Tips To Prevent Your Site from Being Hacked
With shared hosting being so popular we thought we would make a blog post about how you can take proactive measures and prevent your website from being hacked. Each day hundreds of websites on the Internet are hacked and the owners of the websites are clueless as to why it happens. We want to educate users and help you to keep your website secure and safe.
Make a Strong Password for Cpanel and FTP
The easiest way hackers can get access to your website is by guessing your password. Keeping a strong password is crucial and is the first step in protecting your website.
Use a password with Upper case and lower case, numbers and symbols or characters. The longer the password the better. Change your password every 3 months at minimal. Lastly if you give your programmer access to your control panel always change your password once they are done working. Passwords can easily be stolen if your computer is infected with a trojan or virus as well so have a current virus scanner and Trojan software.
Personally I use: http://malwarebytes.org/mbam-download.php
The program is free and looks for Malware/Trojans. I recommend running it once a month.
Keep Your Software/Scripts Up To Date
Installing a script such as Wordpress or Joomla and then leaving it to run itself is a sure way to invite hackers. Having a website on the Internet requires maintenance and up-keeping. You should ALWAYS check your software or script provider for updates, patches or new versions. When software is released not only are there new features but security is always tightened and bugs are also fixed. Making sure your script is up to date is critical is maintaining a safe website.
If you run a CMS or forum be sure to avoid too many random plugins. Plugins are a very easy way for hackers to attack as they are not verified by the original script provider in most cases. Use them at your own risk.
Blaming Others or Your Host
Okay so you got hacked and now submit a ticket to your web host and they give you advice but do not ‘fix’ the hacked website. Well, being in the industry for so many years I wanted to get this point straight. Web Hosting companies are not responsible for your website getting hacked. You are responsible for keeping your password secure and your website safe. As a web host we understand that you may not know what to do when you get hacked but the best method is doing some research. Do not expect your web host to clean your website. Your web host provides space and bandwidth. When your site is hacked it means you had some form of a vulnerability in your script or your password was leaked somehow. Being proactive is the best way to have a safe website on the Internet.
Keep Your PC Clean and Virus Free
As I previously mentioned keeping your local PC secure is crucial. A high percentage of hackers gain access to your website by placing a trojan, virus or key logger on your computer. I cannot stress enough on how important it is to keep your computer secure and safe. Use a good virus scanner and keep it up to date. Also keep a trojan scanner on your computer. Maintaining a clean PC is good practice as one of the most popular iFrame Hacks comes from an infected PC.
Here is a forum post I found on the iframe hack that may help
Backup your website!
I cannot stress this enough. Backing up your website is a must. You should always have a current copy of your website on your computer. I have seen too many people lose files or even there own website because they did not have a website backup. Your web host is NOT a backup provider so do not expect them to save you in case of a disaster. Always, always, always have a full site backup.
You can go inside the cPanel and click on the Backup Wizard icon to generate a full backup of all of your files and databases. This is the safest way to make a backup. After the backup is done you will get an email and then can download the backup to your computer. Do not keep the backup on your web hosts server as that would not be logical. As you read this, login to your cPanel and make a backup 
Keep the files on your PC or a USB Key or External Hard Drive, it can save you from a major headache.
Avoid putting All Your Websites on One Hosting Plan (Get separate plans)
Yes it can cost more but there are many security risks when you put all your website on one hosting plan. With unlimited Addon Domains we understand it is tempting but personally it is much safer to have a separate control panel for each of your website. This way when you give a programmer access to your website they do not have access to all of your websites. Also, if your site gets hacked they can only access that one account, not all of your websites. You can prevent this by purchasing a Reseller Account or buying more than one Web Hosting plan even if you have unlimited space and bandwidth on your current plan.
Research and Read
No one expects you to read all the tech new and virus info. With the search engines at your finger tips you can find a vast amount of valuable information and tip on how to have a safe home for your website on the Internet. Just check your script providers forums, read some articles and general knowledge of what you’re doing can be very beneficial.
Secure Your File and Folder Permissions (CHMOD)
Many scripts these day require you to set 777 permissions on files and or folder. This is NOT safe in any way and we highly recommend you do not do that. 777 allows users to read/write/execute meaning they have full access to that folder and file. To remedy this always use 755 or 644 permissions. Your script should still operate without any issues at all. This is a very important piece of advice in my mind and I highly recommend you check your website and use 755 or 644 file and folder permissions to keep secure.
No one can guarantee that there website is hacker free however being proactive and knowledgeable can go a long way!
HostUpon On Twitter, Come Follow us!
You got it, the latest updates, coupons, promotions and news at HostUpon is now available on our Twitter page! We will be posting special coupons and promos all the time on our Twitter account at the URL below:
We would love for all of our exisiting clients to follow us as well to take advantage of the sweet deals we will offer through our Twitter account. We’ve seen some great growth in the past few months and we will be launching a new line of services inclduing the much anticipated Hourly Backups at HostUpon.
Do check us out on Twitter and share the coupons with friends and family. We are dedicated to our clients and bring the latest technologies, hardware and services at affordable prices.
So come follow us on Twitter and save on hosting!
Unlimited FFMPEG Hosting for Youtube clones
If you’re looking for a host for your youtube clone or video streaming website then you’ve landed at the right host! HostUpon.com is your best bet when you need to host a video website. Our plans have unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth. Our plans ALL feature the ffmpeg video module already configured and installed.
With HostUpon you can have your youtube clone hosting ready in minutes! Just place your order at www.HostUpon.com and within minutes we will send you your login information so you can start hosting your website right away.
Looking for a host that supports ffmpeg can be a difficult task. At HostUpon our plans are designed to let you grow your websites and not worry about all the other stuff. You simply choose the plan and upload your website. Let us take care of the rest!
Hosting with FFmpeg
HostUpon is proud to offer 100% support for ffmpeg. We are now a fully qualified ffmpeg hosting provider
HostUpon’s FFmpeg hosting allows you to host a video website such as youtube clones, phpmotion, Abledating, Ablespace, ClipShare, ClipBucket, Social Engine and the popular Boonex Dolphin softare. Their are a ton of other scripts we support and since FFmpeg is now standard on all plans you can choose any script and be confident that our hosting meets the requirements.
Many hosting companies do not offer ffmpeg because of the resources and memory the modules use however at HostUpon our infrastructure, support and scalability allows us to provide ffmpeg hosting without loosing the speed and reliability. Your website will load fast, your visitors will be happy and your wallet won’t take a hit
So what is FFmpeg?
FFmpeg is a collection of free software that can record, convert and stream digital audio and video. It includes libavcodec, a leading audio/video codec library. It allows you to upload a video for example and converts it to a streamable format for your viewers to see.
At HostUpon FFmpeg is about the future and video functionality on your website. You can now move in the right direction as video streaming is getting more and more popular.
If you need FFmpeg Hosting check out our hosting plans and get started today!
How easy is it to transfer a website to HostUpon?
Transferring your website from one host to another can be a scary thought. Customers always seemto have this concern when switching hosts so I’ll do my best to explain how easy it is to switch to HostUpon.
First off, if your current hosting provider uses cPanelas their control panel we can do the entire transfer for you free of charge! That’s right, we will move your website files, databases, email accounts and literally everything else in your account over for you. We typically perform transfers within 24 hours or less. After you signup just submit a support ticket with your cPanel username and password and we will begin the transfer for you. This is another advantage of switching to HostUpon. We want customers to feel comfortable migrating from their old host without having the worry of loosing data.
If your current host does not use cPanel then a manual transfer is the only option. First login to your current host through FTP and download all of your website files to your desktop computer. Then upload the files to your HostUpon account through FTP in to your public_html directory. Now your files have been moved over. Now we move on to your databases. First export your database from your old host using the tool they provide. Store the database on your desktop computer. Now login to the cPanel and inside you will see an icon labeled PHPMyAdmin. Click on the icon and then you will see a link that says ‘Import’. Click on this link and hit the browser button. Find the database on your computer and click OK. You can now import the database. Once the database is imported you’re all set!
When you sign up with HostUpon we will provide you with an IP address which acts as an alternative to your domain name. Through this IP you can check that your website is showing correctly before you make the transfer complete by asking your registrar to change your nameservers. Once you change your name servers You should allow 24 hours for the nameservers to propagate. Now all that is then left is to cancel your old hosting account. If at any point you need assistance you can always contact us by submitting a support ticket.
Switching hosting companies is something we do on a daily basis for customers and we understand the importance of maintaining your online presense during the transition. HostUpon is known for our support and uptime and we want to ensure your move over to us is safe and speedy.
That covers moving your websites over to HostUpon. Happy Hosting!
HostUpon Attends WHIR Event in Toronto
We were invited to attend a WHIR (Web Host Industry Review) event in downtown Toronto. For those of you who are unaware, WHIR is well known in the hosting industry. Their website is informative and I’ve seen some great interviews with some great people in the hosting industry.
I decided to attend the event for a few reasons, aside from the open bar. I looked at the list of RSVP’ed companies and found a few that I was curious about. When you work in the hosting industry for a long time you understand that competitors are everywhere you look. They may not sell the same service as you but they will do whatever they can to convince a potential client that their own service is what the customer needs.
Let me give you a better example - Company A sells apples. Company B sells oranges. The customer is looking for fruit that is red. Now if approached by company B first they will be informed that red is bad, red is not what they need and that orange is much better. The customer may not budge but physchologically the customer now has a decision to make. The point I am trying to make is that knowledge in your industry or field is essential. Understanding your own products and services is one thing but try to expand your information portal and see what your competition has. Having the ability to inform a potential client on what you offer is what they need is crucial in an industry where competition is fierce. The more you know about your competition the better. It also helps to expand your services and maybe even offer a service that they offer. People always want more but sometimes more is not always better.
So back to the event! It was a great venue (unfortunately forgot the camera) with people from all sectors of the technology industry. I attended the event representing HostUpon Inc. and asked a friend of mine in the industry to join me. We met a few familiar faces but in the end the event was a social gathering with more greetings than gossip. It was refreshing to see our competition and speak with them on what’s changing in the industry.
Overall I had a great time, on a cold bitter winter night in Toronto.
Also on a side note keep an eye out for our new backup system which will be rolling out sometime in the next few weeks!
HostUpon BIG Holiday Hosting Sale!
We’re pleased to announce a huge promotion for all exisiting and new customers. Below is a copy of our promo that is now active:
THE BIG HOLIDAY SALE is coming to an end!
This is your last chance to save $50 on any hosting plan!
we’re offering a MASSIVE saving of $50 towards ANY of our hosting plans! If you need another hosting plan or have a friend or family member that needs hosting then use the coupon savme50 and you will get $50 off your order!
Just choose from our shared hosting, reseller hosting or private hosting plans for 1 or 2 years and apply the coupon to save instantly!
You can order any plan on a 1 or 2 year term and save $50 instantly! Click here to view each of our services:
Starter Unlimited - Save $50
Business Unlimited - Save $50
Reseller Hosting - Save $50
Private Hosting - Save $50
Use the discount code: saveme50
Tell your friends and family and spread the word this holiday season!
Abledating Hosting with ffmpeg
ABK-Soft.com has partnered with HostUpon meaning we meet ALL requirements to run any of their social netowkring scripts.
ABK-Soft has many specific requirements for their dating and network script and now we at HostUpon have everything you need to host them! Our plans all have ffmpeg, the main module for video uploading/converting. We also have the required ports and server requirements.
Hosting for abk-soft has never been easier as we have designed our hosting plans specifically to match the requirements for their software.
Abledating Hosting is simple and easy just choose a plan and signup and you can begin installing your script immediately. We have support and sales 24/7 so if you have any questions just ask!
Cheap FFmpeg Hosting
HostUpon now offers FFMpeg Hosting on all of our plans!
With video websites, youtube clones, social netowkring site and dating websites becoming more and more popular we are glad to offer full ffmpeg support on our shared and private hosting plans.
FFmpeg Hosting allows you to upload and convert videos and audio/music. This is what sites like MySpace and Youtube use and now you can run your own video/audio website at HostUpon.
Here are a few of the modules supported:
- FFmpeg
- FFmpeg-PHP
- Mplayer + Mencoder
- flv2tool + GD Library
- Libogg + Libvorbis
- LAME MP3 Encoder
Scripts like PHPMotion, ClipShare, Vshare, OSTube and Video Share all work with our hosting plans. Video hosting and Youtube clones are getting more and more popular. At HostUpon we try to offer the latest technology as customers can expand their hosting needs. FFmpeg is available by default on every single plan including our Starter plan.
With direct access to your php.ini and .htaccess file you can set your own custom configuration as needed by your script. We even have a free auto installer for Dolphin 6.1 which is a great social networking script.
If you need ffmpeg hosting check out HostUpon.com
What is a dedicated IP used for?
Many of our customers ask us, Do I need a dedicated IP address?
When you purchase Shared Hosting this directly relates to your IP address being shared as well. Having a shared IP address means everyone ’sharing’ the server with you also has the same IP address.
A dedicated IP address allows you to have your own unique IP address which is not shared with anyone else on the server.
Advantages of a dedicated IP:
- many people believe that search engines such as Google will rank you higher if you have a dedicated IP address as apposed to a shared IP.
- Privacy and security is slightly enhanced due to you have your own IP address
- If you need to accept credit cards or secure information on your website you will need an SSL certificate to ensure all data is encrypted however this also requires a dedicated IP. You cannot install a SSL certificate without it.
- When you have a dedicated IP, you can view your website using your domain name or the IP address.
- You will not be effected by someone else causing an issue on the shared IP (spammers, abusers)
At HostUpon we try to encourage users to add a dedicated IP to their plan as the cost is very affordable and the advantages are well worth it. Our Business Hosting plan offers a free dedicated IP.
Reseller hosting plans also come with a dedicated IP along with Private Hosting.