What is Encryption Technology

 This is a world of net surfing, online shopping, and communicating (texting and calling) via internetwork. This has made everyone’s life easier. Who would have thought that one can buy literally everything sitting at home in just a few clicks! But for that, a person has to send his sensitive information like credit card information, username, login password, transaction password, etc. How can you trust a website that is not going to share that data or use it against you when you decide to buy something from there? The thing that makes such websites reliable is the latest encryption technology that it uses.

What is encryption?   

Data encryption is the method of encoding (i.e. changing a piece of data into some other form) a piece of crucial information so that only an authorized party may read it. This is done to avoid unauthorized access. The encryption method involves a set of algorithms that can only be decrypted using a certain key. Without that key, a highly-skilled professional having large computational resources and a well-designed encryption scheme can only crack the data which is time-consuming and nearly impossible.

There are 3 types of encryption technology – symmetric, asymmetric, and hashing.

1. Symmetric encryption: In this encryption technology, if data is encrypted and is given a key or a password while sending across the network, the same key will be used to decrypt it to unfold the file or a message. Storing this key and making it only available to the software that uses it is quite tricky. It is used in cloud backup services where the user is given the access key to decrypt the data.

Its major demerit is sending it over the internet where it could be accessed by third or unauthorized parties. Also, the software that needs the information must have the access key, else the whole encryption would be useless.

2. Asymmetric encryption: Unlike symmetric encryption technology that needs the same password for both encryption and decryption, asymmetric encryption technology needs different keys on both sides. The encrypters use, in this case, a public key to scramble the data, and a different private key is used by a separate user to gain access to it. This method is far better since the hassles of whole transmitting data into an unreliable network could be avoided.

A third party can gain access to the public key you are given while you communicate with the actual one. They can then easily gain access to the actual message, encrypt that and forward the same set of messages to other directions. This is why a secure certificate is required so that the browsers trust such kinds of websites as well as the customers and decide what is genuine and what is not.

3. Hashing: Some websites like Facebook use this technique in which the passwords are stored in some other form and it is not reversible. If I use ‘pa$$word’ the encrypted form will look like ‘3a1180vc’. Now the question arises how does it detect whether you enter the correct password or not. The method is simple. Every time you enter the password it will decode it using the same algorithm and match the code with the existing code. If you forget your password it will not be able to decrypt it so you have to re-enter that again using the link it sends across your email.

Encryption technology has many benefits. It gains customers’ reliance upon you while they decide to purchase anything. The more they buy anything, the more they get self-approval that a particular site is safe. And they visit again and likely recommend others. Using encryption technology one can trust saving their sensitive information over cloud networks. Cloud computing is on the rise in the past few years. One can upload files over there and write their pivotal information. Google Drive is a prime example of that. Sometimes the service provider gains access to our valuable information. Encryption key helps prevent that

Encrypting secures the data and one can have access to it in any part of the world and now is the time when one does not have to keep his laptop along everywhere he goes unless it is highly essential. Through encryption, one can be assured that their data is always kept safe, whether they purchase anything over the network or keep a file on the cloud. Remote access is indeed possible and reality these days.

SSL Certificates Explained

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) also known as a Digital Certificate is generally used to create a secure link between a website and the browser of a visitor. It prevents hackers from stealing confidential user information like credit card numbers, data transfers, logins, etc. SSL certificate plays a critical role in E-commerce website security which accepts customer credit cards online.

Technically, they are small data files that securely bind a cryptographic key to an entity’s details. SSL certificates bind a domain name, server name, or hostname and the identity of an organization (company name, location). It ensures a secure connection from a web server to a browser as it activated the padlock and HTTPS protocol when installing on a web server.

Once the connection is secured, the application protocol (HTTP) changes to HTTPS where “S” denotes the security.

How to buy an SSL Certificate?

Before you buy an SSL Certificate, decide on the type of certificate that your business demands. Depending upon the type of certificate required, the following information may be required.

• Dun & Bradstreet registration numbers
• Proof of physical address via database listings
• An opinion letter from legal counsel or public accountant
• Other corporate, financial, and government documents such as Articles of Incorporation, bank accounts, and business licenses
• Government-issued photo IDs

The Certification authority reviews and verifies all the documents and performs additional checks if required before issuing the SSL Certificate. Generally, the process takes 24 hours and may extend up to 3 days.

The SSL Certificate Price ranges from INR 500-INR 1500

Find the right certificate and the right offer for you to make the best use of SSL certificates for data encryption.

Types of SSL Certificates

There are two types of SSL certificates, Free SSL Certificate and Paid SSL Certificate. As the name implies, free SSL certificates are free of cost and fall into two categories, self-signed certificates, and CA-signed (Certificate Authority) certificates. The need for delivering free SSL certificates was to make access to HTTPS available for all websites. When comparing the encryption standards Free SSLs are equivalent to Paid ones.

Paid SSL Certificates are signed and issued by a reliable certificate authority (CA). Direct purchase from the certificate authority or from a third party called ‘Resellers’ is possible. Free SSL certificates do not have Organization Validation (OV) options and Extended Validation (EV) certificates, whereas the paid SSL certificates have provisions for OV & EV which are very much necessary for business website security. Paid SSL certificates have significant differences concerning the level of validation, validity period, support, level of trust, and warranty.

Concerning the performance and functionalities, mainly there are three types of certificates offering three levels of user trust. They are:

a) Domain Validated Certificates (DV)

A domain validation SSL certificate is available for all individuals, businesses, sole traders, and private customers. They are checked against the domain registry without any identification of organizational certificates. This is the cheapest type of SSL certificate and should never be used for any commercial purposes. It is recommended to use the Domain Validated SSL Certificates where security is not a concern, like protected internal systems.

b) Organization Validated (OV) Certificate

These are a more trusted group of certificates. An OV certificate can confirm the authenticity of your business. They are most suited for businesses, non-profits, and educational institutions. OV certificates can make your customer feel your site is safe and legitimate. They show a padlock in the visitors’ address bar and make them feel it is safe to submit passwords, contact information, or donations. It is also proven to improve search engine rankings.

c) Extended Validation (EV) Certificate

This is the most trustworthy SSL Certificate i.e., the highest form of SSL Certification in the market. It has a globally standardized verification pattern to ensure exclusive rights to use a domain, confirm its legal, operational and physical existence, and prove the entity has authorized the issuance of the certificate. This can ensure increased customer confidence.

Steps for choosing the Best SSL Certificate

The most complicated question to be answered next is choosing the best SSL certificate. Let us dive into some of the steps to choose the best one!

1. Is your Domain registered?

Ensure your domain is registered as the Certificate Authorities verify the domain ownership.

2. The level of trust required

Decide on the level of trust required as per the nature and performance of your business. Then carefully analyze the three main trust levels of SSL certificates. Keep on thinking about the level of trust you want to build with your customers before reaching a conclusion. Also, think about the requirement of brand presentation on the address bar or just on the certificate.

3. How many domains do you need to protect?

If only a single domain is to be protected, then a single domain or standard certificate has to be purchased with the trust level – DV, OV, or EV of your choice.

If the requirement is to secure multiple domains or multiple sub-domains a Wildcard or Multi-domain Certificate has to be purchased. A single certificate that can cover multiple fully qualified domain names (FQDNs) is preferred to purchasing multiple individual certificates.

Decide upon the above-mentioned factors and buy an SSL certificate which is no more an option in today’s cyber world.

 cPanel is the leader in web hosting management software. The majority of people ask for it when they are looking for a hosting provider for their websites. But the truth is that most of them actually do not know what is cPanel and why they need it. Some even assume that cPanel is a kind of web hosting service.

What is cPanel?

cPanel is a web-based control panel that is mostly utilized for handling your web hosting service accounts. It gives you the tools that you require to create, control, and maintain your websites using your preferred web browser.

The software enables you to set up email accounts, set up CDN’s, create FTP design domains, accounts and subdomains, and lots of other tasks that you need to successfully operate your websites.

Basically, cPanel is an advantageous tool using which you want to make sure that your web hosting practice is as ample as it can be. Because without it, operating a website will be challenging.

cPanel has now made website administration and development very light even to beginners in the field of website development and hosting. Other than being the web-based administrative control panel, cPanel aids in obtaining vital features of website statistics with the web stats, AWStats, bandwidth usage, FTP stats, and visitor’s data.

cPanel also benefits in building and supporting databases, uploading, downloading, creating, editing, deleting files, etc. The comfort at which the website can be handled through the cPanel is really incredible and has made the website management notably uncomplicated.

cPanel is used on Linux platforms that involve Mandriva, Fedora, Red, SUSE, CentOS, Hat Enterprise Linux, and FreeBSD.

Why Do We Need cPanel?

Now that you have a fundamental knowledge of what cPanel really is, the next doubt would likely be why we need it and why we can’t use other web-based control panels to run our sites.

The clarification is simple. We need cPanel simply because it is apparently the most reliable web-based control panel in the market. No other web hosting management software has the characteristics and functionalities that it gives.

To get a better comprehension of what we are discussing in this article, here are some reasons why cPanel is the best.

Simple to Control

cPanel utilizes a clear and easy interface to work on. All kinds of users, for example, from beginners up to experts, will surely be pleased with how easy website assignments are prepared using cPanel’s interface.

Moreover, creating databases, editing your website, managing Cron jobs, and allocating space for your pages can be done within a short time. Every task that you need can be achieved easily with merely some clicks.

Easy Installation

cPanel developers have confirmed that installing and uploading files, plugins, and other applications using their software can be made by every type of user. Technical background is not necessary to install cPanel. cPanel’s dashboard is user-friendly and walk-through data and built-in tutorials are promptly open to everyone.

Safe to Use

When you use cPanel, you are risk-free. The software is improved to ensure that users can’t do anything that can create meaningful loss to their websites or servers.

Advanced Specialties of cPanel

cPanel users can access it as a front-end tool to bring out multiple website operations. The other significant characteristics that can be efficiently managed by the cPanel are mailing lists management, the file manager, autoresponder, PGP keys, Crontab tasks, email management, spam filtering mail forwarding, and webmail. These are excellent characteristics to support any type of website.

cPanel also assists to build an account or site, management of additional domains, redirects, and other points to create and edit web pages and the website. The Cron job benefits trigger automate tasks at given time schedules.

The pre-installed CGI scripts for example forums, shopping carts, chats, and website development tools can directly be inducted through the cPanel. Email management has become very easy due to cPanel’s best email-associated features.

The most prominent hallmark is the addition of the ‘Fantastico’ web application, which can effortlessly install different content management systems (CMS) like Joomla and Mambo; it can also install the blogging platform, WordPress. There are other software and scripts that can be placed through the Fantastico option. cPanel has converted into a great website administration tool that even a beginner can effortlessly manage.

Utilizing these excellent features of the cPanel and Fantastico, the developers can now focus on creating quality content and web pages on their website without bothering about the in-depth technical features of the website's development, as most of these technical aspects are taken care of by cPanel, Fantastico, and other exceptional features.

Database Management

Managing the important features of database creation and support has become a relaxed task with cPanel. The very complex assignments of database management that were once managed only by the highly trained database administrators can now be taken care of by anyone. The refined graphical user interface executes it for everyone to learn all the steps that are needed for database management.

Statistical Features of cPanel

Statistical features of cPanel are essential to any web developer. These features, distinctly the AWStats, can instantly offer various web and traffic-associated statistics. These statistics are so perfect that a glimpse at them can expose how your website is functioning at any provided date.

The cPanel also unveils how much bandwidth has been utilized by your website, and how many web visitors hit your website from which nations, time of the day, traffic that was either high or low, and which web pages were visited often. It also recognizes when the various search engine crawlers visited your website.

Such remarkably robust statistical features are immediately accessible to you, and you can thus fine-tune your website to make it more strong in the future by utilizing this data.

Some Extra Add-ons

Several other valuable add-ons can be utilized within the cPanel, notably Joomla, SMF, Drupal, phpBB, etc., and many other great web applications to handle every perspective of website development and support. cPanel also manages the upgrades to Fantastico, Apache, MySQL, PHP, and more automatically. This holds all the applications up-to-date and fit for quick installation and usage as and when they are needed.

cPanel and the Webhost Manager

WebHost Manager (WHM) is a web application that is utilized by administrators and resellers to maintain web hosting accounts on a web server. WHM can be obtained by the administrators and users with reseller special rights on ports 2086 and 2087, whereas the cPanel is reached on ports 2082 and 2083.

cPanel Builds

Many builds of the cPanel application are accessible according to the different levels of testing that cover current, edge, release, and stability. Every new announcement exhibits extra great articles to assist you in your website management.

The cPanel, thus, grants the assurance and control of administering a successful online appearance through its easy yet extremely robust interface. The cPanel can also be applied to manage several sub-domains with efficiency and speed, making it a very steady, reliable, and truly able web-based tool.

ApacheBooster is a cPanel based performance booster for your server and websites. The advantage of cPanel added with that of This server performance booster will leave someone wondered and will not experience a slow loading website.

What happens in Web Hosting?

Once the hosting company hosts your website, users can obtain it by typing your web address in their web browser. Achieve this, and the computer will connect to the server, which is the host to the website. The server, in turn, serves the website to your web visitor in their web browser.

Different types of Web hosting

We know that there are many types of web hosting. We are the ones who have to choose the best that suits us. The following points talk about the different kinds of web hosting, and the positives and negatives. For a better understanding of the same read the rest:

a. Shared Hosting

As the name suggests, the client is given a shared space with the other user. Every user gets a section of the server in which they can host their website files. A shared server hosts hundreds of users and has access to features like databases, monthly traffic, disk space, email accounts, FTP accounts, and other add-ons granted by the host. The advantage of this type is that it is very cost-effective and easy to maintain. Yet again, everything comes with its share of both advantages and disadvantages. If the server suffers any problem or errors, the website can run slow and maybe even shut down eventually.

Advantages

• It is very cheap
• Easy to handle
• User-friendly
• Technical knowledge not required
• Offers add on services

Disadvantages

• Shares resources with other websites
• Has performance issues
• Slow loading time
• Poor up-time rates
• Not scalable
• Limited resources

b. Virtual private server (VPS) hosting

VPS hosting is a kind of internet hosting account that you can select for your online hosting. You ought to have a database file on a webserver to have a website on the internet. These physical servers are regularly split into various or shared VPS servers.

Advantages

• Makes custom configuration to the server
• Faster loading speed and higher uptime rates
• It is less expensive than that of a dedicated host
• It has a dedicated server resource

Disadvantages

• Shares central server with other websites
• Not as easy as a shared host to set up
• Extra maintenance required
• Is costly with managed services
• It is under the mercy of a shared server

c. Dedicated server hosting

You need this kind of service when your business is prominent and needs to demonstrate many more of its services on the World Wide Web. It is an independent service, and so, there is no interference. Here clients for sure need to take the help of web hosting companies to maintain this kind of technology.

Advantages

• Has complete control over the server
• Does not share resources with any other websites
• High security
• Optimal performance
• Speedy load time
• Great uptime

Disadvantages

• Very expensive
• Requires technical knowledge
• You will be responsible for everything

d. Cloud hosting

Cloud-based web hosting refers to a somewhat new hosting technology that lets hundreds of individual servers work together so that it seems like one giant server. The idea of cloud hosting is that, when the need grows, the hosting company adds more commodity hardware to make a more extensive grid or cloud.

Advantages

• Resource allocation is scalable and automatic
• Towering reliability and performance
• High security
• Very less downtime

Disadvantages

• Increased pricing for unpredictable traffic
• Limited customization
• Complicated management

e. Free web hosting

As the name suggests, this kind of service lets the clients create a web page or small websites that they can give as a free initial site. As it is free, most of the services will be restricted. As you create a free website with a hosting firm, the company will place ads on the website to make revenue.

Advantages

• Free of cost
• Provides free space
• Has global reach
• No contract (you can terminate your account at any time)

Disadvantages

• No main domain
• No customer support
• Limited bandwidth and speed
• Limited space

General advantages of web hosting

We saw what web hosting is, what a web host is, what happens in web hosting, what are the different types of web hosting, and the advantages and disadvantages. Now, these are the general advantages of web hosting as laid down below:

• Improved site performance

When you have to succeed online, your site’s performance will matter. You only have a few seconds to seize your visitor’s attention before they leave your site and never return. If your site takes forever to load, then your visitants aren’t going to stick around. Not only that, but your site’s performance affects your search engine rankings. With a high-quality web host, loading speeds will not be an issue for you. Now, you could have a very high-performing host and, your site could be optimized wrongly, but once you set your website’s slow loading times, you should discover your site loads quickly.

• Outstanding technical support

If you’re providing products or services through your website, then you realize the value of timely and helpful customer support. Your hosting firm should be no different. Now assume that your site goes offline, and you know that your offline site will cost you if you have a reliable host provider, their support team will be able to bring the site online.

• Domain-associated email address

If you want to seem professional, then you’re going to need a branded email address that uses your domain name. When you catch up with your customers through email, it should be perfect. When you have a hosting service that provides quality, it will grant you the ability to create a domain-specific email address.

• Improved website security

Many of us forget about website security, and it is nearly impossible to guarantee 100% security. But make sure that you are not having any threats and ensure that your website is as secure as possible. The foundation of your website’s security starts with your host service provider. After all, this is where all of your site’s data are going to be stored. A quality host will have various levels of security in place.

• High reliability and uptime

When you are looking for the right hosting mind, it is necessary to make sure that the hosting company has high reliability and uptime. A hosting company with high uptime can be very profitable to your bottom line. After all, people can’t purchase your products or aids when your site is offline.

Now, as we are wrapping up, just keep these points in mind, as these can be helpful for you now and also for future reference too. Before concluding the blog, we can dig up a few more features of web hosting.

The advantages of taking the advice of a professional web hosting company are that the clients can rely on them on getting the best and updated technologies and services that suit their business best. Startup and small web hosting companies may not be that experienced in handling big clients, but that’s never the case with a professional. The client has gained complete access to the data or content of the website. Clients have their say in the design and development stage, and every suggestion is more than welcome and taken into consideration. With a private domain name, personalized email, and maintaining thousands of emails is not easy, but web hosting companies can filter and get you just the required mail that can be beneficial to the clients. Hence, Web hosting is basically the strength of all websites.

Apachebooster is a cPanel plugin that helps you in getting the most reliable server performance for which you have been waiting. It is the only server speed-enhancing plugin embedded with SSL technology