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Every day, tens of thousands of online transactions take place that cumulatively amount to millions of dollars in eCommerce. In fact, many economical experts believe that the rise in eCommerce is partially responsible for the sustenance of certain economies in the recent recession. As global communication is being facilitated by use of the internet on an ever-increasing basis, online business transactions and digital databases are becoming the backbone of every industry, from banking to wholesale trade.

Most people don’t realize that the majority of retail and wholesale transactions that occur on the internet are mediated by payment processing services that are mediated by eCommerce hosting plans. Thus, eCommerce hosting plays an important role in the overall security of the internet. The following information outlines the connection between eCommerce web hosting and the security of the internet.

Payment Processing

When you make a purchase online, you’re actually giving your card number or payment details to a secure payment processor that deposits the funds into the merchants account on your behalf. These payment processing applications are setup automatically within eCommerce hosting plans, and are an integral feature in every eCommerce  hosting plan. Payment processors not only improve the security of the internet, they also make it easier for merchants to accept a wide range of payment types, from PayPal to debit/credit card. Without payment processing and secure encryption technology, (both of which are offered with eCommerce hosting plans) the entire internet would be an unsafe place for financial transactions.

Site Visiting and Password Protection

Aside from simply stealing your credit or debit card details, online criminals will also attempt to steal your passwords and any other data that could lead them to something valuable on your computer. Many people don’t realize that viruses can affect web sites just as much as they do personal computers. When a site has a virus, the hacker that created the virus may be able to see what you’re doing on the site, and they may be able to get the virus downloaded onto your hard drive as well. If you’re compute,r or a site you’re visiting has a virus, then there is a possibility that a hacker could be monitoring your activity, including gathering your passwords and other sensitive information. Fortunately, most good eCommerce hosting plans come with automatic virus protection for business web sites, which is a major contributor to the safety of the internet.

Email Security

Everyday hundreds of millions of emails are sent and received across cyber space. If it weren’t for secure encryption technology, these emails could be intercepted by hackers. Fortunately, this is a rare occurrence, however it can and does happen, especially when the mail is being sent using a free commercial email client. eCommerce hosting plans include some of the most secure email clients and messaging systems available, which are imperative for any serious online business owner. Without these industry-grade email messaging systems offered by eCommerce hosting plans, a lot of important business emails could be intercepted and used for nefarious purposes.

eCommerce has become one of the primary stimulants of the global economy within the past decade, as businesses of all types have migrated to the world wide web to increase their profits and expand their marketing presence. The internet provides a new frontier for business owners that want to have access to new niches and an infinite amount of prospective customers.

However, as in any other marketplace, the internet is teeming with thieves and fraudsters that are prowling for vulnerable eCommerce web sites that they can exploit. The only way to protect your customers and the continuity of your online business from these vicious hackers is to purchase an eCommerce hosting plan that is secured by a reputable hosting provider. The following information outlines some of the most important security features to look for in an eCommerce hosting plan.

SSL Certificates

SSL certificates are the first security feature needed for any online storefront. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and is considered to be the industry standard for encryption technology, used to transmit data from a site visitor’s computer to your online store’s web server in a safe manner. When a site is using SSL to encrypt data the web address will begin with HTTPS, rather than HTTP.

Most online shoppers will not checkout on your site if you’re not utilizing SSL protection, and hackers specifically look for eCommerce sites that do not have this protection. It is important to note that some web hosting companies do not allow more than one SSL certificate per hosting account, which is why you may have to purchase an additional hosting plan, or a wildcard SSL that can be applied to all of your eCommerce sites simultaneously.

Hosting Notifications

Another important security feature for eCommerce hosting is the ability to receive notifications from the hosting provider in the event of an administrative account change. If a hacker can gain access to the control panel of your web hosting account they can completely destroy your online business in a matter of minutes.

After hacking into your eCommerce hosting account the intruder can fill your web sites with embarrassing or inappropriate content, erase all of your site’s data, forward your domains to the site of their choosing, and do anything else that you could normally do within your hosting control panel. To prevent this from happening you’ll need to setup you hosting account to automatically send notifications via email and/or phone every time a change is made pertaining to account ownership or administration.

Payment Processing

The checkout process is the most vulnerable part of an eCommerce transaction, as this is when the customer will be sending personal information, such as credit card details, across cyberspace. To ensure that this data is safe, it is best to combine SSL technology with a secure payment processor. Fortunately, almost all eCommerce hosting plans can easily integrate with payment processors like PayPal and AlertPay with just a few clicks of the mouse in the web hosting control panel.

CoreLink Data Centers, an industry-leader in providing colocation hosting and management services, recently announced a major move of their headquarters from Phoenix, Arizona to Mount Prospect, an area outside of Chicago. In addition, the operations of their newest data center, also located in the Chicagoland area, are fully functional.

The data center is 80,000 square feet and linked to the companies four other colocation data centers in Seattle, Las Vegas and Phoenix. The new data center is located on 5.4 acres of land and provides all of CoreLink’s solutions under one secure roof in control environments.

The center features the latest security and management technology. Some of these features include; diverse connections to the internet, redundant emergency power equipment, the best fire detection and suppression systems as well as biometric security scanners. Also, neutral connectivity, uninterruptible power supplies N+1 cooling and critical redundancy on all equipment.

The center will provide customers with extra expansion capacity, reliable and redundant access to the internet and high-density installation. This is the perfect addition to the area.

CoreLink has selected Chicago because it has become a booming business and technology epicenter. This will have a considerable impact on the local economy through investment in the community as well as job creation.

The biggest focus of the new data center is the scalability. Due to the size and server technology, it can accommodate all business needs as they continue to evolve and consume resources.

The primary highlights of the new data center include:

• Scale systems up
• Decrease labor expenses
• Lower capital costs
• Add redundant systems

The ability to scale information technology systems up or down is major draw to many large corporations as the needs of their business constantly change. Also, the new center will provide efficient facility management thus decreasing labor expenses. By outsourcing internal infrastructure, the company will save on overall capital costs.

Finally, the new data center provides redundant systems that do not contain a failure point and have a maintainable infrastructure that is capable of handling critical applications. These include; e-commerce, email systems and website connectivity.

Opening a new data center and relocating the headquarters is a major move for CoreLink. They will benefit from the numerous technology companies in the Chicago area while creating jobs and providing a boost to the local economy. In the end, all parties will benefit from this move.