Think your server is up to speed and secure? READ MORE....
 

Like to tell you a little bit about Brian @ Vintagehost.net & the services he offers. He takes care of my box's, several friends & a few people on gfy already. He's a good guy & this is a shameless plug for him.

Description of optimization service:

http://optimized.vintagehost.net

- Securing of all major vulnerabilities that hackers typically use as a break-in point
_ This includes, but is not limited to: /TMP/ directory, SSH, and PHP
- Installation of Both a Firewall and a Brute Force detection application to ensure extended security
- Resource monitors that automatically restart a downed service after 5 minutes
- This ensures that your box is constantly accessible via the web, ftp, e-mail, etc.
- Installation of web delivery acceleration applications
- Drastically improves web delivery performance to browsers and lowers system load
- Apache modules installed for added security
- Hardening of Host.conf and SYSCTL for added security
- Disabling of unused services to lower system load

Why do you need a box optimized?

An "out of the box" server is like attempting to use an "out of the box" personal computer. It is slow, has very many "extras" that are not needed, and is very insecure. To achieve optimum performance from a server, it needs to be finely tuned, to each specific need, as each customer's use is different. Running a server without proper security is like playing Russian Roulette with your data, website, and company you have no idea whether or not a potential hacker could corrupt everything you've worked to build. Drop scripts in to shave your traffic etc.

Mention this Coupon "GFY05" & get $5 off any optimization package.

***********************

Brian also offers full 24-7 management, for those of you who have bought box's without management & need a watchfull eye & a helping hand just like any major hosts support, but on a much more personal level. :pimp

http://managed.vintagehost.net

welcome to system administrator 101

yea i'd say his knowledge goes a little beyond system admin 101

perhaps you'd like to eloborate a little bit on how much better your servers are locked up & optimized?

or was this just a drop by pissing?

thanks for the info, he seems very reasonable.

couldnt find an icq number so i'll shoot him an email :thumbsup

I apologize, my ICQ number is 221976033. E-mail, if you have any questions: brianhornung (at) vintagehost.net.

^ just so you guys know, brians the man & he doesn't fuck around, hit em up...you'll never deal with someone so professional again

Brian and VintageHost are Partygoat Approved

http://localfreak.com/images/pgpimp.jpg

actually my servers are very rock soild. Its simply the right thing to do. I'm not knocking your man but you really haven't shown more than the basics. aka 101

I've been a systems admin/network engineer/programmer/webmaster in the adult industry for 14+ years. so prehaps the setup seems wonderful to you but its basic to me.

fyi it doesn't mention anything about open relays. does he allow you to bounce emails?

sorry but you did ask for elaboration

OpenBSD-3.7 + PF + Systrace&Chroot + 1u dual xeon = good enough for me

A downed service will restart itself. Thats why its called a service, and not an application.

Each customer's needs are assessed on a one-on-one basis. Truth is, the people reading this post (with the exclusion of yourself, it appears) are not interested in every technical aspect of what is secured and optimized. I too have a vast ammount of experience, and while it may seem basic what is listed, the service itself is not. Some may require more, and some less -- it is based on the need of the server owner.

BSD -- security by obscurity, sounds great, but, how long does that last? Also, you did not mention any aspect of optimization of Apache, MySQL, etc. -- even on a dual xeon, unoptimized services can run like a three legged dog.

A service does not automatically restart itself when it freezes or stops responding. If they did, there would be no need for third party applications that monitor them.

Thank you for your time.

like i said before I wasn't knocking anyone. It should be basic 101 to do the things that secure the customers websites. Its good to see hosting companies making an effort to control their services. to many fly by nights are gone tomorrow because they just feed os disks and pray.

wrong

...

I completely agree, Doc, but the truth is that yes, it is not common practice to secure and optimize a customer's server. That is why I provide the service that I do, it needs to be done.

Its good but its bad. And bad only because this guy's services are 'special'. They shouldn't be special. Any admin worth the name would/should do the basics that pr0 has above. Sadly, that seems to not the be the case.

Unless you have host+network based service monitors that are written correctly(eg, not just checking the process, but checking for a proper return value), you're auto restarts out of cron aren't worth much. Unless you run a seperate daemonized process that also binds to a port for monitoring, its a nice thing to put on your website, but not worth much. If you want me to elaborate further, feel free to ask.