Archive for the ‘Technology’ Category
by FireHost Evangelist on August 2nd, 2010
Earlier this year, we introduced the Secure Server – a virtualized and secure, private hosting environment for companies and individuals who have the need to mitigate high traffic, high confidentiality, high availability, and compliance online.
Right away, many business owners, designers/developers, and IT professionals “got it” and signed up on the spot. We enjoy providing exemplary protection for our early adopters, but we won’t rest until the entire web hosting community understands that security, scalability, and affordability is for everyone, not just a select few.
Overall, the mission has been well received. As any “pioneer” would expect however, Secure Servers have been met with mixed reviews, particularly from die-hard dedicated hosting proponents.
In an effort admonish any remaining doubt from those who still have reservations about this new way, we created NoMoreDedicated.com. From here, you can:
- Watch real stories from real people told in their own words and decide if dedicated hosting is the best solution.
- Take our short, informative test to determine if dedicated hosting is right for your hosting needs.
Once you see the facts, we’re confident you’ll want to give Secure Servers a try, so we make it easy to do so.
- Secure Servers can be provisioning within 24 hours of validating your order, and
- There is no lengthy hosting contract to which you must subscribe.
If you still have reservations, that’s fine. We respect your opinion and any doubts you may have about adopting a new way to protect your business. Even if you’re not ready to join the movement full stop like @The_Fenix_X, we request that you follow the movement that’s putting an end to overpriced, insecure, and inflexible dedicated hosting. Big change is on the horizon.
Follow: @NoMoreDedicated HashTag: #NMD
Tags: #NMD, Dedicated Hosting Alternative, FireHost, NoMoreDedicated, secure servers, Virtualized Servers, VMWare
Posted in: Security, Technology, Web Hosting | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on May 24th, 2010
FireHost has been named as a Top 5 Finalist in the category of Best New Computer Product or Service for 2010 by The American Business Awards (aka Stevie Awards).
Stevie Awards honor American companies and business people from organizations in a variety of industries. The other four nominees have useful, innovate, and very smart products and services that can significantly improve your e-life, so please check them out.
- Data Robotics, Inc’s DroboElite Self-managing iSCSI SAN
- DocuSign’s Mobile Extension enabling users to securely e-sign documents from more than two dozen mobile devices
- Novell’s SUSE Studio for flexible and friendly Linux customization
- Zebra Technologies ZXP Series 8 retransfer printer which produces photo-like images FAST
As you can see, we’ll need your help to out class this year’s very qualified competition. Please help us win by clicking the icon below.

We appreciate your endorsement. The winner will be announced in June.
The full list of finalists from all New Products and Product Management Categories for 2010 is listed on the Stevie Awards website.
Tags: American Business Awards, Best New Computer Product or Service for 2010, Favorite Service of 2010, Peoples Choice Stevie Awards for 2010, Stevie Awards 2010
Posted in: FireHost News, Technology | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on May 19th, 2010
Data encryption seems complicated, and in most cases it lives up to that complexity. This is especially true when encryption requirements go beyond the basics, such as names and passwords, to include highly confidential information like social security numbers, credit card numbers, and protected health information.
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) is a set of rules that help govern the way credit card information should be handled and protected. Its nomenclature can oftentimes be a bit confusing. So in a short series articles (starting with this one), we’ll break down the most important elements of the PCI DSS as it relates to data encryption.
PCI DSS Requirement 4
Requirement 4.1 of PCI DSS addresses the encryption protocols and instructs any entity that accepts, handles, transmits, or stores credit card data to “use strong cryptography and security protocols such as SSL/TLS or IPSEC to safeguard sensitive cardholder data during transmission over open, public networks.”
Let’s start with understanding what information is encrypted per Requirement 4. PCI DSS requires that all cardholder data (specifically the cardholder’s name, the card number, expiration date, and billing address) be encrypted when stored or transmitted.
Here are some common questions and answers about Requirement 4 to help developers navigate through it.
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Tags: Achieving PCI Compliance, PCI Compliance, PCI Compliant Hosting, PCI DSS Requirement 4
Posted in: Compliance, Technology | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on February 15th, 2010
When powered by virtualization, our secure website hosting techniques do more than just help keep the “bad guys” out of your website and web-based applications. In fact, we affectionately regard virtualization as the “socially responsible” hosting technology.
Our virtualized servers provide secure, scalable hosting solutions to small and medium sized businesses around the globe. Thru the use of new, green hosting technologies, we’re helping reduce e-waste: energy consumption, CO2 emissions, hardware waste, and more.
Click Here to learn more about how FireHost leverages virtualization to save a few IT dollars while helping save the planet.
Tags: Global Sustainability, Green Hosting, Green IT, Secure Web Hosting
Posted in: Technology | 1 Comment »
by FireHost Evangelist on February 12th, 2010
Ahh February… Love is in the air. Our servers are in the cloud. But do we love our servers in the cloud?
Cloud computing and cloud hosting practices have been around for some time, probably longer than you think. Long enough, in fact, to gain significant awareness and pique the interest of anyone starting, or growing a business. “I must have everything ‘in the cloud’” these entrepreneurs say! While the definition and clear-cut use case for cloud hosting remains elusive, the promise of cost savings, “fair” usage based billing, and unlimited scalability has startups love struck.
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Tags: cloud computing, cloud hosting, pros cons of cloud
Posted in: Technology | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on August 28th, 2009
This summer, F5 Networks surveyed 250 companies’ senior IT Personnel about Cloud Computing, and one thing is consistent – the definition of Cloud Computing continues to elude IT managers. In fact, the survey presented six industry-accepted meanings of cloud computing and found that the participants could not pinpoint any of them as being “just right”. The two most popular responses were:
- Cloud computing is on-demand access to virtualized IT resources that are housed outside of your own data center, shared by others, simple to use, paid for via subscription and accessed over the Web.
- Cloud computing is a style of computing in which dynamically scalable and often virtualized resources are provided as a service over the Internet. Users need not have knowledge of, expertise in, or control over the technology infrastructure in the “cloud.”
Despite any confusion about the role cloud computing should play within IT organizations and how the solution will be carried out, it continues to gain momentum. In fact, 99% of the respondents to F5′s survey are actively discussing or implementing a cloud solution within their organization and more than half (66%) of the participants have budgets set aside for cloud solutions.
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Tags: cloud components, cloud computing, cloud environments, private cloud, public cloud
Posted in: Technology | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on July 29th, 2009
The latest upgrade for WordPress addresses an important XSS vulnerability in the open source application, so don’t delay installing it. Upgrading to WordPress 2.8.2 is easy.
WordPress users can get the latest version (which was released about a week ago) three ways:
- Download it here to manually upgrade.
- Initiate the upgrade automatically by clicking the Upgrade link under the Tools menu in your blog’s admin. (v 2.7 or later)
- Host your website with FireHost, and let us take care of the upgrade for you.
We’re glad to see WordPress take action to help prevent hackers from compromising websites built on the their great platform. Kudos to the WordPress team for helping keep everyone safe.
Tags: Wordpress Hosting, XSS
Posted in: Technology | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on May 22nd, 2009
When it comes to hosting a blog on your website, WordPress is the platform of choice for many individuals, organizations, and businesses. The reasons for the popularity of this solution include breezy usability, pleasing aesthetics, and superior extensibility, just to name a few of the platform’s many highlights.
Extensibility through plugins is an important feature in WordPress. This tool allows users to build upon the original application and customize it according to their own needs, similar to add-ons in the popular Firefox web browser. Currently, there are thousands of WordPress plugins, but there’s one in particular enabling your blog to easily serve millions of visitors at once: The WordPress Super Cache.
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Tags: CMS Web Hosting, Content Management Solution, Wordpress Hosting, WordPress Plugins, WordPress Super Cache
Posted in: Technology, Web Hosting | No Comments »
by FireHost Evangelist on April 24th, 2009
It’s becoming difficult to imagine modern life without the internet. In less than a decade it has become ingrained in our culture, with millions of people shopping, communicating, learning, working, and even loving, on the internet.
While a matter of personal preference for many, Google is at the core of our internet-driven culture. Need a recipe? Google it. Need directions? Google it. Need an email account? Google it. Need a picture? Google it.
The examples of Google’s ability to facilitate your web browsing needs are virtually limitless. You can find nearly anything you need using Google, which is why it’s become the leading search engine on the internet.
In fact, there’s a good chance most of your visitors discover your website through Google.
Realizing the business value of accurate, relevant search results, Google has developed a cutting-edge hardware, the Google Search Appliance. The Google Search Appliance gives businesses the opportunity to add a powerful search feature to their website, using Google’s own search engine technology.
Your visitors are empowered to find what they need on your website, complete with the familiar layout of a Google search results page which can be customized for your website look and feel as well as content. You even have the option to schedule daily web-crawling and updating of your site’s content with Google directly. When you provide your visitors with Google-powered, relevant search results, they will be more likely to find what they’re looking for, purchase your goods or services, and return to your website later.
FireHost brings the power of Google Search to your website as part of our robust line up of secure web hosting product and services. We can integrate the Google Search Appliance into your website now. If you’re ready to Google-power your website, contact a FireHost professional today.
Tags: Ad Manager, AdSense, AdWords, Google Search Appliance
Posted in: Technology | No Comments »