Round Tale

Security is by far one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a web host. With so  many possible threats online, it is not as hard as on might think for a security lapse to occur. Security is not something that should be taken lightly by the consumer or the web host, as there are several threats that could result in serious financial turmoil. The following are three threats in particular that are becoming increasingly common, and that are responsible for a large portion of the security issues involved with web hosting.

Credit Card Fraud

The internet is a massive virtual marketplace, swarming with merchants, customers, and people who would like to take advantage of both the merchant and the consumer. The people looking to exploit any security fault they can are commonly referred to as “hackers.” Hackers see the web as an opportunity to  prey on the weaknesses of other individuals and companies. A vulnerable website makes an ideal target for these hackers, especially if the website is engaged in daily e-commerce. Many of them have access to highly advanced applications that are capable of telling them if there any “loopholes” they can exploit. Any online store they can find with a single security lapse will become a feeding ground for them, resulting in thousands of dollars stolen form your customer’s credit cards. Once the hacker has the credit card details of your customer’s, the situation becomes progressively worse. Of course, the customer is going to be inclined to believe that you are the thief, and they will not want to accept the fact that you are actually the victim. This kind of situation can result in lawsuits, and even the loss of your online business!

Bot Rings

Then there is the possibility of a horrid “DDoS attack.” A DDoS attack is a security exploit that is normally employed by criminals that are members of or have control of  “botnets.”  DDos stands for “Distributed Denial of Service.” A bot ring is a group of hackers, or programmed computer’s that are set up to carry out a specific task. A DDoS attack is executed by a botnet that continually floods the network with DDoS requests. As the network is flooded with requests, it slows down until ultimately traffic screeches to a halt. Even though the DDoS attack is one of the oldest online security exploits, it is still extremely difficult to prevent because of it’s organic and seemingly genuine nature. Once the server’s traffic has been affected the hacker then takes control of the server, using it as a puppet to find   other vulnerable servers. Once the hacker has gained control over several servers, they then begin their attack on the target of their choice.  To prevent your business from being a victim of one of these attacks, make sure you discuss this threat with any prospective web hosts, to be sure they are aware of this threat.

Malicious Software

Then there are the threats that pose a virtual risk to the web hosting providers. Hackers may attempt to attack a web hosts server or network with a malicious application designed to retrieve crucial information.  This malicious software is called “malware” ( a combination of the two words).  While server’s generally have more stringent security measures in place, they are still susceptible to the same threats that a personal computer may be faced with.  You can avoid these kind of security lapses by  ensuring that your prospective host takes the proper precautions to defend against all forms of malware. Do not be afraid to ask questions about the security measures they have in place, before hand.  It is important to remember that once the web host’s server is compromised to malware, every bit of information on the server can be accessed, including your web site’s financial data.

Control panels are certainly a vital element in today’s web hosting operation, helping to transform complex tasks into simple processes that can be handled by users of varying skill levels.  The vendors that distribute these products and the hosting industry in general have no trouble pushing the software on the market, but critics are now questioning whether control panels are truly necessary in the VPS environment and what value they actually provide.

Potential Issues

In terms of performance and security, industry leading control panels such as cPanel and Plesk are not always what they are cracked up to be.  These powerful applications consume a great deal of resources and often force customers to upgrade their packages to continuously thrive in a VPS hosting environment.  This consumption is due to HTTPD processes ran by web servers like Apache that make a VPS more susceptible to performance issues and less able to handle exploits such as DOS (Denial of Service) attacks.  Though very useful, cPanel and Plesk are both resource hogs that are more likely to reduce the overall responsiveness and performance of web applications, leading customers to upgrade to more costly packages they do not necessarily need.  In addition to this, even simple tasks such as creating email account and managing databases are slow and lagging processes that generally take too long to complete.

Alternative VPS Control Panels

cPanel and Plesk are ideal for shared and dedicated hosting arrangements but could result in more problems then you bargained for when using them with a virtual private server.  Two more efficient control panels you may want to consider for your VPS hosting solution are DirectAdmin and LxAdmin as both are incredibly lightweight and consume notably less system resources than cPanel and Plesk.  This essentially means they are far more responsive, faster and likely to give you a better performance than the leading products.  A number of tests are increasingly showing that they are also more stable and secure than the competition.

Many observers are stepping out to the make the claim that cPanel’s days as a VPS control panel are numbered, attributing this to the fact that is the most resource leeching solution.  Due to its mass popularity and widespread use, it is also among the highly targeted by hackers, which presents numerous potential security risks to your hosting environment and sensitive data.  For this reason, you may want to carefully consider utilizing this control panel with your virtual private server.  Unless you have a robust VPS plan with a lot of RAM or absolutely require automation, it might be worth the risk to install a glamorous commercial product.

Conclusion

We are not telling you to refrain from using cPanel or Plesk as both are on top of the control panel market for obvious reasons.  However, in many situations, going with a lighter product or performing command line administration will allow you to get the job done in a faster, more efficient and secure manner.  Fortunately, there are several control panel applications specifically designed for the VPS environment, better assuring the optimal performance and adequate security you need to thrive with your web presence.

Having a dedicated server is one of the true signs that you have made it as a small to medium sized business owner.  Unfortunately, it also makes you a likely target of hacking and other security threats.  Securing any machine equipped with a web or application server is a huge challenge, one you may not be able to overcome alone.  You need to worry about everything from your email and FTP communications to OS and kernel patches.  And let’s not forget about those web technologies that can bring you so much functionality along with a lot of grief when not properly secured.  This web-based world we live in can be very hazardous to any business so if you want to protect your server, we suggest paying close attention to the contents of this article.

Must-Have Defenses

Securing a dedicated server begins with creating a two-layer bullet proof vest to deflect the attempts of the enemy.  Two of the most effective weapons to carry into battle: firewall and intrusion protection technology.  With a firewall, your server will be able to fight off common exploits such as DDoS (distributed denial of service) and brute force attacks.  Usually originating from multiple unsecured, enslaved machines, the dreaded DDoS attack will slam your dedicated server with awful amounts of insignificant traffic, overwhelming critical resources and rendering the hardware inaccessible to legitimate users.  A quality firewall with good configurations will enforce rules that filters access and blocks malicious traffic while allowing legitimate traffic to pass.  This is all done in a way that reduces latency and slow moving processes, so it all appears transparent to the end-user.

Though similar in a nature, intrusion detection and prevention takes a more advanced approach towards server security.  This technology blocks malicious traffic right at the source, locking compromised hosts in a quarantine area all while routing genuine user traffic in a quick and efficient manner.  If a firewall represents your first line of defense, then intrusion protection serves as your behind enemy lines mechanism.  This powerful combination allows you to shift security measures from a reactive to proactive aspect.

Don’t Stop There

While the implementation of firewalls and intrusion protection make good first steps, one should keep in might that this isn’t the set it and forget it type of deal.  In order to stay ahead of the hackers, malware coders and corporate saboteurs you must consistently employ vigilance as well as frequent updates of your patches, blacklists, filters and other vital elements.  Purchasing and installing a few security devices and applications can be viewed as the easy part.  Managing them with efficiency is an entirely different story.

Because properly securing a dedicated server is cost prohibitive for most small and medium sized organizations, you may want to consider a managed service to help keep the intruders away.   Managed hosting is the often overlooked aspect of a dedicated server that could spell the difference between running a successful business, or going down because of a major security breach.  If you are not sure where you stand on server security, consult your IT team or speak with a professional firm for guidance.

Chicago, Illinois – (The Hosting News) – June 17, 2009 – Provider of high-performance Internet connectivity and wholesale bandwidth solutions, nLayer Communications, has been selected by managed web-hosting company SingleHop, to provide 30 Gigabits per second of network connectivity at multiple Chicago-area facilities.

Richard Steenbergen, Chief Technical Officer of nLayer Communications remarked, ”We’re very pleased to have this opportunity to provide the high bandwidth connectivity that will enable SingleHop to support the bandwidth intensive services their customers require. Our robust global IP backbone gives us the scalability and flexibility to meet the needs of companies with significant IP traffic requirements, and to provide unparalleled performance and reliability.”

Andy Pace, VP of Operations at SingleHop noted, ”Partnering with nLayer gives us IP connectivity with one of the leaders in the industry and benefits all of our clients through excellent peak-time performance and a powerful platform for future growth. With a total of 30 Gigabits per second, this new capacity provides yet another layer of protection against denial of service (DDoS) attacks, on top of the numerous measures we have already deployed.”

nLayer Communications is a leading provider of high-performance wholesale Internet connectivity solutions around the world. nLayer owns and operates its own redundant global OC-192 infrastructure, and maintains over 900 Gigabits of edge capacity to other Internet networks.
nLayer’s customers include high-profile web properties, content delivery networks, and hosting and dedicated access providers. nLayer currently provides services in more than 35 locations across North America, Europe and Asia.

SingleHop, Inc., is a full-service managed dedicated hosting provider that was founded on the principal of providing reliable, cost-effective, dedicated services. The company was founded by Zak Boca and Dan Ushman in 2006 and currently hosts thousands of websites from around the world.

To learn more, please visit: www.singlehop.com.

Chicago, Illinois – (The Hosting News) – June 17, 2009 – Provider of high-performance Internet connectivity and wholesale bandwidth solutions, nLayer Communications, has been selected by managed web-hosting company SingleHop, to provide 30 Gigabits per second of network connectivity at multiple Chicago-area facilities.

Richard Steenbergen, Chief Technical Officer of nLayer Communications remarked, ”We’re very pleased to have this opportunity to provide the high bandwidth connectivity that will enable SingleHop to support the bandwidth intensive services their customers require. Our robust global IP backbone gives us the scalability and flexibility to meet the needs of companies with significant IP traffic requirements, and to provide unparalleled performance and reliability.”

Andy Pace, VP of Operations at SingleHop noted, ”Partnering with nLayer gives us IP connectivity with one of the leaders in the industry and benefits all of our clients through excellent peak-time performance and a powerful platform for future growth. With a total of 30 Gigabits per second, this new capacity provides yet another layer of protection against denial of service (DDoS) attacks, on top of the numerous measures we have already deployed.”

nLayer Communications is a leading provider of high-performance wholesale Internet connectivity solutions around the world. nLayer owns and operates its own redundant global OC-192 infrastructure, and maintains over 900 Gigabits of edge capacity to other Internet networks.
nLayer’s customers include high-profile web properties, content delivery networks, and hosting and dedicated access providers. nLayer currently provides services in more than 35 locations across North America, Europe and Asia.

SingleHop, Inc., is a full-service managed dedicated hosting provider that was founded on the principal of providing reliable, cost-effective, dedicated services. The company was founded by Zak Boca and Dan Ushman in 2006 and currently hosts thousands of websites from around the world.

To learn more, please visit: www.singlehop.com.