Network Security

We do run everything we can to keep the servers as secure as possible. We implement a number of security features to protect your Web site and data including:-

Servers

All our servers are CloudLinux OS which are specifically designed for shared hosting providers.

Firewalls

A Firewall is a security system that acts as a protective boundary between a network and the outside world by filtering information coming from the Internet into our computer systems. If an incoming packet of information is flagged by the filters it is not allowed through. For example, we could instruct the firewall to block any packet with the word "X-rated" in it. A firewall can also implement security rules.

Without a firewall in place all of our computers would be directly accessible to anyone on the Internet. A person who knows what he or she is doing could probe and access our computers. Therefore we use CSF Firewall which is a Stateful Packet Inspection (SPI) firewall, a Login/Intrusion Detection and Security application for Linux servers. It is a security tool that can protect our servers against attacks, such as brute force, and improves server security.

Virus Protection

Probably the most well-known threat is the computer virus. A virus is a small program that can copy itself to other computers. This way it can spread quickly from one system to the next. Viruses range from harmless messages to erasing all of your data.

ConfigServer eXploit Scanner (CXS) has been installed on each of our servers. CXS is a tool that performs active scanning of files as they are uploaded to the server. In particular CXS will scan all incoming and outgoing email and will inform the recipient and sender of an infected message.

Intrusion Detection

We use ModSecurity for Intrusion Detection (ID). ID is the art of detecting inappropriate, incorrect, or malicious activity by individuals attempting to access and manipulate information and cause computer systems to be unreliable or unusable.

Sometimes, a distinction is made between misuse and intrusion detection. The term intrusion is used to describe attacks from the outside. Misuse is used to describe an internal attack.

Port Scanner Blockers

Hackers may try to identify possible security problems in our operating systems, and the applications running on them, using Port Scanners. Port Scanner Blockers prevent hackers from identifying and exploiting such weaknesses. We use CXF Firewall to do our port scanning.

RAID10 (Raid 1+0)

RAID 10, also called Disk Mirroring, is installed on our servers in case there is a disk crash. Basically we write all of your data to two separate hard disks installed on the server. One is a mirror of the other. Should the primary disk experience a hardware failure, the mirror disk will continue operations as if nothing had happened. All of your data is protected. We also have backups that can be restored if the RAID10 fails.