May 24, 2022

Domain Related

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Long gone are the days when you actually had to have a captive individual in order to demand a ransom. Nowadays that would even be very uncommon, as much more often it is digital property rather than a person that’s been captured and the takers are looking to get paid if that property is to be released. We’ve gone on here at some length about how costly it can be for some companies when they choose to be lax about cybersecurity, and especially nowadays. The age old dance with all of this remains the same - security improves, threats evolve, security improves to counter those evolutions, and then threats evolve again. And of course it’s the bigger fish that need to be concerned about frying. If you’re one the smaller side of the scale when it comes to running a business you probably won’t get targeted, but there’s still not guarantee you won’t be. We don’t claim to be web security experts, but here at 4GoodHosting we’re like any good Canadian web hosting provider in that we can point you in the direction of one of them if that’s what you need. We do have an understanding of the basics on the subject and that’s part of the reason why we’re fairly keen to share any news related to it here, especially when it means even better means of avoiding a ransom situation. So what is newsworthy here is a new technology that is in the process of proving itself to be MUCH faster for identifying ransomware attacks and detecting them early enough so that countermeasures can be implemented - something that will be part of a complete cybersecurity plan that is a much for any business that is of a sufficient size that there’s potentially serious loss if data is accessed and then taken for ransom. Malware Meeting Match? A new approach for implementing ransomware detection techniques has been developed by researchers, and the appeal of it is that is able to detect a broad range of ransomware far more quickly than using previous systems. We will at this point assume we don’t need to provide much of an...

May 16, 2022

Domain Related

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Anyone and everyone is going to be extra mindful of what information is shared digitally these days, and even most kids are aware of the fact that you can’t be entirely at ease about what you type into submission fields and then press ‘Enter’. You need to be mindful of what you share, but it turns out you need to be the same way before you even press the enter button at all. Many people may think they’ve smartly avoided any potential problems by backspacing over something they’ve typed and were about to submit, but it turns out the damage may already be done. We’ll get to what exactly is at issue here, but before we do we should make clear that ‘leaks’ don’t always end up being what they are on purpose. Many times there is information exposed not because someone is choosing to do so, but rather because the information is contained in location that doesn’t actually have the security protocols owners / users will think that it does. Truth of the matter it is nearly impossible to be airtight with this stuff 100% of the time. Here at 4GoodHosting we’re like any other good Canadian web hosting provider in that we like to share information with our customers anytime we find example of it that we know will have real significance with them. This is one of those scenarios, as nearly everyone is going to be choosing to voluntarily provide information about themselves when asked to do so online. Any way you can be more in the know about dos and don'ts when it comes to this is going to be helpful, so here we are for this week. Made Available A recent study that looked into the top 100k ranking websites is indicating that many are leaking information you enter in the site forms to third-party trackers, and that this may be happening ever before you press submit. The data that is being leaked may include personal identifiers, email addresses, usernames, passwords, along with messages that were entered into forms but deleted and never actually submitted. This type of data leak is sneaky because until now...

May 9, 2022

Domain Related

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We can go right ahead and assume that there are so many Mac users who opt to use Chrome as their browser rather than the Safari that their device came with. We say that with confidence because we’re one of them, and it is a fact that Google’s offering continues to be the de facto choice as a web browser for the majority of people all around the world. There’s plenty of reasons for that, although at the same time we will be like most people and say that both Safari and Firefox aren’t bad per se. Internet Explorer on the other hand is an entirely different story. Now to be fair if IE hadn’t been left to wither on the vine that might not be the case, but the fact it was played a part in why the Edge browser has made the inroads into the market it has. But as always choice is a good thing and if anything it puts the pressure on the runner ups to get better to reclaim whatever user share they’ve lost. So competition joins choice as a good thing. This is one topic that everyone can relate too, and it’s been a topic of discussion in nearly every office here in North American and likely elsewhere around the globe. Like any good Canadian web hosting provider we’re no different here at 4GoodHosting, and you can know that those of us around here have the same strong opinions about which web browser is best and why. Likely you have much the same going on around your places of productivity, so this is the topic for our blog entry this week. Closed the Gap February of this year had Microsoft Edge on the cusp of catching Safari with less than a half percentage point separating the 2 browsers in terms of popularity among desktop users. Estimates are now that Edge is used on 10.07% of desktop computers worldwide, and that is 0.46% ahead of Safari who has now dipped down to 9.61%. Google Chrome is still far and away the top dog though, being the browser of choice for 66.58% of all desktop users....

May 2, 2022

Domain Related

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Go back some 30 years and those of us who anywhere past adolescence by that time would be dumbfounded to learn just how life-changing this new ‘Internet’ thing would become, along with being impressed with dial-up modems in a way that would seem bizarre nowadays considering where that technology has gone in such a short time. As with anything there’s been growing pains with the Internet too, and like any influential and game-changing technology it has been used for ill in the same way it’s provided good for society. It’s also become an integral internationally shared resource, and that goes beyond just the sphere of business. The inter connectivity of the modern world is increasingly dependent on the submarine cables laid across entire ocean floors so that the globe can be connected by the Internet, and here at 4GoodHosting we are like any good Canadian web hosting provider in that it’s something that is near and dear to our hearts given the nature of what we do for people and the service we provide. This is in part connected to the need to safeguard the future of the Internet, as there are so many complexities to it that didn’t exist previously and no doubt there will be more of them in the future. This is why the recently-signed Declaration of the Future of the Internet is such a big deal and more than worthy of being the subject for this week’s blog entry here. Protecting Democracy & More One of the ways that the Internet has most notably been abused is to threat democratic institutions like the legitimacy of election results and the like, and there’s no doubt that there are anti-North American interest groups in other parts of the world that are using the Web as the means of infiltrating and being subversive withing democratic institutions. The belief is that if no efforts are made to nip this in the bud or counter it now then it may become too big to rein in in the future. This is why there was such a push to get countries onboard for this declaration now, and it seems there was enough...

April 25, 2022

Domain Related

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Server room in datacenter. Hosting services. It’s not necessarily devolution when you choose to go back to an outdated technology, although many people will be absolute in their thinking that it is. But there are plenty of instances where the way it used to be ends up working better, and often when new operating realities change the game. This can be true if we look at it from the perspective of data storage where companies are doing what everyone else is doing – that is, choosing to locate most of that data storage in the cloud. Now if we were to collectively lose our minds and revert back entirely to physical storage, that would be devolution. Where we’re going with this is that some physical storage means are making a comeback, and for plenty good reasons. Tape storage for unstructured data is one example here that’s really at the forefront these days, and naturally anything related to data storage will be relatable for us here at 4GoodHosting or for any good Canadian web hosting provider. We’re always attuned to the need for data storage security, and it’s a priority for us in the same way it is for many of you. So that is why we see tape storage’s ongoing resurgence as being at least somewhat newsworthy and we’re making it the topic for this week’s entry. Let’s get into it. Obsolete? Not so Fast The fact that a record 148 exabytes of tape was shipped last year definitely indicates that tape storage has not become obsolete at all. In fact, a recent report is showing that LTO tape saw an impressive 40% growth rate for 2021. The reason for this is many organizations are attempting to cut costs related to cloud storage when archiving their unstructured data. And while only 105EB of total tape capacity was shipped during the pandemic in 2020, the amount that was ordered for 2021 broke a new record. What we’re seeing here is organizations returning to tape technology, seeking out storage solutions that have the promise of higher capacities, reliability, long term data archiving and stronger data protection measures that have what is needed...

April 18, 2022

Domain Related

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Ransomware attacks can be headaches of the highest order, and in many instances they have disastrous repercussions and that is to say nothing of the way those repercussions are paired with major expenses no matter how the problem ends up being resolved. When Japanese automaker giant Toyota had to shut down 14 factories across the country for one day, it was staggering to see just how much in the way of financial loss could come from just 24 hours of dealing with an attack. Most businesses will be of a much smaller scale, but there’s also been plenty of instances of data being breached for businesses that no one will necessarily be familiar with. No matter what size of operation, if you have sensitive data stored in digital format – and who doesn’t nowadays – then you will want to make sure you have all the defences in place there and ready to do their job if and when it’s needed of them. Ransomware attacks are increasing; between 2019 and the end of 2021 they had risen well over 200% overall worldwide, and again it’s not always just the big fish being attacked. Likely goes without saying that data management and data security are two aspects of operation that we can relate to here at 4GoodHosting, and that will almost certainly be true for any other quality Canadian web hosting provider who has the same solid operating principles for their web hosting business. Like most we’re also as enthusiastic and bullish about the ever-evolving potential for cloud computing, which leads us to our topic of discussion for this entry – why do ransomware attacks tend to look past cloud computing environments when weighing potential victims? Franchised Ransomware A recent advisory from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the US FBI, and the NSA reveals the latest trend is now ransomware as a service. Where gangs of malicious hackers essentially ‘franchise’ their ransomware tools and techniques and then make them available to less organized or less skilled hackers. This works out to many more attacks, despite some of them being not as sophisticated as others for the same reasons. But...

April 11, 2022

Domain Related

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Patience may well be a virtue, but few of us have much of it when we’re doing whatever is we’re doing online. We all remember those ads from years ago when broadband internet was new where they compared the previous super slow speeds as sucking a milkshake through the narrowest of straws. We’re a long way from that, and while the standard 1.5 gigabyte-per second speeds have been quite nice if there’s improvements to be made well then let’s get right to that. Bell is one of the big players as a home broadband internet provider and they are the first to now be making 3 Gbps internet speeds available to Canadian consumers. We don’t need to talk about how this will appeal to people, and the needs for ever-better download and upload speeds is something that those of us here at 4GoodHosting will relate to in the same way any good Canadian web hosting provider would. We are tops for VPS virtual private server web hosting in Canada and we know that is sites like these with dynamic content that will be among the many that are better served this way. People with sites hosted are going to want to have uptime guarantees for sure, but let’s not forget that these faster Internet speeds in Canada are also going to pair exceptionally well with the new 5G networks, and what is most noteworthy there is what that will do for Internet of Things applications and all that is set to do for the welfare of humanity and more. Toronto is Canada’s most populous urban area, so it likely makes sense that the new 3-Gig internet speeds are going to be made available there first. Exciting news for anyone in Hogtown, so let’s use this week’s entry to look into this in greater detail. Sub-30 Seconds Downloading a 10GB file might not have necessarily been daunting in the past, but you would certainly understand you wouldn’t be viewing anything anytime soon. With this new type of high speed internet, it is a whole different story. Bell announced this new plan on April 6th, and as mentioned the fanfare expected for...

April 4, 2022

Domain Related

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Artificial intelligence making possible new computer technologies and businesses If there has been any time in human history where technological advances in computing have come as fast and furious as they have recently, we’re not aware of it and likely you aren’t either. What comes with so much promise also comes with some level of trepidation for people, but that has always been the case with any type of game-changer advance that’s been seen in human society. A.I. is a great example where we wouldn’t even think about slowing the speed of change it is promising but at the same time most of us hope this doesn’t go sideways in any regard. But one aspect of this where the potential positive ramifications absolutely must be encouraged is with making better use of data. This is something that any Canadian web hosting provider will be able to relate to, and here at 4GoodHosting we are no different. We understand the magnitude and potential for data management, but can also relate to a lot of shortcomings in how this data is understood and utilized properly. Which leads us to the topic at hand here today. Advances in AI research have made it so that the use of computer algorithms to differentiate patterns from noise in data is entirely possible, and we now have open-source software and many data scientists streaming into the field. All of this leads to the belief that computer science, statistics, and information technology can lead to a successful AI project with useful outcomes. Teaching humans to think like AI will have value, but will have more of it is teaching AI to understand the value of humans. Deep – and Deeper – Learning for Neural Networks One of the most notable ways deep learning neural networks are being put to use is in healthcare, and specifically with more accurately predicting health outcomes. What we are seeing now is state-of-the-art AI algorithms for predicting health outcomes fairly accurately. This could be for whether a patient should be readmitted to the hospital following a surgery, or any number of other very significant decisions that can be better made by AI...

March 28, 2022

Domain Related

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Two years ago this month was the first time that many of us spend more than a handful of days working remotely from home, and as we’ve learned since then a whole lot of people have remarked how its done very positive things for their lives. At the same time a lot of employers have said they haven’t seen any dip in productivity so – why not? Granted a whole lot of us have returned to the office for at least a portion of the week, but if you are able to continue working from home then a strong and reliable Wi-Fi connection is going to be a must. A report from Cisco that came out early this year has indicated that for a lot of people that lack of reliable internet connection is forcing them to reconsider the home office. There’s no getting around the fact it’s a deal breaker for most people if that can’t be counted on, although there are ways to improve your internet connection that may be doable here provided you aren’t too far out from a major city center. The problem there might be that people have relocated to these quieter locales to now find the internet connection just isn’t good enough. Here at 4GoodHosting we’re like any Canadian web hosting provider in that we can certainly relate to how that has to be all important. There are many of our customers with websites offering creative services and the like and they are among the thousands of Canadians nationwide who are 100% reliant on their internet to be able to work from home. So let’s look at everything this report had to say and perhaps get a look at how we’re maybe not entirely ready to have so many people working from home and demanding more than what can be provided when it comes to reliable Wi-Fi. Broadband Indexing The report is called Cisco’s Broadband Index, and it was a survey of 60,000 workers in 30 countries who provided feedback on their home broadband access, quality, and usage. It has indicated that today people value access to the internet more than ever and believe...