If you’ve paid attention to the news lately then you’re already aware that businesses large and small have fallen victim, in increasing numbers, to online attacks from hackers and other security related issues. We live in an age where the world is going more and more towards the online business and many entrepreneurs have seen this trend and have filled this demand. According to Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.com, over 27 million people have had their identity stolen in the last five years alone. That’s just in America. It doesn’t matter if you run your online business from home or a self storage unit, online security has become a paramount concern for average consumers. It’s essential that, if you have an online business that you familiarize yourself with some of the biggest threats to online security to date.

Phishing:

Phishing, actually pronounced fishing, is a type of online identity theft. It’s a system devised that uses emails and fraudulent web sites to access, or downright steal, personal data or information. This could be passwords, credit card numbers, account information, and other various forms of personal data. These con artists target millions of people every day. They send out millions of scam emails with links to bogus sites that can look very repeatable or trustworthy. You’ll then be prompted to giver personal data that is then used for various illegal activities.

Malicious Code:

This is the new breed of Internet security threats that’s also known as vandals. The problem is that it, presently, can’t be efficiently controlled or contained by current conventional antivirus software by itself. They’re unlike viruses that have, in the past, required the user to execute a program in order to cause damage to your network or computer. Malicious coding is an auto-executable application that doesn’t require a user to interact with it. If you run a business, it’s best not to rely on anti-virus software alone. It’s best to take a comprehensive approach and implement the use of patches to operating systems, anti-spyware, anti-adware, firewalls, and other safety software to ensure that your clients’ information isn’t at risk.

Unsecure Internet Networks:

If you’re using an unsecure network then you’re taking a huge gamble. When you do this not only your, be all of your clients’ personal data is at risk from hackers and other individuals who would use this information for malicious purposes. It’s best to, when setting up a wireless network, to ensure that the default password is changed. Most devices are pre-configured with a default administrator password to simplify the set-up process. These default passwords can be easily found online. It’s best to change this password as soon as you’re done setting up your wireless network. Don’t make the password simple or easy to figure out. Changing the password to something complicated will make it far more difficult for hackers to take control of the device or gain access to any sensitive information.

Before anyone can ever hope to have an effective online business, you have to start thinking about a good cyber security plan. The Internet about in security threats and, from a business standpoint, this will affect your bottom-line. Though your business won’t likely be at risk from high-level hackers, you should still consider this as priority and look at different ways you can safeguard your businesses online security.

This post will feature some of the most commonly employed scripting technologies used on the server side.

CGI scripts are executables that come from the server and make your web pages dynamic and more interactive. Though most web hosts offer this capability to some degree, it is still better to make sure of that at the outset. Some examples of web page features made using CGI scripts are guestbooks, counters, and chat-forums. CGI scripts are best used on Unix and Linux servesr.

ASP (Active Server Pages) was developed by Microsoft and as such, is standard with Windows and only runs on Windows. One feature of ASP is the ability to include script code inside your HTML pages. This makes for dynamic web pages. Many web hosts offer ASP. If you want to use ASP on a Unix system, you would have to employ Chili!Soft ASP. This is Microsoft’s version of ASP that can run on other platforms.

JSP, on the other hand, is really much like ASP, except that it was developed by Sun. It works the same way – you include Java codes in your HTML pages to create dynamic web pages. The big difference is that since it uses Java, JSP is not restricted to any platform.

Finding the right match does not only refer to personal relationships but professional ones as well, including ones with certain professionals and companies such as technicians and suppliers. When it comes to websites, it is crucial to be matched up with the right web hosting service. If not, your site will not reach its utmost potential. Whether you are using your website for personal reasons or for professional ones, you need to have the most reliable webhost that offers you the most for the most reasonable price. There are web hosting services out there that charge a bundle and for nothing. Then there are those that are a bargain and people are thrilled with them. It is all about shopping around, doing the research and finding the right service for you.

This can be easily accomplished by visiting findingahost.com, which is a webhosting comparison site that is designed to help one find the perfect web hosting service for them. It includes reviews, trends, news, and discussions, all relating to web hosting services. You can find out which of the top services can benefit your site the most without wasting too much time or going through any trouble at all. Not only does it save you time but money as well.

The basic idea with IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) remains the same as that of POP e-mail’s. Messages which are sent and received are first stored in your server until they are downloaded onto specific computers using e-mail client programs such as Microsoft Outlook, Netscape Messenger, and the like.

The main difference between IMAP and POP is that one can manipulate messages from different computers with IMAP. So for example, you have a desktop at work, a laptop you carry around, and a desktop at home. With IMAP, you can access your e-mail messages from any of these three computers without having to transfer them from one computer to the other. This is in fact a big improvement because with POP, once you download the messages to one computer, they are taken off the server. As such, you would have to physically transfer your e-mails from your desktop to your laptop for example.

Before we end, let’s briefly mention web-based e-mails. These are normally the free accounts although with both POP and IMAP, web hosts can provide access through the web. This is an attractive idea for those on the go. With this feature, you have more versatility.

If you are thinking of putting up a web hosting business there are three different ways in which you can set up your business. First, you can buy a dedicated server and use it to host your clients’ accounts. Second, you can simply join an affiliate program or two and promote the web hosting services of the company(ies) you are affiliated with. And third, you can buy a reseller hosting account and, as the name implies, resell the space and bandwidth you get to your own clients. Quite obviously, the first option is the one that requires the most technical know-how and the second is the easiest option. However, the easiest option doesn’t always lead to the greatest profit. But if you really do not have any technical background then joining an affiliate program is really your only option.

One valid reason why the e-mail feature of web hosting providers is important is the protection of one’s privacy. Providing one’s e-mail address for any kind of online transaction can be quite risky as spammers and cyber thieves wait for their chance. However, it should be noted that a vast majority of legitimate sites are not interested in such activities due to the tremendous amount of goodwill that is lost.

Getting junk e-mail can be minimized by avoiding sites that have bad customer service reputation and consciously choosing sites with good online reputations. It pays to always check the sign-up page and to read the privacy policy small print. Sites need to obtain permission to give out an e-mail address and it could only come from the user.

I frequently encounter people trying to decide which hosting service to go with for their site basing their decision on price alone. This is a big mistake in my opinion since share hosting plans can vary considerably from provider to provider. Even if price is your main consideration, knowing factors such as how many sites a provider allows you to host on one account can considerably influence your decision as hosting multiple sites on one plan reduces your actual cost per site. A good resource to check out is top10webhosting.com. They compare all the top webhosting companies and list them side by side for you to compare taking in all the factors. A good host is important for a successful site, do your homework in advance and save yourself future trouble.

A lot of e-mail providers specify a maximum size on the amount of information that can be sent or received in one e-mail message. It is quite possible that it will be much less than the size of the e-mail storage space. The limit will determine the maximum size of attachments that will be sent or received. There may be a need therefore to send two (2) separate messages to accommodate an attachment beyond the size limit.

Sometimes, an error or bounce message will be received when an e-mail beyond the allowable size is sent. However, this is not foolproof as there is no standard way in the Internet for e-mail services to respond to messages that are too big. It would be safer to send a separate and short e-mail to verify if the complete message has been received.

Just like in any business there are some providers, whether cheap or expensive, that doesn’t provide the quality of service they promise. To make sure you get a good web hosting service be sure to ask the following questions. If you don’t get a satisfactory answer on even just one of the questions do not hesitate to look elsewhere. Remember that there are plenty of hosting providers that give great service.

• What is the maximum bandwidth?
• What is the server up time?
• Do they monitor sites?
• How regularly do they back up server?
• Are they insured for major problems?
• How much do their packages cost?

The top three control panel software programs in terms of popularity among web hosting providers today are cPanel, Ensim and Plesk. cPanel combined with their Web Host Manager (WHM) is acknowledged to be one of the best right now. However, it isn’t ideal for those who would like to self-host since it is pretty expensive. Ensim and Plesk are good options for those who want to be able to have a control panel but do not have that big a budget. For those who did not even figure in the cost of a control panel software though there are still pretty good options out there since they can find free software like Cube Panel Lite and VHCS.