It’s 3AM, and your server is getting attacked. Sales opens at 9AM, and the data center techs have done everything viable to protect your machine. What to do next? How do you protect your server without spending a fortune? Well, to answer that question is why we created SnapShield- an on-demand virtualized firewall ready to work for you, and easy as pie to install.

As you may know, SingleHop is incessantly looking for ways to give our clients more options and thus more control. We know that for you a server is more than just a machine – it’s your business, it’s part of how you live your life. So if you need that extra protection, you need it fast, and you don’t want to pay for a dedicated firewall – here is what you’ve been waiting for. Go ahead, snap that shield on. Its all done through LEAP, and we have even provided you with several pre-configured suggestions based on our most popular server setups to make the job even easier.

Make sure to ask your Account Executive for more information, they will be glad to assist in getting SnapShield up and running.

On-demand firewall protection for your dedicated server, when you need it. 0 install time.

It is Migzzy V once again from SingleHop.Com, bringing you the SOS info on the new add-on feature we have began providing for cPanel.  Yes I know many of you might be wondering why in the world is Miguel channeling ABBA, well for starters I love the group and secondly this post is in reference to the fabulousness of the new security tool for cPanel.  In addition to Fantastico, the new addon Xtra Extreme Pro ($4/mo) is now here.  So what is the big whoopra about this new feature, well for starters it is a security tool that is extremely helpful to all cPanel users.  It has over 120+ new features that provide you with easy access and configurations via WHM as oppose to SSH and shell.  It also includes numerous security features that can prevent DDoS attacks, hackers, and SPAM detection.  Because we use Xtra Extreme Pro, you will also have one click install software firewall options available, virtual network monitoring in regards to your user accounts as well as perform mass actions that can be carried out more quickly and effectively for your clients.  It also notifies you when issues arise regarding your systems security.  For Full information on all of the Features click HERE: But if you want my take on some of the most noteworthy benefits this is my list:

*Click to install firewall
* List User ID’s (helps view and detect hackers if they were to
create random accounts)
* APF / BFD (Brute Force Detection system)
* Kiss Firewall
* Unhide (performs several check for hackers and hidden processes)
* System Integrity Monitor
* Dos Deflate (Combats DDOS attacks by blocking IP’s that connected too many
times during a specific period)
* On Guard (monitors files in/tmp/var/tmp amd other locations for hackers
scripts and notifies you when it finds something that is not
ordinary)
* Mod Evasive (Evasive maneuver module for Apache to provide protection for
DDOS)
* Old Backups
* Virtual Network Monitor (Install VN Stat Network Monitor.  Provides an SSH
and/ or php interface for live monitoring of network traffic and bandwidth
usage)
* Mass Actions (Backup, suspend, unsuspend and delete multiple server
accounts even without a backup drive)

This new feature with all of its glory is a phenomenal buy.  The software firewall and hacker prevention/detection system alone makes this ideal.  And who can argue that additional protection is never necessary???  If you ask me I will say any kind of server protection is as valuable as gold itself.  And to have this new feature uploaded for just a couple of bucks a month makes me happy, my clients happy, and hopefully anyone out there using cPanel as well.  Don’t wait, get yourself a XTRA license for cPanel from Singlehop.com today.  I will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have (Miguel@Singlehop.Com), and I am certainly sure your server will be happy as well.  Does your cPanel hear the SOS with Xtra extreme Pro?  If so than that is sexxxy

Leap Features

Leap has been with us for quite some time now, but it is continually receiving new features and getting upgraded in all sorts of ways. So, I thought it would be a good idea to let you guys know about some of the features it has and explain how they work, I’ll start off from the top (based on the actual UI graphics) with the “My Servers” Icon.

My Servers Icon

-Remote Desktop/SSH – From the “my servers” icon you will be able to see a list of all of your servers, and access any one of your servers via SSH or Remote Desktop right inside Leap. You can do this by clicking on the SSH/RDP button after clicking on which server you would like to access. Please note you will still need that servers root login information in order to gain access to the server.

-Bandwidth – From this icon you will also be able to see current, and past bandwidth usage calculated to the closest MB. This will allow you to keep a close eye on the server bandwidth usage and give you a good indication on when would be a good time to upgrade the bandwidth or hardware on any server in your list.

-Private Network -You will also notice that there is a “Private Network/SSL VPN button.” You would use this button if you had more than one server in the same datacenter that you wanted to setup a private network between. Setting up a private network would allow you to transfer data between the two/three/four/etc. servers at full pipe speed, standard is 100 mbps, this is very useful if you have different servers doing different tasks and the servers need to communicate with each other. Having a private network setup will also allow for a backend VPN connection in case the public side is down, or brought down purposely for testing or whatnot.

-OS Reload – You will also be able to request an OS Reload, if you need a fresh Operating System install, and get into your dedicated server in bailout mode in case of server troubles.

-Server Reboot – You can reboot the server through Leap with a few clicks of your mouse. Clicking this will send a command to your server making it do a hard reboot.

-Reverse DNS – Reverse DNS is one of the new features in Leap allowing you to manage your own Reverse DNS entries by simply editing a line right next to the ip you want to add an entry for.

-Update Root Password – In Leap you can also let the techs know that you changed the root password for your server. This will automatically update the password in our system in case the techs need to access it for support. Please note that this does not change the password on your server, its simply a tool to let the techs know the password has been changed.

That’s about it for the “My Servers” icon in Leap. We are always coming up with great new features to implement in Leap, and since we designed this platform in house its fairly easy for us to add new things. If you have any ideas or suggestions feel free to let us know, we would love to hear them.

We all know it doesn’t take a long time to sense the future prospects of an employer, and so, while I have been at SingleHop for less than a year I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the sheer volume of positive feedback we constantly receive. This feedback has helped me understand the kind of company that SingleHop is, and challenges me and the rest of the company to continue providing excellent customer service and support- the #1 reasons why our clients choose and stay at SingleHop over the plethora of other providers out there. So, in order to make my point I’d like to share with you a few of the messages that we have received in the past few weeks:

Matt Ulrey from angelicsaviour.com, showed his appreciation by saying, “No one at The Planet ever cared to call me, but that’s why I’m with you now, right?”

Greg Bittinger from treasurequestxlt.com replied to one of my emails with, “Thank you for contacting me and the personal touch I feel about your contact. I just love my server and I’m so glad I found SingleHop. I plan to give you my business for a very long time.”

Debbie Wooldridge, from www.ttcinnovations.com was facing a problem with her servers and this is what she said about her experience with us:
“The service team that we had on both tickets was AMAZING!!! They stuck with me through the entire trouble shooting, communicated with me about options and, ultimately, solved both our issues. I have nothing but positive feedback about these experiences. The technical support team members were fabulous!!!!”

Erik from Australia had a similar response to our support as well:
“I am shocked how excellent the technical support is. When I sent a query, I have a helpful and competent response within minutes. There is always someone there for me, ready to help. That makes me feel safe and secure. Thanks heaps for such a great service.”

While I know many of you have seen websites with seemingly vague and fabricated “customer testimonials,” ever since I started at SingleHop all of these testimonials have indeed come in, and are all true. Usually the way it works is that several times a week a uniquely encouraging message gets sent around the company- the latest one included a photoshoped picture of Steve Jobs doing some silly but clearly victorious pose! Here are a few more comments from clients who recently mentioned how pleasantly surprised they were at finally finding a hosting provider they could trust:

Ray Chest from www.supercountryhits.com mentioned his appreciation of his network and bandwidth performance: “I am very pleased with the performance I have gotten with Singlehop. I remember the days of
other hosting and bandwidth providers and they just simply do not stack up to you guys in every aspect. I sure am glad I made the hop on over to Singlehop.com”

Shane Holland from the popular blog www.myfriendshane.com focused his satisfaction with our service when he said:
“I rely on you guys for my business to run and I have NEVER been disappointed, your service has by far exceeded any of my expectations and it is truly like having a team of engineers and a datacenter, in my basement.”

And finally, Jonathan Skelton from www.yoursupport.net a full-service web strategy and design outfit, replied to our of our voicemails with: “Thanks for the voicemail and follow-up ticket. Since signing up with Singlehop, I have just one opinion. I love it! The server performs well and the support staff is willing to help me with whatever I need. I will continue to have a fast, reliable, and robust server.”

So from all of us here at SingleHop, thank you so much for the feedback. We will continue to deliver the same quality service, rain or shine.  We all work very hard to make sure that all our clients are well taken care of! If you have any suggestions for how we can improve our service, please feel free to let me know.

Microsoft’s Hyper-V has been around for a little over a year now, and in that time it has proven to be quite a stable hypervisor. This is excellent if you are looking to reduce hardware costs by consolidating many machines into one, or if you would like to resell virtual private servers to your own clients.

If you are looking into reselling virtual private machines, your best option would be to use DotNetPanel Enterprise with the Hyper-V snap in. This will allow you to easily deploy Hyper-V virtual machines when they are purchased, and will give your clients an easy-to-use interface to make changes to the hosting of the machine. [what does "the hosting of the machine" mean? maybe expand a tiny bit]

If it is machine consolidation that you are looking for, then the built in Hyper-V panel is sufficient for your needs. [But] If you plan on having both Hyper-V virtual machines, and VMWare virtual machines, then the Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine manager is the better choice, as it will allow you to manage all your virtual machines from one single interface.

We currently offer Hyper-V Dedicated Servers for all supported operating systems, which are Windows Server 2008 Standard, Enterprise, and Datacenter, in the 64-bit variation. It comes at no extra cost to you for just Hyper-V on its own. Hyper-V officially supports Windows servers all the way down to Server 2000, and Suse Linux. Microsoft has submitted a patch to the Linux kernel, which should allow for full-blown Linux support soon. Licensing is pretty simple, a Windows license from us will allow you to install up to four guest operating systems of the same version as the host at no additional cost. We can provide you with additional Windows licenses if needed.

If you are interested in utilizing this technology on your Windows dedicated server, let one of our Account Executives know and they will be happy to set you up!

One feature that SingleHop offers that I don’t think gets enough attention is our Spam Filtering service. Even though both of the control panels we offer, cPanel and Plesk, have spam filtering options, the real belle of the ball is our MailFoundry device, so I thought I would do a quick write up and talk a little bit about it.

Everyone hates spam, be it the random characters with a link thrown in, malicious attachments, phishing emails or online pharmacies, it is all a major hassle. Thankfully though, our spam zapping device is designed specifically to help you avoid said hassles, without deleting that one email you were REALLY looking for. Our MailFoundry machine does not use the typical methods that most spam filtering methods use, it is a hardware filter that uses a proprietary algorithm, called MessageIQ, focused on killing spam and quickly adapting its algorithm as needed to, most importantly, avoid false positives. MessageIQ is especially proficient in this area because it sifts through 500,000 emails every hour, 24/7 to find and classify new spam profiles in real-time. These profiles are then pushed to MailFoundry appliances all over the world, including ours, every five minutes.

Our clients benefit from this in a couple of different ways. First, its affordable, we only charge $40 per year per domain, no matter how many email addresses are setup at the domain. Second, this is a fully managed solution, such that all our clients only need to point their MX records to the appliance, we handle the rest on our end and MessageIQ handles the updates on theirs- giving you a spam-free inbox. While no solution is perfect, In our opinion, this is the best way for controlling spam this day in age.