×

UnifyHOST provides the latest technology & security systems for web hosting in India, we tirelessly work towards our vision - to make it easier for you to do business.

Our Services
LEGAL

Archive

Month: June 2019

15 Business Problems That Can Be Solved By Moving to the Cloud

According to a recent Intel Security report, 93 percent of a sample of 1,400 IT security professionals claim that they use some type of (hybrid) Public / Private cloud service for their business operations. The cloud is rapidly becoming a popular resource for businesses from all backgrounds, and for good reason.

If your organization hasn’t yet tapped into the power of the cloud, here are some detailed benefits of (hybrid) cloud computing technology that are worth considering.

1. Importance of data and where it is stored (GDPR)

Your business should have a clear concept of the value (and sensitive nature) of the data that is critical for operations. The inherent need to undertake efforts to assess risks and costs involved with current data storage practices is real (GDPR). Especially in an international business organization, deciding where to house data is a complex question that is largely determined by how that data will be utilized.

Many CIOs prefer to keep their companies’ data relatively nearby, and some of them will only work with companies that house data domestically. That is often difficult for large companies with offices in multiple locations, so it’s important to look at what you’re using your data for to decide where it should (legally) be stored.

Businesses have access to more data than ever, but storing it can be tricky. While some businesses choose to only store their data on local servers, using a hybrid approach (using both bare metal servers as well as cloud services) can provide a more flexible option for storing data.

2. Hosting

When you’re not sure where to host data, a cloud platform is a great way to minimize uncertainty. A hybrid cloud portfolio can support locally hosted options in either the UK or elsewhere in the EU, and cost-effective cloud options will help mitigate the risks associated with long-term investments or expensive migrations.

Global adoption of cloud is likely to increase.  In particular, companies can expect the demand for cloud computing to continue to rise in a post-Brexit Europe.  In the UK, Brexit will likely give a push for more locally stored privacy data.

3. Security

Cloud technology has advanced greatly and now it is actually more secure and reliable than traditional on premise solutions.  In fact, 64 percent of enterprises report that the cloud is more secure than their previous legacy systems, and 90 percent of businesses in the USA are currently utilizing a (hybrid) cloud infrastructure.

Many business owners who are accustomed to using local servers hesitate to transition to the cloud for fear of security risks. They worry that having their information “out there” on the cloud will make it more susceptible to hackers.

As scary as these fears are, however, they are unlikely to happen. In fact, your data is just as secure in the cloud as it is in bare metal servers. Because cloud hosting has become so popular, it has quickly progressed to the advanced stages of security. In other words, because so many businesses are using cloud hosting in some form, it has been forced to maintain high levels of security to meet all the demand.

 4. Vulnerability to disasters

If you’re only storing your data on local servers, you may be more susceptible to having your data affected by a natural disaster. Certain precautions may help alleviate this risk — such as backing up data, for example — but utilizing the cloud can provide even greater protection.

While the cloud is not without its risks — after all, the cloud is essentially a few servers united together on a software level — it does create another layer of protection in the event of a disaster.

Leaseweb provides access to our partners industry leading solutions, companies that specialize in these areas, so for backup solutions on Dedicated servers, VPS, Apache CloudStack we have partnered together with Acronis & to offer backup solutions for VMware & Private Cloud offerings, Leaseweb have partnered together with Veeam.

 5. Benefit for disaster recovery

Hosting systems and storing documents on the cloud provides a smart safeguard in case of an emergency. Man-made and natural disasters can damage equipment, shut off power and incapacitate critical IT functions. Supporting disaster recovery efforts is one of the important advantages of cloud computing for companies.

These improvements in security can also come with an attractive reduction in cost.

 6. Increased long-term costs

Not moving to the cloud could cost your company money in the long run. While you do need to pay for equipment with the cloud, costs are often more flexible because you can pay as you go depending on how much storage space you need, ‘On Demand’. Using this hybrid approach of combining cloud services and local dedicated servers, you can ensure you’re not paying for more storage than you need.

7. Boosts cost efficiency

Cloud computing reduces or eliminates the need for businesses to purchase equipment and build out and operate data centers. This presents a significant savings on hardware, facilities, utilities and other expenses required from traditional computing. Also, reducing the need for on-site servers, software and staff can trim the IT budget further.

8. Provides flexible pay options

Most cloud computing programs and applications, ranging from ERP and CRM to creativity and productivity suites use a subscription-based model. This allows businesses to scale up or down according to their needs and budget. It also eliminates the need for major upfront capital expenditures (OPEX vs CAPEX).

9. Architecture

For businesses wanting to take advantage of new services such as analytics, AI, and the possibility for secure collaboration outside the business premises, an opportunity lies in adopting a cloud architecture.  To CIOs, moving to the cloud is a chance to overcome previous internal limitations and improve their value proposition.

Because so much about Brexit remains up in the air, businesses will need to be prepared to adapt rapidly to whatever policies and regulations result from the move. Instead of undertaking a costly move to a more advantageous location, cloud adoption can provide the ideal solution to data storage and accessibility issues and is one of the most effective ways for IT leaders to prepare their companies.

10. Lack of flexibility

Businesses have historically been tethered to wherever their equipment is located, because that’s where they need to access all their information. This becomes a problem, though, when employees need to work outside the office because it may limit or eliminate their ability to work from home, meet with clients out in the field, or network away from their workspace.

With the cloud, however, users can bring their data with them wherever they go. The cloud not only makes businesses more flexible, but it allows them to use their personal devices to access this information if need be.

11. Promotes collaboration

It’s hard to collaborate when your partners are all over the map. If your employees are outside the office or your clients are not physically accessible, it can be difficult to work on the same task when everyone is limited to their own local workspace.

With the cloud, however, your business can use file-sharing applications to collaborate effectively, even if everyone is geographically separated. Clients, vendors, and employees can all work together in real time, making enhanced communication one of the best ways to combat the risks of not moving to the cloud.

 12. Increases mobility

One of the advantages of cloud computing for businesses is how easily team members can work from anywhere. This is particularly valuable in an era when employees desire flexibility in their schedules and work environment. Businesses that operate on the cloud can provide staff with options to work on the go or at home, from their desktops, laptops, smart phones and tablets.

 13. Reduced agility

The ability to scale up or down can be critical for a business to stay agile and competitive. While local servers may fit your needs now, what if you need to scale up as demand increases? By adding cloud services, you can add storage as you need it and pay as you go. This type of hybrid approach can adapt to your business’s needs quickly, making it easier to meet demand as your company grows.

14. Frequent disturbances

Disasters aren’t the only things putting your data at risk. Power outages, hardware problems, or general network issues can prevent you from getting your work done. Even disruptions like installing an update can cause downtime, which costs your business money. While these issues can affect the cloud as well as bare metal servers, a hybrid approach can help minimize these risks by backing up your data in multiple locations.

15. Limited technical support

Outside the cloud, your organization is limited to whoever is working inside your office. In the case of an emergency, you either have to hope your local professionals can get the job done or hire a third-party company to help, which could be costly.

This risk is reduced in the cloud because you’ll have the built-in support of experienced professionals, and you won’t have to rely on anyone with minimal experience.

Moving to the cloud may seem complicated at first, but the transition can help mitigate a series of long-term problems. The use of public and hybrid cloud services is becoming the new norm. In fact, the cloud services industry is expected to become a $411 billion industry by 2020 — up from $260 billion in 2017 — according to research from Gartner. By joining the crowd, your business can avoid some of its most pressing technological problems.

Mail Server 101: POP3 vs. IMAP

When it comes to technology, there are many things that many of us never stop to think about. Like how a microwave heats food so quickly. How in the world a Keurig works. Or the process by which email ends up on your phone, computer, or tablet each morning. Luckily, this post is here to dispel some of the mystery behind at least the last of these technological enigmas.

Email gets transmitted amongst and between servers and ends up in your inbox through one of two processes: POP3(Post Office Protocol version 3) or IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol). While you may have seen either of these two terms before when setting up mail on a a new device, we’ll break down for you exactly what is happening with these two distinct actions.

POP3
POP3, which was the first of the two, downloads information from the server onto your personal computer and subsequently deletes the data from the server. Though this process is great at conserving space on your server, it makes it pretty difficult to access your data across multiple devices.

IMAP
Inversely, while IMAP requires significantly more disk space on your machine than POP3, this process also provides increased flexibility when it comes to accessing your email across devices. IMAP leaves information on the server and synchronizes read and unread messages, folders, and spam across any device in which you’d access your email.

While IMAP has emerged as the leading method for mail delivery, both processes have their advantages and disadvantages. Read more about IMAP vs. POP3 in our Knowledge Base.

Hosting 101: VPS vs Dedicated

When it comes to hosting, there are lots of acronyms and terms that get thrown around. However, when it comes to the ABC’s of web hosting, it’s important to understand the difference between VPS and dedicated hosting. In this post, we’ll break down these terms and explain how even you can become a hosting provider.

Everything on the internet exists on and amongst servers. Sometimes it’s multiple servers (cloud hosting), sometimes it’s a single machine, and sometimes, it’s a portion of a CPU. Hosting providers use these servers, and dashboards like cPanel & WHM, to provide a space for everyone on the internet to blog, game, post, create, and host all of the information that exists on the interwebs.

Dedicated

Dedicated hosting means that a hosting provider has access to a full computing machine in which they provide hosting. This is often a more secure and controlled hosting environment. However, because owning, renting, and maintaining a full machine, or several machines, can be costly and cumbersome, often times dedicated hosting is an option primarily sought out by enterprise-level hosting providers or companies managing large amounts of information.

VPS

VPS, or a virtual private server, is an allotted amount of space on a machine that a hosting provider can rent out to provide hosting to their clients. (Think of it like renting business space in a high-rise versus actually owning the building.) VPS is the most affordable of the two and is often the best start for companies, or individuals like you, to begin their web hosting business or add hosting to their current list of web offerings.

Building Communities with Social Media

According to Statista, over 3 billion people across the world are expected to have some form of social media account by 2021. That’s 1/3 of the population of the entire planet. While social media use in the business world has been around for the better part of a decade, it has recently become an integral part of growing communities and building brand recognition. Companies use social media as customer outreach, to announce a new product or service, or in the case of fast food chain Wendy’s, a chance to troll its customer base.

Just as people have their identities, both in-person and online, companies in the social media age are developing their own identity and messaging across the different platforms where their communities can be reached. So how do companies leverage social media to reach their communities?

Social What?

Social media is believed to have its beginnings in as early as the 1840s, with the advent of the Telegraph, a way for people to communicate with each other across long distances via the means of technology. Of course, the telegraph is a modified version of communication that humans have been using for thousands of years; whether humans used smoke signals, carrier pigeons, or maritime signal flags to communicate. Social media, or social networking, in its most recognizable state, is considered to have taken form in the 1990s, with the advent of platforms such as Geocities, IRC, Bulletin Board Systems, and AOL Instant Messenger. With the rise of mobile devices and an ever-evolving internet, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Reddit, Slack, and Discord have connected communities in even faster and easier ways, especially without the tricky pigeon cleanup.

People desire a way to keep in touch with each other and share their experiences. Social media provides the means for people all over the world to discuss aspects of the communities they belong to, share experiences both positive and negative, and connect. Whether sharing pictures, having thought-provoking discussions, commiserating, or poking fun at each other through memes or gotcha videos, staying connected to fellow human beings has been essential to a global community.

Community: Bringing the Creators and Users Together

Communities traditionally have been described as a group of people coming together around a thing. This thing can be the location where that group lives, a belief system, a sports team, a band or musician, or even video games! If you are reading this, chances you are a user of the cPanel & WHM software or a company/developer/administrator that supports customers who use the software. You are part of the cPanel Community! 

cPanel understands the importance of being connected to the community at large that uses cPanel & WHM regularly as either a tool to build out their hosting platform or increase the efficacy of their business. For this reason, the cPanel Community Team was formed! So what exactly does the cPanel Community Team do?

1.) Connect Developers to End Users

As cPanel & WHM is an ever evolving platform, new features are constantly being added and improved, as well as obsolete and unneeded functions being removed or deprecated. cPanel strives to improve the user experience of the product at every facet. This means having conversations with the user base to understand what their wants and needs are. Through channels such as the Feature Request Site, our Slack, and Discord Channels, and our official Subreddit; the Community Team engages with cPanel users at large in whatever medium they choose!  

The goal we hope to achieve as a Community Team is to provide an avenue for the cPanel Community to talk directly to the company. Need some help finding instructions on how to do something? Have an idea for a new feature? Want to provide feedback for how successful or unsuccessful a new product or change in cPanel is? The Community Team is here to help! Our biggest strength is the ability to talk about cPanel (both product and company) and provide direction to a goal where needed. 

2.) Create Informative and Helpful Content

Through the cPanel Blog and the Newsfeed, the Community Team collaborates with various teams throughout the company to create articles either providing insights to a new product or feature, a breakdown on how a process works, a behind the scenes look at the day-to-day activities in the company, a recap of a conference the company attended, or more! As a team, we want to go above and beyond just providing wiki articles and how-to guides on using cPanel & WHM. By creating content that connects at any user level or experience, we’re able to provide context and explanation behind a process or feature and give community members a “look under the hood” at cPanel & WHM. You can see this content in action by following our various social channels, such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

3.) Bring the Community Together! Literally!

Another huge aspect of community building is going out and meeting people directly! cPanel attends several web hosting and other related field conferences throughout the world. Having in-person conversations with your community develops stronger relationships by humanizing what are normally digital interactions. Our goals are to attend these conferences and meet with partners and end users to hear their ideas and concerns. This year alone, the cPanel Community Team has attended CloudFest, Joomla Day, ConFab, RedHat Summit 2019, and more! 

In addition to attending these various conferences, there’s a little shindig cPanel throws every year to meet with our users. We hope to see you there!

Be where your Community is

In an industry such as ours, we are strengthened by our collective knowledge and experiences. It’s the reason resources like Stack Overflow exist! Charles Darwin once said, “It is the long history of humankind (and animal kind, too) that those who learned to collaborate and improvise most effectively have prevailed.” The different social media platforms that exist offer a wide opportunity to be where your community is. The whole end goal of using the different platforms of social media is to connect, engage, interact with, and grow the community around you. This brings us back to where communities coalesce. As a software company, service provider, developer, or sys-admin, you can interact with and grow your community, improving the relationship and engagement with your community members, by increasing awareness of your brand and building your identity.

So where do I start?

If you’re interested in getting started building your communities, do it! Start by signing up for accounts on your favorite social media platforms and start networking, posting content (photos, blogs, tips, anything to engage users)! It’s crucial to make sure that your social media profiles match your branding and message (how you want to present yourself to the world). Starting with platforms you are comfortable with will give you an advantage in how to navigate and cultivate a following.

Don’t be afraid to try alternative platforms such as Twitch, where you can live stream videos to your audience, or Reddit, where millions of users a day meet to talk about anything from automotive repair, finances, to sports and television shows! In the words of the famous philosopher Yoda, “Do or do not. There is no try,”.

The Secret to an Original Site that Delivers Results

Ever wonder why companies like Apple or Amazon have such a cult following or why people love to use their sites as “inspiration” for their own website designs? I was one of these people back in my early days as a web designer. The first thing I’d do before starting a design project is look at these brands and try to emulate their look and feel. I made sure my designs were as clean and beautiful as theirs, and ensured that they were usable. However, it didn’t take me long to find that I didn’t quite get the same results. The difference was that I didn’t tailor my site for my own unique users. To get the results I was looking for, I needed to know how to improve the overall user experience (UX) for MY target audience.

What is UX anyway?

The key is to get them from point A to point B while also providing an enjoyable experience.

I hear people all the time using the words UI, usability, and UX interchangeably. While a good UI (user interface) and usability are important aspects of user experience, actual UX encompasses how a visitor or user perceives, interacts with, and experiences your product or service. Think about UI like a store’s layout and decor, but UX as the overall shopping experience.

Get to know your customer

There are things you might know right off the bat about your customers, but you’re only touching the surface until you uncover how your users are interacting with your website, what their frustrations are, and what motivates their decisions. And the best place to get this info — is directly from them!

Research does a website good

There are countless ways to conduct UX research and you might use different methods depending on the project. I usually start with gathering existing data. From there, I begin conducting user interviews, surveys, and user testing until I finally get to a place where I can start developing personas and creating a comprehensive mental model.

The goal of this process is to use the information gathered to provide solutions to users’ problems and address their needs while keeping them delighted and engaged. The key is to get them from point A to point B while also providing an enjoyable experience. Think about why you might be loyal to some brands and not others.

The holy grail of UX design: mental models
mental-model2
Source: Mental Models: Aligning Design Strategy with Human Behavior by Indi Young
From my experience, a mental model is the most useful tool for designing an original site that delivers results. A mental model illustrates how a person will likely apply past experience to a brand new situation.

Just to give you an idea of what our mental model diagram looked like when redesigning cpanel.com, the top half consisted of boxes that listed all of the user stories, behaviors, motivations, and frustrations that we discovered as part of our research. The bottom half provided the ways in which we planned to support or solve what was listed above. With this simple and easy-to-create diagram, we were able to come up with features and design solutions for the website without having to guess. To top it off, it didn’t take us several months to complete.

Experiment
While getting to know your users is essential to the success of your site’s design, the truth is that you’ll have to do some testing, measuring, and iterating before you get your site to its optimum performance. To help you get started, I’ve provided some handy links with information about UX research, mental models, and other UX tools so you can uncover the secret ingredient that will keep your users coming back for more.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com
http://52weeksofux.com/
http://boxesandarrows.com/
http://www.alistapart.com/
http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/

General Data Protection Regulation and cPanel

As the internet evolves — so do the policies that govern the way we store and share information. One of the latest policies to come into effect is the General Data Protection Regulation. This policy, also known as GDPR, comes out of the European Union and its goal is to protect certain types of personal information.  We began preparing just over a year ago for this regulation, which comes into effect May of 2018. Here are a few things we thought you should know.

What is the GDPR?

The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, is a regulation that comes into effect May 25, 2018.  The GDPR regulates the collection, processing, transport, and use of personal information about individuals in Europe.

Where can I get more information about GDPR and my compliance obligations?

The GDPR itself is here.  The European Union has created an information portal here.  A number of companies provide consulting services that help with different aspects of your compliance process.  While cPanel doesn’t recommend any particular approach to GDPR compliance, your lawyer or regulatory advisor may be able to point you to resources that are helpful.

Why does GDPR apply to cPanel? 

GDPR applies to cPanel because our company has both direct and indirect European customers whose personal information may be collected or processed by us, or on our behalf.  It may also apply to companies who provide services to us to the extent we provide this data to them.  Although cPanel is a U.S. company, the GDPR applies to personal information about individuals in Europe regardless of whether that information is located in Europe or elsewhere.

How will cPanel comply with GDPR?

As of the end of January 2018, cPanel has completed a “data mapping” exercise designed to identify how cPanel collects, handles, and transfers European personal information that is subject to GDPR.  Based on this exercise, we have categorized data and are in the process of creating processes that will facilitate compliance with GDPR.  We have determined that:

  • We do not collect or process “sensitive” data that is subject to GDPR.
  • We do collect and/or process other personal information subject to GDPR.
  • We store some personal information subject to GDPR for set periods of time.
  • A small number of third parties may also process personal information subject to GDPR on our behalf.
  • Data subject to the GDPR that is stored by us may be stored outside the U.S. and Europe.

To facilitate GDPR compliance we are strengthening our data segregation and access policies, our breach response plan, and relationships with vendors who may handle data on our behalf, or on behalf of our customers.

To further provide information to customers and third parties, we anticipate rolling out a revision of our privacy policy in late March.  Our revised privacy policy will:

  • Provide detailed information about the types of data we collect or process
  • Include the reasons for that collection or processing
  • Set out the length of time we store the data
  • Indicate whether the data is accessed by third parties on our behalf

We also anticipate becoming Privacy Shield certified by the implementation date of the GDPR.

How does cPanel & WHM facilitate compliance with GDPR?

cPanel & WHM is intentionally a highly configurable software product.  Because every customer’s determination about what is required for it to become GDPR compliant is unique, there is not a particular way that our products create compliance with GDPR, or any other law or regulation.  We are committed to working with our customers and partners to understand how their compliance activities are facilitated by our products, and ways our products can help them reach compliance.

How can you get more information about cPanel’s GDPR compliance plans?

cPanel will be holding a GDPR compliance “meet up” at CloudFest.  The meet up will be held on 14 March at 15:00 at our booth (H15).  Members of our product, executive, and legal teams will be on hand to listen and provide answers to questions you may have about our corporate compliance efforts and how our products can facilitate your own compliance.

3 cPanel & WHM Add-ons For Fighting Spam Email

Being a hosting provider isn’t easy. We get that. There are many unforeseeable occurrences that can put a damper on your service — however, spam email shouldn’t be one of them. We’ve highlighted three cPanel & WHM add-ons that you can use to fight incoming spam, malware, and viruses on your server and, ultimately, offer your customers a better experience.

SpamStopsHere
SpamStopsHere is a unique, multilayer filter system that uses four criteria levels to weed out spam and malicious content, while permitting spamstopshere-email-protection-cloud1legitimate email, with a nearly 99.5% success rate. The first layer, the IP Blacklist, flags any email sent from known spam servers. The next layer scans the document for URLs associated with spam. The third layer scans it for strange phrases, rather than keywords, linked to malicious content. Finally, the last layer scans the format of the document for tricks often used by spammers to bypass normal email clients. This robust, dynamic process lessens server load and should make your customers pretty happy.

SpamStopsHere>>>

ASSP Deluxe for cPanel
ASSP (Anti-Spam SMTP Proxy) Deluxe for cPanel is a nifty plugin that eradicates spam email and the easy-to-install widget comes loaded with additional features and customizations. You can set up criterion for custom spam boxes, receive daily email reports, and tinker with a whole host of other automatable functions, cutting a fraction of your workload.

ASSP Deluxe for cPanel>>>

SpamExperts cPanel Add-on
This add-on gives cPanel users one-click access to a wide range of anti-spam solutions packaged within the SpamExperts widget. Not only does spamexpertsSpamExperts’ cPanel add-on protect domains from email-based threats, it enables hosting providers to offer custom spam-fighting tools. Using the SpamExperts plugin, you can increase security for your customers and add value to your business.

SpamExperts cPanel Add-on>>>

Browse the cPanel Application Catalog

*These are 3rd party plugins that are not managed or owned by cPanel, Inc. Issues that may arise when using these products should be directed to the respective plugin developers.

The Different Applications for cPanel Webmail

Webmail is one of the most commonly used features in cPanel. As opposed to having email delivered from the server to a desktop application, Webmail allows users to check their messages from their browsers. Currently, there are three different Webmail applications available, each with their own subtle differences, but all with the same power to deliver secure email on the web.

Horde
The Horde Project is an open-source development community that is responsible for the creation of countless applications and software systems. Vetted and managed by a Core Team, Horde develops tools with PHP that are valuable for small businesses all the way up to the enterprise level. Their focus on enterprise tools has allowed them to create, not only a popular Webmail application, but also a suite of complementary widgets that do everything from managing calendars, notes, and addresses to standard filtering, message flagging, and the search functionality that comes with many Webmail platforms.

RoundCube
RoundCube is the world’s leading open source Webmail application. This application already has millions of users and the upcoming evolution of their product is guaranteed to garner even more attention from users around the world. While not equipped with as many additional features as Horde, RoundCube is praised for its easy-to-use, drag-and-drop interface. Loaded with the ability to search, flag, and organize your email, it makes perusing and managing your inbox (and outbox) super simple.

3 Ways to Prevent Email Abuse

Over 100 billion emails get sent per day. Everything from out-of-office alerts to billing summaries gets transferred across the web, from server to server. While we expect the things we send and deliver to remain secure, we know it isn’t always the case. There are various ways mail servers can be compromised, however, there are also a number of things that you can do, as a hosting provider, to prevent email abuse on your cPanel & WHM server. Here are a few of our easy-to-administer tips.

Require a Minimum Password Strength

We all know….well, we all should know the difference between a secure password and an insecure one:

Less secure: amy1234

More secure: ~4my0n3tw0thr334

With that in mind, ensuring your mail account holders are using secure passwords is one of the simplest ways to protect their information. While capitalization, symbol usage, and spelling all factor into password security, as a hosting provider, you can set a character minimum to ensure that all of your users have a base level of protection.

Learn more about Password Strength Configurations>>

Enable cPHulk

Familiar with the 2012 Marvel film The Avengers? In the final battle sequence, a seemingly unstoppable (keyword) alien army attempts to take down NYC — that is of course until the neurotically lovable Bruce Banner turns into his not-so-jolly green alter ego.

cPanel & WHM includes its own secret weapon that was developed to defend against the onslaught of brute force attacks. By enabling cPHulk, you can drastically prevent brute force attacks from affecting your users, your accounts, or your machine. Simply toggle the feature on from your Security Center and prevent malicious software from trying to muscle through your password security.

Find out the full power of cPHulk by reading our Documentation Site>>

Enable SMTP Restrictions

All online activity happens through a series of rules called protocols. For mail, SMTP, or Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, is the method used to submit messages to mail servers for delivery to the recipient.

With SMTP Restrictions, a feature you can enable straight from WHM, you can prevent spammers from directly interacting with your remote mail servers or even working around your mail security settings.

Curious about SMTP Restrictions? Find out more here in our Documentation>>
There are, of course, many more ways you can up the security on your mail server and protect your customers. If you found this article helpful, be sure to share it with others. If you have a few tips for mail security worth mentioning, let us know by leaving a comment below.

Pointing Two URLs to the Same Website

Introduction
Pointing two URLs to the same website is a good way to direct traffic to your site from several different domain names. You can accomplish this in two ways: either redirect one of the URLs to your primary domain, or create an alias for one of the URLs. The alias would point that domain towards your primary domain.

Redirect a website
A redirect occurs when typing a web address in the address bar sends a visitor to another website (or URL) different from the one they typed in. For example, if you moved your website content to a new URL, you can direct your seasonal visitors (who may remember your old web address better than your new one) to your new location with a redirect.

How to create a redirect with the cPanel interface
You can redirect a website from the Redirects interface in cPanel. Go to the Domains section and click Redirects on the cPanel home page, or type Redirects in the search bar. Follow the prompts to create the redirection. If you need additional help, read our Redirects documentation.

Create an alias (or the action formerly known as parking a domain)
When the system creates an alias, it does the same thing as a redirect; except that the website name shown on the address bar does not change. Think of it as using two different picture frames for the same artwork. The website content is the same for both URLs (the artwork), but what changes is the URL shown in the address bar (the picture frame in the example). For example, example.org is an alias for example.com. Try it!

You can create an alias for several domains to show the same page. The domains have to be registered with a valid domain registrar before you can create the alias. Also, you’ll need to make sure the nameservers are the same as those for your primary domain (the domain that you are pointing towards).

Important: Make sure you know what type of hosting account or package your account has. If you have a reseller account, you will need to ask your provider if you have access or permission to create an alias.

If you do not have this permission, you may be able to redirect one of the URLs instead of creating the alias.
If you have permission, ask for the number of domains for which you are allowed to create an alias.
How to create an alias with the cPanel interface
To create an alias, go to the Domains section and click on Aliases in the cPanel home page, or type Aliases in the search bar. Type your domain name in the Domain text box and click Add Domain.

If there are no issues, you should see a message like the one below:

If there are issues (like your domain having the wrong nameservers), you will get an error message. Make sure you have solved the issues highlighted in the Important section above to minimize your chances for errors.