The What, Where and Why of Web Hosting

Regardless of the business you may be in, a website offers the most cost-efficient way to advertise your brand.  Unlike the traditional brick and mortar business where you may be limited by location, the internet gives you the ability to advertise to a large global market of consumers.  In order to stake your claim in cyberspace, you will need a web host to serve your content to the world.

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is a service that provides you with space on a computer, better known as a server, and launches your site on the World Wide Web, making it accessible to internet users.  There are many types of web hosting services but you essentially have two choices: building your site with a free or paid service.

The major benefit of free web hosting is obvious as you are allowed to run your very own website at no cost.  Some companies will even provide a hosted shopping cart so that you can sell products and services.  There are however, significant drawbacks to free hosting.  Because you are not paying for the service, you have limited control over your account.  For instance, many free providers will litter your website with banners and advertisers of their sponsors.  In most cases, they also provide you with limited resources in the terms of bandwidth and disk space as well as features.  Due to these limitations, free web hosting is more suited for personal use and not recommended for running an online business.

Paying for web hosting is the best option.  Even the small business with limited resources can now thrive on this platform as web hosting solutions have become much more affordable.  This option allows you to register your own domain and grants more control over the administrative functions.  Even “cheap hosting” can set you up with everything needed to establish yourself on the web.

Things to Look For

After making the decision to pay for web hosting, it’s important to make sure that you receive the best value for your money.  Your website will undoubtedly need room to grow, meaning it will require a significant amount of disk space to store your content.  If you anticipate a high volume of traffic, you will need adequate bandwidth so visitors can stop through and interact without performance issues.  If it’s E-commerce you’re embarking upon, you will need a special set of features.  Some things to keep in mind are email accounts to remain in contact with your audience and shopping carts to sell your products.  You should also take note of the control panel software being offered, as this will entail the administrative power you have over the operation.  Before deciding on a host, it would be a good idea to sit down and determine exactly what your site needs to be successful.  This will make choosing a company much easier.

Go Find Yourself a Web Host

As we mentioned before, the price of web hosting is very reasonable these days.  However, the cheaper price doesn’t always equal the best service.  Check out a few companies and determine which one can offer the tools you need to be successful.  After finding a reliable company to host your site, the sky is the limit.

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Dec 23, 2008 : General No responses yet

Cross Site Scripting Attacks

Online intruders are experimenting with an extensive arsenal of hacking techniques.  Aside from breaking into personal computers, these internet criminals are also looking to penetrate high-powered web servers and compromise sensitive data such as Social Security numbers, bank account details and other personal information.  Cross site scripting is a method commonly used to perform the attack.

What is Cross Site Scripting?

Cross site scripting, often referred to as CSS or XSS, is a hacking technique that takes advantage of web-based applications, allowing an intruder to distribute malicious content and obtain critical data from the victim. A web page consists of HTML programming which is generated by a server and then translated by a browser.  A developer creating static pages has control over how they are interpreted by a browser.  This isn’t the case with a dynamic web page, essentially giving a malicious user the power to manipulate the scripting without the victim noticing in enough time to react.

Most websites today thrive on sophisticated applications that interact with users and cover specific needs.  At the same time, many of these dynamic sites suffer from numerous vulnerabilities and leave companies wide open to attacks.  Cross site scripting gives an attacker the power to insert malicious ActiveX, HTML, Flash, JavaScript of VBScript into a dynamic web page.  This is done to trick the user into executing the script and allows the intruder to access the data they are after.  This exploit is often performed to steal confidential information, steal or modify cookies, modify requests and even execute malicious code on the victim’s machine.  When the latter occurs, the data is typically in the form of a hyperlink that contains the malicious code.  Once clicked, the infection can be distributed over the internet.

Using this technique, a hacker can create and infect machines with a custom made URL all by utilizing a browser to test the response of a dynamic web page.  With the basic knowledge of JavaScript, HTML and a dynamic programming language such as PHP, the attacker can easily create a rogue URL and launch an XSS attack on a vulnerable website.

Is Your Site Vulnerable?

One of the most damaging aspects of cross site scripting is that you typically will have no knowledge of the attack until its too late.  To learn if your site is vulnerable, you could run a scanning utility which will comb your dynamic pages in search of potential security issues.  Such a tool will indicate the scripts and URLs susceptible to the attack.  From there you can make the needed corrections and secure your website.  A reliable scanner will seek out cross site scripting and other common vulnerabilities such as SQL injection.

The high number of compromised websites is indication cross site scripting is one of the internet’s biggest flaws.  This attack can occur on any web-based application that openly accepts input and generates output without the proper validation.  The good thing is that the attack can only cripple sites powered by dynamic scripting languages opposed to a static pages strictly built with HTML.  The bad thing is that simple static pages are mainly a thing of the past.

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Dec 08, 2008 : General No responses yet

The Basics of Web Hosting

Web hosting is a service that allows you to host a website where it can be viewed by anyone who has access to the internet, meaning your pages are accessible to web surfers throughout the world.  You sign up with a company who allocates space on their server and allow you to upload content and manage an account.

Running Your Site

When it comes to web hosting, there are several approach you can take.  The first option involves going at it alone and managing the site yourself.  A web hosting company will provide you with software and all the tools needed to manage the features of your account.  This process could be smooth or very frustrating depending on the host you do business with.

With web hosting, there are two essentials you need to worry about: expenses and development.  Although hosting plans are generally inexpensive these days, things can get rather costly depending on the requirements of your site.  If you are a newcomer, there will undoubtedly be a learning curve.  For instance, you will be responsible for actually building the site, managing your product line, handling the personal details of customers and more.  These responsibilities are increased when deciding to sign up with dedicated hosting, a situation where the entire server is exclusive to your business.  This will definitely require more administrative skills on your part.  For someone with who anticipates small to moderate traffic, a shared hosting plan would be practical as it is more affordable and easier to manage.

Choosing a Provider

The good thing about web hosting is the fact that there are plenty of companies to go around.  In order to find a reliable host, you should first do a little research and get some information on a few companies.  Web hosting reviews offer a great way to find the low down about providers in the industry.  Reviews are all over the internet and will provide you with an overview a particular service, the price, features offered and much more.  This feedback is typically given by people like yourself so this could go along towards your decision.

There are several items you need to look out for when searching for a web host.  One of the most important of all is uptime.  Uptime refers to how long your website is up, running and accessible on the web.  This is very critical as a site that experiences significant down time could cost you a lot of potential business.  A reliable host will offer an uptime guarantee of 99.9%, which has become a standard in the industry.

After finding a respectable uptime and documentation to the back up that claim, you then need to focus on customer support.  This is when the true value of a web hosting plan is revealed as support is the backbone of a good service.  A respectable host will provide around the clock support via phone or email to help you get set up and come in for the save when things get complicated.

By going over the basics and taking the right steps in the beginning, you can find a quality host on the first try and spare yourself a bit of hassle down the road.

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Oct 27, 2008 : General No responses yet

Web Hosting - How it All Began

The internet is thriving like never before and web hosting is the driving force behind it.  The industry began in 1991, much different than we know it today.  However, there has always been a close association with the World Wide Web which came onto the scene around the same time.  With E-commerce, entertainment and a plethora of opportunities, one could say that the internet and web hosting are two of the greatest technical innovations of all time.

The internet, the World Wide Web and electronic mail helped to start the revolution, encouraging commercial possibilities and a means for people to host their own web pages.  This revolution is more aptly termed as E-commerce.  In the beginning, web pages were mainly limited to computer experts, universities and government agencies.  As time progressed, other opportunities were presented.  As several businesses realized the potential in web hosting, companies were formed, providing people with a way to sell their products on the internet and serve them via the World Wide Web.

Once web hosting became increasingly popular, it was much easier for the average consumer to have their own domain name and web pages.  The structure of web hosting has evolved significantly, going from dull static pages to dynamic creations that scream for interaction.  There was more complexity involved in hosting a website back then, but those who adapted to the technical aspects were able to take advantage and reap the benefits.

Upon first being introduced, web hosting was not only complex but very costly as well.  As the technology evolved, it became more comprehensive with features that make it easy to build and administer your site.  Web hosting has also become more affordable, with plans costing as low as $5.  Some companies even offer hosting services for free.

In the early days of web hosting, providers would lease their servers from large computer companies.  These days, web hosting has become a flourishing industry of its own.  Millions of people are now hosting websites from individuals to small and large businesses.  Web hosting is prominent throughout the world and available in numerous countries.  The industry has evolved to a point where breaking in is made easier with dedicated servers and reseller accounts.  Now a billion dollar business, there is enough money to go around for anyone with the ability to sell server space.

Web hosting has also become more diverse over the years.  Things were pretty much simple and straightforward at one point, but there are now an abundant variety of services suited for a wide range of individuals and businesses.  Whether it’s adding video and audio content for your visitors, opening up a storefront or turning your site into a large user community, there isn’t much you can’t do with a web hosting account these days.

Web hosting has come a long way since the early 90s.  While it basically goes on behind the scenes, this technology is what provides many of the services that add convenience to modern day living.

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Sep 23, 2008 : General No responses yet

Internet Advertising - Making Money With Your Website

Many build a website merely to post information, while others do so with the intent of making money.  Two common ways to prosper on the web include gathering revenue from advertising campaigns or selling products and services.  In this article we will focus on internet advertising and how it can be used to create revenue for your website.

Banners

You will notice a plethora of banner advertisements when visiting several websites today.  On the surface, one may believe that only highly successful or known companies have the ability to post these banners.  The truth is that anyone who purchases a web hosting account can post advertisements.  Although well known companies are constantly approached by others looking to promote their products, as a newcomer to the web, you too can profit from advertisements with a fairly unknown website.

One of the best ways to earn advertising revenue is to join on as an affiliate with websites in your niche market.  This can be done directly or through an affiliate program.  An affiliate program is simply a network of individuals or companies who work together to promote their sites with banner advertisements, link exchange and so forth.

Before joining any affiliate program, it’s important to make yourself familiar with the common payment schemes that are available.

Pay Per Impression

With pay per impression, your are paid in accordance to the number of times a particular advertiser’s banner is displayed on your website.  You are typically paid on a per thousand impression basis, with impressions being the number of time a banner is displayed.  Payments are usually small, but easy to earn because the impressions accumulate every time your page loads.  This could actually be profitable to the website that generates a high volume of traffic.

Pay Per Click

Pay per click is a system where you are only paid if visitors click on the advertiser’s banner posted on your site.  The payout tends to be higher than what you’d get with pay per impression.  Whether or not you have a high rate of conversion all depends on the advertising banner.  It must be something that coordinates with the theme of your site and intrigues visitors.  Just like with the pay per impression scheme, a site with a higher volume of traffic will probably generate more revenue.

Pay Per Lead or Sale

This system has the ability to bring in higher payment rates but tends to have a lower rate of conversion than the schemes mentioned above.  With pay per lead or sale, you only earn revenue when visitors click a banner from your site and then purchase or sign up for service directly with the advertiser.  Similar to pay per click, you are likely to get much better results by carefully choosing the advertisers and banners you plan to support.

Advertising revenue provides one of the most effortless ways to profit with your website.  All that you are required to do is insert the banner and advertise the site as you normally would for your own products or services.  While it is not guaranteed to retire you from your day job, it is a great place to start and literally allows you to earn money in your sleep.

The final, and possibly most important factor, is to obtain a solid and stable web host account. If you drive traffic to a site, the site must be online and able to handle the volume of inbound traffic. If your website is unabvailalbe, or if the server is offline, your prospective audience will be unable to click on advertisment, view affiliate offers or consider a service that you are selling. Look for web host providers that offer an up-time guarantee of at least 99% to ensure that your efforts will yeild favorable results.

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Sep 08, 2008 : General No responses yet