Top Rated Hosting

(The Hosting News) – If you’re planning to watch the big game this Sunday between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, and happen to stick around during the commercials, you may notice one TLD receiving some big attention.

The .CO domain will be highlighted in an advertisement from top web host Go Daddy.

As usual, the top domain registrar’s commercial is edgy, featuring Columbian star Natalia Velez as a body paint model. Meanwhile, Go Daddy commercial stars Danica Patrick and Jillian Michaels apply the paint, adding slogans such as “hot .co,” “get noticed,” and the Go Daddy logo.

Making a cross reference to the .CO domain and models, Jillian Michaels says, “They definitely get you noticed.” Patrick agrees, stating, “That’s why smart businesses go with .CO from Go Daddy.”

Registration of .CO through GoDaddy.com appears to come with a price of $9.99. Featured on the Go Daddy homepage is a crossed out price of $29.99, showing that the company has substantially cut its rates on .CO.

Despite Go Daddy’s push to advertise .CO, they’re not the only web hosting company that’s doing so. On Friday, web hosting provider WestHost launched its own initiative to promote the TLD by offering a limited registration price of $9.49 to prospective customers.

WestHost Director of Marketing David Anderson even referenced Go Daddy’s big Super Bowl plans, calling his own company’s .CO initiative “a more cost-effective approach.”

“Major domain registrars are spending millions of dollars on ad campaigns intended to drown out competition for the domain extension but our new ‘.CO’ price discount is intended to open up opportunities for customers looking for an affordable alternative,” Anderson also commented.

Interestingly enough, the .CO TLD also doubles as the ccTLD (country code) for Colombia. It was initially made available for businesses globally in 2010.

The .CO TLD is operated through cointernet.co. In June of last year, .Co Internet announced that over one million .CO domains had been registered. At the time, .CO Internet CEO Juan Diego Calle stated, “Entrepreneurs and innovative businesses around the globe are adopting .CO web addresses at an unprecedented pace, way beyond my initial expectations.”

During Super Bowl Weekend, .CO Receives Attention

(The Hosting News) – Hackers breached web hosting provider Blacknight on Tuesday. The company revealed the issue in a press release today.

Possibly 40 thousand user accounts provided for by the Blacknight were hit. However, the company emphasized that the breach was minimal, not resulting in any loss of financial data.

Telephone numbers and emails were the data possibly affected. To help safeguard against any further issues, the web host is recommending that its users change their login passwords.

“We take our responsibilities to our customers very seriously and have already been in touch with the Data Protection Commissioner and have informed them of the breach,” stated Blacknight employee Michele Neylon.

Neylon referred to her company as “secure” but called similar matters “a reality that almost every online company must face.”

Blacknight also said it had been in touch with Ireland’s Office of Data Protection along with the Irish Reporting and Information Security Service regarding the issue.

“We are taking this opportunity to increase our security even further and apologize to our customers for any inconvenience this may cause,” Neylon stated.

As a hosting provider, Blacknight’s services include cloud, SharePoint, Hosted Exchange and Minimus Hosting. On Tuesday, the hosting provider revealed the addition of business mobile platform goMobi to its services.

Website breaches have proven an increasingly problematic issue for web hosts in the recent past. Just last month, web hosting provider DreamHost revealed that it had faced a similar problem relating to an unauthorized breach of the company’s system. But like Blacknight, the company’s financial data was also not affected.

Hackers Breach Web Host Blacknight

(The Hosting News) – When U.S. Federal authorities pulled the plug on file sharing site Megaupload earlier this month due to piracy accusations, thousands of digital files belonging to the site’s users were rendered inaccessible.

Would users be able to retrieve legitimately legal files before the feds forced the file sharing site’s hosting companies to erase Megaupload’s server data?

According to a CNN report, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride had indicated that the deletion of server information could take place soon. “It is our understanding that the hosting companies may begin deleting the contents of the servers beginning as early as February 2, 2012,” MacBride previously stated in a court letter.

However, it now appears such an action will not happen just yet.

Web hosting companies which have provided for Megaupload including Carpathia Hosting and Cogent will not move forward to provisioning their servers for a while. On Monday, MegaUpload defense attorney Ira Rothken stated via Twitter, “Carpathia and Cogent agreed to preserve consumer data for additional time of at least two weeks so #Megaupload can work with US on proposal.”

Rothken’s statement was followed up today by an official press release from Carpathia Hosting concerning the matter. Carpathia Hosting Chief Marketing Officer Brian Winter said his company “has no immediate plans to reprovision some or all of the Megaupload servers.”

Winter continued, “This means that there is no imminent data loss for Megaupload customers.” Winter also stated that if things change, the hosting company would inform users a week prior to any server action taking place.

Meanwhile, Carpathia Hosting is working with the Electronic Frontier Foundation to raise awareness concerning user files contained on Megaupload that are legal, which it hopes to help users retrieve. “EFF is troubled that so many lawful users of Megaupload.com had their property taken from them without warning and that the government has taken no steps to help them,” stated EFF Staff Attorney Julie Samuels on Tuesday.

Despite that, Carpathia Hosting Brian Winter emphasized that Carpthia Hosting did not “have access to any data for Megaupload customers.”

The U.S. Justice Department has accused MegaUpload operators including Kim Dotcom of raking in over $175 million in illegal profits due to the availability of pirated material on the file sharing site. Aside from blocking access to Megaupload, six others in addition to Dotcom received charges related to copyright infringement.

According to U.S. authorities, actions by Megaupload have cost copyright owners over half a million in profits. Megaupload has vigorously defended its actions with the company’s attorney Ira Rothken telling CNET earlier this month, “Many of the allegations made are similar to those in the copyright case filed against YouTube and that was a civil case….and YouTube won.”

Web Hosts: Megaupload Server Data Wont be Deleted Just Yet

(The Hosting News) – Web host Secured Servers is now officially a division of colocation provider Phoenix NAP. Finalization of the deal was announced by Phoenix NAP on Monday.

The companies initially announced the agreement in August of last year and the move provides Phoenix NAP with Secured Servers’ services including cloud, additional colocation, dedicated servers and more.

Discussing the matter in a press release, Phoenix NAP president Ian McClarty said the move “falls right in line with our full service data center philosophy.”

“Our colocation options, public cloud services, and now dedicated hosting solutions reflect the ongoing commitment we have to be a go-to provider for established and emerging technologies,” McClarty commented.

Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed in a press release concerning the matter.

As a data center operator, aside from colocation, Phoenix NAP’s services include disaster recovery with a cloud that offers features such as firewalls and load balancing.

PhoenixNAP operates its services from a 160 thousand square feet facility in Phoenix, Arizona.

Like PhoenixNAP, Secured Servers is also based in Arizona. The company was founded in 2003 and despite the acquisition, continues to operate under its original name.

Upon initially announcing the deal in August, Phoenix NAP/Secured Servers director of corporate strategy Jordan Jacobs stated, “We are thrilled to have Secured Servers solutions offered within the IaaS framework of Phoenix NAP.”

“The financial strength and stability the enterprise data center brings will only help to ensure the continued growth of all product sets, including the dedicated hosting and physical server options of Secured Servers,” Jacobs continued.

In addition to announcing the move’s finalization, PheonixNAP also indicated that it will soon launch new hardware options for servers falling under Phoenix NAP Secured Servers, made possible through the acquisition.

In November, PhoenixNAP began accepting enrollment for a new public cloud solution called Secured Cloud which relies on technology from companies including Cisco and VMware.For further information regarding PhoenixNAP’s acquisition of Secured Servers, view a press release here (phoenixnap.com).

Acquisition Complete: Secured Servers Now Part of PhoenixNAP

(The Hosting News) – Popular certificate authority GlobalSign has a new chief technology officer. On Monday, the company announced that former Microsoft security engineering expert Ryan Hurst would take the position, bringing with him ten years of experience gained at his previous company.

At Microsoft, Hurst dealt with digital certificates via Microsoft’s Root Certificate program. Other previous responsibilities included biometrics, code signing, cryptography and more.

Discussing his new company in a press release, Hurst referred to GlobalSign as “one of the few pure-play Certificate Authorities.” Hurst also stated that the company “maintained one of the most credible names in the industry over its many years of delivering PKI solutions.”

“I am very excited to help direct the technical aspects of the company, as GlobalSign bolsters its position in the enterprise security market, in particular, its exciting new mobile and cloud security solutions,” Hurst commented.

Specific duties Hurst will oversee at GlobalSign as outlined by the company include product architecture, the company’s engineering and operations, compliance, standards development and the company’s vision for technology.

Meanwhile, GlobalSign CEO Steve Waite said bringing Hurst on will “immediately help GlobalSign fulfill our goal of providing trusted Digital Certificate solutions to enterprises and partners of all sizes.”

The appointment of Hurst follows last week’s announcement by the company that they had named former Networking4all CTO Paul van Brouwershaven the company’s new Business Development Director.

In December, the company made news when it introduced an enterprise solution for iOS device authentication (iOS is Apple’s mobile operating system for devices including the iPhone and iPad).

Among its services, GlobalSign offers products such as SSL, malware scanning, data privacy, email encryption, code signing certificates and more. The company also maintains technology partnerships with high profile companies including Citrix, Microsoft and Adobe. For more information concerning the company’s appointment of Ryan Hurst as CTO, view a press release here (globalsign).

GlobalSign Adds Former Microsoft Employee as CTO

(The Hosting News) – Lenexa, Kansas is set to get a new data center from colocation provider CoSentry.

On Thursday, the company announced that it would be investing $31.6 million towards the construction of a data center on property in the area encompassing more than 57 thousand square feet.

Among its services, CoSentry provides for cloud, disaster recovery and more.

“CoSentry performed an extensive market analysis prior to selecting the Kansas City area for our newest data center,” stated CoSentry VP and GM of the company’s south region Doug West when recently discussing the matter in a press release.

West continued, “We considered factors including business climate, incentives, and power costs.”

The company currently operates other data centers in U.S. locations including Nebraska, South Dakota and Missouri. Meanwhile, construction on the latest facility is set to begin next month.

West stated that his company considered 21 additional markets before finally selecting Lenexa. Cited in the company’s press release was energy provider KCP&L which Cosentry described as “a critical asset for data centers.”

Not far outside Kansas City, Missouri, the Lenexa area hosts some top technology companies including a 55 thousand square feet data center by hosting provider 1&1 Internet. Also forming a presence in the area are mobile providers Sprint and AT&T.

In June of last year, CoSentry announced that it was partnering with communication company Pinpoint Network Solutions to expand its services via a connectivity build crossing the Atlantic. For more information regarding CoSentry, visit the company’s website: http://www.cosentry.com/

Lenexa, KS Set to be the Site of New CoSentry Data Center

(The Hosting News) –Selecting cloud computing options may have just been simplified thanks to a new platform recently unveiled by virtualization and cloud provider VMware. On Wednesday, the company launched the VMware Solution Exchange, a marketplace site.

Provided for through the VMware Solution Exchange are listings of products belonging to the company’s various partners in areas including cloud, virtualization, applications, appliances, and the datacenter.

Descriptive product information is contained along with photos. The site also gives users the ability to review and rate the products based upon a five star system.

Introducing the platform, VMware cited “the proliferation of social media,” and the important role that it plays. With the new site, VMware said it wanted to create a “familiar experience” for its customers.

Discussing VMware partners’ products, company VP of Global Strategic Alliances Parag Patel stated, “With the VMware Solution Exchange, we are offering our robust partner network a new and centralized marketplace to promote their solutions and directly connect with customers to help expedite the sales process.”

“For customers, our goal is to empower them to quickly and easily find the resources they need to make purchasing decisions to accelerate their journey to the cloud, while also helping our technology partners deliver and manage joint solutions in a single, self-service location,” Patel continued.

Another ability of the VMware Solution Exchange allows the sites’ visitors to directly submit inquiries concerning the listed product. VMware partners can also embed YouTube videos concerning their solutions.

Currently featured products as listed on the site include the VMware Cloud Infrastructure and Management on NetApp Solution, the Dell Compellent Storage Center, and Mitel Virtual Solutions. To view the VMware Solution Exchange, visit: https://solutionexchange.vmware.com/store

VMware Unveils Marketplace Allowing Users to Rate Partner Products

(The Hosting News) – Additional cloud services are now available in Europe thanks to a cloud expansion recently undertaken by cloud solutions provider FireHost.

Backed by FireHost data centers in London and Amsterdam, the company’s cloud solutions include managed support, enterprise security along with scale and control all with an emphasis by the company on security.

Regarding the matter in a press release, FireHost European operations director Katrena Drake discussed the issue of security, a pivotal matter that shapes cloud.

“The elevated importance of securing company websites and data against malicious attacks has led to increasing demand for secure cloud hosting environments,” Drake stated.

Drake continued, “The success of our business model within our U.S. facilities has been phenomenal and we’re excited about bringing our approach to the European marketplace

FireHost says that within the past year, it successfully halted “50 million external hacks including SQL injections, cross-site scripting and brute force attempts.”

The U.S. states of Texas and Arizona currently host the cloud solution provider’s other data center locations.

Institutions in the areas of finance, healthcare and eCommerce are especially fit for FireHost’s cloud solutions, according to the provider.

Meanwhile, FireHost provides cloud solutions to some top companies such as Fossil, Johnson & Johnson and Farmers Insurance. In September of last year, the company announced that it had secured $10 million dollars in funding thanks to an investment made in part through The Stephens Group, LLC. For more information regarding FireHost, view the company’s website here: http://www.firehost.com/

FireHost Unveils European Cloud Expansion

(The Hosting News) – Colocation company Telehouse recently unveiled a cloud hosting solution concerning areas including virtualization, cloud infrastructure, cloud management, storage and disaster recovery.

To launch the solutions known as Telecloud, Telehouse joined with KDDI, its Japan-based parent company.

“Telecloud is a joint venture between two industry leaders. It marks the next stage in the evolution of Europe’s first purpose-built data centre provider and a step forward for the cloud industry,” stated KDDI Managing Director Tokuji Mitsui when discussing the matter in a press release.

Mitsui continued, “The data centre is at the heart of a cloud solution making the physical infrastructure the integral role in maintaining the reliability and accessibility of a company’s application. That is why the partnership of Telehouse and KDDI brings a new unique perspective to the cloud market.”

Among Telecloud’s other features are private networks, 24×7 support and self-service portals all operated through the company’s data center facilities.

Telehouse operates a wide range of data center facilities in locations spread across the United States, Europe, Asia and South America.

Cited in Telehouse’s press release on the matter was a poll showing an increased reliability on cloud computing solutions by organizations. 53% of those surveyed by the Cloud Industry Forum said they’d added cloud services with two large factors affecting their decisions. Such issues included cost-savings and flexibility.

Meanwhile, the cloud service will be demonstrated by the companies at Cloud Expo Europe later this month. The event will be held January 25 through 26 in London.

Just earlier in January, Telehouse announced the opening of a new 220 thousand square feet colocation facility in Frankfurt, Germany. For more information regarding Telehouse, visit the company’s website:  http://www.telehouse.net/

Colocation Company Telehouse Unveils Telecloud

(The Hosting News) – Web hosting provider DreamHost revealed over the weekend that the company recently faced an unauthorized breach of its databases.

Discussing the matter via its blog, the web host stated, “Early yesterday, one of DreamHost’s database servers was illegally accessed using an exploit that was not previously known or prevented by our layered security systems in place.”

“Our intrusion detection systems alerted our Security team to the potential hack, and we rapidly identified the means of illegal access and blocked it,” the statement continued.

The company’s response was to secure the situation by moving to protect customer accounts with password resets on FTP and Shell. Despite those passwords possibly being affected, DreamHost stated other passwords including those belonging to users’ emails and web panels were not.

Meanwhile, customers have been notified of the encounter and will be prompted to create the new FTP and Shell passwords upon logging into their web hosting control panels.

The company finished implementing password reset notifications for its Shared hosting customers on Friday followed by resets for VPS customers the following day. In the aftermath of the breach, DreamHost says that it’s carrying out “a rigorous security review.”

DreamHost’s web hosting solutions include VPS, dedicated and shared. In July of last year, the company announced a leadership revamp when it appointed former Pictage Chief Marketing Officer Simon Anderson as the company’s new CEO. For more information regarding the security issue, view a blog post by the company here (blog.dreamhost.com).

DreamHost Detects Breach, Resets Passwords