- I haven’t been able to access my site/cPanel/email for 10 minutes!!! What’s up with that?
While it is not a frequent occurrence, server downtime is a fact of life. Usually if the server is down it means that we are making important updates that will make your site/cPanel/email load faster and work better. Most of the time updates are made from 6am to 8am EST, however it’s inevitable that emergency maintenance may need to happen at any point during the day. Usually, the server will not be down for more than 30 minutes. Please wait that long and try accessing it again. If your site has been down for longer than 2 hours please feel free to contact us and let us know. However, more than likely, we already know of the problem and are working to fix it.
- How do I back up my site? Do I need to do this often?
Backing up your site is THE MOST IMPORTANT THING YOU CAN DO. While none of our clients have EVER lost any of their data due to server malfunction (knock on wood) bad things happen everyday, so it’s best to be prepared for the worst. We recommend that you backup your site and databases at least once a month and keep a copy in a safe place on your hard drive or on a CD. If something were to happen to your site, all your files can be restored with your backup.
To backup your site, log into your cPanel and click on the Backup icon. Click on ‘Download a home directory Backup’ and your back up will automatically start downloading onto your computer. Additionally, you can download a Full Backup which will be stored in the home directory on the server.
- What’s a database? Is that important to back up as well?
A MySQL database is what many applications powered by PHP use to store important information. In the case of a Wordpress blog, all your posts, comments and options are saved in your Wordpress database, therefore it is of the utmost importance to backup this database. If you were to restore your blog without this database you would essentially be starting from scratch. (The only thing of importance not stored in the WP database are your themes.)
To backup any of your databases, just click on the database backup link listed on the Backup page in your cPanel. The database backup will automatically start downloading to your computer, where you can store it in a safe place.
- How do I protect my site from Hackers?
Never use the same password twice. If a hacker finds a password he will try to use for everything. Do not ever use the same password for any PHP application as your cPanel password. Config files for PHP applications (like Wordpress, most forums, guestbooks, etc.) are relatively easy to find and if you use your cPanel password then the hacker will have no problem getting in. The best passwords looks like this: dFa#rEt#J. That may be hard to remember, but it’s also almost impossible for a hacker to figure out.
Keep all your applications up-to-date. Older versions of blogs, forums, guestbooks, calendars, etc. can be security risks. We can do upgrades of practically anything, so please contact us if you need help upgrading.
If you have any applications, particularly anything PHP-based, that you don’t use anymore, just uninstall/delete them. They’re a waste of precious space and a security risk.
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