Canada For Haiti
Many of us have been glued to our TV screens and newspapers as we receive more information on the misfortune that has befallen Haitians over the past two weeks. Considered the poorest nation in the western hemisphere, the tragic outcome of the January 13th earthquake has left up to a million homeless, while aid groups are still running around trying to get bare necessities into the hands of survivors.
HostUpon has made its own contribution to Canada For Haiti, and urges readers to do the same. The money donated to this group of humanitarian organizations is being used to stabilize Haitian living conditions and prevent the risk of disease, malnutrition, child-trafficking and other threats to Haitians. Canadian telethons have already amassed more than $20 million, and the federal government is matching this amount for a total of $40 million raised in this effort alone. Organizations involved in Canada For Haiti include Free the Children, Oxfam Canada, WorldVision and Unicef, among others. We encourage HostUpon clients and especially Canadian readers to contribute as much as financially possible by visiting Canada For Haiti
Thank you
One Click PHPMotion and Boonex Dolphin Installers
We now have a fully automated installer for PHPMotion! PHPMotion is a very popular script which allows you to start a video sharing website within minutes.
You simply login to the cPanel, click on the PHPMotion icon and click the Install button. Then simply navigate to your website and there you go, PHPMotion is installed! We had tons of requests for this and we’re proud to annouce that we now have the PHPMotion One Click Installer!
PHPMotion is a free script and the auto installer is included in ALL of our hosting plan at HostUpon.com
Lastly I wanted to mention we also have a free Bonex Dolphin One Click Installer as well. Boonex Dolphin is a great social networking script allowing to youto run your own social network without having a technical skill set.
Were also working on many other free one click installer for many other scripts in the coming months. if you have a request feel free to email us anytime and let us know what you would like to see!
Happy New Year to all our readers!
Is Your Site Ready For Holiday Shoppers?
It’s the busiest time of the year for online merchants and shoppers alike. At HostUpon we’re hoping all of our clients are ready and prepared as December is known to be the most profitable month for online merchants. We’ve been providing reliable and affordable web hosting for years and decided to write a blog post to make sure your website is ready for online shoppers!
Here are a few basic tips for selling online:
1 - To sell anything online you need an SSL certificate. An SSL certificate allows you to accept credit cards over a secure connection making it safe for yourself and clients. You can purchase an SSL certificate anywhere online and then install it on your site at HostUpon. This is critical if you plan on accepting credit cards on your website.
2 - In order to install a SSL certificate you will require a dedicated IP address. Even if you have a shared hosting plan you will need to make sure you have a dedicated IP. Our Business Hosting plan comes with a free dedicated IP so that may be the plan you want if you decided to accept payments on your website as well as install a SSL certificate.
3 - You will need to have a Merchant account. A merchant account is the company who will process your payments. PayPal is the most popular merchant provider. You can also check out Authorize.net or even contact your banking institution to see if they provide online merchant services.
4 - Whichever merchant you choose make sure they provide some time of fraud detection system or tools. Fraud is VERY high this time of year. You need to protect your company and brand at all times. Having fraud detection is place is essential as it lowers charge-backs and allows you to keep in good standing with your merchant.
5 - Advertising costs can really set you back but this is the time to advertise your service/products. Develop some type of advertising whether it be on Google Adwords or banner ads on relevant sites. Try to find websites where traffic relevant to your services would benefit and advertise on them.
6 - Email marketing is essential! I am not saying spam anyone as that is NOT email marketing. Simply email your client base and inform them of sales, discounts, special offers and anything else that can generate revenue. Value added services also provide great customer loyalty and revenue. Be sure to have a link or two in your email so the client clicks and comes to the site.
7 - Decorate your website! A few festive touches are always a good sign up website maintenance. Your viewers won’t think you have had the same site for 10 years. Keep website info relevant and up to date.
8 - Offer discounts or coupons. This is a big selling point as people tend to purchase items when there is a coupon or sale price for a limited time. Be sure to advertise any coupons on your banners as well as on social network and social media sites like Twitter and Facebook.
9 - Use every social media site to spread the word. Twitter is good for mentioning sales and coupons. Create a Facebook page for your business. Make sure the sites are maintained and make Twitter updates as soon as there is relevant company news. Social media is the future, use it to your advantage.
10 - Host your website at HostUpon.com ! We have thousands of satisifed clients with success stories. Our Business Hosting and Private Server are designed for e-commerce sites. You can use all of the tips mentioned in this blog post but without a reliable hosting provider you won’t get too far. Our infrastructure is built for all of the above and we hope to host your website!
Good luck and Happy Holidays!
HostUpon Donates To SOS Childrens Villages Charity
At HostUpon our daily focus has always been our customers. We are a tight knit group who strive to better our services and provide web hosting solutions to thousands of people world-wide. It’s a priviledge to work in an industry where the voice of your customers drive your business. We have worked very hard from day one to ensure quality is met at all levels and to grow at a steady yet exponential rate.
Today I am proud to mention that HostUpon has made a small donation to the SOS Childrens Villages Charity. It all started when a very good friend of mine asked me if HostUpon would be interested in making a donation of any size to support the charity. My friend is the Media Co-ordinator for the charity event and was very passionate about her involvment. After a few conversations we decided HostUpon would donate $1000 dollars to provide gifts which would be raffled off to raise funds. The charity event raised tens of thousands of dollars however the figures are not 100% accurate as of yet. Looking back I am very pleased to say that we will continue to donate to charities world-wide. I have always preached to my friends and family that happiness is the key to success. It’s a wonderful feeling knowing that change can be made if you have the opportunity to help the less fortunate. I hope to one day travel to Africa and countries which are developing to get a real idea of the state these millions and millions of people live in.
I want to thank ALL of our customers, friends and family for your continued support. HostUpon was built from a solid foundation of customer trust and support from friends and family.
HostUpon Loves MJ
We sometimes stop to forget when people make a positive impact on our lives. I wanted to share a moment of passion, success and happiness with all of you today.
We Had Him
By: Maya Angelou
Beloveds, now we know that we know nothing, now that our bright and shining star can slip away from our fingertips like a puff of summer wind.
Without notice, our dear love can escape our doting embrace. Sing our songs among the stars and walk our dances across the face of the moon.
In the instant that Michael is gone, we know nothing. No clocks can tell time. No oceans can rush our tides with the abrupt absence of our treasure.
Though we are many, each of us is achingly alone, piercingly alone.
Only when we confess our confusion can we remember that he was a gift to us and we did have him.
He came to us from the creator, trailing creativity in abundance.
Despite the anguish, his life was sheathed in mother love, family love, and survived and did more than that.
He thrived with passion and compassion, humor and style. We had him whether we know who he was or did not know, he was ours and we were his.
We had him, beautiful, delighting our eyes.
His hat, aslant over his brow, and took a pose on his toes for all of us.
And we laughed and stomped our feet for him.
We were enchanted with his passion because he held nothing. He gave us all he had been given.
Today in Tokyo, beneath the Eiffel Tower, in Ghana’s Black Star Square.
In Johannesburg and Pittsburgh, in Birmingham, Alabama, and Birmingham, England
We are missing Michael.
But we do know we had him, and we are the world.
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!
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!
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!
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.