July 3, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 5 minutes

WordPress continues to be the most popular choice when choosing a vehicle for building a basic website. Those of you who are a single individual running such a website likely haven’t given much thought to WordPress user roles. In the event that you ever want to allow someone else access to your site then it’s helpful to know how to use these user roles. With them you can give people access to certain areas of your site, but only to certain areas of the site where they’ll be doing what you’ve requested them to do. Enabling everyday folks to be more in command of their digital presence is a part of what’s made 4GoodHosting a leading Canadian web hosting provider and, while we prefer websites that are much more dynamic, we understand that WordPress is intuitive to use and works perfectly well for a good many of you. So, today we’ll discuss what WordPress user roles are, have a look a their importance, and share some tips on how to use them the right way to improve overall site security. Defining WordPress User Roles WordPress features a role management system that enables you to specify what actions users can or can’t undertake on your site. As your site expands, knowing how to use these roles is a very valuable bit of knowledge. Each role can be specified based on certain capacities, and one example would be enabling one use to publish a post while allowing another to update plugins and themes. Here are 6 default user roles that can be taken on separately to improve security for the website. The Administrator Role This is almost certainly one you’re already very familiar with, given the fact it’s the role you’re assigned when you create your site. There is commonly only one administrator role and it gives access to everything related to your site. Given this role is all powerful, you should be very leery of giving anyone this high-level access to your site. The Super Admin Role Note as well that there is one user role that’s technically a step higher than the admin role - the super admin role. The...

June 25, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 7 minutes

The Internet of Things or IoT as it’s come to be abbreviated has changed the role of the objects around us and the means by which we interact with them and that’s because the focus has shifted to enhancing customer experience for IoT and enabled devices. Data is now collected with the help of smart components, and businesses then probe it for insights to make smarter decisions about their products. The majority of these smart components are sensors, microprocessors, niche software, data storage techniques and tailor-made operating systems. They work collectively to leverage information derived from the data, and the way that’s done is causing that technology to be adapted by everyday people making everyday things. A new phase of user experience, Smart User Experience, has grown out of this and it has made the customer experience within IoT increasingly important. Here at 4GoodHosting, part of what makes us a top Canadian web hosting provider is the way we’ve got our ears to the ground with developments of this sort that carry weight in the digital world and will be of interest to our customers accordingly. Today, we’ll look at 6 ways you can enhance customer experience with IoT devices. Smartest Users Customer experience is playing an extremely vital role for connected devices, and more specifically smart user experience is front and centre with smart technologies pushing it forward. Being aware of their surroundings and sensing changes in their circumstances allows these IoT devices to take on measures that can be implemented to enhance their functionality. A quality smart user experience via the right interface enables companies to offer product iterations that consistently drive up the engagement factor and enhance the customer experience when using IoT devices. So those of you planning to provide a phenomenal customer experience for IoT products will want to take a detailed and deeply introspective look at how you design an IoT device. It will without a doubt dictate the way in which users interact with your products. Exercise Clean Design Introducing a UX-based functionality that fails to comply with the core values that the product aims to provide is going to put you in...

June 12, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Having coaxial fibre optic cables crossing oceans underneath the sea floor has been commonplace for years now, but it would seem as if we’ve moved into new and definitely uncharted territory when it comes to having a part of the world’s digital connectivity found beneath the surface of the sea. This past month saw Microsoft deploy - or more shall we say sunk - a shipping container-sized datacenter to the bottom of the sea near the Orkney Islands in Scotland as a part of its ambitious ‘Project Natick.’ This 40’ long datacenter is loaded up with 12 racks of 864 servers and 27.6 petabytes of disk. What’s most impressive, however, is the way Microsoft claims it can hold data and process information for up to 5 years without maintenance. Here at 4GoodHosting, we’re not unlike any other first-rate Canadian web hosting provider in the way we’re super keen to be right on top of groundbreaking developments in both technology AND the way it’s deployed as it relates to the online world. This is definitely one such example that’s worthy of mention and then some, so let’s take a long look at it this week. Microsoft’s capsule-shaped is called the Northern Isles datacenter, and it is the working equivalent of thousands of high-end personal computers. It will use the low temperatures of the surrounding sea water to cool the datacenter externally, contributing to the biggest benefit of this datacenter - dramatic reduction in cooling costs and electricity consumption. The Northern Isles datacenter will use specialized radiators that leverage technology from submarines to cool the internal hardware, while also using artificial intelligence (AI) to detect any signs of failure in servers or any other equipment. All in all, it will operate like any standard data center deployed on land. Electrical operating power will be supplied by the Orkney power grid, with renewable energy being generated via sea waves, tide, windmills and solar plants. Working towards eco-friendly sustainable solutions is admirable on Microsoft’s part, and Project Natick is a step towards their vision of data centres with their own sustainable power supply. It also expands upon the environmental promises the company has made,...

June 4, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 6 minutes

You may think that there’s not much more to your domain name than a simple identity and location where your website is situated for discovery on the World Wide Web. In essence that’s all it is, an address where you can be found. But of course there’s significant value in that, and especially so for anyone who relies on being business online. It’s a fact that scams involving domain names have been increasing at an alarming rate. Collectively, all these scams are referred to as ‘Domain Name Slamming.’ Here at 4GoodHosting, a part of what makes us a reputable Canadian web hosting provider is the fact that we strive to look out for our customers’ well being on the web. There’s an increased chance that someone with bad intentions may try to use your domain name to take advantage of you, so we’ll identify some of these scams and share some tips here today that you can use to guard yourself against them. The Fake Bill Scam The Domain Registry of Canada, or DROC, has been in operation for years, leading many Canadians to be confused regarding what looks like a renewal bill for your domain names. This scam is the version of ‘domain name slamming’ you’re most likely to come across, a it’s a type of scam that aims to overcharge or falsely charge domain name owners. It’ll most commonly start with your receiving a letter that begins by informing you that your domain name(s) will be expiring in the near future. You’ll then be presented with a list of prices for renewal over different time periods before concluding with a tear-away payment stub you’re to use to ‘renew’ your domains. The trick here is in the way they bury information in the walls of text in the letter. If you look and ready very closely, you’ll see that the DROC is actually asking you to change the company you register your domains with. Most commonly this will be snuck just under or above something more attention-grabbing like “failure to renew your domain name by the expiration date may result in a loss of your online identity”. This of...

May 15, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 3 minutes

The Internet of Things, or IoT as it’s handily abbreviated, has been the foremost development in the Web world in recent years. The promise it holds for expanding upon the way we use the World Wide Web for our benefit is quite considerable, and it would appear that the world’s premier technology company is as receptive to this as you’d imagine they’d be. Here at 4GoodHosting, we’re as much of a fan of Android operating systems as anyone and like any Canadian web hosting provider we understand that a good many of you will be in either the iOS or Android camps when it comes to your OS of choice. Each have their benefits, but it would now seem that Google has beaten Apple to the punch when it comes to introducing an OS that’s tailored to the IoT. Google has announced the general release of Android Things (1.0), a managed operating system that lets users build and maintain internet of things (IoT) devices at scale. With this new operating system developers can build smart and connected devices for multiple purposes. Consumer, retail and industrial applications to name a few. All while able to use existing Android development tools, APIs and resources to develop these new apps for specific devices. Android Things is classified as an embedded operating system that supports Wi-Fi, Bluetooth Low Energy and the Weave protocol. With it you’ll be able to promote multiple ways of communication between devices. Developers can now leverage Google’s Android partner ecosystem, machine learning capabilities, as well as Google Assistant. It will be worth noting as well that Android Things also offers software development kits (SDKs), designed to help developers when building an array of IoT devices. Google has stated it intends to partner with hardware manufacturers to provide more SDKs. Front and centre with this new OS is the Android Things Console. Developers can use it to download and install the latest system images, as well as manage and share OEM application across products and owners, monitor informative analytics, and have over-the-air updates ‘pushed’ as necessary. Since it was previewed in December 2016, over 10,000 developers have provided feedback about Android...

May 7, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 5 minutes

A.I. is definitely one acronym that needs no explanation, and particularly if you’re deeply immersed in the modern digital world. Artificial Intelligence is the great new frontier, and while we all know well of Siri and Alexa, etc. etc., there’s really so much more to the trend and what it will mean for us in the not so distant future. It’s now clear that A.I. is being implemented practically, and for a premier Canadian web hosting provider like ourselves that’s really exactly what we were hoping to hear. We can now expect that AI will not only revolutionize the mobile industry, but also greatly influence the way mobile apps are marketed in the coming years. A.I. employs machine learning to analyze data and differentiate that data into accurate or inaccurate based on specific ‘truth tables’ and calculations made. The result is a more thorough approach to decisions in all domains, and the marketing of mobile apps is included in that. The strategy for mobile app marketers then becomes whether they should incorporate the vast potential of AI to qualify user behaviour automatically, predict buying behaviours, offer recommendations to users by taking previous purchase data into account, and making tthe app’s content more engaging. Mobile app advertisers can clearly see the immense potential and need for AI in mobile app marketing, and ways they can deploy it for best results. Here’s how: Automated reasoning ability of A.I. A.I. has now empowered apps to engage in independent deductive reasoning. Paired with machine learning, it holds the promise of enabling new apps that possess a human-like ability to judge themselves, completely independent of human input and instead based in computer science and mathematical logic. This is artificial intelligence at its most powerful, as it helps the user to achieve their goal in a much easier and speedy way. Programming these apps using A.I. allows them to analyze the actions of the users while they engage with the app, and then providing them with smart directions based on the analysis of any number of relevant factors. Users then benefit from a more customized and personalized experience, rather than any standard one-for-all solution. One example...

May 1, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 4 minutes

Even the least tech-savvy individuals will likely have heard of firewalls, and understand the purpose they serve in keeping computers safe from becoming attacked or debilitated by external sources. For a long period of time, firewalls tended to be pleasantly reliable for the most part, and would defend against the entry of malicious threats to the unit itself or the network it was a part of. Like any solid Canadian web hosting provider, those of us here at 4GoodHosting don’t need to be convinced of the need for these safeguards. However, given the nature of our business we’re also front and center for seeing how firewalls aren’t the far-reaching and reliable solution they once were. A new report called the Dirty Secrets of Network Firewalls has found that one-in-four IT managers could not identify around 70% of network traffic, and that on average 45% of network traffic goes unidentified. The most crucial finding of the survey, however, was that most firewalls were failing to do their job adequately. Along with this ever-growing lack of visibility into network traffic comes a more threatening reality of these individuals not being able to control what they can’t see. 84% of the IT professionals who responded admitted to having real concerns about security due to lack of visibility into network traffic. A similar percentage of those same respondents agreed that lack of application visibility was a serious security concern for businesses and could impact effective network management. The results of such looseness? Ransomware, malware, data breaches and other advanced threats for starters. Reasons for Less Reliability Major increases in the use of encryption, browser emulation, and advanced evasion techniques are the primary factors that detract from a network firewall’s ability to provide a sufficient amount of visibility when it comes to application traffic. The report also states that organizations spend an average of seven working days remediating infected machines each month. Even small-sized enterprises spent an average of five working days on average doing the same thing. Larger ones? Try an average of ten working days to remediate 20 machines per month. That’s a sign of both ineffectiveness and forced inefficiency, to say nothing...

April 23, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 4 minutes

These days most of us won’t pay much attention to a collection of seemingly random letter and numbers with dashes, but when it comes to this one - CVE 2018-0950 - anyone using Microsoft Outlook email may want to pay a little more of it. CVE 2018-0950 is the name that’s been given to an information disclosure vulnerability of Outlook, and Microsoft released a vulnerability patch this month. Every quality Canadian web hosting provider takes the initiative to keep their customers informed in these scenarios, and we’re no different here at 4GoodHosting. This one in fact is particularly noteworthy with the fact that Outlook is one of the most popular and common email applications. Given the nature of this flaw and the reality that much personal information can be contained in email communications, this one isn’t one to be taken lightly The release of the patch mentioned above, however, came nearly more than 18 months after receiving the report that disclosed the bug, courtesy of one Will Dormann, a software vulnerability analyst with Carnegie Mellon Software Engineering Institute’s CERT Coordination Center. This vulnerability can make it so that sensitive information is then disclosed to a malicious site. Obviously, Microsoft Outlook users need to be aware of this vulnerability and what safeguards are best to neutralize the risk. Leak Bug Threat Analysis CVE2018-0950 affects Microsoft Outlook software, and specifically by rendering Rich Text Format (RTF) email messages that contain remotely hosted OLE objects hosted on SMB (Server Message Block) server (under the control of attackers). The situation is that when other Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel and PowerPoint encounter remotely hosted OLE objects, the user is notified as a security caution before thos messages are rendered. Here though, Outlook took no such action and allowed attackers to have an easy access to the user’s system when they opened or previewed such mails. The resultant vulnerability makes it possible for hackers to steal sensitive information. Windows login credentials or hashed passwords are at risk of being revealed, and done by sending an RTF-formatted email to a victim and convincing the recipient to preview or open that email with Microsoft Outlook. It’s...

April 10, 2018

Domain Related

Reading Time: 4 minutes

The continuing boom in digital technologies - and in particular for mobile video streaming and online gaming - now has mobile devices making up nearly 60 percent of the entirety of data traffic. Come 2020 that’s expected to rise to 80 percent and it’s an indication of how totally wired we’ll all look to be in the not so distant future. Here at 4GoodHosting, we’re in a spot like any other Canadian web hosting provider where we see the incredible benefits this type of mobile connectivity is going to provide for us, but we’re also obviously aware of the operation challenges that these data demands are going to put on data centers across Canada. Every online activity involves massive amounts of data that’s stored in different data centers, and while there’s many different sizes of them it is the large data centers that may overheat on account of the billions of gigabytes of data being created and used all around the world. Data centers and their IT equipment – servers, networking and storage equipment - consume mammoth amounts of energy to run AND work to cool the heat which emanates from the IT equipment going at or near capacity much of the time. In fact, cooling is far and away the biggest consumer of electrical power in nearly all data center, and sometimes they may take up to 40 or 50 percent of all the power being used in certain ones. Here’s something else to consider; this round-the-clock global data center energy consumption eats up roughly 3% of all globally generated power, and makes up 4% of greenhouse gas emissions. That puts the ICT industry at par with the airline industry in as far as those emissions, but it’s the data centers that are said to have the fastest growing carbon footprint among the entire ICT sector - to the tune of almost 1/4 of global carbon dioxide emissions from ICT. There have been energy efficiency improvements, but it’s predicted that data center energy use will grow by 4% between 2014 and 2020. Technological Advances in Cooling The biggest change from recent years is that demand for data centers among...