SSL Certificates – Explained
( The Best Web Hosting Service )- You have started a website and know your business is hosted in a PCI-compliant environment. You have also signed up with a trustworthy merchant provider, and you’ve got a secure shopping cart. What else do you need? Online security protocol may seem redundant, but you do not want to overlook getting hold of a SSL certificate.
So what are SSL certificates, and what are they for?
What They Do
SSL or Secure Socket Layer certificates, were created by Netscape to confirm the identity of website servers, encrypt data that are transmitted, and protect the integrity, including credit card numbers and other personal data during transmission. SSL are cryptographic protocols that give security on network communications. In particular, they prevent deciphering of data transmitted between a client’s browser and server the business is hosting on by third parties. When encrypted data arrive at the secure server, you know it is safe to be unscrambled again.
In split seconds, let’s see what happens to keep your data safe:
1. Your browser and the server exchange encryption options, then agree on the encryption method for transfer.
2. The browser validates that a server’s certificate was issued by a trusted certificate authority.
3. The encrypted data is sent from the browser to the server.
4. Finally, a key is used to authenticate the integrity of the transmission.
Now you see what happens when a “Confirm” payment key is pressed. So avoiding the dangers for a customer’s private financial information is vital for online businesses. Now where do you get this SSL certificate, and do all these SSL certificates give the same security level?
Getting Properly Secured
The security level of data transfers is really limited by the browser capabilities, but most of the newer commercial browsers can support 128 bit date encryption, and this is almost impossible mathematically to crack. For SSL certificates that offer 128 bit encryption or higher, there is no major difference in security. However, each certificate authority or CA is responsible for checking out that businesses are truly legitimate, and they own the domain. Various CAs may actually require different authentication requirements.
When you’re buying your SSL certificate, remember that consumer perception of SSL CAs do vary, so help your clients feel protected by choosing a brand with strong online credibility.
Cost
Costs of SSL certificates vary. It can reach as high as $120, but most are priced considerably less.
Start Removing Malware Before It Harms You
( The Best Web Hosting Service )- To go about removing malware, you need to know what it is! Malware is basically a malicious piece of software designed to damage your computer without you knowing it, or to spy on your computer activities. (there is a difference between Malware and Viruses, though) There are some types of malware you’d definitely want to remove from your PC:
1. Adware are ads that suddenly pop up for products and services while you’re surfing on the net. These are often more annoying than dangerous. I am sure you have seen them over and over again!
2. A virus, a Trojan, or worm is also a form of malware.
3. Ransome ware is intended to lock up your computer so they can extort money from you.
4. Spyware traces and records your keyboard strokes, internet activities, and personal details.
It is often time to remove malware when you find your computer has slowed down greatly, or acts erratic.
It is so easy to get malware from an unknown email that you do not scan before reading, some web sites where they hide it in the code, from file sharing because someone else has hidden it in their files. Many malware are hard to remove, because they can reinstall themselves and hide in your system files, pretending to be good files.
Aside from just removing malware, you can prevent being infected to begin with. A firewall, Internet Securities software, and a Windows update could help you. An internet securities application is quite simple to do and can even be done automatically.
Getting rid of malware is so important, especially if you’re visiting a site with some form of adult content. This is because many people who go to these websites have very low morals and would go to such length as to spy on, or destroy others’ systems, if they think they have to.
Aside from installing Internet Securities software, a firewall, or a Windows update, your best defense against malware is being alert when surfing the net. Always visit trusted sites, avoid file sharing, and steer clear of emails from unknown sources. Even attachments from known persons should be opened with caution. Scan your computer regularly, making backups often. A little precaution goes a long way in keeping your system safe from internet hackers or those who want to get those malware into your system. I would recommend installing software from mcafee.com, avg.com, or symantec.com if you feel malware is harming your computer.
Make Money With Reseller Hosting?
( The Best Web Hosting Service )- Nowadays, some enterprising people have started to make money by reselling hosting. What is web host reselling really? This process involves a user becoming a web host even without heavy equipment or a large infrastructure web hosts often have. The new web host does not even have to have much technical know-how on the mechanics of internet communications.
Basically, you would be selling another web hosting company’s services like your own. Also known as private labeling, you are not a webmaster but rather a reseller. It is like becoming an affiliate or a franchise store where the web host company gives you a discounted rate as you resell their services to others. Technically you are not an affiliate because you’re making profit on your own, not reporting back to them. Neither are you really a franchise because you do not return anything to the parent store. Rather, you’re selling your product, web space, for a price.
You do require some investment, because you are in fact buying web space which you’ll lease out, just as a landlord does. But investment costs are minimal, as some reseller hosting plans can start as low as $20/month. Without the large startup costs, this plan could be rather profitable.
How about the technical aspects of this business opportunity? How do you think you can provide web space to clients that need fast and accurate customer support? Most of the companies that offer reseller web hosting also provide technical support. This will allow you to focus on reselling web space while the company attends to the range of technical considerations. The web host company will also manage your servers, and handle billing matters for you.
So how can people make money by reselling hosting? Some people have created and sold businesses on auction sites like eBay, which have been doing well. Blogs are in nowadays, so offering dedicated blog services might also work for you. There are countless opportunities on how you could market with reselling web space. You can find various inexpensive web hosting companies, Linux web hosting, and Windows web hosting at Hostgator.com.
8 Things To Take Care of While Selecting A Web Host
This is a guest post by David Smith who works for Conversion rate Optimization Company Invesp and enjoys writing on SEO, landing pages, conversion optimization and affiliate marketing.
( The Best Web Hosting Service )- Where to host a website is the question that confuses both new and experienced online marketers in a same way. Time and again, we see marketers frustrated from their current web hosting companies and looking for alternatives that makes it easy to understand how difficult it is to find a reliable web hosting provider from thousands of web hosting companies and hundreds of thousands of promotional offers these companies promise to provide. In this article, we’ll cover 8 things you should care of while selecting your web host.
You get what you pay for. Don’t select a web hosting provider solely on the basis of prices. If a company is provider hosting at dirt cheap prices and also making profits then they must be compromising on quality – like overselling disk space or not providing technical support or having outdated cpanel etc.
Do not get yourself trapped in fake claims of unlimited disk space and unlimited bandwidth. Both disk space and bandwidth cost money and no company is going to provide them to you for free. These claims usually come with strings attached like not allowing video streaming or not allowing files on server that are not related to your website.
Don’t fool yourself by free domain name offers. I often see marketers who select a web hosting company to save $10 of registering a domain name. Never do such a mistake because most of these companies register the domain names on their own name and ask for a huge amount for transferring them to your name if you cancel your contract with them in future.
Check quality of their customer service. Well you don’t want to put yourself in the situation when your website is down and you are unable to contact your web hosting company. Send some enquiry tickets to the sales department and see the turnaround time. Also if they offer live chat support, then you should confirm if it is available 24 hours or not or do they offer live support on weekends and holidays or not.
Are the people chatting with you on live support or replying to your support tickets have technical knowledge or not. Most of low priced web hosting providers outsource their customer support to non skilled providers with no or very less knowledge about hosting industry to reduce costs which sometimes become very painful for the customers.
The other thing you must do to check the reliability of a web hosting company is to see the testimonials and reviews of the past course. Of course no company will host negative reviews on their site, so take help of search engines and web hosting forums.
Ask the web hosting company if they host any reputed or high traffic websites on their servers. Also, if you are buying a shared IP hosting, you need to make sure that your website is not hosted with adult or illegal websites on same server because sharing IP with such websites may harm your online reputation in eyes of search engines.
No web hosting company can guarantee 100% uptime. Even most reputed web hosting companies guarantee an uptime of 99.9%. Ask the web hosting company how much uptime they guarantee and will they compensate you if your site remains down for more time than guaranteed uptime.
These are the main eight things you should take care of before selecting a new web hosting provider. Changing a web host is a tiresome process and can sometimes be a pain in butt so make sure that you select your web host provider carefully. And, if you are satisfied with your current web hosting company then remain loyal to them and avoid changing them to save few dollars a month.
Better Business Bureau and Web Hosting Businesses
( The Best Web Hosting Service )- When you’re shopping online or at your local malls, you’ll see signs like “Member of the Better Business Bureau.” Better Business Bureau or BBB as it is abbreviated, makes you feel good right away for shopping at the site or store. What does BBB really mean, and why does it promote confidence especially when choosing a webhosting company?
The BBB, which has been tracking customer complaints and keeping tabs on the profit- and non-profit webhosting companies, has been doing so for more than 15 years now. Every year, millions of consumers check out the BBB rating reports to decide whether a webhost is to be trusted or not.
The BBB is unlike the Chamber of Commerce in that it does not promote just any webhost over another. It gathers data on hosting companies, then publishes the findings in reliability reports. The idea is to keep consumers informed to let them read about available information so they can better decide on their own which webhosting company they should deal with.
Whats The Major Role of The BBB?
A major function of the BBB is trying to help resolve complaints of customers against the companies. If a client, for some reason, is unsatisfied with its webhosting company, they can file their claim with the Bureau. The bureau then contacts the concerned company to try to resolve the issues. Many people think the BBB only helps members of the local BBB, or those they have accredited, but they actually help with problems and complaints from accredited and non-accredited businesses. According to them, they successfully resolve some 70% of complaints that are filed with them.
How does a web host become an accredited member? To be accredited with the BBB, webhosting companies must have been in operation for one year at least. They simply fill out an application form and pay member fees. As part of the application, the company has to prove to the bureau that they can and do adhere to the BBB standards to become a member. Part of this includes proving that the company is fully licensed, and able to provide the services that they advertize.
A web host can lose its accreditation at any time for a number of reasons. A major reason for losing its accreditation is when there are too many complaints from its clients. So remember, when a webhost is accredited by the BBB, you can be confident that you can depend on it. This does not mean that non-members of BBB are not to be trusted, but knowing a company is accredited makes the decision to choose or not to choose it simpler. To check if you’re planning to deal with an affordable webhosting company you can trust, the bureau’s website is BBB.org.
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