Do It Yourself Webhosting?!? Ye Be Warned

What Every Web Site Owner Should Know DO IT YOURSELF WEB HOSTING? YE BE WARNED... (Web Hosting Pt 03) Eventually, you will hear or read somewhere that you can enable the Personal Web Server (PWS) and run your own Web server. You might be thinking “Gee, can save a few bucks and host my site for free”. While this is true, and may even seem easy, this is a huge endeavor if you want to do it properly. TURN BACK NOW, WHILE YOU STILL CAN! If you are still determined to run your own Web server here’s a few things to consider: Security: with millions of hackers, viruses, Worms, spyware packages, and other Internet threats, security is a paramount. While this applies to all computers; it is even more vital for a Web server exposed directly to the Internet. Web servers are extremely vulnerable simply due to their accessibility. Additionally, they have certain ports that need to be open to communicate with other computers. To deal with security, you will need a good hardware firewall, properly configured. Furthermore, the server must be set up properly with no exploits that could allow a hacker, worm, or other malware access. You will also need to monitor the security logs for any suspicious activity on a daily basis. DNS: if you’re going to run your own web server then you will need to run a public DNS server, or find a third party service to run your DNS zone for you. This is beyond the scope of this book Static IP address: you will also need a static IP address so that your domain name will consistently resolve to your Website. As we discussed before an IP address is what networks use to locate and identify other networks, computers and other Internet enabled devices. A static IP is usually more expensive than a dynamic IP. The difference between a static and a dynamic IP is simply this; a static IP never changes it is always a particular dress such as 68.183 dot 185.191 versus a dynamic IP that will change either periodically, or every time you turn on your computer. With this being said it is possible to run a Website with a dynamic IP address by using a third party company, however I do not recommend this approach. Software: It's expensive and obsolete by the time you open the packaging... Mail server: assuming you want to receive e-mail through your domain (i.e. you@yourdomain.com) you will need to install and configure a mail server on your computer and all the goes with it. By doing this you are enabling the service on your computer called SMTP (simple mail transport protocol). By turning on SMTP you have just open yourself to becoming an unsolicited e-mail relay server, better known as a spam zombie. And in properly secured and configured SMTP server will allow anybody on the Internet to use your computer to send e-mail. Even worse than that, with a few easy to get programs available widely on the Internet, they can even make these emails appear to be coming directly from you. Maintenance: When the server goes down guess who gets the calls and guess who you get to call... If this isn’t enough to scare you off, and you are determined to run your own Website, then I hope you’ll visit my website www. EverMoreTech.com. I have some tips and tricks as well as more detailed and in-depth instructions and advice to do this properly. However, I reiterate, it is cheaper be easier, more secure, and less of a headache to simply by hosting services. I personally run my own web hosting business and we’ll be happy to host a Website for you at a reasonable price.