HosterPK Blog – Page 2

Keeping your website secure and safe from hacking

Just a few days ago (May 15, 2014) we have seen the Rawalpindi Police website getting hacked. Being the premier hosting company in Pakistan, we strive to provide the best possible protection against these attacks that is why we use the secure application level firewalls so these attacks are stopped right at their footsteps.

However there are still chances that no matter how much security you implement at the server level the hacker is able to exploit some vulnerability at the application end where the server security may not be able to stop the attempt. So if the application is vulnerable no matter how much security you have in place at the server end the site may still get hacked. It’s like closing the front door of the house but leaving a window opened for the thief to get through.

So it is vital to understand the basics of how a website gets hacked to keep the website secure. In this post I will list some of methods hackers use to hack a website and also their prevention tips:

Sql Injection:

Sql Injection is most common type of hacking attack. I will not go into technical

details, you can read about sql injection here.

Basically if you are using a custom developed CMS e.g. one developed by you or your programmer, then the programmer should be asked to script the application to check and avoid any type of sql injection attacks.

However if you are using a popular CMS like WordPress or Joomla etc, then make sure you are using the most recent version of the script. As an older version may contain some sql injection vulnerability which the programmer did not fixed. That is why wordpress releases new versions which contain fixes to the previous vulnerabilities and also new features.

So the reason for your WordPress website getting hacked is most likely that you forgot to upgrade to the latest version and some malicious hacker used the vulnerability present in the previous version to hack the website.

Cross site scripting

Cross site scripting or XSS is another common type of attack and its technical details can be found here. The prevention will be the same as the ones described in SQL Injection bullet above.

Tricking the user to install infected script as theme or plugin

When installing a theme or plugin/module to your WordPress or Joomla installations make sure that you are downloading the theme from a trusted source (e.g. a trusted website).

We have seen a lot of users installing themes or plugins which are cracked to get a free installation of a paid script. What happens is that the person who has cracked that script also inserts their a malicious code in the script.

So when you install that theme or plugin it will also insert the code which the hacker later exploit to deface your website or use it to send spam etc.

Using a keylogger or ftp password stealer on the users own system

This is also somewhat similar to above, however in this case the hacker is able to

trick the user to install a trojan, virus called ‘Keylogger‘ on the users local PC.

The keylogger then logs every key the user presses and later sends those to the hacker. Once the hacker get your login details they are free to access your account and modify code etc.

To avoid this scenario always install and updated anti-virus / spyware software on your local PC. Anti-spyware software like: Malwarebytes, Adware, Spybot S&D are good to scan your PC if you think you are infected.

Use of weak userid / password combination for your control panel or CMS admin page

Recently we are seeing a lot of hackers using brute force attacks against WordPress,

Joomla sites, so if you are using simply userid / password combination e.g. (UserID: admin and Password: 123456) it can result in hacker getting the admin access to the website and untimately resulting in site getting defaced or used in other malicious activity.

Hopefully these techniques will help keep your website safe and secure. Our unlimited packages have real-time security scanner, so for a secure website simply order one of our Unlimited Packages.

How to run a website as an online income source

This post is aimed at:

Average Pakistan internet user or web surfer, who spends most of his time online playing games, watching movies and other similar activities.
A beginner internet user who wants to explore the world of internet and want to run a website about his hobbies or passion.
People who have their own income stream but want to have a 2ndary source of income.

ایک وب سائٹ کو کیسے ایک آن لائن انکم سورس کے طور پر استعمال کیا جا سکتا ہے (اردو ٹیوٹوریئل)

Please do not take this as some get rich quick guide, as that is not the point of this post, but instead to help the user to make their time worthwhile online.

So you will have to spend time and use your creativity in order to be successful. For example if you are willing to give 2 to 3 hours of your day each day for next year or year and half, the year after that you will be satisfied and proud of your achievements.

Okay so what this post is NOT for:

Money making guide
Get rick quick scheme
Due to scope of this article, this may not be suited for existing developers, or webmasters.

One more thing I would like to clear is that you do not need to have expertise in web development, as you can learn along the way, or require a lot of budget (the basic package for a year can cost you just around 1700 per year). But again your time and some creativity will be required in order to run and host your website, blog, online store etc.

Okay now that the basics are out of the way lets dive into it:

Basically here I will guide you on how you can utilize your spare time in something creative and constructive like hosting a website and generating some income out of it e.g.

You can host a blog about your favourite hobby and then display paid ads to earn.
Expand your local shop / business into online website selling your products to even wider range of customers.
Run an affiliate website to market products and earn commission.
Work as freelancer online and put your complete portfolio on your website
And many hundreds of other methods

As you can see there so many ways to make money using the online businesses and we cannot cover all these in a single post so we will cover the very basics in this article and in the coming months will cover other methods as well. In this article we are covering the very basic like:

Purchase a web hosting package for your website.
Create a website about your passion or hobby (e.g. cricket, fashion, politics, entertainment), using easy to use CMS like WordPress.
And how to apply for different add serving networks so you can earn when visitors visit your page and click on the ads as serviced by the program.

Hosting a website with wordpress and adsense as an income source

For brevity I am just going to outline the steps here, you can see the video above which will follow each step so there is no point writing all the steps in detail here. So here are the steps (please watch the video above for complete details):

Visit our website http://www.hosterpk.com/
Choose a hosting package.
Select a domain name and complete the order
Once the payment is cleared you will get your hosting account details. We usually send those within 30 minutes of the deposit confirmation
Now that your domain / website is online we can go ahead to install wordpress from the control panel provided
Once wordpress is installed its time to get a theme matching your hobby or passion.
Now the hard part: content generation. As long as you are interested in your passion this should not be very difficult.
Once you have the content and sites look and feel is how you want you can go ahead and apply for ads from some ad network like adsense.
Once ad network approve your website, now your website is making money, very little at start but if are generating new and unique content and get regularly it is only matter of time before search engines start to notice your website and more and more visitors see your site resulting in more clicks.
That’s it, sit back and enjoy!

Some WordPress and Adsense Resources:

If you have any questions regarding this article please do leave your comments in the section below and I will try to answer each of your queries as soon as possible.

Web Hosting Pakistan: How to choose wisely

It has been over 5 years for me in web hosting business and during this period I have come to deal with a lot of clients, searching for a good web hosting company in Pakistan. A company which can host their website at reasonable price, give timely support, provide quality service and above all a hosting company which you can trust. However sometimes the visitor ends up buying a service from a shady host and ends up with troubles like:

No after sale support
Unable to even contact the web host
The web hosting company goes out of business, leaving clients nothing
Domain thefts
Upon renewal the hosting company demanding more charges than the 1st year.
And many other such issues…

So in this post I would outline some of the common pitfalls that clients face when choosing a hosting company in Pakistan and also a few guidelines on how to make a more informed decision to avoid inconveniences later.

Single Person Hosts

When searching for a web host through Google or purchasing through someone you know (friend, developer), make sure you do not end up with a host that is run by a one person. There are plenty of “hosting companies” in Pakistan which are being run by a single person which means you are at the mercy of that one person. It is important to avoid these kind of hosting services if you consider your data to be important. Below I will list a few points which you can use to detect if you are dealing with a proper company or a shady one.

Domain Ownership Issues

Another common issue client face is domain ownership disputes when dealing with shady hosting companies. Basically you purchase a domain name and work hard to build traffic to the website or if it is a company domain name and is associated with your brand and all your emails are working from there. Then one day you need to renew the domain only to find out you are unable to contact the person who registered the domain name. They are either out of business or they want far more amount to renew the same package. Another effect would be the loss of data in case of you are not able to contact the company, and don’t have the backup available locally.

Avoiding the Issues

Here are some of the steps you can use when searching for a hosting company through searching Google. If you are going to purchase through some person then it is also best to confirm their website address and make sure they have the followings:
1. A landlines number:- The best option is to use a host who have a Toll Free Number listed prominently on their website. Otherwise they should at-least have a landline number listed. The site who have only cell # listed should be avoided at all cost, as it is strong indicator of single person host.

Toll free number listed on HosterPK Website

2. Bank Accounts with Company Name:- Another way to verify authenticity of a host is to check their payment methods and make sure they have their account names listed under their company name e.g. for hosterpk.com we use ‘HosterPK Pakistan’ in our bank account titles. The bank accounts should not be a person name. This means the company has an NTN number.

3. Company Address:- Make sure there is a company address listed in the contact us page of the host’s website.

HosterPK Company Info – Address, Landlines, Cell #, Toll Free – Clearly mentioned on Contact Us page.

4. Contact the host:- Before purchasing, contact the host with a any query e.g. how long time will it take for the account activation, or call them to see if they reply.

How to Place an Web Hosting Order with HosterPK

In this post we will discuss how easy it is to place a web hosting order from our website.

(اردو ٹیوٹوریئل)

Here is the step by step process in Urdu for order. We have included the video as well for easy understanding:

1. Select your hosting package. You can choose any package based on your budget or your website requirements. Our packages include Plan I (with 1GB space with cost of PKR Rs. 1,700/year) Plan II (with 2GB space and cost of PKR Rs. 2,200/year) and unlimited packages.

2. Once you have selected the hosting package you can directly click on the “Order Now” button against it to order. However if you need to see complete package details you can click on the ‘Click for More’ button to see full package details.

If you have any questions during ordering you can always start a live chat session with us by clicking on the ‘Live Support – Online’ box. Or call us at our 24×7 helplines below:
Toll Free: 0800-55355 / Landline: 051-5154078 / Cell: 0345-2245224

3. Once you click on the Order Now button you will be taken to the 1st step of the order process.

4. Here you will need to choose a domain name. From the drop down you will be able to choose different extensions like (.com, .net, .org etc). Once domain is selected click on the ‘Click to Continue’ button. If the domain is available it will display ‘Available’ with option to continue. Otherwise ‘Unavailable’ text will be displayed.

Note that if you are trying to transfer your domain name to us (e.g. you are moving from another hosting company to us) then you will need to select the 2nd option i.e. “Transfer your existing domain to us”

5. If the domain is available you can check the check mark and click on the ‘Click to Continue’ button to proceed to the next step.

6. On the next step you can choose your billing cycle and also if you require a the platform you are interested in. Click on the ‘Click to Continue’ to proceed to next step.

7.The next page is your order summary.You will review your order in this step.

8. The next page is your signup page with us. You will need to provide your information e.g. Name, Address etc to signup with us.

9. On the next step please choose your preferred payment method and click on the ‘Complete Order’ after accepting our terms of service.

10. Now your order is placed with us. Only the payment needs to be made. You can pay using any payment options listed here: Payment Options

11. Once your deposit is made, simply confirm us using this form: http://www.hosterpk.com/dc so we are able to track your payment and process the order.

That’s it. You have now successfully purchased a new hosting package from us. Now you can use the details to upload your website!

Account and Domain Renewal Policy

We received a few of inquiries about our renewal policy for the next year and more specifically about the domain renewal policy:

We offer free domain registration with any hosting package you purchase. However this offer is for the 1st year only and from the 2nd year the domain renewal charges are applied.

Offering free domain registration the 1st year helps us advertise our products to the customers at cheaper price so the clients are able to use and test our services.

The fact that we offer free domain registration does not mean that we register the domain free of charge. In-fact domain registration cost us more than Rs. 1000 PKR per domain (you can see our domain prices here). So for a Plan I with Rs. 1700 for example, the 1st year we offer whole year of services including server uptime / support and maintenance etc all at PKR Rs. 700 (1000 goes to domain registration). Which comes to less than 70 / month. As you can see it will be difficult for any hosting company to provide reliable servers and support at this cost.

Note: There are some companies who will offer free domain renewals as well but they advertise it as as ‘Free for Life Domain‘ or just ‘Free Domain‘. However you can be sure these companies will either have some hidden charges or will provide low quality support / services as those extra Rs. 1,000 will need to come from somewhere!

So even though you are paying a little extra but this saves you from a year worth of tickets and phone calls for frequent downtimes / slow loading sites and other support issues.

Hope above discussion will explain the situation and help you decide better.

Note: If you register more than 5 domains from us in the year, we will be able to offer you a discount of PKR Rs. 350 on your renewal invoices.