Please perform the following steps to recreate Qmail`s queue.

Attention!
All current messages will be removed from the queue in this case and cannot be restored.

1. Stop Qmail and xinetd.

/etc/init.d/qmail stop
/etc/init.d/xinetd stop

2. Move current queue to another location.

mv /var/qmail/queue /var/qmail/queue_old

3 Reinstall ‘psa-qmail‘ RPM to recreate qmail queue structure with the command like:

rpm -Uvh –force psa-qmail….

4.(Optional).Reinstall drweb-qmail RPM if you use DrWeb antivirus feature which comes with Plesk.

rpm -Uvh –force drweb-qmail….

5.Start Qmail and xinetd:

/etc/init.d/qmail start
/etc/init.d/xinetd start

Note: you should get the both psa-qmail and drweb-qmail RPMs from the same Plesk version distributive that is installed on the server.
You can obtain current psa-qmail, drweb-qmail RPMs and Plesk build versions by running the following commands on Linux systems:

rpm -q psa-qmail
rpm -q drweb-qmail
rpm -q psa

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1. Download MSI installer of IonCube Loader from HERE.

Notes: x86/ppc/sparc packages are for 32 bit systems; x86-64/ppc64 packages are for 64 bit systems. The Windows non-TS Loaders are for use on a Windows system where a phpinfo page shows that PHP is built with thread safety disabled.

2. Run the Setup and Click Next on first screen.

3. Select “Install to this machine”

4. Select the installation directory as %plesk_dir%\Additional\PleskPHP5\extras to avoid permissions problems as Plesk sets deny permissions to psacln and psaserv on “Program Files”.
(where %plesk_dir% is the Plesk installation directory)

5. Click Next and the installation will show the information you have select.

6. Click on install and it will start installing IonCube Loader on your server.

7. Click Finish to finish the IonCube Loader installation.

8. Check if the IonCube libraries are saved on the Plesk PHP path.

9. Now open php.ini for both PHP 4.x and PHP 5.x located to insert the path to IonCube Loader’s Library.

For PHP v4  : C:\WINDOWS\php.ini
For PHP v5  : %plesk_dir%\Additional\PleskPHP5\php.ini

10. Insert following link at the end of the respective php.ini files:
For PHP 4.x

[ZEND]
zend_extension_ts = %plesk_dir%\Additional\Php\extensions\ioncube\ioncube_loader_win_4.x.dll

For PHP 5.x

[ZEND]
zend_extension_ts = %plesk_dir%\Additional\Php\extensions\ioncube\ioncube_loader_win_5.x.dll

11. Please make sure that you select the correct versions of PHP in the file name.

make sure that you replace %plesk_dir%\ with the path on the server.

12. Restarted IIS:

13. You can check Ioncube Loader in the phpinfo page on your website:
Create a file info.php and check for “Ioncube Loader” section.
Your installation is done

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It indicates we’ll take a look at dedicated hosting. There are certain things regarding it that be noticed above shared enviroment which is important to find out what those activities are so you are sure of which is better to suit your needs.

Here are the benefits of dedicated hosting vs . shared enviroment:

- Dedicated hosting allows you to utilize entire server. Which means you have more room along with privacy. With web hosting services shared you are doing what it says you’re doing, that is “sharing.” You’re sharing the space compared to other web sites. You’ve your individual space in the data center that who else touches.

- Dedicated hosting permits you to have a very server your location. This is certainly if you have a person to manage the server. Or else, you can find managed services which allow you to still dedicated hosting. The only real difference is basically that you have somebody else managing your server, and that is something is fairly straightforward for lots of businesses.

- It’s not necessary to worry about one website pulling everyone down. If tips over on another web page which causes the hosting server to be corrupt, it could possibly pull down every other site by using it. You don’t want to need a disaster recovery cover this with no to. If you are dealing with managed hosting, the hosting company will take care of it, but you must hold off until they purchase the situation rectified before you do what’s necessary.

- Simply because you would be the one while using the server, you’ve increased security. There’s no need to worry a lot about the information you have being compromised. Sadly, over a shared server you own a higher risk of your web site being hacked into. Managed services will take good care of any problems right away, and you’ll be reassured that their disaster recovery plan are going to be completely thorough. As a managed server host, they keep a close eye on their data center. In contrast to a shared server, you are aware that any points that arise are solely your concern with no one else to eliminate if something is compromised.

Regarding cost effectiveness, dedicated hosting is cost-effective in many ways. It’s important to remember to consider that using a strong online presence increase your profits. When you have 100% uptime, have the ability to host a substantial amount space on the Internet, and can frequently improve your webpage, then you are going to be able to find an internet after that you can not deny one bit. You can see the difference very fast and that is certainly the most important thing. Your dedicated hosting covers itself.

For those times you happen to be wondering what are the distinction between cpanel vps and web hosting services shared is, congratulations, you know. This is significant to enable you to determine the species of hosting you would like. No matter whether you are looking at managed services, an incredible disaster recovery plan, or various other benefit. You will need to recognize that vps webhosting is usually an entirely different world plus a world which you may choose to indulge in.

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CentOS-3 updates until Oct 31, 2010

CentOS-4 updates until Feb 29, 2012

CentOS-5 updates until Mar 31, 2014

2 . What architectures are supported ?

The following architectures are supported by each version of CentOS:

CentOS 3 currently supports x86, x86_64 (AMD64 and Intel EM64T), s390, s390x, ia64 (Intel Itanium2).

CentOS 4 currently supports x86, x86_64, s390, s390x and ia64. ppc (PowerPC), alpha (DEC Alpha) and sparc are released in beta for CentOS 4.

CentOS 5 currently supports x86 and x86_64. ia64, ppc (PowerPC) and sparc are being developed.

3. How can I easily compare what major package versions are in CentOS 3, CentOS 4 and CentOS 5?

On the CentOS Distro Page at DistroWatch.com you can compare Major packages and All tracked packages. DistroWatch is an good resource for comparing Linux and BSD distributions.

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Note that logging in without a password is logged as a failure. This results
in the security log filling up very fast if you log failures and have a user
without a password. The result is you can not login normally. Also note, not
having a password is a potential and probable security risk.

The event log can be viewed by going to Start | Control Panel | Performance
and Maintenance | Administrative Tools and click on Event Viewer.

The Event Log (Security) noting a successful logon and logoff by a remote
user. The user can highlight a log entry and right-click to view the event
Properties for detailed information.

Look in the Security Event Log for a Logon/Logoff Event 528 and Logon Type
10.

The free Microsoft Port Reporter tool provides for additional logging.
Description of the Port Reporter Parser (PR-Parser) tool
http://support.microsoft.com/default…b;en-us;884289

Availability and description of the Port Reporter tool
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/837243

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CentOS 6.0 has been released. This is, some might say, the most anticipated release to date with CentOS pushing out the date numerous times. Finally CentOS 6.0, an Enterprise-class Linux Distribution, is available for download to the public.

CentOS-6.0 is based on the upstream release EL 6.0 and includes packages
from all variants. All upstream repositories have been combined into
one, to make it easier for end users to work with.

We highly recommend reading this announcement along with the Release Notes 

WebhostUK Limited now provides Reseller clients hosted on server with latest CentOS 6, following feature we offer with reseller hosting plan

* Free WHMCS billing Software: Allows you to automate web hosting and take care of billing for your end user clients.
* 100% private labelled end user support: Get 100% private labelled, free end user support, where your clients can now submit support requests, and our experienced staff will resolve them for you – working as YOUR own company staff.
* Free Vision Helpdesk Software: Most powerful ticket system serving as a helpdesk so that your clients can contact you for their support.
* Free Enom reseller account: Most trusted domain registrar where you can register domains under your ownership for your clients.
* Free private lablelled nameservers: Keeps you completely anonymous not letting your clients know that you are our reseller.
* Free SSL Certificates (on selected reseller plans): Securing your website for critical data that should be protected and encrypted.
* Free RvSiteBuilder: Allows you to design your website in less than 5 minutes with the selection of number of readymade templates.
* And many other things including RvSkin, Fantastico, account migration, etc..

** For More Information on Reseller Hosting plan, please click here

CentOS 6 Downloads

You can download CentOS Linux 6 via the web/ftp server or via BitTorrent (recommended) client.

CentOS 6 DVD ISO downloads

• Download CentOS 6 32 bit i386 DVD ISO image 1 (4.4 GB)
• Download CentOS 6 64 bit x86_64 DVD ISO image 1 (3.9 GB) and image 2 (1.1GB)

CentOS 6 DVD ISO Torrents

Torrent files for the DVD’s are available at the following location:

• Download 32 bit i386 torrent file
• Download 64 bit x86_64 torrent file

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cPanel PCI Compliance Step 1

First thing first, run a package update.

yum -y update

If it installed a new kernel, reboot the server so the new kernel takes affect. If its a live production server you may want to wait until an off-peak hour to do the reboot and continue with this article.

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 2

Now that you have the OS packages secure, its time to setup a firewall if you don’t have one already.

A good free IPtables based firewall is the APF (Advanced Policy Firewall) firewall from RF-X Networks, you can download that here:

wget http://www.rfxn.com/downloads/apf-current.tar.gz

While your at it, get and install the BFD (Brute Force Detector) and LSM (Linux Socket Monitor) which are also available on the RF-X Networks site.

The main things you want to configure are the allowed ports in the APF config file, both ingress AND egress, and then you want to setup an ACL by using the allow and deny hosts files that come with APF. For the ACL’s you want to block everything you don’t want public access to, but still need certain IPs to access. For example SSH, cPanel, WHM, and maybe webmail. For example your allow line for cpanel will look like this:

tcp:in:d=2083:s=123.123.123.123

Noticed, we used port 2083 and not the insecure cpanel port 2082, which we have blocked in the APF config file. And then so you have a deny from all that are not explicitly allows, add this to the deny hosts file:

tcp:in:d=2083:s=0/0

The reasoning behind this is to not even give anyone a chance to get in, if #1, they have your password, #2, they are trying to brute force their way in, #3, there is an exploit in which they are able to bypass the authentication means.

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 3

Back to Linux hardening, you want to do a few things here, first disable any unused packages/services, for example cups and portmap, delete any unneeded users, disable shell for any users that don’t need it in /etc/passwd.

You also want to change the SSH port, disable SSH version 1, and disallow direct root login:

pico /etc/ssh/sshd_config

Remember to allow the new SSH port in the APF config file, and add an underprivileged user to the wheel group, so you can su to root. and then restart the firewall and sshd.

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 4

Run a couple cpanel scripts, the first upcp, and the second easyapache. For upcp its recommend to use the “current” build, this is set in the update config in WHM.

/scripts/upcp

Remember to run upcp before running easyapache

/scripts/easyapache

When running easyapache, select the latest apache and PHP versions, and also ensure the following PHP options are checked:
CGI
Mod suPHP
suhosin fo PHP
Mod Security

This will ensure the most secure way to run PHP.

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 5

Install a ModSecurity rule set, ModSecurity, your layer 7, Web Application Firewall (WAF) is only as good as the rule set you are using. GotRoot.com is a good place for free ModSecurity rules.

wget http://www.gotroot.com/downloads/ftp/mod_security/apache2/apache2-gotrootrules-latest.tar.gz

Download, untar and install the different rules files, and then test and edit if needed.

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 6

The next step is to disable dangerous and PCI unfriendly PHP functions. For example a phpinfo page will cause you to fail a PCI scan. You disable line should contain at least the following functions:

phpinfo,passthru,shell_exec,system,proc_open,popen,curl_multi_exec,
show_source,escapeshellarg,escapeshellcmd,inject_code

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 7

Now its time to go to WHM. There are a number of built-in WHM security features, and PCI friendly features.
Going down the list on the left hand side of WHM you want to look at:

Apache mod_userdir Tweak – Here Check “Enable mod_userdir Protection” and click save
Compiler Access – Click “Disable Compilers”
Configure Security Policies – Check the first 3 and next 2 if necessary, and click save
cPHulk Brute Force Protection – Enable cPhulk, and under White/Black list Management enter your IP(s)
Password Strength Configuration – Set this to 100
PHP open_basedir Tweak – Check “Enable php open_basedir Protection.” click save
Shell Fork Bomb Protection – Click “Enable Protection”
SMTP Tweak – Click “Disable”

Apache Configuration–>Global Configuration
- For SSLCipherSuite Change the + by Medium to a -, you line should look like this “ALL:!ADH:+HIGH:-MEDIUM:-LOW:-SSLv2:-EXP”
- Set TraceEnable and ServerSignature to Off
- Set ServerTokens to ProductOnly
- Set FileETag to None
- For Directory ‘/’ Options uncheck “indexes”

Now click save, then click Rebuild Configuration and Restart Apache
For Manage Service SSL Certificates, make sure all your services have a valid SSL cert
Under Service Manager, disable any services you don’t need, for example if you don’t have your database on this server, disable mySQL, if you don’t use it for email, disable the email related services

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 8

In order to pass a PCI scan your server must have at least one SSL certificate signed by a recognized certificate authority, and any services using SSL need to be using a certificate as well. Buy a decent 128 / 256 bit  SSL certificate and install it not just for Apache, but also for all of your active services. WebHost Manager has a section for installing service SSL certificates to make this process easier.

cPanel PCI Compliance Step 9

Finally document your versions. A part of your PCI docs file, you should have a screen shot of the version you are running of at least the following:
Apache, PHP, ModSecurity, Linux Kernel, CentOS, OpenSSH, and OpenSSL. Your output will look something like this:

root@server [/]# httpd -v
Server version: Apache/2.2.17 (Unix)
Server built: Dec 14 2010 17:23:57
Cpanel::Easy::Apache v3.2.0 rev5277

root@server [/]# php -v
PHP 5.3.4 (cli) (built: Dec 14 2010 17:30:39)
Copyright (c) 1997-2010 The PHP Group
Zend Engine v2.3.0, Copyright (c) 1998-2010 Zend Technologies
with the ionCube PHP Loader v3.3.20, Copyright (c) 2002-2010, by ionCube Ltd.
with Suhosin v0.9.32.1, Copyright (c) 2007-2010, by SektionEins GmbH

root@server [/]# uname -r
2.6.18-194.32.1.el5

root@server [/]# cat /etc/redhat-release
CentOS release 5.5 (Final)

root@server [/]# cat /home/cpeasyapache/src/modsecurity-apache_1.9.5/apache2/mod_security.c
|grep MODULE_RELEASE |head -1
#define MODULE_RELEASE “1.9.5″

root@server [/]# rpm -qa |grep openssl
openssl-devel-0.9.8e-12.el5_5.7
openssl-0.9.8e-12.el5_5.7

root@server [/]# rpm -qa |grep openssh
openssh-4.3p2-41.el5_5.1
openssh-server-4.3p2-41.el5_5.1
openssh-clients-4.3p2-41.el5_5.1

Since RedHat type operating systems, including CentOS and Fedora, use backporting for OpenSSH and OpenSSL, you may get a false positive on your PCI scan for these. If that happens to you, send the screen shots showing your OpenSSH, OpenSSL, as well as your CentOS version and kernel version to your PCI scanner and let them know your a running a seucre, backported version, and request that they test that version manually.
If your PCI ASV requests more proof you are running a secure version of OpenSSH and OpenSSL, you can send them a screen shot of the following commands, which show specifically what patches have been applied to your version.

rpm -q --changelog openssh | head -50
rpm -q --changelog openssl | head -50

This will produce output similar to:

# rpm -q --changelog openssl | head -50
* Tue Dec 07 2010 Tomas Mraz 0.9.8e-12.7
- fix CVE-2010-4180 - completely disable code for
SSL_OP_NETSCAPE_REUSE_CIPHER_CHANGE_BUG (#659462)

* Fri Mar 12 2010 Tomas Mraz 0.9.8e-12.6
- fix CVE-2009-3245 – add missing bn_wexpand return checks (#570924)
(output truncated)

Another common false positive with cPanel servers, is your scan might detect Exim as an open relay, this is because the server will sending the mail headers before authentication, even though a successful authentication is needed before it will allow email to go through. If this shows up on your scan you will want to ask the scanning vendor to test this vulnerability manually.

We hope you have enjoyed this article and found it useful for helping make your cPanel Linux server PCI compliant. Please remember to try and test the steps listed here on a test server before applying them to your production cPanel servers. In addition this article does not cover everything your need to do to be PCI compliant, and it meant to be a starting point, and provide information for a cPanel, CentOS specific server. We plan on bringing your future articles and howto’s to cover the PCI compliant information missing from this article.

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First, if your website is targeting visitors or customers based in England, Wales, Ireland, or Scotland, then you should choose a UK web hosting provider. If you choose a hosting provider with servers or offices located in another country, then you will have to worry about slower load times for your website, fluctuating exchange rates, and time zone differences. This can affect in a great way on your website SEO and speed as well.

So, how exactly should you go about choosing a reliable and affordable uk web hosting company? Forum posts from current and previous customers of a web hosting company can provide you with useful feedback, but it is easy for employees of a web hosting company to write forum posts purporting to be their own customers (or customers of their competition). Unfortunately, this means forum posts are not always a reliable source of information about a company. You can also rely on reviews from web hosting review sites, but it also fairly easy for the staff members of a hosting company to write fraudulent reviews.

A lot of web hosting providers will have a section on their website full of customer testimonials. These are usually more reliable than forum posts or review sites, but you should realise that most web hosting companies will only publish positive customer testimonials. So, if you can’t rely on forum posts, review sites, or customer testimonials, then where can you get advice on choosing a reliable and affordable web hosting provider?

If you’re looking for a UK web hosting company, then you should ask for recommendations from anyone you know with a website who uses a web hosting UK based company. Word of mouth recommendations are most likely the most reliable source of feedback for products and service, so you should make use of them if you can.

I will also suggest to avoid paid review sites, which just shows some fake companies on top.

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Hosting your web sites on your own dedicated server may seem a little expensive in comparison to shared web hosting, but the end result is more advantageous. Shared web hosting, no matter how well managed, cannot be 100% reliable and stable. However if you have your own dedicated server you can manage to avoid most of the variables affecting the reliability and stability of a server, commonly experienced by shared hosting accounts; variables such as: overload, bad codes and scripts from other users (especially beginners); and, too many applications and components uploaded, and so on.

On a dedicated server you will install only software and applications you want to use, while on a shared hosting server you will find a host of other software and applications installed for other users.

By the very nature of the account, a dedicated server: reduces your dependency on the web host; and bypasses time delays and possible expenses incurred from these. With dedicated server hosting you can provide instant support to your own clients whenever required, which is not possible if you are on a shared server. A reliable and fast support service is vital for your own business growth just like the stability and reliability you wish for your own website. In business, reliability is reflected through word-of-mouth as one of the most effective promotional activities.

For people with clients, such as Graphic Designers and Web Designers a dedicated server is invaluable. A dedicated server will bring extra income into the studio, not just as a hosting facility, but, as a designer knows only too well, for the extra ‘bread and butter’ income value. If you have 24hour access to your own dedicated server then you can adjust, correct or update a clients website in minutes, allowing you to keep the dollar back in your studio and not in someone else’s. Ready availability results in reduced labor costs for the client, but higher studio-income frequency for the designer. Hence you will see the return of all your regular offline clients, bringing their web work with them.

The need for a dedicated server to your average shared server user is realized when stats tell you: how quickly people left your site because it was taking too much time to download; or how many daily visitors you are down by, because your site was not up. The true negative is the worry of how many lost visitors could have been your future paying-customers. The loss could easily equal the value of the upgrade to a Dedicated Server!

For a business, a website that is quickly downloadable and up all the time gives the visitor encouragement that your service is just as reliable, hence you will be more likely to make a sale. It will also enhance the company’s image and encourage existing customers to refer your service to others. This will result in more sales for less promotion.

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When do you need a Managed Server?
Managed Hosting is an excellent solution for mid to high level hosting needs. Designed to host busy e-commerce sites and dynamic, database driven Web pages, Managed Hosting offers small and large business owners a fast, powerful, reliable and professionally maintained Web presence. If you have a need for a dedicated server, and don’t have the IT resources, expertise, or time to manage your own servers, then Managed Hosting is for you.

What are the advantages of Manged Server Hosting?
Managed Hosting offers many enticing features such as:

What should be my main concerns when searching for a Managed Hosting Provider?
First, you need to determine whether or not your website is large enough to justify the cost of such an endeavor. That aside, the most common concerns are:

• The cost
• Security of Data and Equipment
• Bandwidth Availability
• The knowledge and integrity of the web hosting provider
• Technical support from the web hosting provider
• Uptime
• Site and Data Backups

What are some good questions to ask a Managed Hosting Provider before I sign up?
Some good questions to ask your prospective hosts are:

• What brand computers do you use?
• What kind of connection to the Internet do you have?
• What hours is your management staff available for problems and issues?
• How often do you backup the servers?
• In the case of a loss, how quickly can you restore from a backup and get me back up and running?
• What software typically is installed on my machine?
• Are there any software packages that you wont manage?

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