Security

It is always important to check your website logs. Many web hosting providers will give you access to them, even if they do not tell you they do. In a virtual hosting account, there will be a log directory with Apache server logs. Among other things, it will tell you …

Question: What is Reverse DNS? Answer: Reverse DNS is a method of determining the domain name associated with an IP address. It is the opposite of DNS, which finds the IP address associated with a domain name. According to Internet standards, every IP address should have a domain name, and …

Question: What is root and su? Answer: On Linux and other Unix-like systems, root is the default username of the system administrator or super user (su). Typically, the root user is the only one that has complete read and write access on every file located on a server. Shared hosting …

Question: How do I force users to use the SSL version of a folder on my website? Answer: With e-commerce websites it is very important to make sure your customers have a secure connection to your website. Nothing can be more damaging to a business than to have sensitive user …

Question: My dedicated server is running ModSecurity, but one of the websites needs it turned off in order to operate correctly. How do I turn it off for just one site? Answer: Before you proceed, keep in mind the reason you have ModSecurity installed in the first place. It is …

Question: Google flagged my website as containing malicious code. What can I do to fix it? Answer: Many people assume that they have a security breach in their server if Google flags them. While this is sometimes true, it is often a much easier problem to fix. If you are …

Question: How do I keep my hosting account from being hacked? Answer: 1. More than anything else, it is important to keep your passwords secret and unique. No one else should have your password, not even your web host. If someone emails you pretending to be your web host or …

When you register a domain, you are required to supply your registrar with accurate contact details. These are used not only for clerical purposes and to prevent fraud, but also, per ICANN rules, must be added to the official WHOIS database. WHOIS is essentially a giant phonebook for the web. …

Spam is an ongoing problem with any email account, but many people with their own websites are suddenly placed in the position of needing to fight spam on their own. A good web host, however, will provide you with options that should make it pretty painless for you. When I …

Apache HTTP Server is the most widely used web server application and is arguably the best available. Nevertheless, being a good application does not automatically make Apache secure. If your websites are simple html pages with no dynamic web applications or scripts, you probably do not have need for much …