Posts Tagged ‘Redundant Network Infrastructure’

Internet Attacks On the Rise

by FireHost Evangelist on May 26th, 2009

rise-in-internet-attacks1Soon after the Internet became a household word, so did “virus”. People learned that they had to protect their computers and email inbox or risk data loss, identity theft or malicious activity to their home machines. Over the last decade the internet has grown by leaps and bounds, and companies of every size now conduct business online.

While the software world has fought diligently to reduce the number of affective attack on the personal computer at home through anti-virus programs, hackers have turned their attentions to that which is most vital, but often not very well protected – the hosted website. A variety of tactics are being used by hackers against websites without regard to the size or industry of the business or organization. An American-based Internet security agency recently reported that Internet threats rose by two-thirds in April of 2009.

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How do you steal a fighter jet?

by FireHost Evangelist on May 8th, 2009

jsf-352It’s an astonishing question. How would someone go about stealing the most advanced fighter jet in the American military arsenal? The answer: You break into the most secure computer network in the world and steal the plans.

According to recent reports, hackers have systematically stolen thousands of files about the U.S. military’s new Joint Strike Fighter, our most advanced fighter in history. Specifically, hackers stole files concerning the design and electrical system of the new fighter, by infiltrating Pentagon and defense contractor computers.

Additionally, hackers were able to break into air traffic control systems operated by the U.S. Air Force. This gave them the opportunity to view the location of any U.S. military aircraft, in real time. While Department of Defense and Pentagon officials believe attacks such as these are the result of foreign states, rather than the work of individuals or small groups, such extraordinary attacks raise numerous questions about computer security in general.

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Is Consumer Web Hosting Sufficient for Small Businesses?

by FireHost Evangelist on April 21st, 2009

cheap webhostingSelecting a hosting provider is one of the biggest decisions a company makes when developing and establishing an online presence. With thousands of choices available, it can be tempting to jump into a contract with a cheap hosting provider and hope for the best. After all, it only matters that your company website is on the internet, right? Not quite.

Those five dollar hosting plans may be fine for smaller, personal websites, but you will not be satisfied for long if your livelihood depends on your website. Cheap web hosting companies typically put artificial constraints on space and resources. This may suffice if you only need enough space for a few static pages and bandwidth to cover a handful of visitors every month. However, for SMB’s that have bigger goals for their company, cheap hosting is not the answer.

Companies need more bandwidth to serve customers and more storage space for high-quality content. If your company hopes to market internationally, then there are benefits to establishing a content delivery network, so your international prospects visit a website optimized for an exceptional experience, no matter where they are located around the world.

You should also consider a host who provides secure e-commerce hosting and dynamic database security as an additional measure for insuring both you and your clients’ personal information is protected.

If online marketing efforts are successful, your website may experience the DIGG effect and become suddenly popular through the social networks. As your business succeeds online, your web host should provide burstable bandwidth on high performance servers in a redundant network infrastructure, so prospects and clients are never negatively impacted by website performance. Remember, your website is an extension of your business and your brand. An unsecured, poor performing website may have the same impact on a prospect as bad customer service over the phone.

FireHost caters to businesses of all sizes and special needs by providing enterprise-level hosting solutions such as Google Search Appliance, Exchange email services and Telligent Community Sever to help your business flourish.

Securing data is imperative and should never be left up to chance to save a little money. There is a measurable price on turning site visitors into customers, creating real value to fast and secure web hosting. Don’t roll the dice on a cheap, consumer-grade hosting plan, contact a FireHost professional today.