Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » web hosting provider http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog Web Hosting Industry News, Latest Trends, and Analyses. Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:48:19 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Three Hidden Fees to Look for When Choosing a Web Hosting Planhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/04/05/three-hidden-fees-to-look-for-when-choosing-a-web-hosting-plan/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/04/05/three-hidden-fees-to-look-for-when-choosing-a-web-hosting-plan/#comments Tue, 05 Apr 2011 21:41:58 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1527 As the World Wide Web continually expands on a daily basis, the web hosting industry becomes even more competitive. In fact, it appears that nearly every web hosting provider now claims to offer the best hosting services, with no hidden fees applied. Unfortunately, most web hosting providers do have some faults that are often overlooked by the general public, until the fault becomes evident due to a mistake or event that occurs after the hosting plan has been purchased. Hidden fees are not really “hidden” per se, they are actually fees that are not readily apparent, which may be found in the fine print, but which the web hosting provider does not necessarily notify the customer of. Although many of these fees are seemingly mandatory charges that must be applied during checkout, more attention should be paid to what these fees are and how expensive they can be. The following are three hidden fees to look for when choosing a web hosting plan.

Account Setup Fees

Many web hosting providers choose to charge account setup fees, which can boost the initial overall cost of the hosting plan. Setup fees can range anywhere from $10-$50, depending on the hosting provider and the size of the hosting plan. Unfortunately, these fees are usually charged at the checkout process, and are only mentioned in fine print on the advertisement page or check out page. Even though there are web hosting providers that do not charge account setup fees, most novice webmasters fall victim to a hosting service that does.

Customer Service Fees

Hidden service fees are perhaps the most noticeable type of hidden fee charged by web hosting providers, because most customers become upset when they realize they have been charged a fee for using what has been advertised as “free 24 hour customer service”. Although these fees are more warranted than arbitrary fees like account setup fees,  it is a common practice for web hosting providers to charge such fees without first notifying the account holder. Thus, it is best to inquire whether or not your hosting provider charges customer service fees for requesting e-mail or hotline assistance.

Domain Transferring and Ownership Fees

Some hosting providers will charge a fee when a webmaster attempts to transfer their domain from another host. Before switching hosting providers in choosing another hosting company, it is important to inquire whether or not they charge domain transferring fees. Other web hosting providers will offer you free domain registration for life or for a specific period of time, only to register your domain in their name so that it actually belongs to them. After this, the company will then charge domain ownership fees, which must be paid on a regular basis or the hosting provider will regain ownership of the domain. Therefore, when selecting a hosting plan that offers free domain registration it is important to find out whether or not domain ownership fees will be charged in order to maintain full ownership of your website.

 

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/04/05/three-hidden-fees-to-look-for-when-choosing-a-web-hosting-plan/feed/ 1 What to Consider When Selecting a Web Hosting Providerhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/03/01/what-to-consider-when-selecting-a-web-hosting-provider/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/03/01/what-to-consider-when-selecting-a-web-hosting-provider/#comments Tue, 01 Mar 2011 21:29:27 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1449 Trying to choose a web hosting provider can be a confusing process. There are so many companies out there offering similar packages and promoting excellent service.  It’s important to know what to look for when trying to decide the provider that best meets your needs.  Each of the must-have essentials can easily be confirmed by researching the web hosting company thoroughly through their respected websites and through user reviews.

When examining different web hosting options, there are many things to consider.  Security, reliability, pricing, and customer service are among the most important things to take into consideration.  When deciding on a web hosting provider, it’s crucial to examine the security features offered in order to protect your site. The provider should offer at least basic data protection for your website.  It’s also imperative that the provider offers features that protect your site from hackers.

Security Measures

Some methods in which a web host provider can help protect your site are to make available firewalls as well as security patches.  The more protection the provider offers the potential for any stored data being stolen and breaches of security are significantly reduced.  Taking proactive security measures also reduces other risks that can lead to many problems including the loss of revenue and unnecessary expenses trying to resolve security breaches.

Reliability

Reliability is equally as important as security.  If the web hosting provider is unreliable, you as a client risk gaining access to your site.  Without being able to access your website and maintain it as you need, the web hosting provider you have chosen to support your site will be useless. Without a reliable web host provider, your site loses its effectiveness.  It’s also important to be aware of the providers’ server performance and compatibility with specific software applications. It’s also recommended to know the speed of the server and also allocated bandwidth.  Processor speed affects the ability of video and audio streaming, as well as many other animated web page elements.

Pricing

Another thing to consider when purchasing a web host provider is pricing.  While most users will be looking for the cheapest web hosting provider readily available, it’s important to remember that many web host plans are cheaper for a reason.  In many scenarios, the cheapest providers offer the least reliability as they often don’t primarily focus on the service that they are offer.  On the other end of the spectrum, there are web hosting providers that are specialists offering the best web hosting service available on the market today.  Unfortunately, however, these providers typically exceed most consumers’ spending capacity.  Therefore, consider it a wise marketing decision to shop around and compare prices; opt for the best affordable service and proven reliability at a reasonable price within your price range.

Customer Service

Customer service is also imperative to inquire about when opting for a web host provider.  This is especially important if you are going for a fully managed web hosting package, especially since such packages can be quite expensive and demand a high level of communication with the provider.  It’s important to know upfront what kind of customer service a web host provider offer:  Do they offer 24/7 customer service?  Do they offer support on chats, by phone, or via e-mail?  Is the number toll free if you must contact by phone?  One easy way to test a company’s customer service ability is by testing it; something that can generally be done for free by finding their contact information.  Simply give them a call or send them an e-mail inquiring about their customer service.  Doing so grants you insight to the web host provider’s efficiency and effectiveness.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/03/01/what-to-consider-when-selecting-a-web-hosting-provider/feed/ 0 Website Makeover for HostWayhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/01/07/website-makeover-for-hostway/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/01/07/website-makeover-for-hostway/#comments Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:30:58 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1351 HostWay is one of the world’s largest web hosting and web-service providers who recently released a new website showcasing their cloud offerings. The site also details their new hosting plans for small businesses. The new website presents numerous changes including:

  • New products
  • Product categories
  • Easy navigation
  • New design scheme

The new website presents fresh products and services offered by HostWay. These products are grouped into specific categories for easy navigation so customers will be able to quickly identify features and make a purchasing decision. Finally, the new design scheme presents HostWay’s focus on a more mature and professional customer base that demands flexibility, reliability and value.

Hostway was founded in 1998 and has worked its way to being the world’s largest web hosting provider. With a presence in 14 countries and more than 700 employees, HostWay offers many services including, domain name registration, ecommerce solutions, shared hosting solutions and colocation hosting. The company serves 1.4 million websites consisting of 600,000 customers across the globe.

HostWay recently also recreated their portfolio of products with the most impressive being FlexCloud sites. FlexCloud sites offer scalable, flexible and reliable services for small businesses and ecommerce stores. Furthermore, FlexCloud Servers provide clients with a higher level of service with enterprise-grade solutions that utilize a global infrastructure mixed with cloud technology.

In the future, the company will continue to be dedicated to innovation and product alignment with customer needs. With the recent emergence and advancement in cloud technology, the company is keeping stride with customer necessity and the competition. This technology should allow them to grad an additional large chunk of the internet market.

The FlexCloud Sites and Servers are going to be scalable and on-demand for customers anywhere at any time. Add reliability, performance and the flexibility of a public cloud and you have a winner. Furthermore, this technology offers resource availability and optimal allocation while customizing all solutions to that specific business. These excellent features will be paired with state of the art data centers.

HostWay has not only greatly improved their website, but they have added next generation products that will be utilized by customers for many years to come. The addition of flexibility, performance, reliability and expansion will result in many more clients choosing HostWay as their primary provider. In the future other web hosting providers will add this technology to keep pace with HostWay’ fantastic technological advancements.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2011/01/07/website-makeover-for-hostway/feed/ 0 How to Classify Web Hostinghttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/10/how-to-classify-web-hosting/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/10/how-to-classify-web-hosting/#comments Sat, 11 Sep 2010 05:13:19 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=1105 There are many metrics for which to classify a web hosting provider. These are commonly used to determine the costs and benefits of starting a website from the ground up. With so many web hosting providers to choose from, it can be difficult to know which companies are the best. The most common aspects of classifying web hosting include:

  • Cost
  • Programming languages
  • Operating systems
  • Web servers
  • Features

The first question most new owners ask is regarding the costs of running a site in order to set a budget. Over the past 10 years, web hosting has become inexpensive due to budget hosting. Many of the inexpensive hosts cost less than $5 per month. For only a few dollars more per month, you can acquire some excellent features.

Another inquiry by website owners is the programming languages used on the server. This will allow them to customize the site by increasing interactive features. Commonly used languages include, ASP, JSP, PHP and Perl. These are all web-based programming languages that provide full user’s command.

The third classification is the operating system used on the server. The choices are usually Windows or Linux. The above programming languages only work on one operating system or the other. Therefore, you must choose which operating system based on your specific needs. There are equal advantages and disadvantages of both.

The next classification is the features of the web servers. These commonly include performance and connection speed as well as the type of hosting. The choices are, shared hosting, dedicated hosting and Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting. Each option has a different cost for monthly service.

The last classification is the features offered by the web hosting provider. These are typically the extras you receive after signing up. For instance, many web hosting providers are now offering simple WordPress setup from the control panel which makes it much easier for users to create a blog or storefront.

Due to the number of web hosting providers currently available on the internet, it can be difficult to classify them all. Using these five categories can help you make a more informed decision and discover what you really want your website to be and what tools you need to achieve that goal. As more providers are added to the internet offering additional features to have an edge on their competition, more categories will develop to differentiate the good from the bad.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/09/10/how-to-classify-web-hosting/feed/ 0 Improve Your SEO Efforts by Choosing the Right Web Hosting Planhttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/03/12/improve-your-seo-efforts-by-choosing-the-right-web-hosting-plan/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/03/12/improve-your-seo-efforts-by-choosing-the-right-web-hosting-plan/#comments Fri, 12 Mar 2010 18:57:21 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=797 The success and sustenance of every website begins with the server on which it is hosted, and the performance of that web server relies entirely upon the competence, reliability and capabilities of the web hosting provider. Perhaps even more essential to the success of a website is it’s ranking in the search engines. Without traffic a site may as well not exist, and it is a well known fact that having a high page ranking search engines is the bet way to get constant traffic automatically. Many people do not see the correlation between their web hosting plan and their search engine optimization efforts, but I assure there is a valid connection. Every web hosting plan comes with certain features and options, some of which can directly impact your site’s ranking in the search engines.

Geographic Targeting

Many people seem to overlook the importance of targeted traffic. Getting traffic to your web page can be easy, especially if you accept any kind of traffic. However, getting traffic that is actually going to convert into sales is another story. Therefore, it is absolutely imperative to go after traffic that will be beneficial to your business. One of the ways you can do this is by targeting your traffic geographically. If you are trying to sell a product or service that is going to be popular in the UK, then you wouldn’t want a lot of your traffic coming from China. For this reason it is important to choose a web a hosting provider that is located in the area you would like to target. I.E. -  If you are in the US, then try to pick a web hosting provider in the United States.

IP Addresses

Another important aspect to consider is the IP address of your web site. Search engines often look at the IP address of a website to determine it’s relation to other websites, which may directly impact it’s rankings in the search engines. In other words, choosing a web hosting plan that offers only shared IP addresses may not be the best decision. You may find it too expensive to purchase a dedicated hosting plan, however you can still get a dedicated IP address with your shared hosting account. If you share your IP address with other websites then you are risking the search engine ranking of your site, since the actions of those websites could be directly connected with your site’s behavior by the search engines. When you have a dedicated IP address you will not have to worry about such occurrences, as your IP address will only be used by your website.

Site Building Tools

You’ll also want to make sure you have access to all of the website building tools and languages that are standard in today’s technology. For example, you’ll need to be able to use PHP, MySQL databases, FTP clients and other standard tools. You’ll also need access to your .htaaccess file and PERL if you want to have a fully functional and reliable website. These tools are also extremely important in the search engine optimization efforts of your website. If your web hosting provider does not offer these tools then you may want to consider a different web hosting company.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2010/03/12/improve-your-seo-efforts-by-choosing-the-right-web-hosting-plan/feed/ 1 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Web Hosthttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/12/28/factors-to-consider-when-choosing-a-web-host/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/12/28/factors-to-consider-when-choosing-a-web-host/#comments Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:44:24 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=681 With so many hosting services available online today, it can be very difficult to decide on one. Even worse than the sheer number of hosting providers is the fact that all of them promise to be the best, making the process daunting and confusing. With that said, it is obviously not very easy to choose a web hosting provider, however it can be with the right guide by your side. Here we will discuss the most important features of a web hosting service, giving you something to base your decision on other than propaganda.

Stability

Professionalism and stability are extremely important attributes for a web hosting service to have. You want to make sure you are giving your money to a company that is going to be reliable and offer you all of the services you need without a hassle. The fist step in determining the stability and professionalism of a web hosting service is by contacting their customer support. If it takes longer than 24 hours for you to receive a response email then you know you are dealing with a company that doe snot pride themselves on their reliability.

Try calling your prospective hosting services one at a time and inquire about features such as bandwidth, uptime, and quality assurance. Ask them questions like: “What is done to ensure the security of my website?” Or “ Do you offer a money back guarantee?” If a company does not offer a money back guarantee then you can rest assured that their service is not really the “best.”  Also it is a good idea to find out how many employees they have and also if their customer support center is available 24 hours out of the day.

Performance

Performance is also an extremely important factor when considering a potential web hosting provider, especially if you run a large business website. Find out what kind of bandwidth they offer, how many domains you are allowed to register with them, what kind of server disk space are you allocated, how many email accounts you can have, and anything else that you think would be crucial to the success of your business. If you are going to be running an e-commerce then you may want to consider web hosting services that specialize in this field. Make sure they offer basic features such as shopping carts, SSL certificates, PayPal integration and merchant accounts. Without these essential features, your e-commerce site will be a complete failure and you will be susceptible to hacker attacks.

Popularity and Price

They say that the most popular services are not always the best, however in the web hosting industry this is not necessarily true. The more popular a web hosting company is, the more you can be assured of it’s ability to satisfy it’s customers. Signing up with new web hosting companies is very risky, and doing so should be done with caution. Most of the time, the most popular web hosting services will offer the best prices for the most feature-rich packages. The reason why this is possible should be obvious, as they are making a lot more money then the smaller web hosting companies and so therefore they can afford to offer lower priced packages for their users.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/12/28/factors-to-consider-when-choosing-a-web-host/feed/ 1 Finding the Service You Need Through Web Hosting Reviewshttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/06/29/finding-the-service-you-need-through-web-hosting-reviews/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/06/29/finding-the-service-you-need-through-web-hosting-reviews/#comments Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:03:37 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=396 Finding a company to host your website is not a difficult task.  On the other hand, landing one you can trust is a different story.  This article will introduce you to one of the most effective resources for locating an ideal service – the web hosting review.

Narrow Your Choices

It is rather easy to become lost in the array of web hosting providers and types of hosting on the market.  You have many considerations, including companies that offer budget hosting as well as those that allow you to lease your own server with a dedicated hosting package.  The search gets even more confusing when factoring in features and technical jargon such as disk storage, data transfer and domains.

All of this can be very overwhelming for someone who does not possess the first clue of which type of service is best for their particular needs, and due to the sea of options, these feelings can even be perceived by seasoned webmasters.   A good way to arm yourself with knowledge about the web hosting market is to read many reviews.  Some of the review sites categorize these hosting providers based on their niche, price and the type of service they offer.  When reading over the details, you can gain valuable insight on which service you can afford and what company you can trust.

Avoid the Disasters

The web hosting industry has become immensely popular in recent years and with this popularity came many sharks and shady practices.  Today, it can be rather difficult to pick out the reliable hosting providers from those simply out to make a buck or a run a scam.  By turning to web hosting reviews, you can avoid these shady companies and find yourself one that can actually be relied upon.  Best of all, the chances of you landing a great deal are tremendous.  The review game has become a business in its own right so the individuals running these sites make it a habit to list providers offering the lowest price on the best service.

Learn About the Hosting Market

Web hosting reviews can help you become more familiar with the market and give you a better idea of what to expect.  They tend to highlight key areas that the novice may not be aware of but should know before purchasing a hosting plan.  When reading reviews you generally learn about the features offered, server capacity, the level of security and more.  In the end, this could help you save precious time you would have otherwise spent researching web hosting companies that may or may not live up to your expectations.  What you can take from these review sites is a list of potential hosting providers and a piece of mind by knowing that you don’t have to overloaded with the rigorous investigating process.

Conclusion

Though researching a web host for yourself is never a bad idea, taking the time to read reviews can let you know just what’s out there and give you an idea of what company may be able to pave the road to your success online.  Whether you need a simple personal site or plan to start up a web-based business, some good reviews will put you in the right direction.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/06/29/finding-the-service-you-need-through-web-hosting-reviews/feed/ 0 34SP Recognized by Netcrafthttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/03/16/34sp-recognized-by-netcraft/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/03/16/34sp-recognized-by-netcraft/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 18:27:19 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=243 Leading web hosting provider 34SP, recently added another notch to its belt by debuting in Netcraft’s Top 50 Most Reliable Hosting Provider’s Network Performance list.  The induction is attributed to the provider’s commitment to ensuring that its customers enjoy the best performance possible.

Netcraft is well known throughout the web hosting industry for measuring and publishing the response times of the top 50 leading hosting company’s servers.  The firm’s measurements are made at 15 minute intervals from individual points around the web while the averages are calculated immediately over the following 24-hour period.  According to the data compiled by Netcraft, 34SP is currently ranked as 25th amongst the world’s top 50 web hosting providers.

Stuart Melling, 34SP cofounder, stressed the importance of upholding server uptime for their customers in a recent interview.  Melling states that 34SP was founded on the core values of high availability and reliability, qualities that enable every individual, developer and small business owner to get the most out of their hosting solution at a reasonable price.  34SP has been able to thrive in the industry by utilizing the best server hardware and software technologies coupled with an expert support staff that works tirelessly to make the customers happy.   Now recognized on a global scale by Netcraft for its network reliability, it is clear to see that these investments have paid off.

According to a recent statement, 34SP dramatically enhanced the reliability and overall performance of its network and hosting services by investing in an extensive infrastructure upgrade.  This upgrade was powered by the substantial increase in sales for the provider’s hosting solutions, an impressive lineup that features personal hosting, business hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers, reseller hosting and add-on products that range from SSL certificates to additional scripting technologies.  34PS has also made significant improvements to its customer service and technical support system.  Investments have been recently made toward hiring additional support staff members, upgrading local office and data center hardware, and expanding the customer support operations within the 34SP global headquarters.

The reasoning behind the additional support investments came as the result of an active client survey 34SP conducted early 2009.  This survey involved a large number of approximately 15,000 34SP hosting clients with personal, business, VPS and dedicated server accounts.  The provider revealed some intriguing statistics from the survey regarding its referral rates.  When presented with the question of whether or not they would recommend 34SP’s hosting services, 98% of the clients involved responded with a definite “Yes”.  The host points to this finding as confirmation of the positive impact its reliability and quality customer support has on referral rates.

About 34SP

Based in Manchester England, 34SP is an award winning web hosting provider that specializes in solutions designed for individuals, web designers, seasoned developers and small to medium sized businesses.  The company puts an emphasis on delivering industry leading reliability, personalized support and world-class service.  34SP compliments these qualities with generous incentives and a money back guarantee to assure customer satisfaction.

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]]> http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/03/16/34sp-recognized-by-netcraft/feed/ 0 How to Find Secure Shared Hostinghttp://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/01/13/how-to-find-secure-shared-hosting/ http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/2009/01/13/how-to-find-secure-shared-hosting/#comments Tue, 13 Jan 2009 19:35:35 +0000 Art http://webhostinggeeks.com/blog/?p=150 If you are looking to save money on building and managing a website, shared hosting may be the way to go.  Shared hosting is incredibly affordable these days, so much that you can have a personal or business website for just a couple of dollars a month.   What makes this arrangement so affordable?  With shared hosting, you are literally sharing disk space and various resources with other customers.  This allows the web hosting provider to rake in guaranteed profits while keeping expenses to a minimum.  Shared hosting is very economical but there are some drawbacks to this type of arrangement, mainly security.

The major issue with shared hosting has always been the same – the availability of security and the fact that this platform can only be so secure.  Without adequate protection, the web host’s server is vulnerable to a wide range of threats including DDoS attacks, malware infection and network intrusion.  You could also be exposed to attacks such as SQL injection, cross site scripting and even the malicious actions of your neighbors on the server.  When your hosting environment isn’t properly secured, you stand the risk of losing the most sensitive of information.

Security is definitely an issue in the shared hosting environment, one that could make the low cost an uneven trade.  The good thing is that several web hosting providers are aware of these vulnerabilities and they are taking the necessary approaches to deliver a secure service.  When looking for a company to host your site, we recommend keeping the following security considerations in mind.

Protection from Thy Neighbor

When assessing the security of a particular web host, you must not only analyze the protection offered against outside threats, but security that keeps you protected against other website owners on the server.  You never know who you’re sharing the server with, as they could be into dealing porn, distributing spam or malicious software.  A few of your next door neighbors just might be prolific computer hackers.  To keep yourself protected in this regard, you should make sure the provider doesn’t allow any unsolicited code to be executed or access to your directories.

Clean Code

One of the biggest threats to your website lies in the code used to build your applications.  When they are not properly scripted, intruders can use them as an entrance to your data and reap major havoc.  You can minimize the possibility of common website exploits by ensuring that the web hosting company offers the latest in development tools whether its PHP and MySQL or ASP and MS Access.  Most importantly, it is up to you to make sure you are coding your applications and web pages in a secure manner.

Security Features

There are also a number of features that will give you an idea of how secure a particular web hosting platform is.  This includes protection for the actual server such as software that defends against DDoS attacks and viruses as well firewalls and network intrusion systems to fend off hackers.  If your site is to involve online business transactions, you will also require SSL support to protect your customers’ credit card information.  When making sure all the vital security issues are addressed, you can better your chances of enjoying a smooth run in the shared hosting environment.

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