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How to set up a private proxy server on my VPS

myvps — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 13:11:11 +0000

A proxy server shares one internet connection with all the computers on your local network or it is a computer that offers a network service allowing clients to make indirect network connections to other network services. So basically a proxy (proxy server) is one that acts as mediator between the client (the computer of a user) and server. When clients request data from an Internet resource, traffic goes from your web browser/application first through the proxy before it reaches the requested sources and back through the proxy which then transmits the data to you. A proxy server sits between a client application, such as a Web browser, and a real server. It intercepts all requests to the real server to see if it can fulfill the requests itself. If not, it forwards the request to the real server.

How Proxy Servers Work:

1.When a computer on the intranet makes a request out to the Internet-such as to retrieve a Web page from a Web server-the internal computer actually contacts the proxy server, which in turn contacts the Internet server. The Internet server sends the Web page to the proxy server, which then forwards the page to the computer on the intranet.

2. Proxy servers log all traffic between the Internet and the intranet. They can log every IP address, date and time of access, URL, number of bytes downloaded, and so on. This information can be used in analyzing any attacks launched against the network. It can also help intranet administrators build better access and services for employees.

3. Some proxy servers work with special proxy clients. A more popular approach is to use off-the-shelf clients such as Netscape with proxy servers. When such an off-the-shelf package is used, it must be specially configured to work with proxy servers from a configuration menu. Then the intranet employee uses the client software as usual. The client software knows to go out to a proxy server to get the data, instead of to the Internet.

4. Proxy servers can do more than relay requests back and forth between an intranet and the Internet. They can also implement security schemes. For example, an FTP proxy server could be set up to allow files to be sent from the Internet to a computer on the intranet, but to block files from being sent from the corporate network out to the Internet-or vice versa. In this way, intranet administrators can block anyone outside the corporation from downloading vital corporate data. Or they can stop intranet users from downloading files which may contain viruses.

5. These can also be used to speed up the performance of some Internet services by caching data-keeping copies of the requested data. For example, a Web proxy server could cache many Web pages, so that whenever someone from the intranet wanted to get one of those Web pages, they could get it directly from the proxy server across high-speed intranet lines, without having to go out across the Internet and get the page at a lower speed from Internet lines.

A Virtual Private Server can work well to set up your own internet browsing proxy. It costs as little as $8 a month, which is roughly the same a private proxy or VPN provider, would charge you. But with you being in full control over the logs and resources on the server which can be used for other things besides hiding your IP when browsing the internet. It can be depicted by the diagram along with the instructions given below:

You will need to install a proxy server on your machine, this example uses micro proxy, Â a small Unix based HTTP/HTTPS proxy that runs from inetd.
Install xinetd on your server. Set micro proxy to run via xinetd (or inetd if you use that instead).
Force xinetd to start the service for you by adding the following snippet of code in your etc/services file.
Make sure the ports you want to use are open on the server, there are various methods to achieve this:
Once you have installed micro proxy, configured xinetd and edited etc/services you should be done on the server side, now it is time to configure your internet browser.

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My site was hacked

myvps — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:53:13 +0000

What to do when my site is hacked

The intention of this blog post to help those webmaster whose wordpress sites are hacked. Since I am not a programmer, I can only share what happened to me, and how I solved it. Hopefully this article will bring some value to you, In the article I will include some resources for further reading.

what happened

When I tried to login to wordpress I got this message "Parse error: syntax error, unexpected '<' in home/xxxx/xxxxx/xxxx/default-widegets.php in line 0000". Now I havent't updated my site for a while, so I am pretty sure it was not me who made the error.

So I downloaded the file to my computer desk top from the location specified in the message, and found this script in line 0000

My one wasn't exactly the same but very similar and has a lot more codes in it, So I removed the code by upgrading my wordpress blog in cPanel, when it was completed I went to check my site again, and this time the error message was even better " This site may harm your computer ".

So it was comfirmed by Google the site was hacked.

solutions
1. Locate your ip

If you don't know your local ip here are the steps

For Windows

Start
Run
ipconfig

For Linux

Applications
Accessories
ifconfig

2 Who logged into system

This can be found within your cpanel last login, it should be your ip

3. Enable log archiving in cPanel

4. Take your site offline by create maintenance.php and editing .htaccess file.

5. Report to your hosting company
Most companies will be restoring your site or helping you solve the problems, some won't, but unless you try you won't know, andÂ if your company does not want to help, it is probably time for you change a host.

6. Scan your computer
Scan your computer thoroughly using 2 or more antivirus systems listed below, if your site has more administrators, you should inform them to do the same

7. Upgrade all your thirdparty scripts to the latest version, such as wordpress , joomla, drupal. etc.

8. Change all your passwords, I mean all.

9. download all the files to your computer and scan them with antivirus softwares.

After the scan you want to look into every single file and find out if there is any other hacking scripts in the files

10. Once you are happy and sure all the files are clean, ask for a review in you google webmaster tools, it will take less than a day usually before they unmark your site.

For a more complete step by step solutions click here

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The need to know before sign up for any hosting service

myvps — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:03:13 +0000

When you're signing up to any web hosting services, may it be dedicated, vps or shared hosting, it's easy to get lost in the jargon and sign on the dotted line before really knowing what exactly you're going to be paying for. The key is to remember that, as with any service you're looking to invest in, research is vital. read the full article here

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3 Months FREE offer ends December 31st!

myvps — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 18:29:57 +0000

1and1 internet is giving away 3 months free hosting. click this link to get you 3 month free hosting.

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Don’t get fooled by anhosting coupon

myvps — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 14:22:01 +0000

Many sites are offering 25% off anhosting coupon code, in fact, anhosting does not provide coupons, the 25% off is their current promotion, so with or without, you will get a nice 25% discount. If you don't believe me Click Here to see for yourself, below is the anhosting review

Intruduction to Anhositng

Anhosting is located in Spring Creek Parkway Providence, UT and is a sister site of midphase, vps.net, uk2, and a few more. They only offer shared hosting plans suitable for standard websites, and host more blogs then many other hosting providers.

Features

Mysql 5 database, php 5, and fantastico are all included in the hosting package, that means you can create wordpress blog, joomla, drupal, with 2 or 3 clicks using fantastico, MySQL allows to set up new databases easily. Php 5 is required by many applications such wordpress plugins.

Price

$5.21/month is a pretty standard price, their sister site midphase offers $2.95/month packages. One thing I suggest you to do though is to ask them what is the price for second year, as with many hosting companies the price is way higher than the first year.

Conclusion

Even though Anhosting coupon isn't available, you will still get a nice discount, also they offer reasonably priced packages and good customer support. Their hosting plans are more than enough to get you started, once your site gets bigger, it will be the time to think about switching to vps or dedicated, I think it is good to start with anhosting or Midphase, because if you want to change to vps, you will probably get nice discount from their sister sites that offer vps hosting plans such as vps.net.

Click here to visit Anhosting

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Do you need an SSH for your vps hosting ?

myvps — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 11:00:47 +0000

What is the definition of SSH ?

SSH is the abbreviation of Secure shell. When you are looking for a vps hosting company, you often see SSH being listed as one of their features or add on features. So what does it do exactly?

Over view of SSH

So far SSH offers the most secure file transfer and remote logins to your hosting server over the Internet. Your connection via SSH is encrypted. It is not possible for a regular hacker to break into an SSH connection.

Do you need SSH for your vps hosting account

SSH is commonly used for transmitting credit card details, tax information, banking details, or personal information to a server, so that means if you want to keep your information as secure as possible when you are accessing your vps servers or any other servers remotely, SSH is a must that your hosting company has to offer.

Types of SSH

Most of the hosting companies run on SSH, however there is a securer version of it known as SSH2, unfortunately many of hosting providers have not yet offer that.

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Bluehosting user review:Pros and Cons

myvps — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:45:46 +0000

First I just want to make sure you know that bluehosting doesn't provide vps hosting or dedicated yet, the reason I worte this review is that because bluehost is one of the best shared hosting companies I have used. And it was the first webhosting company I have ever used, below is my bluehost review

I chose bluehosting was mainly because it was recommended by a dear friend of mine. Still I did some researches, and after some researches done I found that they have pretty good user reviews,. It is very appealing and transparent for such an inexperienced person as me (back then). Thirteen years in the industry is also one of the reasons I joined. Generally, I found both the webpage and the ratings convincing and decided they would be good enough (affordable, first of all) for a start. What mostly attracted me was:

1. All the necessary standard features of a web host: cPanel, multiple database support, FTP, and email, to name just some;

2. Both diskspace and traffic are unlimited, as well as subdomains. (the limitations concern the number of databases - 50 each for MySQL and Postgre - and FTP and email accounts -1,000 and 2500, respectively);

3. I signed a 24 months contract, which is only .95/month (no setup fee, free domain included);

4. Useful support: quick and professional help available via e-mail, toll free phone line, or from the website life chat. When calling I was never put on hold for very long, and all my questions were successfully answered by the incredibly patient staff;

5. One of the main reasons I chose them is that the wordpress plugin I had was and still is working only with linux.

There are some cons, though:

First of all, the pricing of the short term (3 months) contract - for those interested $9.95 per month is a little bit too much for a shared hosting.

And for me personally, the complaints of some users about the quality of service - which I luckily have had no chance to confirm yet - as it comes to suspending/deleting their accounts without having provided a sensible enough reason for it (what allows for it is probably the vague clause stating that â€œAny violation found or fraudulent activity that system personnel deem inappropriate may have your account immediately terminated without notice and any recorded evidence reported to authorized persons.â€) I must admit Iâ€™ve felt quite anxious having read them. Still, where there are many users, complaints are a natural thing to appear.

I would highly recommend BlueHosting for anyone who is looking for a realiable shared hosting provider, but if you are looking for a hosting service for a large site with a lot of traffic, you should consider VPS, you probably already know that.

It is unlikely that you are looking for aÂ shared hosting company, but if you are, click here to take a look for yourself.

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VPS vs Dedicated for none techie

myvps — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 20:39:00 +0000

VPS vs Dedicated Server

First let's look at the difference between vps and dedicated

VPS or Virtual Private Server

VPS is a section of a dedicated server, hosting companies take a dedicated server and split it in to several sections by using Virtualization software, so Each server acts as if it is an actual dedicated server, only the hardware is shared. Which results in lower performance.

Dedicated server

Dedicated server is only assigned to one user, it is an actual machine, an actual server to do what ever you want it to. All of the hardware, software is yours to use. Another wordÂ you areÂ the masterÂ of the server.

So which one do you need ? Dedicated or VPS?

To answer this question, there are two questions we need to answer first.

1. What is your budget?

the starting cost for a vps can be as low as $20 per month, as for a dedicated would be $80 plus.

2. Traffic

Generally speaking, the biggest disadvantage with VPS is its CPU. So if you have a large site that doesn't generate huge amount of trafficÂ , VPS will do the job, and on the other hand if you do have a large site thatÂ brings huge amount of visitors, than Dedicated server is your choice, Some vps hosting services will notify you immidiately when your bandwidth (traffic) usage has exceeded a percentage that is set by you, such as vps.net.

Conclusion

Dedicated server has a lot of resources, it is generally used by customers who have a high usage and VPS is used by customers who want to have the same features like a Dedicated server but do not have the usage So if you wish to have features like a Dedicated server but do not require the resources assigned to it, then you can surely consider a VPS for yourself.

and

If you are on shared hosting, and you are thinking of increasing your site's performence, it is a good idea to start off with VPS, and once the traffic start to increase, you will need to upgrade your vps plan which might cost the same as a dedicated server, than it just makes sense to get a dedicated. But of course, if you are happy with your vps, and even though you are paying the same as for a dedicated, you might just consider to stay with it, as the saying goes "If it is not broken, don't fix it"

Hope this post helped, and if you are wondering whichÂ vps hosting provder I am using, here you go

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