nathanoulman.com

Web Host Frontpages Picks XIOLINK

July 7, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Frontpages Web Hosting Network (frontpages-web-hosting.net) announced on Friday it has selected data center infrastructure space and managed services provider XIOLINK (xiolink.com) to provide fully managed data center services for its hosting operations.

 

Frontpages Web Hosting Network is relocating its infrastructure equipment to XIOLINK’s flagship data center facility in downtown St. Louis. This move allows Frontpages to concentrate on its core business and customers while XIOLINK manages the infrastructure to ensure maximum uptime. 

Additionally, Frontpages also has “on-net” access to the bandwidth providers available in XIOLINK’s data center. 

“We worked with Frontpages to assist them to develop a custom solution which met their requirements for their data center needs which included a high-availability facility, tight security, and qualified engineers on-site 24 hours a day,” says Brad Pittenger, CEO for XIOLINK. “Frontpages is an excellent example of our unique ability to provide customized solutions.”

HostPC Acquires CredibleHost
 
July 7, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider HostPC Internet Services (hostpc.com) announced on Thursday it has finalized an agreement to obtain the customers and assets of Web hosting provider CredibleHost (crediblehost.com) and have its clients and services transferred to HostPC.

 

 
CredibleHost says its customers are being transferred to HostPC in an effort to bring them the best possible benefits and services. The company says its customers may experience both upgraded drive quotas and a drop in hosting prices as their accounts are shifted over. Customers will also have access other HostPC features including rollover bandwidth, jailed SSH and free installation.
 
“HostPC and CredibleHost share a common belief in the benefits that enhance reliable services provided to customers in today’s increasingly competitive hosting market,” says Joe Mack, owner of HostPC.
 
Financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed. 

TheWHIR Brings Gaming to HostingCon

July 10, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) – The Web Host Industry Review (thewhir.com), the Web hosting industry’s publication of record, announced on Monday it has partnered with game hosting control panel developer TCAdmin (tcadmin.com), game hosting providers The Game Monsters (thegamemonsters.com) and Spawnpoint (spawnpoint.com) and game network provider Latency Kills (latencykills.com) and  to bring a complete gaming and game hosting experience to the exhibit hall at HostingCon 2006. The Web hosting conference is scheduled to take place July 17 to 19 at The Mirage in Las Vegas, Nevada.
 

 

As the video news sponsor of HostingCon, theWHIR has jointly developed a unique exhibit experience that will enable conference attendees to engage in live online gaming on 42 inch plasma monitors, witness live demonstrations of game hosting technology and enter to win gaming prizes, including flexible keyboards, online gaming credits and a 30GB video iPod. 

Located at booth #223 and designed to coincide with theWHIR magazine’s July game hosting issue, the online gaming center will allow attendees to spar online with popular first person shooter games like Counter-Strike, Black Hawk Down, Joint Operations and Battlefield 2.
 
The online gaming center will also provide attendees with live demonstrations of TCAdmin’s game hosting control panel, high performance gaming platforms with The Game Monsters and Spawnpoint, a gaming network in action with Latency Kills, and additional information on the electronic arts provider program.
 
Additionally, theWHIR’s director of marketing and business development, Candice Rodriguez, will present a conference session titled “Marketing your Hosting Services with Effective Search Engine Optimized Press Releases,” scheduled for 4:00 to 4:45pm on Tuesday, July 18. The session will educate hosting providers on how to market their hosting services through effective press release writing, optimization and distribution.

HostLabs Suggests Exchange Hosting

July 10, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider HostLabs (hostlabs.com) announced on Friday it has recommended managed exchange hosting services for large enterprises with communication requirements between multiple branches or with mobile employees.
 

 

Host Labs says for businesses that have branch offices, using Exchange Server could help them share customer information or team documents and task lists from a central location and reduce costs by converting paper-based forms, like expense and time cards, into electronic ones. In addition, if a business has a mobile work force, Exchange Server could help employees work with messages and applications when disconnected from the network and collaborate from anywhere, anytime, with a mobile device.
 
“Exchange Server and Outlook do not do what you need them to do right out of the box,” says Brian Furphy, CEO of HostLabs. “Getting the communication system your company needs requires time devoted to planning and creating solid integration layers among your hardware, active directory, domain name server, and Exchange Server resources. Many enterprises have saved as much as 50 percent on Exchange hosting with HostLabs compared to the cost of managing Exchange Server or Lotus Notes in-house.”
 
HostLabs began serving Web sites and Microsoft Exchange as a service in 1999. It is equipped and staffed to support Exchange hosting for companies of all sizes. 

Hackers Exploit Banking Sites

July 10, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider Goldleaf Technology (goldleaf.com) announced on Monday that a recemt phishing scam attempted to steal personal financial data from its clients’ bank sites.
 

 

According to the company, its 600 client bank sites were affected by the security compromise for periods from nine to 91 minutes on May 25 between 1:35 p.m. and 2:50 p.m. CST. Goldleaf Technology says when customers logged onto the banking Web sites, they were redirected through a server in Madrid, Spain, and from there, customers were redirected again to servers in several countries. However, many customers felt suspicious as the phishing site didn’t resemble the official bank sites.
 
“How [do] we prevent this in the future? Unfortunately, … this type of activity will not stop,” says Scott Meyerhoff, executive VP for parent company Goldleaf Financial Solutions. “We will remain vigilant to safeguard our customers. Having security personnel on staff and fully reviewing the system on a regular basis will ensure we have the safest environment possible.”
 
Despite Goldleaf Technology’s recovery of the situation, some clients–including West Georgia National Bank–have voiced their unhappiness with the Web host’s slow reaction, and aren’t sure whether they will stay on with the host. 

Host Depot Offers E-Commerce Options

July 5, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider Host Depot (hostdepot.com) announced on Wednesday it is offering several new e-commerce options as part of strategic alliance with e-commerce solution provider Mercantec (mercantec.com).

 

Using the recently introduced Google Checkout service, Web site owners can offer their online shoppers a single login and provide small and medium-sized e-commerce merchants a one-stop, fast e-commerce solution.

Last week, Mercantec announced its compatibility with the new Google service.

Host Depot is offering several complete e-commerce Web site solutions that include a domain name, Web hosting and multimedia. Because it is one of the first adopters of Google Checkout, says Host Depot, new and existing shared Web hosting customers can use the E-Commerce Express solution for free.

Host Depot customers can either use E-Commerce Express to add “buy” buttons to their existing Web sites or Host Depot and Mercantec can set up custom integration services for more advanced requirements.

“We are making it easy for any site to get started with e-commerce using Google Checkout,” says Mark Erskine, president and CEO of Host Depot. “We’re putting more in the box, adding value, and helping our customers to succeed in a crowded market. This added value from their partnership with Mercantec is one more way in which Host Depot is leading the market.”

Hostopia Files for $40 Million IPO

July 5, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Late on Friday, Web hosting provider Hostopia (hostopia.com) filed to raise up to $40 million through an initial public offering. Final terms of the offering have not yet been set.

 

The company, based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, will employ an underwriting syndicate including RBC Capital markets for the offering.

Hostopia reported $2 million of net income on $18 million revenue during the year ending March 31, compared to $3.4 million net income on $14.3 million the previous year.

One of the company’s founders, Franc Nemanic stepped down as CEO at the beginning of 2006, partly out of an interest to pursue more start-up level business opportunities. At the time, the move drew some speculation with regard to an impending IPO.

Easyspace Offers Summer Hosting Deal

July 5, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Web hosting provider Easyspace (easyspace.com) announced on Wednesday it is kicking off the summer with a new promotion that offers customers hosting plans starting from £19.99 per year.

 

Available for both Linux and Windows hosting, the discounts have been available for new purchases since July 1, and will be available for a limited time.

Easyspace also says it can now register any domain names for its customers. International domain name extensions are an alternative for anyone who may have already lost out on the .com, .net, or other more popular versions of their preferred domain names. A full list of domains available is listed on the Easyspace Web site.

The company is also holding its first domain name happy hours event by slashing the prices of .net domain names for one day. On July 16 from noon until midnight, .net domains will cost £5 - a discount of more than 50 percent.

Internap Expands Data Centers

June 30, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Internet routing solutions provider Internap Network Services (internap.com) announced on Friday it is expanding its Boston and New York data center facilities.

 

The plans allow Internap to address growing customer demands within each city and maximize its existing space. Market trends, such as the migration to blade servers, which increases computing power density, are also drivers for Internap’s need to expand in key markets. Completion of both build-outs is expected before the end of the year.
 
“These strategic investments help strengthen Internap’s core IP portfolio and allow us to effectively optimize our existing real estate without incurring the level of substantial capital expenditures required for traditional greenfield builds,” says James P. DeBlasio, CEO of Internap. “The proposed plans let us quickly turn up additional space to meet the growing demands of our customers in Boston and New York, while offering them a cost-effective and high quality solution for data center services.”

Including its Boston and New York facilities, Internap currently operates and manages seven data centers with additional locations in Atlanta, Houston, and Seattle. The company also offers space in 23 additional facilities operated by strategic partners across North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

Security Flaws In Mambo And Joomla

June 30, 2006 — (WEB HOST INDUSTRY REVIEW) — Potentially serious security flaws have been found in existing versions of the Mambo and Joomla content management systems, according to research and analysis firm Netcraft (netcraft.com). Developers of the two projects are advising users to install upgrades or security patches immediately, as both are vulnerable to SQL injection attacks.

 

Joomla is a fork of Mambo, with both programs derived from the same code base. Both open source projects use the PHP scripting language and MySQL database. The popular applications are frequently targeted by Internet criminals seeking to break into Web servers for use in botnets, phishing scams and distributed denial of service attacks.

The Internet Storm Center says it is receiving reports that older versions of Mambo are being actively targeted and exploited using unpatched vulnerabilities. Ideally, user input in Web forms is sanitized - checked to ensure that users are not attempting to introduce code to give instructions to the Web server.

Content management systems normally integrates blogs, forums, news feeds and link directories in a single application, making it easy for Web masters to manage large communities of users. As a result, CMS applications include a large number of forms accepting user input, which increases the chances that some form fields may not be properly secured and making them more susceptible to SQL injection attacks.