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Understanding Permission Types for Website Security

If you are running a website on a Unix or Linux server, it is important to know that many of your files and directories must be provided with the right permissions in order to function properly.   In the world of Unix-like platforms, the process of giving permissions is known as change mode or simply, CHMOD.  While you definitely want the files and directories of your website to work properly, it is also imperative to set the right permissions for security purposes.

CHMOD Permission Types

There are three types of permission in the Unix environment: Read, Write and Execute.  Below is an explanation on what each type of access means:

Read – This permission provides access that allows files to be read.  When applied to directory, it allows the names of files in a particular directory to read.  However, it does not disclose the type, size, permissions or any other information about the files.

Write - This permission provides access that allows a file to be modified.  When applied to a directory, it allows files in a particular directory to be modified.  This includes creating, renaming and deleting files.

Execute – This permission provides access that allows a file to be executed.  The execute permission must be set for shell scripts and executable binaries in order for them to be run on the underlying operating system. When applied to a directory, it provides access that allows files and subdirectories to be accessed, but not read.  Files and subdirectories can only be viewed if the directory that contains them is set to read.

CHMOD User Types

The above permissions apply to three types of users: the User, Group and Other. The User is the owner of the file and the one that has complete control.  The Group is the group of users that own the file.  This permission can be useful for a website that has group of people working on a project.  In this instance, you could give access to those users and restrict it from others.  Other refers to anyone that does not own in a file or belong in a group of users associated with the file.   So if you set a file to this permission, it will automatically affect everyone else.  For this reason, Other is often referred to as “the rest of the world”.

Defaults and Warnings

Files on a Unix server are usually set to 644 by default.  This simply means that the owner of the file has the ability to read and write to it, while everyone else only have read access.  Directories in the Unix environment are usually set to 755.  This means that the owner has complete authority over the directory while every else can only read and execute the files it contains.  One permission you definitely want to be careful with is CHMOD 777.  When applying this setting, anyone will have the ability to read, write and execute your files or directories.  This is equivalent to leaving your website open to the world and making it easy for hackers to compromise.

CHMOD Tools

While a shell prompt can be used to set permissions, many website owners choose to take the easy route by using an FTP client.  The CHMOD option can usually be accessed through menus or by hovering the mouse over a file or directory and choosing the correct option.  How you access it all depends on the FTP software.  In most cases, you simply check the properties, or enter the corresponding permission numbers in the provided text box to set permissions.

The Power of Cube Panel

Cube Panel is a unique control panel application that makes managing your domain and server functions an extremely easy process.  While there are many control panels available, some of them being extremely popular like cPanel, Cube Panel carries all of the same features of the other more popular control panels. In fact, Cube Panel is better than most of these control panels in some areas.  Here we will discuss just how capable Cube Panel is by highlighting some of it’s key features and attributes.

Compatibility

Cube Panel supports all three major operating systems; Windows, Linux and Unix. This is a very important feature because even the famed cPanel is not capable of this!  Even though Plesk is compatible with all three of these operating systems as well, it is not nearly as efficient as Cube Panel in it’s basic functions.  This attribute is listed first because it alone puts Cube Panel ahead of nearly every other control panel.

Simplicity Combined With Power

Even though Cube Panel is loaded with incredible features, it is also extremely easy to use, with a maximum learning curve of only a few hours. The user-interface is lined with simple navigational screens that make using this control panel a breeze even to the most novice users. Almost every feature you would need is located conveniently on the main page. You can also find crucial domain statistics to the left in a well designed statistic panel. Even though Cube Panel licenses cost $100, they are so confident in their control panel that they allow user to trial the Lite version for free. This free version is still highly capable of carrying out all of the basic functions of an efficient control panel.

Domain Statistics and Options

There are two main domain option categories; Domain Limits and Domain Permissions. The Domain Limits category concerns all of the options that regard your the limits placed on your domain at any given time. Here you’ll find information like how much free disk space you have, how many email accounts you can have, and how much bandwidth your account has been allotted.  On the other hand, the Domain Permissions area displays information concerning your hosting account, such as the kind of programming support available to you, and your FTP access details. Both of these features allow you to monitor the status of your hosting account, so it will be easy to recognize when an upgrade is needed.

Easy Backups

Of course backing up your data is very important to the existence of your website, and Cube Panel makes doing so very easy. Cube Panel contains an integrated backup utility that when used regularly will prevent you from ever having to worry about losing data due to unforeseen events. Backing up data in Cube Panel is as easy as clicking the “backup data” button.  After you have clicked the “backup data” button you can then select from a list of options that will allow you to make a one time backup or arrange for weekly/monthly backups to occur automatically.

The features above make Cube Panel a formidable contender for the best control panel on the market today, and it would not be surprising to see it competing with cPanel in the near future.

Five Reasons to Choose Unix Hosting

Though Red Hat Linux and Microsoft Windows are currently prevalent on the market, Unix is making a comeback as a viable web hosting solution.  The platform offers all the power and stability of Linux at a price that is often considerably cheaper than Windows.  Many web hosting operations are currently run on Unix-based systems that range from Mac OS X to FreeBSD.  While these platforms are great alternatives, this article will give you five reasons why Unix itself makes a great choice for your hosting needs.

1.) Tried and Tested

Unix is arguably the most dependable operating system for the network server and web hosting environment.  The platform has thrived for more than 30 years and has been tightly integrated with the internet since its inception.  Although other systems have received worthy improvements over the years, Unix is a time-tested platform, offering the power and flexibility needed to meet a wide range of hosting needs.

2.) Unrivaled Stability and Security

During its tenor in the hosting industry, Unix has proven to be notably faster than other operating systems.  It also has a reputation for having the ability to create the most secure hosting environment imaginable.  These qualities have made it a mainstay in the world of corporate business and e-commerce.  Perhaps the greatest benefit Unix offers is its high level of stability and performance.  Unrivaled processing power and a rock-solid core makes it an ideal choice for simple web pages and complex applications alike.

3.) Unmatched Reliability

While Microsoft Windows offers a graphical icon-based interface for added simplicity, Unix has no GUI at all.  This dramatically reduces overhead and allows the system to dedicate the full power of the hardware to quickly and efficiently serve web pages when they are requested.  Even in a shared hosting environment, Unix is virtually impervious to server crashes or any types of faults caused by administrative errors dues to its user-level permission structure.  When used as a platform, it can help create a fault-tolerant web server with the ability to prevent potentially damaging processes, thus enabling your website to continuously run smoothly.

4.) Extremely Compatible

Being a veteran server operating system, the Unix platform is largely supported by software developers and vendors.  The software integrates seamlessly with Apache, PHP, Perl, MySQL and other web technologies commonly used with Linux.  It also offers full support for Microsoft FrontPage, a web design and management tool that was once only available in Windows-based hosting plans.  Thanks to compatibility enhancements, FrontPage can now run flawless on both Windows and Unix servers alike.

5.) Affordable and Easy to Use

Several have the misconception that Unix is an open-source operating system.  This is not true.  In fact, its source code is under license with numerous vendors and much of the core remains proprietary.  However, Unix hosting still tends to be affordable because of its integration with free and low-cost open-source products.  And while naturally a more complex system, this platform is just as user-friendly in the typical shared hosting environment as Windows or Linux.  Therefore,  it does not matter if you are an inexperienced webmaster or a novice, Unix hosting can offer all the power or simplicity you need to succeed with a website.

Why Mac Web Hosting is a Worthy Consideration

For years, the Mac operating system has prided itself on being an intuitive and user-friendly operating system.  When considering its tremendous power, it should be no surprise that Mac OS X is now being increasingly used in the server environment as a web hosting platform.  The server version of the product has evolved tremendously over the pass decade, growing more advanced with each release to introduce new functionality and enhanced components to support web applications and websites in general.  If you are currently at the stage of choosing a platform for your website needs, this article will explain why Mac web hosting could make a viable alternative to the more trendy options.

Mac’s Journey Through Web the Hosting Industry

With the launch of Mac OS X Server in 1999, Apple began to embark on a more modern operating system that offered the user-friendliness of Windows, with the power and flexibility of Unix, the OS from which it borrows many characteristics.  Mac OS X Server was released as a consumer product in 2001 and became more widely adopted over the next year as its functionality and stability were enhanced to the point of widespread usability.  In 2003, Apple introduced version 10.3 of its Mac OS X Server and the software quickly became a mainstream option as a platform for Apache 1.3 web servers.  At this time, the OS only supported Apache through the use of GUI administrative tools.  It wasn’t until 2007 that the software would offer support for  Apache in native form via the GUI management tool set built into Mac OS X version 10.5, more commonly known as Leopard.

The Benefits of Mac Web Hosting

Aside from a rock-solid core based off the powerful Unix operating system, Leopard 10.5.8, the latest edition of the Mac OS X Server product, is equipped with preemptive multitasking, protected memory, advanced memory management and even tighter security than before.  The platform is tailored to ensure the maximum service uptime with fault tolerance features that offer the ability to constantly monitor system activity, restart troubled services, and recover from system failures.  It also has the ability to restart the system automatically following a power outage, thus helping keep downtime to bare minimum.  In addition to these benefits, Mac OS X offers a suite of web-friendly features that include network management, server-side scripting support and Quick Time multimedia streaming among several others.

Potential Drawbacks of Mac Web Hosting

Mac web hosting is definitely scarce when compared to the market offerings based on the dominant Linux and Windows platforms.  This is partially because that even though improved, the system’s GUI is still quite complex and technically challenging.  However, for the user who is sound in command-line administration, this platform can be just as efficient as any other.  In the end, web hosting on the Mac OS X platform will always be a great choice for those who demand a stable and secure web environment, two qualities you must have in any hosting solution.

Seven Basic Ingredients of Unix Hosting

Though often overshadowed by the market dominated Windows and Linux platform, Unix remains a widely used platform and a popular option for web hosting.  This article will introduce you to seven features commonly found in Unix hosting plans.  Though basic, these features are very important and should not be underestimated.

1.) POP3 Email Accounts – An example of a POP3 email account would be “mailto:yourname@yoursite.comyourname@yoursite.com“.  Most hosting companies will provide you with a large number of email accounts to use for yourself or distribute to your employees.

2.) Webmail and SMTP – As soon as your website goes live, email will likely become your main source of communication.  The tool you need to make this an easy process is a webmail program such as Horde or Squirrelmail.  This process can be even faster when downloading your messages to email clients such as Microsoft Outlook or Eudora.  However, in order for this to work, you need a Unix hosting solution that supports messaging protocols such as IMAP and SMTP.

3.) Spam Filter - It doesn’t matter who you are, no email user is immune to spam messages.  In this day and age of the internet, having a reliable spam filter is a must.  These applications are installed on the web server where your site resides and typically offer features such as blacklisting, whitelisting and greylisting to mitigate spam.  The more flexible filters will allow you to make configurations to tag spam and have it delivered straight to a quarantine folder to keep it from cluttering your inbox.

4.) FTP Accounts - FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a method that allows you to upload your files and maintain them on the server.  A Unix host that supports this protocol usually provides the ability to create a certain number of FTP sub-accounts.  This allows you to provide your clients and users with access to password-protected directories, which is very useful for sharing files in a more efficient and secure manner.

5.) Backup Utility - While most web hosts perform automated backups on a regular basis, you should never put the fate of your website in their hands.  There are many ways to backup your website data, but the easiest way is with a utility specifically designed for this task.  Most of today’s control panels come included with built-in utilities that allow you to easily backup your site in minutes.

6.) Web Stats – Analyzing your visitors and traffic can play a crucial role in the success of your site.  Popular web stat software such as AwStats and Webalizer run on the back-end of the server and can provide you with detailed reports on your statistics.  This can give you the knowledge to make the needed adjustments or additions that increase traffic and boost sales.

7.) PHP and MySQL – Similar to Linux, almost all Unix plans come with support for PHP server-side programming and the MySQL database server.  These features are generally provided for no extra costs and can give you the power to create a dynamic, data-driven website.