input into a form box to verify that they are not automated robots. Since captcha scripts actually create unique images spontaneously, bots are not able to read or decode them as they would be able to do with regular text. As computer programs are not able to actually view and interpret images, it is extremely unlikely that a bot will be created in the future that can decipher captcha images. Thus, captcha scripts are an effective long-term way to prevent automated spam and ensure that all of your site commenters and anyone sending you an e-mail is actually a human being.

How to Use Captcha Scripts

To use a captcha script you simply need to paste the code snippet into the coding of any form or input field. This will cause the script to randomly generate a captcha image any time the form is loaded on a webpage, making it so no information can be successfully entered into the form without the visitor first solving the associated captcha. Captcha codes can be generated in various programming languages, including PHP, ASP, and NET, making it a flexible and highly compatible spam prevention tool that can be utilized on any web site.

Business owners and website administrators spend countless hours trying to perfect their website and sales pages in order to maximize conversion rates and create a profitable online presence. Sadly, every year hundreds of webmasters go through the terrible experience of losing site data and having to start all over from scratch. There are a plethora of reasons that data loss can occur, including but not limited to – your hosting provider going out of business, a hacker stealing or erasing data from the server, and even hardware damage. Luckily, every web hosting plan offers a free backup utility within the control panel that can be used to completely secure all of the data that powers your websites.

The Importance of Creating Backups

While most web hosting providers create routine backups of all of their web servers, it is important to store your own backup copies, in case the hosting provider goes out of business or physical damage is done to their data center. By having access to your own server backups you can also easily transfer your website to another hosting provider, and ensure the continuity of your sites in the event that the hosting plan expires. The following paragraphs outline the overall process of creating backups within the web hosting control panel.

How to Create and Store a Full Server Backup

Since most webmasters have or will eventually own multiple websites, hosting providers make it possible to backup the entire server, thereby securing the data of all websites simultaneously. To create and store a full server backup simply locate the backup utility module within your control panel, click generate backup, and then select the location on your computer that you would like to store the file to. Alternatively, you can store the file on external media such as an external hard drive, a DVD, a blank CD, or even a USB flash drive. Experts recommend keeping a copy of the backup on your local hard drive, and having several backup copies located on external media for maximum redundancy.

Other Backup Options

In addition to backing up all of the data on your web server, you can also backup a single website or even a portion of a website by clicking the partial backups module within the backup utility of your control panel. If you would like to download a backup copy of your server to be transferred via FTP so that it can be used within a new hosting account, you can also save the backup to a directory on your web server and then transfer it via an FTP client to the new hosting plan. Using this method will also allow you to store data remotely, thereby facilitating the process of working “within the cloud” (not having to rely on your computer’s local hard drive constantly). Traveling businessmen often utilize this method of backups so that they can access the backup from anywhere in the world. In addition, you can store the generated backup file hosting website for greater accessibility.

Protecting your web server from intrusion is very important towards the success of your online business. However, the need to protect your server from problems such as server downtime and data loss is also just as important. In the world of technology nothing is completely safe, as there is always a loophole or a problem that can be exploited. The only way to keep your data safe is to back it up, whether it be on a disk or another server. Backing up an entire web server on disc is obviously not an option, especially if you have a lot of information stored on your server. The only suitable solution would be server redundancy.

Server Redundancy

Server redundancy is a practice that is utilized by virtually every large online business. As the term suggests it is the act of backing up server information by having cloned web servers available 24 hours a day. By having web servers that contain identical information you eliminate the risk of losing data due to hardware damage. Colocation hosting lets you host backup servers at multiple locations to maximize the safety of your server data. Any serious online business owner should consider server redundancy, especially if you store a lot of confidential information.

Colocation Server Security

In reality, server redundancy is simply an extra measure taken to ensure the safety of data. However servers that are stored in colocation facilities will very rarely encounter hardware failure due to their environment. Colocation facilities are protected by state-of-the-art security measures, such as 24 hour surveillance, and high tech fire prevention systems. These facilities are specifically designed to house web servers, and every aspect of the server environment from the temperature to the physical setup is highly controlled.

Protecting Your Assets with Colocation Hosting

One of the reasons why colocation service providers focus so strongly on server security is because the servers are not owned by the colocation hosting company. Instead, colocation facilities simply house web servers that belong to their clients. These clients invest thousands of dollars in their equipment, thus the colocation hosting company has to make sure all of this hardware is safe to prevent lawsuits and unsatisfied customers. Since the only real duty of the colocation hosting company is to protect web server, you can be sure that using a colocation service is the best option in terms of web hosting security.

Conclusion

While colocation hosting may not be optimal for every online business owner, it is definitely suitable solution for corporations that demand the utmost security and safety for their web servers. By employing server redundancy you can be sure that all of your server data is safe regardless of what happens to your current web servers. Imagine the negative impact that could be caused by the loss of all of your online data overnight. While this may seem unlikely, many people have gone through this in the past, and it can take months if not years to recuperate from such an occurrence. The financial loss that could result from such a mishap is far greater than the investment required to establish server redundancy with a colocation hosting company.

With so many choices in the web hosting industry, it can be confusing at times when browsing through potential candidates for your next web hosting provider. Most people are searching for web hosts that offer particular features, such as ample bandwidth and disk space. However, many forget the importance of a secure web hosting solution. Everyone knows how important security is in any online endeavor, yet most people seem to overlook it when considering a web hosting solution. If you’re wise then you will consider the following three aspects of web hosting security when choosing your next web hosting plan.

SFTP

SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) is an updated secure variation of FTP(File Transfer Protocol). Basic FTP is not fully secure, in that the files being transferred could possibly be intercepted by an outsider. In fact, the perpetrator can even change the data within the files, and view the files discreetly without disrupting their path. With SFTP you’ll have an extra layer of security since the files will be encrypted using government standard 128-bit encryption.

SSL

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is extremely crucial for any ecommerce site. With SSL all private information such as credit card/bank account information, phone numbers, addresses, and email addresses are kept private. Without this kind of security measure in place, you and you’re customers are being left susceptible to credit card fraud and identity theft. In many cases the credit card information can be stolen instantly, and online purchases can be made before the cardholder even knows what hit them. Aside from the lack of security that is associated with not having SSL enabled on your server, you’re also going to lose business. Every site with SSL enabled receives an SSL certificate which is then placed on the checkout page. Many customers look for this when shopping online, and will refuse to shop with you if you do not have this certificate.

Data Backups

Many people realize the importance of backing up their personal computer, however the importance of backing up your websites files is often overlooked. A lot of work is put into building a website, as I am sure you are probably aware of, and you may find it shocking to learn that all of this information can be wiped out and lost forever in just one hour. If you do not backup your data, this data loss would be permanent, and you would literally have to start back at square one! If you want to keep this from happening then you will need to make sure you choose a web hosting plan that automatically conducts routine server backups.

Overall Network Security

When choosing a web hosting plan, the above factors are definitely of great importance. However, there are many more important aspects to consider in regards to overall server and network security. To ensure the safety of your website and your online business, you’ll need to choose a web hosting solution that is reputable and known for having top notch security.

The practice of E-commerce involves much more than simply selling products and services online. Developing a good e-commerce website involves maintaining the security and administrative aspects of your website as well. Many people overlook the importance of storage when it comes to choosing a web hosting service provider. Many people make the mistake of relying solely on their hard drive, which eventually will become unable to hold your website’s data.  Aside from running out of space, using a personal hard drive is risky because a crash can occur at any time resulting in data loss. When it involves your business, reliability and security is the most important factor. With all of the possible selections available in today’s market, it can be difficult to choose a single solution.  There are certain things one must consider when selecting a proper web hosting service for their business.

How Much Space Do You Need

Purchasing a new storage device requires the assessment of your storage needs. If you only need to backup a few things, then a simple USB drive will suffice. Even though USB drives do not consume a lot of space, they are capable of holding vast amounts of data and are seen as a good way to backup your data.  If you need to store more then you may want to consider an external hard drive.

Outsourcing Storage Space

If you do not want to store your data on a physical device at your home or office, then you can always opt for virtual storage with a third-party provider.  With a good data hosting service, you will receive the benefit of an online interface that will allow you to easily transfer your files,  and you’ll also receive plenty of bandwidth. Before selecting a third-party data hosting service, make sure they are reputable and take plenty of security measures to help protect your website’s data. The data must be secure during the entire time it is stored on their server to prevent data loss.

Speed Necessity

If you need to transfer a lot of data at one point in time, then speed should most definitely be a determining factor. It is important to consider all of the aspects of the storage provider, including speed, memory and disk space. Normally the best speeds are provided by interfaces such as  IDE, Firewire, SCSI, parallel, and USB. These storage devices are of the plug and play variety and are very easy to use and maintain.

Making the Right Decision

There are plenty of options available concerning storage for your e-commerce website. It is not hard to find  a service that will accommodate your needs, however it is best to make sure you make the right decision initially.