Protecting Your Customers from Spam - Have an AUP

Another big step you can take to help prevent your web hosting business from becoming a victim of spammers is to have an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). You could include a stiff penalty for spamming, although it may be questionable whether that will bother a truly hard-core spammer. Still, such a policy will help you keep your customers honest.

If you don't yet have an AUP, Spamhaus has a resource that will let you generate one automatically (http://www.spamhaus.org/isp/create_aup.lasso). It also has a number of examples of good AUPs on its web site (http://www.spamhaus.org/aups.html). With these tools, you should be well on your way to writing a good policy

Not only do you need to have a good AUP; you need to make sure your customers are aware of it. For example, Shaefer notes that iPost confirms its "solicited mail only" policy verbally with every customer before completing a service agreement. If you choose to include any special clauses directed at preventing specific abuses, you might want to verbally confirm those as well. For example, one company's AUP bans the use of its systems for "drop boxes" in spam sent somewhere else.

Finally, you need to enforce your AUP. That means you need to be proactive. "This does not mean instantly terminating a customers because of a complaint, because forgery is so common in spam that many complaints are misdirected," according to Shaefer. "However, it does mean evaluating the accuracy of every complaint, investigating those that appear legitimate, and taking action if a pattern of abuse emerges."

Dealing with spam is not an easy task. It isn't going to go away overnight. But by taking these steps, you can reduce the problem for you and your customers to something more manageable.

Protecting Your Customers from Spam - Technical Preparation

Before I go any further in this discussion of ways to prevent spam from becoming a problem on your network, I'd like to mention the role of education. You may understand the importance of the steps you are taking to fight spam, but your staff and your customers may not. Start by explaining to your staff what kinds of checks to perform on new customers and why; they need to know what issues (such as bad credit and/or being on black lists) raise red flags.

Don't neglect your customers in your educational campaign either. You can include articles on your web site that explain what spam is and how to fight it, either with your own tools or others. Make sure both your customers and your staff understand good emailing habits (as both senders and receivers). You should also make sure your customers know what to do if they are accused of spamming.

You might be reading this and feeling somewhat frustrated. "I have instant account activation; my customers appreciate it, and it reduces hassles all around. Now you're telling me I have to get rid of it?" If that's what you're thinking, you need to take another look and decide whether it's really working in the way you intended. Spammers use web hosts with instant account activation to get set up quickly, send lots of spam, and then go on their merry way. Is it really worth the convenience to risk being a magnet for spammers?

Another magnet for spammers is open relays. Don't let your servers be used in this way. Make sure you have SMTP authentication turned on. Also, if you provide your customers with form mail scripts, use a secure one; if your customers use their own form mail scripts, make sure they're using a secure one (or at least know what to look for).

Make sure you're keeping up with the various tricks spammers use to avoid detection. According to a research brief from Trusecure, an information security company, "We are beginning to see more and more cases of 'spam jacking,' hackers who exploit poorly configured systems to take control of them and send mass amounts of spam. In most cases these organizations don't even know they have been compromised, or that there are very simple mitigating measures that can be taken to protect themselves."

Protecting Your Customers from Spam - Know Your Customers

Bart Shaefer, CTO of iPost, pinpoints a major step any web host can take to keep spam from becoming a problem. "The first and most important thing Web hosting vendors should do is perform due diligence checks up front -- before agreeing to provide service." He should know how important that is; his company serves other firms that send legitimate opt-in-only mailings, and it handles huge volumes of email.

So how do you perform due diligence? You can start by doing the same things you might do to check a prospective employee -- use Google or another search engine to see what you can learn about the person and his or her company. Don't skip over doing a credit check; spammers often have no credit or bad credit. But this is just the beginning.

Check your customer's IPs and domains against black lists; there are many public ones you can use. Be wary if a domain is not registered. Check for address and telephone number matches. Since customers can get a little touchy when you ask a lot of questions, make it clear why you're going to so much trouble. Legitimate customers don't want to be associated with spammers any more than you do!

One source you should go to when checking out your customers is the Spamhaus Project (www.spamhaus.org). Among other things, this organization maintains the ROKSO database: the Registry of Known Spam Operations. Spammers on this list have lost their accounts with at least three ISPs for spam-related offenses. These people are hard-core; just 200 "spam gangs" send 80 percent of the spam received by Internet users in North America and Europe, and most of them are listed in the ROKSO database, according to Spamhaus. To quote the organization's web site, "The vast majority of those listed here operate illegally and move from network to network (and country to country) seeking out 'spam-friendly' Internet Service Providers ('ISPs') known for lax enforcing of anti-spam policies...These are the spammers you definitely do NOT want on your network."

Google Groups is another place to check; specifically, search the news.admin.net-abuse newsgroup. But use it carefully. Many postings aren't real; they're forgeries designed to hurt legitimate parties, sometimes created by spammers in an attempt to shift the blame from those who are truly at fault. Also, make sure you don't confuse spammers with those who have received spam and are simply reporting an offender.

Protecting Your Customers from Spam

Everyone hates spam, and there seems to be no escape from it. As a web host, however, you're closer to the front lines of this battle than your customers. In this article, I'll detail some of the steps you can take to keep this unsolicited annoyance from getting out of hand.

By some estimates, spam, also known as unsolicited bulk email, has already gotten out of hand generally across the Internet. Ferris Research estimated that the cost of spam to the United States economy came to more than $10 billion in 2003. That takes into account the consumption of computing resources, help desk personnel time, and worker productivity (after all, the few seconds spent deleting each of those emails adds up). When Intermedia.NET launched its new SpamStopper service, it cited 2006 research which estimated that spam "represents over 66% of all email sent, and more than 10% of lost productivity."

The federal anti-spam laws have done little if anything to stem the tide. As Scott Chasin, chief technology officer for anti-spam company MX Logic notes, "Predictions of the impending death of spam are premature. While significant advances in anti-spam technology have made it possible to relieve email users of unwanted commercial email before it hits their in boxes, spam still makes up the majority of all email traffic -- imposing a significant burden on the Internet and on the effectiveness of email."

The situation may sound bleak, but it isn't hopeless. You will need to be proactive in the battle, however, since there is no automated program that is 100 percent effective against all spam. Even if there were, spammers (and especially phishers) are clever; as fast as anyone comes up with ways to filter spam, they come up with ways to get around the filters. For example, when spam filters started blocking emails that contained words used frequently in spam, spammers just started using variations of the words or corruptions of them that would still get the point across.

Sure, you need to have automated programs guarding your customers' in boxes, but you also need to engage in manual monitoring. Check uploaded files for common spam scripts, watch server loads, and keep an eye on your customers, especially new ones, for unusual behavior. Register your email with spam fighting sites, such as Spamcop.net or Abuse.net.

If you do find yourself with a spam problem on your hands, you need to have an action plan in place. Create one now, before you have to use it. Don't attribute to malice what can be explained by ignorance (yes, there are still people who are ignorant of spam, or at least of how to handle it).

A Brief Introduction to FTP - Using FTP Client Programs

There are literally tons of FTP client programs available. A search on Google with those three key words yields more than 43,000,000 hits. Some well-known FTP programs include Cute FTP, SmartFTP, and WinSCP. These programs usually provide an intuitive graphical user interface, and many of them are free. Some even provide video tutorials and screen shots!

If you use Dreamweaver to design your site, you'll be pleased to know that the program already has FTP capability. Check your documentation; you may be able to take advantage of this, and save yourself some work. The capability will need to be configured before you can use it.

Whatever program you use, you go through the same basic steps: establish a connection with your FTP site, then upload or download the appropriate files. It's hard to be more specific without talking about specific programs (and excluding others). SmartFTP's site gives a fairly good explanation of how its program works, complete with video tutorials. There are versions of this program that are free, and others that carry a price tag; aside from the price, the biggest difference between the two is that the free version does not come with maintenance and support. SmartFTP is only available for various versions of Windows.

The company that sells Cute FTP offers a free 30-day trial period. The software comes in Home and Professional versions (with the Professional version priced higher but offering many more features). Unlike SmartFTP, Cute FTP comes in both Windows and Mac versions.

WinSCP is not only free, it is open source software. It offers an easy-to-understand GUI. In fact, we use it here at Developer Shed.

You may not have needed to use FTP software before, but once you start using it, you'll see how easily it can help you maintain your web site. I hope I've encouraged you to explore your options.

A Brief Introduction to FTP - Transferring Files with IE

Transferring files from your computer to your web site on your web host takes a little bit of set up if you want to do it efficiently. Now that you've connected to the web host via IE, minimize your browser and open up Windows Explorer. Go to the place on your hard drive where you have the files that you want to transfer to your web site. You can do this either by clicking the My Computer icon or by navigating to Windows Explorer in your Start menu (try Programs -> Accessories -> Windows Explorer).

Now you'll want to resize and reposition the Windows Explorer window so that it takes up roughly half your display. Maximize your Internet Explorer browser with its FTP connection to your web host, and resize it so that it takes up, roughly, the other half of your display. In other words, you want to position the two windows so that they are side by side.

At this point, all you need to do is drag and drop the files you want to transfer. You can copy and paste if you're more comfortable doing that. Either way, you need to keep in mind that as soon as you transfer a file to your web site, it is "live." You will immediately be able to navigate to your site (using http:// this time) and see that file. So it's a good idea to make sure you've thoroughly tested any files before you transfer them!

The transfer process works the other way, as well; you can transfer files from your web site to your computer. Keep in mind that "transferring" files doesn't actually transfer the file; it copies it. So if you want take down a file to work on it, you'll first have to "transfer" it to your own computer, and then delete it from the web site. You do the latter in the same way you'd do it on your own computer: by selecting the file and pressing the Delete key. You can also use the Delete command on the menu that pops up when you right click on the file name. You can also create folders on the FTP site, simply by right-clicking and choosing New|Folder from the pop-up menu. If you want to see all the files in a folder, just double click the icon, exactly as you would in Windows Explorer.

A Brief Introduction to FTP - FTP Connecting with IE

Let's put aside the question of FTP programs for the moment. If you have a website you need to build (or update), and you're eager to put the power of FTP to work for you, you probably have everything you need for the basic stuff right on your computer already. As I mentioned, Internet Explorer supports FTP, and it's available on practically every Windows PC. You won't get the extra features available in many FTP programs, but you'll be dealing with a very familiar interface. Best of all, of course, it's free.

In order to use FTP, it helps if you know the site you're going to connect to. You can use either the site's URL or its IP address if you know that (the four-part number that you don't have to memorize anymore thanks to friendly URLs). Instead of using http:// as you normally would for viewing the site, however, you use ftp://. If you have your own domain set up with your web host, you'd probably type something like ftp://ftp.MyDomain.com/ into the address bar.

The whole point of this exercise is to connect IE with an FTP site. The FTP site is supposed to let you transfer files from your computer (the local machine) to a folder on the Internet server. Or vice versa, if you need to grab a file and update it (or download new software, or any one of a number of tasks). If you've typed the right information into IE's address bar, you'll get a login dialog that looks something like this:

Yes, I admit it, I couldn't resist checking with a big site to show you what the login dialog looks like. Somehow I think Amazon.com will forgive me. Anyway, at this point you'll need the user name and password that your web host assigned to you when you opened your account with them. Enter them in the appropriate spaces in the dialog, and hit the log on button.

What you'll see next in your browser will look very much like what you'd see in Windows Explorer - a list of files. Since the FTP site - in this case, your web host - controls the files you can access, the only files you're likely to be seeing are your own. Of course, you don't merely want to look at your files; you want to transfer some files. And that's the next step.

A Brief Introduction to FTP

If you’re setting up a web site, you will probably need to transfer files to your web host. To accomplish this task, FTP is invaluable. But what is it and how do you use it? Keep reading to find out.

FTP stands for "File Transfer Protocol." As you may have guessed from the name, it is a protocol for transferring files from one computer to another over a network connection. While this is often done over the Internet, it doesn't have to be. Users on a large intranet, like those at a corporation or on a college campus, may also transfer files between computers within the intranet via FTP.

In basic outline, it works like this: one computer, known as the "client," uses an FTP Client software program to request a file from another computer. The second computer is known as a "server." The file is then moved, or downloaded, to the computer that made the request. The same FTP Client software can be used to upload files to another computer. For example, if you have created files for your web site on your own computer, and you want to send them to your web host, you would use the FTP Client software to accomplish this task.

FTP can also come in handy for downloading software to your computer, and transferring information between your home and work computers. Calling it "transfer" is really a misnomer, though. You're not "transferring" files from one computer to another; you're copying them. It beats "SneakerNet" any day, and you can even transfer files that are too big for email attachments. You will need to have an account on both computers to make it work, however (unless you're doing anonymous FTP, which you don't see very often anymore for security reasons).

While FTP can be done with a command line interface - after all, that's the way it started - these days, there are a variety of FTP programs available that provide users with a friendly GUI interface. Even Internet Explorer will allow you to use FTP (which I'll discuss in more detail later in this article), but many good shareware FTP programs have extra features that come in really handy (like being able to transfer a whole bunch of files all at once).

Why You Shouldn`t Become a Web Host - Don’t Look Behind You

Matt Inglot pointed out that “As human beings we tend to find change uncomfortable, but there isn’t much room to be in a placid comfortable nook when you’re an entrepreneur.” He went on to explain how entrepreneurs must always be willing to try new things. As a web host, you have a huge incentive: the competition. If you’re not prepared to adapt to a changing field, they certainly are. And there are plenty of web hosts out there, because many have been attracted to the industry by the same kinds of dreams that are getting you all fired up.

You have to come up with ways to make yourself different from the rest of the field, and stand out positively in the eyes of prospective customers. Indeed, you must continue to offer advantages over the competition after you win your customers over, because there is nothing to keep them from switching to another web host if they aren’t happy – and there are a ton of web hosts who would be happy to have that business.

And there’s no getting around the fact that starting and operating your own business is a lot more stressful than being an employee. Oh, it’s true that some personality types actually find it less stressful, but most people tense up when they constantly have to make decisions with too little information. When it comes to being an entrepreneur, taking risks is in the nature of the beast. Do you try to attract bloggers? How about podcasters? What about controversial websites (and how do you define “controversial”)? Will customers pay more for that new service you’re offering – and will it cover itself with the money you make from it?

There you have the major reasons that you shouldn’t go into the web hosting business. I hope that I’ve busted some of your illusions so you can examine the idea with clearer eyes now. And if I haven’t completely dissuaded you, at least now you know the pitfalls you’re likely to face along the way, and can prepare for them.

Shouldn`t Become a Web Host - Where’s the Money?

Any business is going to need some start-up capital. That comes out of your pocket and the pockets of those you can convince to invest. You need this before you open your doors (figuratively or literally) to your first customers. You might not need too much at first: a domain name, a website, the cost of a reseller package, and so forth. But costs will mount as you continue, especially as you make the effort to look polished and professional. You may well find that you have to go to a bank to secure a loan, possibly even take out a second mortgage on your house or run up painfully large credit card bills.

That’s just one part of the equation. How are you going to produce income for your business? Do you know how much you need to charge customers and what kind of web hosting packages you need to set up to turn a profit? If you’re offering free web hosting or low-cost web hosting in exchange for advertising, do you know how much money you need to make from advertisers? This is one part of the business you can’t afford to fill with pipe dreams. Do your research!

While we’re on the topic of money, are you certain that putting your money into your own business really is the best investment? In economic circles, this is referred to as “opportunity cost.” What didn’t you spend that money on so that you could spend it on starting a web hosting business? Would you get a better return by putting that money into a retirement account, with compounded interest? That’s just one possible alternative; think about the income you’d be giving up on the money you’re putting into this business.

And speaking of income, how long do you think you’ll be able to last without much of one? If you’ve spent most of your adult life getting a regular paycheck, starting your own business will be an eye-opening experience. You’re not getting that wonderful deposit every other week anymore, but your creditors will still want you to pay them just as regularly. If you can get your business started while you’re still employed, that will help, but the very nature of a web hosting business may cause it to intrude on the work time of your “day job.” It’s not a long term solution if you’re serious about making your business more than just a hobby. You may also find that you actually net less money as a business owner than you did as an employee.

Why You Shouldn`t Become a Web Host - No Vacation Time

The Internet is up 24/7. Site owners expect their websites to be up 24/7. And if they aren’t, they’ll call their web hosts to complain; that’s you, and you might find yourself working 24/7 just to keep up with your customers’ needs. But that’s just the most obvious manifestation of the problem with being your own boss. The work never stops.

It isn’t just customers either. If you’re a reseller web host, you’re dealing with the company from whom you’re buying your hosting space. If you aren’t, you’re buying your own equipment and dealing with suppliers, whose workers and products may or may not be reliable. You also have to spend time promoting your business, which involves a lot more than just slapping up a web site.

In fact, the number of skills you need to operate your own company is staggering. You are your own salesman, marketer, bookkeeper, trainer, IT person (particularly important when you’re a web host), website designer, purchaser, quality control person, customer support, and on and on. If you are missing any of these skills, you have to acquire them yourself by taking the time to read books, attend classes, or do whatever it takes. Your other option is to hire someone with these skills, either as a full-time employee or as a contractor.

If not having the right skill set is one reason that many web hosting businesses fail, another reason is time management. Let’s face it, you can’t be available to your customers every single moment; you have to sleep sometime. Don’t assume you won’t get a phone call at three in the morning from one of your customers with an issue. It’s not unusual to put 15 hours a day into your business, and it’s unlikely that you’ll be at the top of your form the entire time. If you’re not naturally well-organized, you can look at time management as another skill you must learn before starting your own business, whether it’s web hosting or another field.

Of course, this feeds right back into the point that there’s so much to do when you’re running your own business. You want to refine your business plan and grow your business, but when you’re caught up in daily activities it’s hard to see the forest for the trees. How can you work on maximizing your growth when five customers are screaming at you because they can’t get to their sites to update them, the new server hasn’t been set up yet, your customer support person is down with the flu, the firm handling your web connection has you on hold, some of your bills are overdue because some of your customers are late with their payments, and your pay-per-click advertising campaign just ran out of money for the month? Sure, that’s overly dramatic, but you probably get my point.

Why You Shouldn`t Become a Web Host

So you’re dreaming of quitting your job and starting up your own web hosting business. You figure that it can’t be too hard, especially with reseller web hosting packages. Just lounge your way to easy street, right? Wrong.

Web hosting is a business, like any other, and the vast majority of businesses fail in their first year. It is not a way to fast, easy money. Don’t believe me? Do a little research for yourself. A recent article at Tech News World on choosing a web host pointed out that “many of the biggest [web hosting companies] filed for bankruptcy protection or were saved by being sold to some other company…” So if even the big guys have problems, how can it be easy for a little guy?

You’re probably thinking that little guys can be more agile, and besides, you don’t need to deal with the huge cost of overhead that is part of the burden of a large company. You therefore don’t need to make as much money as, say, GoDaddy. So surely you won’t have the same kinds of issues, right? Well, it’s true that when a problem increases in magnitude to that degree, its nature changes – but just because you’re not paying a salary to thousands of employees and rent on a corporate campus doesn’t mean you don’t need to worry about what you’re paying yourself and one or two employees, to say nothing of the electric bill for your home office.

I don’t expect your dream of entrepreneurship will die an easy death, so I’m going to give you a list of reasons why shouldn’t become a web host, or at least rethink your decision. If you’ve read Matt Inglot’s article on the top five reasons not to become an entrepreneur, you’ll spot some parallels here. But web hosting has some special issues that can’t really be mentioned in a general article about being an entrepreneur, and I’m going to expand on those here.

Why You Should Own Your Own Domain - Other Reasons for Owning Your Own Domain

I’m going to keep with the idea that you own your own business and your web site serves that business. If you have your URL printed on business cards, flyers, brochures, or other marketing material, and you don’t own your own domain name, what happens when you change web hosts? You have to change all your material, because your URL has changed! If you own your own domain name, your URL remains the same, regardless of how many times you change web hosts.

Here’s a side note. Say you have decided that your web site does need its own domain name, but you’re willing to have someone else register it (like your web host). Resist the temptation. Articles can and have been written about the nightmares people have gone through getting back their own domain names from their web hosts, or trying to transfer a domain name under those circumstances. By the same token, you should read any contract you have with your web site designer carefully; make sure the domain name will be registered in your name. The registered owner is the one that receives notice of renewals, and all major changes to the account must be approved by the owner. If you’re not the registered owner, you may never hear about these matters, and they’re important to your livelihood.

What if you’re a blogger? There are many sites now that make it easy to set up a blog, but they don’t give you ownership of your own domain name. Do you really need to own your own name? Well, that depends in part on what you plan to do with your blog and whether you mind being stuck with whatever platform/interface the blogging site offers. Many blog sites do not provide their users with an easy way to move their blogs from one site to another; they don’t exactly have an incentive to do that, after all. If you host your blog on your own domain, you’re not locked in; you have far greater freedom and control as to what you can do with it.

When it comes right down to it, those are perhaps the biggest reasons for owning your own domain name: freedom and control. You don’t have someone else telling you what you can and can’t do with your site (or at least not to the extent that they would be if you didn’t have your own domain), and you can control what goes on it. You aren’t at the mercy of any one particular web host or email company or Internet service provider. Why start your business with those kinds of handicaps anyway when you can be the master of your own domain?

Why You Should Own Your Own Domain - Getting Spotted by the Search Engines

If you’re planning to optimize your web site so that it shows up in a good position on the search engine results pages (SERPs), you definitely want to have your own domain name. If you’re planning to use SEO on your web site, then you know about key words and how they relate to the way that the search engines index your site. Well, the key words in your domain name matter, too.

Let’s go back a moment to compare potential URLs. Earlier I said that if you set up a web site with a free web hosting company and didn’t have your own domain, your site’s URL would be something like http://www.freewebsite.com/yoursite. If you own your own domain, your site’s URL would be more like http://www.yoursite.com. Aside from looking more professional, it’s much easier to rank higher for the right key words for the second URL.

You see, with the first URL, your index.html page may be the home page of your site – but it isn’t the home page of that domain. And Google, Yahoo, and the other search engines will be looking at the whole domain; your site is just a sub-domain to them. Since search engines tend to pay more attention to home pages than to other parts of a web site, you can pretty much guess where that leaves you.

If you own your own domain name, however, at least you have a fighting chance. It’s hard enough already to work your way to a high rank on the SERPs, especially for some of the more competitive and sought-after key words. Why make your job harder by setting yourself up to struggle against the SEO handicap of being a sub-domain on a free web host’s site?

Another SEO issue worth mentioning is permanent 301 redirects. Let’s say you decide to change the branding on your web site, and move it to a different URL. If you own both URLs, it’s much easier to tell the search engines that your web site has permanently moved to this new address.

Why You Should Own Your Own Domain - The Joys of Email

If you’ve surfed the web for at least a year or two (or maybe even less), you know that it’s constantly in flux. A business that is online today may be bankrupt tomorrow and close its web site the following week. Even large companies can fall victim to this, and that includes companies that give you access to the Internet itself.

Let me put aside web hosting companies for the moment; I’m not talking about them, I’m talking about the companies that handle your Internet connection from your home and/or business -- the Comcasts and EarthLinks and other Internet service providers of the world. Usually, when you have an Internet connection, you also have an email account with the company providing the connection, like yourname@comcast.com. That’s fine – but what happens if and when you change ISPs? Whether it’s because the ISP goes out of business, or you move into an area to which the company doesn’t provide service, or if you’re simply unhappy with them, your email address changes, and you have to tell all of your contacts (or risk losing messages).

The same thing can happen if you have a free web-based email account with Google or Yahoo or Microsoft or even Lycos. To give a personal example, I started using a Lycos email account several years ago because at the time they offered the largest mailbox: 5 MB. When Google came out with its Gmail, I wanted to switch, but by then I’d been with Lycos so long that it would have been a pain. Lycos has since expanded its mailbox, but it took months to do so, and I’ve had some issues with it that it didn’t have before the expansion.

If you have your own domain name, you can set up an email address with it – say yourname@yourawesomesite.com. And you can set it up in such a way that it forwards the messages you receive to whatever email address you’re currently using, whether it’s with Gmail or Hotmail or Comcast or some small local ISP that gives you an incredible deal because your brother-in-law owns the company. Then the only email address you hand out is the one associated with your domain name. If you change the address at which you’re receiving email, all you have to do is change the redirect that you have set up.

If you have a web site and an online business, another nice thing about having your own domain name is that you can set up lots more email addresses than most free web hosts would permit you to have. When web surfers see that they can contact sales@youronlinestore.com, support@youronlinestore.com, feedback@youronlinestore.com, and others, they figure that they’re dealing with an established company. From your point of view, this helps you organize and filter your email.

Why You Should Own Your Own Domain

It can be very tempting to go with a free web hosting service that takes care of all the details, without your having to own your own domain name. That’s a route that many individuals, bloggers, and even small businesses take. It can be a false economy, however, especially if you’re trying to build a brand.

Let’s start from the assumption that you either have or are planning to launch a small business. It almost doesn’t matter what kind of business. You see the Internet as a way for you to reach customers, and you want to project an air of professionalism. Even if you’re aiming for a “down-home” friendly feeling to your business, you want your potential customers to trust that you’ll handle their orders promptly and properly, fix any problems, and – above all – that you’re not going to pack up and vanish overnight. If you’re using a free web host, your site will probably have a domain name like http://www.freewebhost.com/youronlinestore. How professional is that?

Let me answer that in two words: not very. Your customers would much rather shop at a place like http://www.youronlinestore.com/, which gives a greater sense of permanence. It gives you a brand you can build on. With the other URL, people can tell at a glance that you’re using a free web host, and what kind of message does that convey? It says that you’re not willing to invest money in your own business (and with how little it costs to register a domain name, there really is no excuse for that). Would you buy from someone like that? If not, why would you expect prospective customers to buy from you?

Also, if you’re using a free web host, as you would have to if you don’t have your own domain name, you can expect that host to place ads for its service on your site. It doesn’t matter what kind of site you have. To make matters worse, the free web host might even place AdSense or other search-related ads on your site. Think about this: because you don’t own your own domain name, your free web host could even place ads for your competitors on your site – and make money from them! If that doesn’t seem likely, remember that AdSense and similar services display ads that are related to the content on the web page, so it’s entirely possible that ads promoting your rivals could show up on your site.

Do We Need a Blogger Code of Conduct? - Legal Issues

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has an excellent resource page that serves as a legal guide for bloggers. One important part of the guide talks about Section 230 of Title 47 of the United States Code. Passed as part of the Communications Decency Act of 1996, it states that "No provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Loosely interpreted, this means that a blogger will not be held liable for comments made by others in his or her blog.

Are you still covered if you edit and/or moderate the comments that appear in your blog? According to the EFF, "Courts have held that Section 230 prevents you from being held liable even if you exercise the usual prerogative of publishers to edit the material you publish. You may also delete entire posts." Some posters to O'Reilly's blogs on the subject of a blogger's code of conduct have been concerned that the idea of taking responsibility for your own words and the comments you allow on your blog implies taking on a LEGAL responsibility, thus losing the valuable immunity provided by Section 230.

To me, that doesn't seem to be the case. Tim O'Reilly is proposing an entirely voluntary code of conduct. And he certainly never intended such a code to remove the protection of Section 230. Nevertheless, he does realize that "the legal implications do need some attention," as he explained in a lengthy blog entry in which he discusses the feedback he's received. He mentioned receiving an email from a lawyer of his acquaintance who mentioned that the code raises certain issues with the protections under U.S. law of "ISPs, bloggers, and others who provide forums for user-generated content." These issues included:

• How to avoid losing or weakening legal protections against liability for infringement and possibly defamation when these protections are partly based on the assumption that posted content is not being monitored.
  
• Coordinating the code with existing legal tools that benefit those who provide forums for user-generated content.
  
• Avoiding situations that force bloggers and others into making legal judgments in public when they aren't really prepared to make such judgments.

There are other questions and issues concerning the blogger's code, but the legal ramifications may be the most important. As a web host, you may find it desirable to point customers with blogs to the EFF's Legal Guide for Bloggers page linked above, to help them make decisions.

Do We Need a Blogger Code of Conduct? - Why a Code?

When you think about all of these points, they seem to add up to common civility. But the combination of the ease with which one can create an anonymous identity online and the lack of accountability such an identity gives the user has led to some really abusive behavior. In such a climate, the vigorous debate that is treasured in many online communities can degenerate into "a race to the bottom," according to O'Reilly.

The code's policies are designed to discourage this kind of behavior by striking at some of the causes. This is why it proposes that adherents consider eliminating anonymous comments. It also suggests ignoring the trolls to avoid bringing about that race to the bottom in the first place. To paraphrase a common saying online, "Don't wrestle with a pig. You'll both get dirty, but the pig likes it."

The code also recognizes that even the best of us may be tempted to behave churlishly. That is why it encourages adherents to take responsibility for their own words and to never say something to someone online that you wouldn't say to their face. It's also why the code includes an encouragement to take the conversation offline and either talk directly or through an intermediary; when you are dealing directly with someone in a private venue, and working to iron out your differences, you are less likely to try to "grandstand" and play to an (online) audience.

Basically, O'Reilly wants to enlist the blogging community to enforce a different, more civil standard of discourse online -- or at the very least, to let readers of (and posters to) particular blogs know what to expect. It's purely voluntary, of course, but community standards do have a certain strength behind them when lots of people agree on them. And he believes it is necessary because without it, the best parts of the Internet experience -- the stimulating discussions, the vigorous exchange of views, the interesting perspectives on various topics -- might become lost.

Kathy Sierra wrote a widely-read blog on coding which apparently helped many people write better programs. As a result of the cyberbullying she experienced, she not only cancelled an appearance at a tech conference, but considered ending her blog for good. She would not be the first online voice silenced, nor the last, but that doesn't make it any less of a tragedy.

Do We Need a Blogger Code of Conduct? - The Proposed Code

The proposed Blogger's Code of Conduct, and the events that led up to the proposal, date from March and April of this year. Tim O'Reilly and Jimmy Wales have created a wiki to build and revise the code. O'Reilly talks about the "lessons learned so far" in this blog entry.

One of the lessons O'Reilly learned was that the original code wasn't "modular" enough. There are some bloggers who would be willing to adopt some parts of the code but not all of them. For example, many would agree with O'Reilly's advocacy of taking responsibility for your words -- but not with disallowing anonymous posts. Indeed, there are certain situations in which permitting anonymous posts can be a good idea, though the ability to post anonymously can also lead to the rude behavior that is all too common in some parts of the web.

Here are the original seven points of Tim O'Reilly's proposed Blogger Code of Conduct.

1. Take responsibility not just for your own words, but for the comments you allow on your blog.
   
2. Label your tolerance level for abusive comments.
   
3. Consider eliminating anonymous comments.
   
4. Ignore the trolls.
   
5. Take the conversation offline, and talk directly, or find an intermediary who can do so.
   
6. If you know someone who is behaving badly, tell them so.
   
7. Don't say anything online that you wouldn't say in person.

The modularized version of the Blogger's Code actually lists ten modules. While many are the same as those listed here, it also includes "Do no harm," "Encourage enforcement of terms of service," "Keep our sources private" and others. Some of the modules are restatements of the ideas listed above, and may cover more than one idea.

There is also an alternate version of the Blogger's Code of Conduct on the wiki site (http://blogging.wikia.com/wiki/Alternate_Code_of_Conduct), which is based on the Gentoo Linux code of conduct. Another proposal suggests a "scale of conduct" rather than a blogger's code, with a draft scale that looks like this:

1. No Holds Barred -- anything goes at the risk of legal intervention.
   
2. Raw Meat -- no explicit death threats, but ad hominae permitted.
   
3. Robust -- no ad hominae, but mild abuse permitted.
   
4. Civil -- no abuse, but vigorous debate permitted.
   
5. Text Book -- only proven facts, with scholarly opinion permitted.

Debate about the code and its elements is likely to be ongoing. In the next sections I'll discuss the code itself in greater detail and look at some of the issues it potentially raises.

Do We Need a Blogger Code of Conduct?

Several months ago, in response in part to a moderately well-known blogger (Kathy Sierra) stating publicly that she was targeted by cyberbullies, Tim O'Reilly proposed a "Blogger's Code of Conduct." A number of others in the blogosphere have commented on it, many of them constructively. But do we really need one? And if so, what should it look like?

As a web host, many of those who host their sites with you will have blogs or forums or other communities which are either fully open, firmly moderated, or somewhere in between. It behooves you to know the issues and concerns faced by those who run such communities. Your expertise and understanding becomes a great resource -- and a reason for your customers to stay with you.

But back to the question at hand. Many have thought of the Internet as being rather like the Wild West -- a free-for-all where anything goes. That may have been true back when it was founded, or even as late as 1995 when the World Wide Web came into being, but it's not so true today. One needs only to take a look at the various lawsuits concerning copyright violations, trademark infringement, and other issues to see that the lawman has come to the Internet.

Even though it is a global phenomenon, the Internet's roots are solidly in the U.S. Historically, one of our most valued freedoms is freedom of speech. Everyone has the right to speak his or her mind, or so the thinking goes. Attached to that right is a responsibility, which is expressed succinctly in the idea that "you own your own words." This is the core belief behind the Well, one of the oldest online communities. If each person owns his or her own words, it becomes an act of censorship to delete them -- to refuse to post a comment, even if it is rude and/or abusive.

Tim O'Reilly would like to change that idea. More precisely, his proposed Blogger's Code of Conduct seeks to expand it. To his way of thinking, you are responsible not only for your own words, but for the tone of your blog, since you control the comments. As the owner of your blog, it is both your right and your responsibility to make sure the discourse is at whatever level of civility you wish it to be -- and perhaps to even warn newcomers so they know what to expect on your site.

So You Want to be a Webmaster - More Technical Skills

Logically connected to learning how to choose and set up a shopping cart, a webmaster needs to know what to look for in a merchant account and payment gateway. You can probably start with PayPal; you might even be able to use it for a while, given some of their new options (here is where research skills and getting a good feeling for what the business needs come in handy).

Another area of expertise a good webmaster should have some knowledge of is search engine optimization. This is the art of making a website appear early in the search engine results pages for particular keywords. Some of the things involved in SEO include finding the right keywords and knowing how and where to use them; getting inbound links for your site; and importantly, avoiding the techniques that could get sites banned from search engines. Related to this field, it helps to know how to write online copy that will both grab web surfers and get properly indexed by search engine spiders. You can check out seochat.com for more information about these and other SEO-related topics.

Even if you already have a brick-and-mortar business, the web is a new medium. As a webmaster, if you want to get the word out about your site, you need to know web-specific advertising and marketing techniques. Again, seochat.com has some information that will help get you started, with articles and an active set of forums.

Of course, once you have the business and the website set up, you can’t just sit still. Your competition surely won’t. While most people think webmasters are sitting on the sofa watching the money roll in, they’re really analyzing website statistics to learn more about their visitors and how to better serve them; keeping up with web development and SEO techniques; generally trying to stay ahead of the competition; and of course, responding to customer queries and actually selling some of those products and/or services promoted on the website.

Yes, being a webmaster has its rewards. But don’t let anyone fool you into thinking it isn’t a full time job. You will work hard for every dollar you earn…but you just might like it a lot more than whatever you’re doing now.

DISCLAIMER: The content provided in this article is not warranted or guaranteed by Developer webmaster-service.blogger.com. The content provided is intended for entertainment and/or educational purposes in order to introduce to the reader key ideas, concepts, and/or product reviews. As such it is incumbent upon the reader to employ real-world tactics for security and implementation of best practices. We are not liable for any negative consequences that may result from implementing any information covered in our articles or tutorials. If this is a hardware review, it is not recommended to open and/or modify your hardware.

So You Want to be a Webmaster - Technical Skills

No, you don’t have to be able to construct a server blindfolded from scratch out of spare parts found in the trash bins after a computer fair (though that probably helps). But there are certain skills you need to have, and you often can’t just take a course or three on the subject. Most webmasters, including the best ones, are at least partly self-taught. They know how to learn things “on their own” when they need to. They’re prepared to ask questions, and to get their answers from a book, a person, an article (in print or online), an online forum, or wherever they can find them. Most of all, they’re willing to admit that they don’t know everything, and always ready to learn more.

So what should you know just to get started as a webmaster? Well, let’s start with the obvious. You should know how to choose, register, and protect a domain name. You can find some articles on this website that will give you some of the basics for these skills – at least enough to start you on your way.

For your next obvious step, you need to know what to look for when choosing a web host for specific needs. Not everyone is going to be happy with the same web hosting package. If you’re a web host yourself, you also need to have a good idea of what adjustments you might have to make to suit different kinds of customers.

A webmaster should have a good grasp of web design standards and principles. If you’re building a starter website, a website builder or template might be adequate, such as Dreamweaver. But you will want to improve on this; many programmers aren’t happy with the kind of code these programs generate automatically. So you will want to learn HTML, CSS, and perhaps some programming languages. You can check out the articles on Devarticles.com for a start.

You will need to know how to choose and set up a shopping cart, or else you will not be able to receive money. These vary significantly as to ease of setup. Not surprisingly, you will need to do some research. If you’re a web host, this has the added benefit that you might be able to offer this as a service to your customers – and even if you decide not to charge for it, your customers will appreciate anything you can do to make their lives easier.

So You Want to be a Webmaster - General Business Skils

Think you’re just running a website that brings in money? Try again. You’re running a business. That website is only part of your business. It might be the most visible part, but it’s still only part of it. If you want that website to do its job, you need to make sure you can do your job by supplying the supporting services a business needs to keep going.

Let’s do a mental exercise to take our perspective back a step; some things are easier to see with a little distance. Suppose a friend came to you and started asking questions about how to make money online. He wants you to show him how you did it. What would you tell him?

If you’re smart, you’ll realize that you and he are two different people, and what worked for you might not work for him. So you can fall back on asking him questions, just to see how much thought he has put into it so far. What products or services does he plan to offer? Has he considered his own strengths and weaknesses, and how will he accommodate them in his plan? Has he researched the market to see if there is any demand for his idea? Just how much research has he done? Does he even have an idea yet? If he has an idea, does he know what niche he wants to serve?

Once you’ve asked these questions, you might start asking the nuts and bolts kinds of questions. Has he written up a business plan? Does he know the costs of the products and/or services he wants to provide – and if the cost isn’t straightforward (as it wouldn’t be for many services and some handmade goods), how has he calculated it? How about getting a business license, insurance, and other business-related expenses? How does he plan to handle the finances for the business? Or is his situation somewhat simpler in that he has a brick-and-mortar business, and wants to use the website to expand?

Remember, this was just a mental exercise. If you want to be a webmaster and run a website, or a web host handling a number of websites, you need to be able to answer these questions for yourself. That means learning about the market (including how to do market research), knowing your own strengths and weaknesses, being prepared to write a business plan, and so on. Fortunately, there are many books on the market that can help you acquire these skills.

So You Want to be a Webmaster

If you think the job of a webmaster involves just throwing together a website and waiting for the money to roll in, think again. If you would like to learn what it takes to handle business or hosting websites, keep reading.

Being a webmaster and being a professional writer have a lot in common, at least when it comes to the difference between perception and reality. Most people think of writing as something that is easy to do. Imagine: no long hours, just sit in front of the computer and get typing when the muse of inspiration strikes you. Somehow, they never think about the time spent revising, perfecting your craft, researching the market, and doing all the other things a professional writer needs to do to run a business. Those of us who write professionally know that the job isn’t nearly as easy as it looks, even when you do it as someone else’s employee rather than being self-employed.

As with being a professional writer, many people seem to think that being a webmaster is easy. All you have to do is set up your website and wait for the orders – and money – to start rolling in. If you’re a web host, it’s just a matter of minor handholding while you get your customers’ sites set up, then collecting those monthly fees. Somehow, they never think about customer service, or purchasing equipment, or handling various disasters (which can range from temporary downtime to real natural disasters such as hurricanes), or all of the other things a web host and a webmaster needs to know to keep the business running.

If you’re already a web host, you may have started out as a webmaster. If you’re thinking about becoming a web host, you should develop your skills as a webmaster. If you don’t want to do that, you will probably need to hire a webmaster – after all, a good web host needs a good website. It’s often your first contact with customers, and they’ll rate your quality as a web host from the quality of your website. Whether you want to hire a webmaster or become one yourself, you need to know what skills are necessary for doing a good job. In this article, I’ll give a general outline, along with a few tips to start you on acquiring these skills.

Proxy Types and functions

Proxy servers implement one or more of the following functions:

Caching proxy server

A proxy server can service requests without contacting the specified server, by retrieving content saved from a previous request, made by the same client or even other clients. This is called caching. Caching proxies keep local copies of frequently requested resources, allowing large organizations and Internet Service Providers to significantly reduce their upstream bandwidth usage and cost, while significantly increasing performance. There are well-defined rules for caching. Some poorly-implemented caching proxies have had downsides (e.g., an inability to use user authentication). Some problems are described in RFC 3143 (Known HTTP Proxy/Caching Problems).

Web proxy

Proxies that focus on WWW traffic are called web proxies. Many web proxies attempt to block offensive web content. Another purpose is to serve as a web-cache. Some web proxies reformat web pages for a specific purpose or audience (e.g., cell phones and PDAs)

Access control: Some proxy servers implement a logon requirement. In large organizations, authorized users must log on to gain access to the web. The organization can thereby track usage to individuals.

Anonymizing proxy server

A proxy server that removes identifying information from the client's requests for the purpose of anonimity is called an anonymizing proxy server or anonimizer.

Hostile proxy

Proxies can also be installed by online criminals, in order to eavesdrop upon the dataflow between the client machine and the web. All accessed pages, as well as all forms submitted, can be captured and analyzed by the proxy operator. For this reason, passwords to online services (such as webmail and banking) should be changed if an unauthorized proxy is detected.

Intercepting proxy server

An intercepting proxy (often incorrectly called "transparent proxy") combines a proxy server with a Gateway. Connections made by client browsers through the gateway are redirected through the proxy without client-side configuration (or often knowledge).

Intercepting proxies are commonly used in businesses to prevent avoidance of acceptable use policy, and to ease administrative burden, since no client browser configuration is required.

It is often possible to detect the use of an intercepting proxy server by comparing the external IP address to the address seen by an external web server, or by examining the HTTP headers on the server side.

Transparent and non-transparent proxy server

The term "transparent proxy" is most often used incorrectly to mean "intercepting proxy" (because the client does not need to configure a proxy and cannot directly detect that its requests are being proxied).

However, RFC 2616 (Hypertext Transfer Protocol -- HTTP/1.1) offers different definitions:

"A 'transparent proxy' is a proxy that does not modify the request or response beyond what is required for proxy authentication and identification.

"A 'non-transparent proxy' is a proxy that modifies the request or response in order to provide some added service to the user agent, such as group annotation services, media type transformation, protocol reduction, or anonymity filtering."

Forced proxy

The term "forced proxy" is ambiguous. It means both "intercepting proxy" (because it filters all traffic on the only available gateway to the Internet) and its exact opposite, "non-intercepting proxy" (because the user is forced to configure a proxy in order to access the Internet).

Forced proxy operation is sometimes necessary due to issues with the interception of TCP connections and HTTP. For instance interception of HTTP requests can affect the usability of a proxy cache, and can greatly affect certain authentication mechanisms. This is primarily because the client thinks it is talking to a server, and so request headers required by a proxy are unable to be distinguished from headers that may be required by an upstream server (esp authorization headers). Also the HTTP specification prohibits caching of responses where the request contained an authorization header.

Proxy server

In computer networks, a proxy server is a server (a computer system or an application program) which services the requests of its clients forwarding requests to other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource, available from a different server. The proxy server provides the resource by connecting to the specified server and requesting the service on behalf of the client. A proxy server may optionally alter the client's request or the server's response, and sometimes it may serve the request without contacting the specified server. In this case, it would 'cache' the first request to the remote server, so it could save the information for later, and make everything as fast as possible.

A proxy server that passes all requests and replies unmodified is usually called a gateaway or sometimes tunneling proxy.

A proxy server can be placed in the user's local computer or at specific key points between the user and the destination servers or the Internet.

Dedicated Servers

A dedicated server is a single computer a reserved for serving the needs of the network. For example, some networks require that one computer be set aside to manage communications between all the other computers. A dedicated server could also be a computer that manages printer resources. Note, however, that not all servers are dedicated. In some networks, it is possible for a computer to act as a server and perform other functions as well.

In the Web hosting business, a dedicated server is typically a rented service. The user rents the server, software an Internet connection from the Web host.

Internet

The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," is a worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks in which users at any one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes talk directly to users at other computers). It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) of the U.S. government in 1969 and was first known as the ARPANET. The original aim was to create a network that would allow users of a research computer at one university to be able to "talk to" research computers at other universities. A side benefit of ARPANet's design was that, because messages could be routed or rerouted in more than one direction, the network could continue to function even if parts of it were destroyed in the event of a military attack or other disaster.

Today, the Internet is a public, cooperative, and self-sustaining facility accessible to hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Physically, the Internet uses a portion of the total resources of the currently existing public telecommunication networks. Technically, what distinguishes the Internet is its use of a set of protocols called TCP/IP (for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol). Two recent adaptations of Internet technology, the internet the externet, also make use of the TCP/IP protocol.

For many Internet users, electronic mail (e-mail) has practically replaced the Postal Service for short written transactions. Electronic mail is the most widely used application on the Net. You can also carry on live "conversations" with other computer users, using Internet Relay Chat (IRC). More recently, Internet telephony hardware and software allows real-time voice conversations.

The most widely used part of the Internet is the World Wide Web (often abbreviated "WWW" or called "the Web"). Its outstanding feature is hypertext, a method of instant cross-referencing. In most Web sites, certain words or phrases appear in text of a different color than the rest; often this text is also underlined. When you select one of these words or phrases, you will be transferred to the site or page that is relevant to this word or phrase. Sometimes there are buttons, images, or portions of images that are "clickable." If you move the pointer over a spot on a Web site and the pointer changes into a hand, this indicates that you can click and be transferred to another site.

Using the Web, you have access to millions of pages of information. Web browsing is done with a Web browser, the most popular of which are Microsoft Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator. The appearance of a particular Web site may vary slightly depending on the browser you use. Also, later versions of a particular browser are able to render more "bells and whistles" such as animation, virtual reality, sound, and music files, than earlier versions.

What is Script?

1) In computer programming, a script is a program or sequence of instructions that is interpreted or carried out by another program rather than by the computer processor (as a complide program is).

Some languages have been conceived expressly as script languages. Among the most popular are Perl, Rexx(on IBM mainframes), JavaScript, and Tcl/TK. In the context of the World Wide Web, Perl, VBScript, and similar script languages are often written to handle forms input or other services for a Web site and are processed on the Web server. A JavaScript script in a Web page runs "client-side" on the Web browser.

In general, script languages are easier and faster to code in than the more structured and compiled languages such as C and C++. However, a script takes longer to run than a compiled program since each instruction is being handled by another program first (requiring additional instructions) rather than directly by the basic instruction processor.

2) A script is sometimes used to mean a list of operating system commands that are prestored in a file and performed sequentially by the operating system's command interpreter whenever the list name is entered as a single command.

3) Multimedia development programs use "script" to mean the sequence of instructions that you enter to indicate how a multimedia sequence of files will be presented (the sequence of images and sounds, their timing, and the possible results of user interaction).

Webmaster

An individual who manages a Web Site. Depending on the size of the site, the Webmaster might be responsible for any of the following:

Making sure that the Web Server and soft is running properly

Designing the Web site

Creating and updating Web Pages

Replying to user feedback

Creating CGI Scripts

Monitoring traffic through the site

The exponential growth of the World Wide Web has created an unprecedented demand for Webmasters.

What is BandWith?

- 1) In electronic communication, bandwidth is the width of the range (or band) of frequencies that an electronic signal on a given transmission medium. In this usage, bandwidth is expressed in terms of the difference between the highest-frequency signal component and the lowest-frequency signal component. Since the frequency of a signal is measured in hertz (the number of cycles of change per second), a given bandwidth is the difference in hertz between the highest frequency the signal uses and the lowest frequency it uses. A typical voice signal has a bandwidth of approximately three kilohertz (3 kHz); an analog television (TV) broadcast video signal has a bandwidth of six megahertz (6 MHz) -- some 2,000 times as wide as the voice signal.

2) In computer networks, bandwidth is often used as a synonym for data transfer rate - the amount of data that can be carried from one point to another in a given time period (usually a second). This kind of bandwidth is usually expressed in bits (of data) per second (bps). Occasionally, it's expressed as bytes per second (Bps). A modem that works at 57,600 bps hastwice the bandwidth of a modem that works at 28,800 bps. In general, a link with a high bandwidth is one that may be able to carry enough information to sustain the succession of images in a video presentation.

It should be remembered that a real communications path usually consists of a succession of links, each with its own bandwidth. If one of these is much slower than the rest, it is said to be a bandwidth bottleneck.

What is Co-location and Why Would You Choose it for Web Hosting

Learn Why We Chose Colocation for Our Web Sites

Introduction

While many large corporations have the Internet infrastructure to host their own web servers and have a team of IT professionals to manage and design the site, individuals and small companies do not. There is a wide range of options available from simple hosting up to running your own web servers off of a dedicated Internet connection. One such option is collocation. In the first part of this series, we will examine why one would chose colocation over the other options.

What is Colocation?

Colocation allows you to place your server machine in someone else's rack and share their bandwidth as your own. It generally costs more than standard Web hosting, but less than a comparable amount of bandwidth into your place of business. Once you have a machine set up, you take it physically to the location of the colocation provider and install it in their rack or you rent a server machine from the colocation provider. That company then provides an IP, bandwidth, and power to your server. Once it's up and running, you access it much like you would access a Web site on a hosting provider. The difference being that you own the hardware.

Advantages of Colocation

1. The biggest advantage of colocation is the cost for bandwidth. For example, a low cost limited bandwidth business grade DSL line generally costs around $150 to $200, but for the same price or less a single server can be placed in a collocation facility that provides higher bandwidth speeds and better redundancy for the network connections. These savings can be even greater if the only dedicated network access is a more expensive full or fractional T1 lines.
2. Colocation facilities have better outage protection. During a long ice-storm last year, my office was without power for three days. While we have a backup generator, it wasn't powerful enough to keep the server running that entire time, so our Web sites were down during that outage. At a colocation provider, we are paying for power generators and backup power to protect against that type of situation.
3. We own the server machinery. If we decide that the machine is too slow or doesn't have enough memory, we can simply upgrade the server. We don't have to wait for our provider to get around to upgrading it.
4. We own the server software. I don't have to rely on my hosting provider to install the software or tools I want to use. I simply do it myself. If I decide to use ASP or ColdFusion or ASP, I just purchase and install the software.
5. If we move, we can leave the server up and running the entire time. When we host our own domains we have to either pay for two lines for some time, to move the domains to the new location or deal with outages while the servers are moved to the new location.
6. Colocation providers provide additional security for your machines. Your server is stored and maintained in a secured environment.
7. Most colocation servers offer a service where they will manage and maintain your server for you for an extra cost. This is especially useful if you don't have IT team members or your office is located far from the provider.

Disadvantages of Colocation

1. Colocation providers can be hard to find. You want to find one near where your office or home is located, so that you can upgrade and maintain your server when you need to. But unless you live near a large city with major network hubs, chances are you won't find many colocation options.
2. Colocation can be more expensive than basic Web hosting. This is especially true as you have to maintain and manage your servers yourself, so when the server needs to be upgraded, you need to purchase that hardware and install it.
3. Physical access to your server can be difficult, because you have to travel to their location during your colocation provider's service hours.
4. If you move out of the area where your colocation provider is, you have to either move your servers to a new provider or leave them there and pay for a maintenance contract.
5. Another drawback to collocation can be fluctuating prices. Since one of the factors in the monthly rate of collocating a server is the amount of data transferred via the server in the monthly period, an unusually large amount of traffic in a monthly period can cause the bill for the service to jump dramatically.

Is Colocation the Way to Go?

This is a question that is difficult to answer. For individuals who run small sites for personal use or blogs probably do not need the level of service provided by collocation and are better off with Web hosting. If however, the server is needed to be more robust than what is provided by standard Web hosting, collocation is often times the best next option. It is also a very good option for small businesses that want to have a fairly large Web presence but don't want to have to deal with a large amount items such as network connections.

What is VPS ( Virtual Privet Server )

Virtual private server ( VPS )

A virtual private server (VPS, also referred to as Virtual Dedicated Server or VDS) is a method of partitioning a physical server computer into multiple servers that each has the appearance and capabilities of running on its own dedicated machine. Each virtual server can run its own full-fledged operating system, and each server can be independently rebooted.

The practice of partitioning a single server so that it appears as multiple servers has long been common practice in manframe computers, but has seen a resurgence lately with the development of virtualization software and technologies for other architectures.

Adsense Top Paying Keywords

Here is a list of free top paying keywords for google adsense. Rates given here is the average for top three postion, updated 19th November, 2006. The high paying keywords provided here is just for keyword research and analysis purpose. We are not affiliated with google or google adsense in anyway.

Please note that the rates given are what publishers pay google for top spots on google search results page. Rates for partner sites will be much lesser. Also google takes a good cut before passing it to the publisher. However the rates are true indicators for the earning potential for any niche.

I hope the information will be useful for webmasters doing keyword research for adsense and adwords. I have tried to include all possible high paying niches. This data can be used to create a MFA spam site :) or as basic info for something useful! Enjoy the list of highest paying keywords!

TOP PAYING KEYWORDS - LEGAL
austin dwi	$66.89
austin dwi attorney	$58.30
san diego dui attorney	$54.56
houston criminal attorney	$47.44
san diego dui	$42.83
dwi texas	$40.89
dui attorneys	$40.19
dwi attorney	$39.90
dui attorney	$39.11
dui attorney	$39.11
dui attorney	$39.11
dui lawyer	$38.49
lawyer dui	$38.49
dui lawyers	$37.57
federal criminal attorney	$35.80
car accident lawyer	$35.67
dwi attorneys	$35.32
criminal lawyers	$34.19
new york criminal attorney	$33.95
auto accident attorney	$33.19
auto accident lawyer	$33.13
dwi lawyer	$32.31
dwi lawyer	$32.31
texas dwi law	$31.02
car accident attorney	$30.16
car accident attorney	$30.16
california tax attorney	$29.56
dwi in minnesota	$29.37
motorcycle accident attorney	$28.93
washington dui	$28.38
lemon law attorney	$28.25
lemon law	$27.95
help attorney	$27.92
injury lawyers	$27.88
dallas dwi	$27.68
wrongful death attorney	$27.25
mesothelioma attorney	$27.20
personal injury lawyer	$26.72
san diego personal injury attorney	$26.58
accident lawyer	$26.55
personal injury attorney	$26.32
personal injury attorney	$26.32
tax attorney	$25.83
tax attorney	$25.83
alaska lawyer	$25.77
minnesota dwi laws	$25.75
federal lawyer	$25.72
dallas personal injury attorney	$25.58
lawyer injury	$25.16
death lawyer	$25.11
HIGHEST PAYING KEYWORDS -FINANCIAL NICHE
auto insurance quote	$57.18
college loan consolidation	$53.52
car insurance quote	$46.89
federal loan consolidation	$46.62
online car insurance	$41.92
term life insurance quote	$40.43
cheap car insurance	$39.79
student loan consolidation	$39.45
auto insurance quotes	$39.24
online insurance quotes	$37.63
student loan information	$37.32
equity loan rates	$36.53
nj auto insurance	$36.31
student loan consolidation center	$35.89
debt consildation	$35.83
chase credit cards	$35.02
student loan refinancing	$34.89
discount car insurance	$34.34
life insurance quote	$34.26
homeowners insurance quotes	$33.61
mortgage loans	$33.17
mortgage loans	$33.17
mortgage refinancing	$33.08
equity line of credit	$33.05
college loans	$32.91
best mortgage rates	$32.65
student loans	$32.54
loan refinancing	$32.44
us mortgage rates	$32.38
instant insurance quote	$32.37
term life insurance quotes	$32.11
consolidation loan	$32.03
loan refinance	$31.95
car insurances	$31.92
safe auto insurance	$31.82
insurance auto florida	$31.38
auto insurance	$31.38
equity line of credit	$30.71
gmac mortgages	$30.46
mortgages for self employed	$30.45
car insurance california	$30.17
in car insurance	$29.84
best mortgage	$29.53
refinancing mortgages	$29.43
line of credit	$29.27
prequalify loan	$28.98
loans com	$28.75
business credit report	$28.40
whole life insurance quotes	$28.17
new york auto insurance	$27.72
online mortgages	$27.71
student loan	$27.61
cheap house insurance	$27.45
low cost life insurance	$27.25
school loan consolidation	$26.99
citi credit	$26.80
manhattan mortgages	$26.70
school loans	$26.61
term insurance	$26.58
second mortgage	$26.56
credit report com	$26.48
auto ins	$26.21
consolidation	$25.90
line of credit	$25.57
landlords insurance	$25.46
low mortgage	$25.45
commercial vehicle insurance	$25.37
credit consolidation	$25.32
bad credit mortgages	$25.22
bad credit mortgages	$25.22
discount life insurance	$25.22
TOP PAYING HOSTING AND DOMAIN NAMES KEYWORDS
register a domain name	$34.51
domain registrations	$31.39
servers dedicated	$29.47
how to register a domain name	$26.84
domaine names	$26.00
register domain names	$25.83
search domain name	$24.75
domain register	$24.25
domain registration	$23.97
internet domain registration	$23.58
yahoo webhosting	$22.05
domain registering	$21.78
counter strike dedicated servers	$21.65
buy domain name	$21.23
registering domain names	$20.71
domain check	$20.21
buy a domain name	$20.12
domain search	$19.83
dedicated server	$19.73
managed dedicated servers	$19.56
domain name registrations	$19.55
eu domain registration	$19.52
domain searches	$19.28
domain names	$19.06
domain name registration	$19.01
dedicated linux hosting	$18.35
available domain name	$18.31
linux dedicated hosting	$18.20
dedicated web hosting	$18.04
hosting domain registration	$17.87
dedicated windows server hosting	$17.74
dedicated web hosting	$17.63
hosting dedicated	$17.58
dedicated hosting	$17.30
managed dedicated hosting	$17.30
domain name availability	$16.99
ca domain name	$16.64
web domain	$16.58
dedicated web server	$16.56
domain names canada	$16.53
dedicated server hosting	$16.14
dedicated hosting server	$16.03
cheap domain names	$16.00
register domains	$15.92
dedicated windows hosting	$15.90
mohaa dedicated server	$15.87
inexpensive domain	$15.70
domain name	$15.69
dedicated server web hosting	$15.44
Domain	$15.38
domain name registration search	$15.37
uk dedicated hosting server	$15.36
unix dedicated server	$15.17
cheap domain register	$15.03
dedicated sql server	$15.03

BEST PAYING KEYWORDS MEDICAL RELATED
medifast weight loss	$48.18
mesothelioma lawyers	$44.45
medifast diet	$36.28
mesothelioma attorneys	$32.29
mesothelioma lawyers	$32.26
accutane class action	$30.12
viagra for women	$27.71
michigan plastic surgery	$24.68
medifast	$24.44
mesothelioma lawyer	$24.28
mesothelioma	$24.03
female viagra	$23.33
cosmetic surgery michigan	$22.88
plastic surgery la jolla	$22.87
plastic surgery la jolla	$22.87
accutane lawsuit	$22.42
mesothelioma attorney	$22.39
mesothelioma treatments	$21.84
plastic surgery cincinnati	$21.12
pro active acne treatment	$21.06
accutane lawsuits	$20.80
plastic surgery staten island	$20.25
beverly hills plastic surgery	$20.14
beverly hills plastic surgery	$20.14
plastic surgery staten island	$20.05
cosmetic surgery los angeles	$19.79
medifast inc	$19.69
laser eye surgery seattle	$19.37
mesothelioma texas	$19.33
cancer research uk	$18.19
eye surgery los angeles	$18.11
malignant mesothelioma	$17.95
acne complex	$17.90
peritoneal mesothelioma	$17.71
pro active acne	$16.96
BEST PAYING REAL ESTATE KEYWORDS
eugene realestate	$27.69
realator school	$15.60
find a realator	$11.91
HIGHEST PAYING SOFTWARE KEYWORDS
software escrow	$31.24
billing software	$19.35
human resources software	$17.78
spy sweeper	$17.21
accounting software	$15.90
spyware detection	$15.46
small business software	$14.87
inventory management software	$14.38
pestpatrol	$14.24
optimization software	$14.19
webroot spy sweeper	$13.83
payroll software	$13.73
spam software	$13.49
webroot spy	$13.43
spy sweeper download	$13.38
software mirroring	$13.12
fundraising software	$12.81
software configuration management	$12.53
great plains software	$12.20
software distribution	$12.14
web survey software	$11.97
backup software	$11.75
risk management software	$11.63
antispam software	$11.53
software management	$11.32
video conferencing software	$11.19
market research software	$11.04
business software	$10.50
spyware removal	$10.49
spyware remover	$10.09
spyware blocker	$10.09
HIGH PAYING KEYWORDS - TELECOM NICHE
sprint cell phone accessories	$25.44
sprint cell phone	$19.99
nextel cell phone	$18.86
sprint phone	$12.81
matrix cell phone	$12.25
cell phone sync	$11.12
at&t cell phone service	$11.01
international cell phone rental	$10.49
rental cell phone	$10.12
sprint cell phone service	$10.07
singular wireless	$21.81
cingular wireless	$17.26
wireless crm	$15.13
cordless vacuum	$13.80
wireless credit card	$13.62
wireless credit card machine	$13.49
wireless credit card processing	$12.63
att wireless service	$12.39
wireless pos	$12.20
cingular wireless plans	$11.27
att wireless	$11.17
aircard	$10.92
verizon wireless com	$10.18
TOP KEYWORDS - AUTOMOBILE RELATED
auto insurance quote	$57.18
auto quote	$45.01
auto insurance quotes	$39.24
nj auto insurance	$36.31
auto quotes	$33.13
auto insurance ontario	$33.07
safe auto insurance	$31.82
insurance auto florida	$31.38
auto insurance	$31.38
auto accident attorney	$29.51
michigan auto accident	$29.04
san antonio auto	$27.92
new york auto insurance	$27.72
austin auto	$25.47
auto insurance ca	$23.03
mercury insurance auto	$21.03
auto nation	$20.77
auto refinance	$20.56
auto refinance loans	$20.16
las vegas auto	$18.23
philadelphia auto	$17.75
auto insurance canada	$17.74
auto owners insurance	$17.59
denver auto	$16.98
auto accident	$15.15
auto comparison	$15.04
auto loan rate	$14.44
auto	$13.40
auto glass	$12.19
auto loan	$11.68
auto loans online	$11.50
auto loans	$11.46
auto rental	$11.29
new jersey auto	$11.23
auto warranty	$10.93
BEST KEYWORDS - GAMBLING AND CASINO
wynn casino	$21.29
suncoast casino	$16.58
online casinos	$14.63
online gambling	$14.41
online casino	$12.80
wynn casino las vegas	$12.61
tropicana casino	$11.75
casino on line	$10.87
tropicana hotel and casino	$10.84
alienware	$16.45
offshore gambling	$15.09
gambling license	$14.99
online gambling	$14.41
gambling on line	$10.68
wynn casino	$21.29
hold everything	$20.56
online casino	$12.80
tropicana casino	$12.27
monte carlo resort and casino	$10.51
monte casino	$10.25
HIGHEST PAYING KEYWORDS -ELECTRONICS NICHE
laptop data recovery	$23.60
vaio notebook	$22.88
laptop pcs	$18.85
computer notebooks	$18.49
sony cyber shot dsc w7 digital camera	$17.61
laptop computers	$16.18
notebooks	$13.79
rugged laptop	$13.55
pc laptops	$13.43
laptops	$13.34
vaio laptop battery	$12.56
toshiba laptop computers	$12.07
macintosh laptop	$12.00
laptop notebook	$11.51
notebook pc	$11.48
laptop mounts	$11.32
notebook computers	$11.31
vehicle laptop	$10.32
dsc p10 digital camera	$10.05
HIGH PAYING DATING KEYWORDS
singles in las vegas	$20.95
las vegas singles	$19.21
albuquerque singles	$12.32
pensacola singles	$12.19
african american singles	$11.79
american christian singles	$10.60