Laws Hosting's Blog

One of the problems we see with passwords is that users forget them. In an effort to not forget them, they use simple things like their dog’s name, their son’s first name and birthdate, the name of the current month- anything that will give them a clue to remember what their password is – this is very very dangerous.

For the curious hacker who has somehow gained access to your computer system this is the equivalent of locking your door and leaving the key under the doormat. Without even resorting to any specialised tools a hacker can discover your basic personal information – name, children’s name, birthdate, pet names, etc. and try all of those out as potential passwords.

To create a secure password that is easy for you to remember, follow these simple steps:

1. Do not use personal information. You should never use personal information as a part of your password. It is very easy for someone to guess things like your last name, pet’s name, child’s birth date and other similar details.
2. Do not use real words. There are tools available to help attackers guess your password. With today’s computing power, it doesn’t take long to try every word in the dictionary and find your password, so it is best if you do not use real words for your password.
3. Mix different character types. You can make a password much more secure by mixing different types of characters. Use some uppercase letters along with lowercase letters, numbers and even special characters such as ‘&’ or ‘%’.
4. Use a passphrase. Rather than trying to remember a password created using various character types which is also not a word from the dictionary, you can use a passphrase. Think up a sentence or a line from a song or poem that you like and create a password using the first letter from each word.For example, rather than just having a password like ‘yr$1Hes’, you could take a sentence such as “I like to read about security” and convert it to a password like ‘!l2rAs”. By substituting the number ’2′ for the word ‘to’ and using an exclamation point in place of the ‘I’, you can use a variety of character types and create a secure password that is hard to crack, but much easier for you to remember.
5. Use a password management tool. Another way to store and remember passwords securely is to use some sort of password management tool. These tools maintain a list of usernames and passwords in encrypted form. Some will even automatically fill in the username and password information on sites and applications.

Using the tips above will help you create passwords that are more secure, but you should still also follow the following tips:

• Use different passwords. You should use a different username & password for each login or application you are trying to protect. That way if one gets compromised the others are still safe. Another approach which is less secure, but provides a fair tradeoff between security and convenience, is to use one username and password for sites and applications that don’t need the extra security, but use unique usernames and more secure passwords on sites such as your bank or credit card companies.
• Change your passwords. You should change your password at least every 30 to 60 days. You should also not re-use a password for at least a year.
• Enforce stronger passwords: Rather than relying on every user of the computer to understand and follow the instructions above, you can configure Microsot Windows password policies so that Windows will not accept passwords that don’t meet the minimum requirements.

There is a lot that goes into running a web hosting business.  The provider needs an internet connection, bandwidth and data facility to store the equipment that enables the service.  While numerous components are required, almost all of them revolve around the web server.

What is a Web Server?

There term web server actually describes to different elements.  One is the computer that stores the data for websites.  The other is a software application that runs on the computer and processes requests from web browsers and other client-side technologies.  Though often used interchangeably, these two components are quite different.  For this reason, one should always clarify the mentioning of a web server as it can refer to either a machine or an application.

The Web Server in Action

A web server application helps the actual hardware serve web pages upon the request of a browser such as Internet Explorer or Opera.  Because it deals primarily in HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) requests, this type of application if often referred to as an HTTP server.  After receiving a request, the server runs HTTP, which is a protocol for transferring data over the internet and enabling two computers to communicate with each other.  When using your web browser to access any given website, a request is transmitted to a web server on a remote computer.  The server application then processes the browser’s request and attempts to locate the requested web page.  If it is found, the server sends the page to your browser which then displays the appropriate content.

Commonly Used Web Servers

The Netcraft Web Server Usage Survey reports that the Apache HTTP server is the most the widely installed web server in the world, claiming that it has nearly 60% of the market share.  As an open-source application, Apache supports numerous open-source technologies such as the Linux operating system and MySQL database server.

Using a Web Server off the Web

While primarily intended for the web hosting arena, web server applications can also be used for other purposes as well.  For example, many techies have the Apache server installed on their Windows-based computers.  This is great for someone who scripts custom programs for their own servers.  Several developers find this method much easier than working on a remote server.   So, if you have a powerful computer with a need to create PHP scripts, a web server like Apache could work wonders on your system.