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    Everything you need to know about internet data caps

    What are internet data caps?

    A data cap is a limit that internet providers place on the amount of data that each client can use in a given month. A data cap accounts for the data you send and receive.Essentially, this means that your provider is monitoring your internet usage, determining how much data you are using each month. Different activities require varying amounts of data. For example, downloading a movie or watching a show on Netflix uses significantly more data than sending an email.In years past, your cell phone provider likely charged you based on the number of texts that you sent and received or the amount of time you spend talking on your phone each month. Nowadays, most phone plans have either unlimited data or allocated amounts large enough that you rarely consider whether or not you’ll surpass your monthly limit. Internet data works the same way, but many activities that are done online use more data than sending a text. As such, it’s important to understand how much data your internet plan allows you to use.The plan you choose determines your data cap. Varying amounts of streaming, downloading, and browsing is available to users depending on their pay each month. The amount of data you need depends on how much time you spend online and what you do. Simple tasks such as Google searches and sending emails take up a relatively small amount of data, while streaming movies and tv shows require much more data.See also: Best internet service provider 2021: Top expert picks

    What do you need to know about data caps?

    Data caps apply to mobile phone service plans in addition to home internet plans. Mobile internet use is likely where you will go over your allocated data limit more easily. Especially now with smartphones, scrolling through social media, checking your emails, using a navigation app for directions, and even checking the weather all drain your data.If you aren’t careful about how much data you consume, you can very easily surpass your given limit, resulting in a higher monthly bill. 

    What happens if you go over your data cap?

    Going over your data cap, intentionally or unintentionally, generally results in increased charges on your internet bill. Once you surpass your allocated amount for the month, your internet provider will charge you based on the amount that you go over. Most providers charge between $10 and $15 for each additional 50GB used. These rates are generally significantly higher than the rates built into monthly packages. As such, it’s important to understand your household’s data needs and internet habits before you choose an internet data package. See also: Best cheap internet provider 2021: Affordable ISPs

    How big are most internet data caps?

    All Internet providers structure their plans a little differently. Internet caps often range from 10GB to 150GB. Almost all providers offer unlimited plans, but for the most part, they aren’t necessary.Data caps put a limit on the amount of internet access users can have. For the most part, many normal activities such as shopping online and checking your email won’t cause you to exceed your limit, but it is important to understand your month-to-month data consumption. If you stream Netflix frequently, you may want to consider a larger cap. 

    What size data cap do you need?

    When determining how much data you need, it’s best to start by considering how much time you spend online on a given day. If you turn on your laptop to check your email once a day, you can get away with a small data cap, which will save you a lot of money. But if you live with your spouse and three children and you all have iPads, laptops, gaming systems, and other internet compatible devices, you’ll need a much bigger plan. If your family spends a lot of time on Netflix, checking social media, and playing video games, you may want an unlimited plan or a plan with a high data cap. If you have kids, your household is likely to use a lot more data during summer vacation. But in the winter, you may be able to get away with a much smaller plan. Be sure to research the options provided by your current internet service provider and its competitors to get an idea of your options and how much you can expect to spend.While the concept of data caps may seem complicated, in reality, you just need to be mindful of how much time you spend online and choose a plan that aligns with your usage.See also: How much internet speed do you really need?

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    in Information Technology

    Data privacy laws by state

    [This article was first published in September 2020.]The more connected we become, the more data we will continue to share. Think about how often you access the internet and input or view sensitive information. From accessing health care information to paying bills online to even tagging your location on social media, you’re sharing information that can be collected.According to a recent study, 47% of Americans were not sure they understood what was done with their personal information and 59% were confused by the privacy policy presented by companies. In a time when our lives are so heavily entwined with the internet, knowing what’s done with the data you share is critical.Why it mattersLandmark security breaches remind us how vulnerable our data really is. Equifax, one of the top three credit reporting agencies, disclosed a data breach in September of 2017. Information like social security numbers, names, addresses, and driver’s license numbers were compromised for 147 million people, along with 209,000 customer credit card numbers. Given the severity and importance of the information leaked, the Equifax breach is regarded as unprecedented in impact. The settlement reached with the Federal Trade Commission amounted to $425 million to be paid out to help people who were affected.Facebook has experienced a series of security breaches, which has resulted in federal investigation. In 2019, the user data of 540 million Facebook users was exposed on Amazon’s cloud computing services. It was revealed that Facebook partnered with more than 150 companies to share personal information of the hundreds of millions of people who use the social media platform. Users were not aware of this exchange. In a focus group conducted by the Pew Research Center, people spoke negatively about the consequences of sharing data and cited that companies could have an ulterior motive for collecting their data.Federal LawsU.S. Privacy Act of 1974: This act established regulations on the collection, maintenance, use, and sharing of information. It requires that agencies obtain written consent from the individual before disclosing any of their information, unless it is part of the 12 statutory exceptions. Under this act, individuals are also able to request amendments to their records.Federal Trade Commission Act: This act gives the Federal Trade Commission the power to protect consumers from unfair or deceptive practices taken by companies and seek monetary compensation. They also have the right to enforce federal data and privacy protections.Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA): COPPA prohibits the collection of data from anyone under the age of 13 without obtaining verifiable parental consent.Video Privacy Protection Act (VPPA): VPPA bans the disclosure of personal information or data unless the customer is aware and consents. This act includes streaming services.There is no single catch-all data privacy law. Instead, there are a mixture of federal and state laws that try to address the different aspects of data protection. The lack of federal laws pertaining to consumer privacy led individual states to pass their own laws protecting citizens. Even still, all-encompassing laws are not widely held. There is still a lot of ground that needs to be covered to ensure that American consumers are completely protected.Types of Data Privacy LawsConsumer privacyDo you ever wonder why things like Facebook or Instagram are free? You pay in privacy. These types of online services are free of monetary charge because they collect your data in exchange for their hosted services. However, 38% of surveyed Americans said that they were confused by the information presented in a privacy policy.

    As of January 2020, the California Consumer Privacy Act addresses that exact issue. This law puts pressure on companies to be transparent with their practices and gives residents the right to know what personal information has been collected, shared, or sold. Additionally, consumers have the right to delete personal information that’s already been collected and the right to opt-out of the sale of personal information. The idea of trading your personal information for a free service is better accepted when the consumer has control.Children’s online privacyOne of the only inclusive data privacy laws is concerned with children’s online privacy. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a federal law that prohibits the collection of data from children who are under 13 years old. This means that parents have control over the information the companies can have and can request that any collected data be deleted.In February 2019, TikTok paid $5.7 million to the FTC over concerns that the video app was in violation of COPPA. The largest children’s privacy civil penalty to date, TikTok was accused of illegally collecting personal information from children without parental consent. In addition to the substantial settlement, TikTok was required to update its practices and remove all videos that are made by children under the age of 13. TikTok is only one example, Google and YouTube have also been investigated by the FTC.E-readerThere are only a handful of states that have laws governing consumer privacy when it comes to e-readers. These laws prohibit entities from collecting or sharing information regarding the type of material being rented or bought using the e-reader. Within the states that have laws pertaining to e-readers, most have focused on information that can be gathered by public entities like libraries. However, efforts are being made to protect the privacy of the content people choose to read on their electronic devices. The Electronic Frontier Foundation took the time to comb through the popular e-book platforms’ privacy policies to give you the answers you’ve been searching for.Online servicesConsumers are seeing changes when it comes to online services and privacy data. Companies are now more transparent when it comes to their efforts in collecting information about your browsing habits, whether in a good-faith effort to keep their consumer’s trust or because of the laws that require it. Additionally, approximately 86% of internet users have taken steps to maintain their online privacy. Clearing cookies, using a virtual network and encrypting their email are some of the actions taken. Still, 61% say that they still would like to do more to protect themselves.Information sharing by businessWhile businesses collecting and sharing your information is nothing new, recent changes require that companies clearly inform you of what their intentions are when collecting that information. The reason why the company collects your data will vary, though generally companies use it to improve customer experience, assess their marketing strategy, or make money. The relationship around data privacy is a give and take between both consumers and data collectors. Businesses must be held accountable for the data privacy methods they have in place and be transparent about how they use the data they harvest. It’s also imperative that consumers know their rights and ability to impact how companies collect and use their information.Notice when recording phone callsGenerally, the biggest concern when recording phone calls is consent. Many states are one-party consent states, meaning that phone calls can be recorded as long as one person consents. But what is considered consent? Think about when you call a customer service line and hear the ever-identifiable “this call may be monitored or recorded…” message. When a caller continues with the call, many states take that as implied consent.There are 11 states that require both parties to consent to the recording: California, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania and Washington. Sometimes regardless of which law the state follows, there are exceptions to the rules. Which include: police recordings, court orders, and emergency services.Breach notification lawsEvery single state has a data breach notification law in place, although some states were slower than others to adopt one. Still, many states are actively amending their laws and expanding the definitions they hold. States like New Jersey, New York, and Oregon have broadened the scope of what is protected and established what regulations they impose on companies. Breach notification laws require that companies notify consumers of any data breaches involving personal or otherwise identifying information. Each law has a specified time frame in which action needs to be taken.Data disposalData disposal laws are concerned with what happens to your information when the company no longer wants to store it. To prevent unauthorized access, both government and private agencies are required to destroy or make indecipherable information in consumer reports. The Federal Trade Commission has impressed a disposal rule that outlines what the rule applies to and what constitutes proper disposal. Proper disposal of consumer records should be a part of every company’s security program.Understandably, the mashup of federal and state laws can be hard to navigate. This table can help you break it down.StateTitleType of LawAlabamaSB318Data breach notificationAlaskaAlaska Stat. § 45.48.010Data breach notification#rowspan#Alaska Stat. § 45.48.500Data disposalArizonaAriz. Rev. Stat. § 41-151.22e-reader#rowspan#A.R.S. §§ 18-55Data breach notification#rowspan#Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 44-7601Data disposalArkansasArk. Code §§ 4-110-105Data breach notification#rowspan#Ark. Code §§ 4-110-104(b)Consumer data#rowspan#Ark. Code §§ 4-110-104(a)Data disposalCaliforniaCal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.100 et seq.Consumer data#rowspan#Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 22948.20Consumer data#rowspan#Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.81Data disposal#rowspan#Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code §§ 22580-22582Children’s online privacy#rowspan#Cal. Ed. Code § 99122Online services and websites#rowspan#Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.130(5), 1798.135(a)(2)(A)Online services and websites#rowspan#Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code § 22575-22578 (CalOPPA)Online services and websites#rowspan#Calif. Bus. & Prof. Code § 22575Online services and websites#rowspan#Cal. Civ. Code §§ 1798.83 to .84Information sharingColoradoColo. Rev. Stat. § 6-1-716Data breach notification#rowspan#Colo. Rev. Stat. § 6-1-713:Data disposalConnecticutConn. Gen. Stat. § 42-471Data disposal#rowspan#Conn. Gen Stat. § 36a-701bData breach notificationDelawareDel. Code § 1204CChildren’s online privacy#rowspan#Del. Code tit. 6, § 1206Ce-reader#rowspan#Del. Code Tit. 6 § 205CInformation sharing#rowspan#Del. Code tit. 6 § 5002CData disposalFloridaFla. Stat. §§ 501.171(3)-(6)Data breach notification#rowspan#Fla. Stat. §§ 501.171(2)Consumer data#rowspan#Fla. Stat. §§ 501.171(8)Data disposalGeorgiaGa. Code §§ 10-1-910 et. seq.Data breach notification#rowspan#Ga. Code §§ 10-15-2(b)Data disposalHawaiiHaw. Rev. Stat. § 487N-2Data breach notification#rowspan#Haw. Rev. Stat. §§ 487R-2Consumer data and data disposalIdahoIdaho Code § 67-831 through § 67-833Data breach notificationIllinois20 ILCS § 450Consumer data#rowspan#815 ILCS § 530/45Consumer data#rowspan#815 ILCS §§ 530/1 to 530/25Data breach notification#rowspan#815 ILCS § 530/30Data disposalIndianaInd. Code §§ 4-1-11 et. seqData breach notification#rowspan#Ind. Code §§ 24-4-14-8Data disposalIowaIowa Code §§ 71.C.1 – 715C.2Data breach notificationKansasKan. Stat. § 50-7a01 et seq.Data breach notificationKentuckyKRS § 365.732 and KRS § 61.931 to 61.934Data breach notification#rowspan#KRS § 365.725Data disposalLouisianaLa. Rev. Stat. §§ 51:3071 et seq.Data breach notificationMaine35-A MRSA § 9301(active 7/1/20)Online services and websites#rowspan#Me. Rev. Stat. tit. 10 § 1346 et seqData breach notificationMarylandMd. State Govt. Code § 10-624 (4)Information sharing#rowspan#Md. State Govt. Code §§ 10-1303Data disposal#rowspan#Md. Code Com. Law §§ 14-3504Data breach notificationMassachusettsMass. Gen. Laws § 93H-3Data breach notification#rowspan#Mass. Gen. Laws § 93H-2Consumer data#rowspan#Mass. Gen. Laws § 93I-2Data disposalMichiganMich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.72Data breach notification#rowspan#Mich. Comp. Laws §§ 445.72aData disposalMinnesotaMinn. Stat. §§ 325M.01 to .09Online services and websites#rowspan#Minn. Stat. §§ 325E.64Data breach notificationMississippiMiss. Code § 75-24-29Data breach notificationMissouriMo. Rev. Stat. §§ 182.815, 182.817e-reader#rowspan#Mo. Rev. Stat. § 407.1500Data breach notificationMontanaMont. Code §§ 30-14-1701 et seqData breach notification#rowspan#Mont. Code §§ 30-14-1703Data disposalNebraskaNeb. Rev. Stat. §§ 87-801 et seq.Data breach notification#rowspan#Neb. Stat. § 87-302(15)Inaccuracies in privacy policiesNevadaNRS § 603A.300Consumer data#rowspan#NRS § 603A.340Information sharing#rowspan#SB 220Online services and websites#rowspan#NRS § 205.498Online services and websitesNew HampshireN.H. Rev. Stat. §§ 359-CConsumer data, information sharing, data breach notification, data disposalNew JerseyN.J. Rev. Stat. §§ 56:8-163Data breach notification#rowspan#N.J. Rev. Stat. §§ 56:8-162Data disposalNew Mexico2017 H.B. 15, Chap. 36, Section 6Data breach notification#rowspan#2017 H.B. 15, Chap. 36, Section 3Data disposal#rowspan#2017 H.B. 15, Chap. 36, Section 4Consumer dataNew YorkS5575BConsumer data#rowspan#N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law § 399-HData disposal#rowspan#23 NYCRR 500Data breach notificationOregonORS § 646.607Information sharing#rowspan#SB684Data breach notificationsNorth CarolinaN.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-65Data breach notifications#rowspan#N.C. Gen. Stat. § 75-65Data disposalNorth DakotaN.D. Cent. Code §§ 51-30-01 et seqData breach notificationsOhioOhio Rev. Code §§ 1347.12 and Ohio Rev. Code §§ 1349.19 et seqData breach notificationsOklahoma24 OK Stat § 24-163 (2016)Data breach notificationsOregonOregon Rev. Stat. § 646A.604Data breach notifications#rowspan#Oregon Rev. Stat. § 646A.622Data disposalPennsylvania18 Pa. C.S.A. § 4107(a)(10)Inaccuracies in privacy policies#rowspan#73 P.S. §§201-1 – 201-9.2Consumer dataRhode IslandR. I. Gen. Laws §§ 11-49.3-1 to .3-6Data breach notification#rowspan#R. I. Gen. Laws § 6-52-2Data disposalSouth CarolinaS.C. Code Ann. § 30-2-40 and S.C. Code Section 30-2-20Consumer data#rowspan#S.C. Code SECTION 39-1-90Data breach notification#rowspan#S.C. Code Section 37-2-190Data disposalSouth DakotaSD SB62Data breach notificationTennesseeTenn. Code §§ 47-18-2107Consumer data#rowspan#Tenn Code §§ 8-4-119Data breach notification#rowspan#Tenn Code § 39-14-150(g)Data disposalTexasTex. Bus. & Com. Code § 521.053Data breach notifications#rowspan#Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 521.052(a)Consumer data#rowspan#Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 521.052(b)Data disposalUtahUtah Code §§ 13-37-201 to -203Information sharing#rowspan#Utah Code § 13-44-201(1)(a)Consumer data#rowspan#Utah Code § 13-44-202Data breach notifications#rowspan#Utah Code § 13-44-201(1)(b)Data disposalVermontNRS § 603A.300Consumer dataVirginiaVa. Code §§ 18.2-186.6.Data breach notifications#rowspan#Va. Code § 59.1-442Information sharingWashingtonWash. Rev. Code §§ 19.255.010Data breach notifications#rowspan#Wash. Rev. Code §§ 19.215.030Data disposalWest VirginiaW.V. Code §§ 46A-2A-101Data breach notificationsWisconsinWis. Stat. § 134.98Data breach notifications#rowspan#Wis. Stat. § 134.97Data disposalWyomingWyo. Stat. §§ 40-12-501 et seq.Data breach notificationDistrict of ColumbiaD.C. Code §§ 28-3851 et seq.Data breach notificationPuerto Rico10 L.P.R.A. § 4051Consumer data and data breach notificationQuick Tips to Protect Data at HomePossible security breaches and companies collecting your information are only one facet of data safety. Your data is also susceptible to being stolen or compromised by hackers. Thankfully, there are a number of things you can do at home to combat them. You don’t need advanced tech skills or world-class equipment; these are things you can do on your home computer.Security softwareInstalling security software on your computer is one of the first steps you should take. Security software keeps your computer healthy and your information safe from attacks or computer viruses. Make sure you stay up to date with any and all updates of your software. It’s easy to close out the persistent pop-up box that reminds you to update, but don’t ignore it! Security software is especially important if you are regularly connected to public WiFi networks. While most in-home routers are encrypted, there is no way to know if the internet you are connecting to is safe.Use a password managerUsing the same password for everything leaves you vulnerable to potentially giving someone access to all of your information. But remembering a gaggle of passwords is no easy feat. Using a password manager is an easy way to ease the burden. Password managers are designed to generate long and complicated passwords that are less likely to be compromised. Your passwords are encrypted and can only be accessed through the master password you create. Depending on the password manager, it may offer an automatic fill feature that kicks in when you go to a page you have a saved password for.Backup your dataIn the event that your information is lost, compromised or stolen, backing up your data is a way to make sure all of your hard work and cherished memories are not lost. When you back up your data, you’re making a copy that is not stored on your computer. Whether you use a local storage option or the cloud, the point is to make your files unavailable to anyone else except you.Data encryptionData encryption is an essential way to keep your personal information safe. It works by taking readable text from an email or document and scrambling it into an unreadable cipher text. Encrypting your data will secure it not only on your computer, but also when it is transmitted over the internet. For the information to revert back to its original form, both the sender and recipient have to have the encryption key.What to do After a Data BreachSo you’ve heard on the news or received an email that there has been a breach and your data may have been affected. A security breach does not automatically mean someone is going to steal your identity. Before you panic, use these steps to help you through the process.1. Confirm if you were affected by the security breachBeware of scammers attempting to coax more information out of you with fake emails. If you receive an email that a breach has occurred, contact the company directly to confirm. Do not reply to the email.2. Find out what information was compromisedWhat you do after a security breach may vary slightly depending on the type of company that was breached. You should tailor your response to the circumstances and to what information was stolen. If you find that you are the victim of the security breach, don’t pass up the company’s offer to help.3. Change your passwordsThe next important step to take is to address your personal security. Update your login information and security questions for all of your sensitive accounts – not just the ones affected by the breach. Take this time to enact two-factor authentication into your login process to add another layer of security to your accounts.4. Contact a credit reporting bureau to reportTo make sure you aren’t the victim of identity theft, call any of the major credit reporting bureaus and have them file a fraud alert on your name. This alert makes it harder for someone to open new accounts under your name and lasts for one year. Additionally, you may also consider putting a credit freeze on your report, which will restrict access to your credit report. Bear in mind this will require you to manually lock and unlock your credit report when filing for new lines of credit, like a rewards card or a house.5. Monitor all accounts closelyFinally, after you’ve changed your passwords and placed a fraud alert in your name, the last thing to do is closely monitor your account for any suspicious activity. A fraud alert and credit freeze will make it harder for thieves to open new accounts, though it does not guarantee safety to the accounts they may already have access to. More

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    in Networking

    DreamHost review: I'm a satisfied 15-year customer

    (Image: DreamHost)
    I’ve been running websites on DreamHost for over 15 years, using a variety of their plans. They haven’t stood still like the internet, now offering a competitive range of products and services for individuals, small businesses, and enterprises.But this isn’t just a review of DreamHost. It’s a meta-review of the spurious precision of host ranking. Because when you check out different eval sites, the numbers are all over the place. So I’ll review DreamHost, covering feeds and speeds, and at the end, I’ll give my take on who should give DreamHost serious consideration.Hosting companies don’t make it easy to compare plans. There are many variables in their offerings. How many websites? Storage? Email addresses? SSL certificates? One-click installs? Malware scanning and removal?Then there is how much the annual price jumps after the initial teaser rate ends, which can require some math. DreamHost’s Shared Unlimited teaser rate starts at $2.95 per month billed annually but then jumps to $10 per month — and malware removal is another $3 per month.On the other hand, the Shared Unlimited plan is exactly that. Unlimited websites, traffic, bandwidth, storage, and email accounts. Plus automated backups, free WHOIS masking, and a number of one-click software installers, including WordPress, and support for installing or mapping to other popular services such as WooCommerce, Shopify, or Zen Cart for e-commerce, phpBB forums, or the Moodle learning platform. And there are no startup fees.Other features of Shared Unlimited include:Unlimited MySQL DatabasesUnix ShellAccess to Raw Log FilesCrontab AccessReseller & Sub AccountsRails, Python, Perl SupportUnlimited SFTP UsersAnnually billed hosting plans compared. 
    (Image: DreamHost)
    Don’t gets

    But DreamHost doesn’t try to be all things to all people. They have strengths and what might be weaknesses for you. Here are a couple of things that might be deal killers. First, they’re a Linux shop and don’t offer Windows servers. If you require Windows for some specific software, look elsewhere. But a plus for Mac users is that the support staff is usually conversant with the Unix underpinnings of macOS as well as Linux. Also, they don’t offer telephone support. That’s not a negative for me because getting a problem solved takes just as long on the phone as it does in a chat. I prefer DreamHost’s 18.5 hours a day of free online chat support. But you may want that extra level of soothing handholding that a voice can offer and are willing to pay for it.Buying criteriaSome people like to pore over spec sheets and test results, looking for the optimal solution. That’s not me.I prefer “satisficing” — good enough is good enough — most parameters and focusing on the two or three that matter most to me. For example, in a mobile computer, weight is critical, but I don’t care much about thinness or sound quality. If it fits in a messenger bag and I can hear a video clip, I’m good.With my perspective in mind, here are the key buying criteria for a hosting service.First, don’t buy hosting on price. Companies mostly buy the same servers and storage, rent the same colocation space, and tap into the same networks. They don’t have big cost differentials. AWS, for instance, uses its massive scale to juice margins and fund R&D rather than passing big savings on to small customers. What you are actually buying from a hosting company is a utility service. Issues such as uptime, response times, ease of management, and support are the most important factors. But, as we’ll see, it’s not easy to get reliable numbers for any of those parameters. UptimeUptime is usually measured every month. A 30 day month has 43 200 minutes, so 99.9% uptime translates to a little more than 43 minutes of downtime a month. Each 0.1% of uptime is 43 minutes up or down. Most downtime will be scheduled for system maintenance and planned for off-hours, such as 0200 Sunday morning. Then there is episodic or semi-planned downtime, usually for critical security updates to system software. A botnet exploits a new bug, a patch to fix it is issued, and your hosting company needs to install it before everything is pooched. Then there are the accidental, unplanned outages that you read about that have affected every major service provider, including Apple, AWS, Google, Microsoft, and Facebook. A maintenance update goes awry, or a tech misconfigures a router, and things go south, usually for hours. The truth is that uptime has a pronounced stochastic element. Chance, or luck, if you will.Measuring uptime can vary wildly depending on the time period — hour, week, month, year. If you pick a host based on a monthly uptime ranking, be aware that another one is likely to be best next month. For example, hrank.com lists DreamHost’s uptime performance over the last several years.  They’ve found that DreamHost’s annual uptime ranged from 99.877% in 2020 to 99.948% in 2018.But over at WebsiteSetup, they say that DreamHost’s 2020 uptime was much worse, 99.62%. So which is it? Hrank’s 99.948% or WebsiteSetup’s 99.62% — which is almost 2.4 hours less? Who knows? Moreover, I’m inclined to say, who cares? There’s a larger question here. That difference is nothing. But if smart folks who are sincerely trying to measure uptime are so far apart, how much should we rely on published stats? Which takes me back to satisficing. I’m willing to bet that any hosting company that has been in business for 10 or more years — DreamHost is 25 this year — probably has decent uptime. Some hosts achieve 100% uptime for limited periods. But when even multi-billion dollar firms staffed with PhDs have outages lasting hours, well, what can you conclude other than downtime is variable. If a host is consistently poor, avoid them. But don’t compare the latest numbers thinking they’re carved in stone. As financial firms say, “past performance is no guarantee of future performance.”LatencyOften referred to as response time, this is another number that looms large in hosting reviews. I’m a big fan of low latency in storage and critical of cloud-based storage due to internet latency. But choosing a hosting company based on published latency? I don’t think so.Why? The same reasoning as in uptime numbers: they’re all over the map. Hrank sees their 2020 latency as averaging 436 milliseconds, which is good. WebsiteSetup sees, for the same year, 1,161 milliseconds, an almost 3x difference. So, again, which is it? Who knows? Ease of managementMany hosting companies use cPanel, a product from cPanel LLC that is something of a de facto industry standard. Its biggest advantage for hosting companies is that it is inexpensive: 17.5¢ per account in bulk.  But DreamHost uses its own panel. Looking at both of them, there’s not a lot of difference beyond the layout. This is not a surprise, given that they both perform similar tasks. Here’s a partial cPanel screenshot:cPanel screenshot.
    (Image: cPanel, LLC)
    Here’s a DreamHost panel screenshot:DreamHost control panel homepage.
    (Image: DreamHost)
    The big difference is that DreamHost aggregates all the functions in the upper left corner. Each topic is a drop-down menu. Choose Manage Websites under Websites, and you get a list of your websites with their main features and another Manage button. That takes you the details of that website with, where appropriate, more management options. The cPanel, offering more choices on the main screen, seems to be flatter, but the demo mode doesn’t let you see how far you might have to drill down. The DreamHost panel seems to require one or two more clicks to drill down into the specifics of a domain or an email account. Unless you are a cPanel wizard, the differences between the two user interfaces aren’t likely to sway you in either direction. SupportAccounts come with 18.5 hours a day — 3:00AM – 9:30PM PT — chat support, and 24/7 email support. I’ve found their support to be generally good. Sometimes they are a bit quick to shuffle you off to a knowledge base article that covers your problem — RTFM! In quieter periods, I’ve found the techs happy to go above and beyond by quickly fixing issues that a user could handle themselves. Wait times, in my experience, generally range from 3-10 minutes, depending on the time of day.  Being a Linux shop, they are knowledgeable in Linux/Unix and associated free and open-source software. And they are really good on WordPress and the usual plug-ins.Who is DreamHost for?How can you tell if DreamHost is for you? Here are some key factors to consider.You are a WordPress user. WordPress.org has recommended DreamHost for hosting since at least 2005. If WordPress is your jam, that’s about all you need to know. If you are a professional web developer designing and maintaining multiple sites, you will find a lot to like on DreamHost. If you resell hosting, DreamHost could be a good fit. If site traffic warrants it, upgrading to a VPS or dedicated server takes minutes. Adding DreamHost management services can lighten your load and give you professional site reports that remind clients just how valuable you are.Who isn’t DreamHost for?If the sight of HTML code gives you the creeps, you probably want a simpler web builder service such as Wix or Network Solutions to build your website. DreamHost offers a website builder based on WordPress, but it isn’t as simple. I find the website builders require a lot more pointing and clicking than I like, but if you need something quick and easy, they may work for you.If you are thoroughly immersed in the Windows world, DreamHost may not be a good fit. And if you don’t care about WordPress, then you’ll be ignoring one of DreamHost’s core competencies.SummaryThe hosting market is fairly mature, which means most vendors have similar cost structures due to running on commodity hardware. The statistics on uptime and latency aren’t particularly reliable, so I would use the online report cards to eliminate the worst companies rather than rely on them to choose “the best”. Choosing a hosting company is worth investing time in because moving to a busy site is non-trivial. Keep in mind that a lot of the effort in starting a site is something you only do once, which makes it worthwhile to consider hiring experienced help. But once the site is up, you should be able to handle most of the management and updates yourself, unless it’s a big site. With no HTML experience, I started a blogging site 15 years ago on DreamHost. It worked out well, and I’m a satisfied customer to this day.Comments welcome. 

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    The StackSkills and Infosec4TC cyber security bundle is on sale for $80

    StackCommerce
    Don’t wait for New Year’s Day to start making major changes to your life when you can train at your own pace for an exciting, well-paid career of your choice. StackSkills Unlimited + Infosec4TC Platinum Cyber Security Lifetime Bundle offers two modules filled with over 1,000 courses, so you are sure to find at least one that clicks. But remember, there’s no law saying you can only do one thing, multiple revenue streams are a plus.

    The StackSkills Unlimited Online Courses will teach you skills from blockchain technology to marketing, design, business, finance, and much, much more. The courses cover all levels, from beginning to advanced. And not only do you get access to the pre-selected library of over 1,000 courses, but more than 50 new classes are also added every month.Best of all, they are taught by over 350 of the top instructors online. They are highly-rated elite experts in their fields, so they can tell you what led them to success and warn you about the factors that caused their failures. You can get certifications to pump up your resume and premium customer support.StackSkills Unlimited Online Courses delivers engaging content you can use for changing careers or making extra cash. Their impressive rating of 4.5 out of 5 stars says it all.The second part of the bundle is for anyone interested in cybersecurity. In a survey less than a year ago, “…cybersecurity skills cited as the most in-demand skill by more than a third (35%) of the 4,200 IT professionals surveyed.” With phishing, ransomware, and other threats becoming stronger and more frequent every day, that situation isn’t likely to change any time soon. So training at your own pace for a cybersecurity career will probably be a good use of your time.That’s why the Infosec4TC Cyber Security Training: Platinum Membership is such a great deal. If you need certifications to turbocharge your resume, Infosec4TC has the highest rate of students passing the exams. But if you’re looking to change careers or move up in your current job, you will get mentoring until you achieve your goal. With this Platinum Membership, you get lifetime access to over 90 existing courses and all future ones, the latest exam questions, extra materials and so much more.Don’t miss this chance to grab the StackSkills Unlimited + Infosec4TC Platinum Cyber Security Lifetime Bundle while it’s on sale for just $79.99.

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    in Networking

    Google's Apricot subsea cable will strengthen Asian connections

    Google has announced a subsea cable, called Apricot, that will connect Singapore, Japan, Guam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Indonesia. The Apricot cable is expected to be ready for service in 2024 and will complement the recently announced Echo cable that will connect the US, Singapore, Guam and Indonesia.  

    Combined, the two new cables give Google “unique routes through southern Asia, ensuring a significantly higher degree of resilience for Google Cloud and digital services,” says Bikash Koley, VP and head of Google Global Networking, and head of technology and strategy for Google Cloud for Telecommunications. SEE: Google’s new cloud computing tool helps you pick the greenest data centersThe cables will provide businesses in Asia with lower latency, more bandwidth, and increased resilience in their connectivity between Southeast Asia, North Asia and the United States, Koley notes.Echo is expected to be ready for service 2023.Google has also been building out its subsea infrastructure between the US and Europe, earlier this year launching the Dunant subsea cable that connects Virginia Beach in the US with Saint-Hilaire-de-Riez on the French Atlantic coast. The cable took two years to build and has the capacity to deliver 250 terabits per second across the Atlantic.

    Google’s other subsea cables include Curie, between Chile and Los Angeles; Equiano, between Portugal and South Africa; and Grace Hopper, a cable connecting New York to London, UK and Bilbao, Spain. The company has investments in 18 subsea cables, alongside 27 cloud regions and 82 zones around the world.SEE: The best Samsung phones: Which model should you buy?Koley points to a recent study of Google’s APAC network by Analysys Mason, which looked at the $2 billion Google has spent on network infrastructure in the region since 2010. The study found that Google’s investments led to 1.1 million additional jobs as of 2019 and an extra $430 billion in aggregate GDP for the region between 2010 to 2019. In July, Google also announced the new Firmina cable, an open subsea cable that will run from the East Coast of the United States to Las Toninas, Argentina and other markets in South America.

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    The cloud calculation: Factor these lock-in and switching costs into your cloud plans

    By NeoLeo shutterstock
    My first corporate web server, set up before the days of “the cloud” and AWS, cost my company nearly $10,000 and months of time. Not only did we have to order and pay for the entire machine, we had to wait for its delivery, configure it, run wires, and find a place on our rack for it. Then we had to pipe a dedicated T-1 link into our offices, a process that was unbearably frustrating and time consuming, not to mention costly.  And the beast in the closet spewed heat like a dragon, and it ate parts for snacks. 

    Yesterday, I spun up a mid-level web server in the cloud. It cost me $34, and was charged to my credit card. In return, I got a Linux login, virtual RAM, virtual storage, and all the bandwidth I can eat. The entire process, from sign-up to operational “hello, world” site took less than five minutes. The contrast is astounding. Earlier me, who had to come up with the cash for full machine purchases and dedicated broadband installation, would have loved to have had access to the cloud-based services we have today. In many ways, the cloud is incredibly empowering. Breathless stories (and even HBO TV shows) highlight the nimbleness of modern-day tech entrepreneurs, who simply need a Kanban board, a credit card, coding skills, and a barrel of snark to create the next Pied Piper or Hooli. But what very few “gee wow” cloud stories discuss is the lock-in that comes from adopting cloud solutions. It might take five minutes and $34 to spin up a new server for a website, but it could take months and thousands of dollars to move that site to a new service, if that becomes necessary. A lock-in example Building a website is a complex process, involving many technologies and configurations, running on top of a server environment provided by a hosting provider. The switching cost is the time, effort, and dollar cost of switching to a new provider. The inability to easily switch is called lock-in.

    Also: How to create a website: The 2021 step-by-step guide As I originally discussed in my article on how to create a website, if you run an active website for any number of years, it is almost guaranteed that you’ll need to switch hosting providers. These are just a few of the reasons you might need to switch: Your provider may become unreliable, may increase prices, or may start to offer reduced quality support. Your site might simply outgrow the provider’s capacity.The hosting provider’s server software might not keep up with the security requirements of a payment processor.You may work with one provider for three, four, five years, or more. But if you’re running a site for the long haul, it’s rare to stick with one hosting provider unless you simply have no way out. So, planning to be able to switch is useful.

    Many web builders are proprietary, so if you want to switch to another service, you’ll have to rebuild your site either mostly or entirely from scratch. At the very least, there will be a ton of cutting and pasting between services. For smaller sites, that’s not much of an issue. Rebuilding five or 10 webpages is no big deal. But if your site is 50, 100, or even thousands of pages, that’s a lot of copying and pasting (or, if you’re very lucky, exporting and importing). Think about this: If you do one blog post every weekday, you’ll have at least 261 pages by the end of a year. Content expands very quickly. The above example sums up the concept of switching cost. Moving that 261 pages, especially if you have to either cut and paste everything or pay a service to automate it, costs both money and time. The fact is, you’re likely to decide to say, “F-it” and stick with the existing host. That’s how switching costs become lock-in.  More lock-in examples Use of cloud-based storage services often leads to lock-in, especially if you have a lot of data in the cloud. Moving a few gigabytes from one server to another is no big thing, but if you have tens of terabytes of backed up video files, moving that is going to take months of effort. Also: What happens to your G Suite unlimited storage when Google moves you to Workspace? Some services, like Amazon’s AWS long-term Glacier service, even monetize their lock-in. While the company does charge a monthly storage fee based on how much you’re storing, they don’t charge anything for uploading data to the service. You can upload a gigabyte or 100 terabytes and still pay the same $0.00 transfer fee.

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    But data transfer above 1GB/mo out of Glacier to the rest of the internet is charged, ranging from $90 per terabyte transferred down to $50 per terabyte, depending on how much you’re moving. Granted, it’s not a tremendous fee for the amount of data, but it’s still shows how Amazon wants to reduce the friction of uploading data, and increase the friction of moving it back out. Also: Dropbox’s business plans now cost more and offer less than they did last year Another example is cloud accounting service QuickBooks Online. QuickBooks seems to regularly increase its pricing, but moving ten years of data out of QBO to some other service can be prohibitive or impossible. For example, if you want to move a decade of QBO to FreshBooks, it’s pretty much a non-starter. On the other hand, Xero offers a QBO migration service that can help you move to their competing service (with some limits), but what kind of lock-in situation are you going to wind up in there? Overcoming lock-in This brings up a corollary to the cloud lock-in theory: where there is lock-in, there is likely to be a fee-based service that will help you to overcome it. I migrated my company’s surprisingly large email store twice, first when I moved from a third-party Exchange hosting provider to Office 365, and again when I moved from Office 365 to Gmail. In both cases, I used a service called YippieMove. I sent them a few bucks and they made it all happen. Unfortunately, they shut down in 2019. I also moved my help desk library from one provider to another using a migration service. This, too, involved paying a fee, waiting a week, and letting them do their job.

    Another way of overcoming lock-in is to use open source products. I talk about this at length in my article about how to create a website guide. Many web hosts (like SquareSpace and Wix) lock you in because all your pages are constructed using their proprietary CMS. But if you use an open source CMS like WordPress, you can move the files and database to any other WordPress-compatible host. The migration will still be time-consuming and painful, but possible. Words of advice When signing up for a cloud service, you’re usually just trying to get a problem solved. But keep in mind that solving one problem opens up the potential for future problems — particularly if your cloud vendor goes under, changes policies, changes prices, or just pisses you off. Also: A terabyte too tight? Small businesses, beware the cloud storage ceiling It’s always good to evaluate how risky the choice of vendor is, and whether the risk you’re taking is an acceptable risk. Are you okay with losing the data entrusted to the cloud vendor? Are you okay with the cost and effort in migrating off? Do you have a backup plan in place? Finally, develop strategies that will allow you to implement a migration plan relatively quickly. At least yearly, evaluate the validity of those strategies (for example, my email migration service of choice is no longer operating, so I need to find a new option). The bottom line is this: be aware and be prepared. Cloud solutions have very little barrier to entry, but their barrier to exit can be considerable. What cloud services do you use? Have you ever experienced lock-in or switching costs? Share with us in the comments below. You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV. More

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    Microsoft 365: This new one-click button lets businesses report scam emails

    A new button and add-on for Microsoft 365/Office 365 accounts and Outlook allows employees to report scam emails directly to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). The button is an upgrade to the NCSC’s existing Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS), which has received over 6.6 million reports since launching in April 2020. As of 30 June, NCSC had removed over 50,500 scams and 97,500 URLs.

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    While email filtering systems can stop some phishing attacks reaching staff inboxes, scammers are always looking for ways to bypass filters — for example, by hosting scams on Google cloud services, creating Office 365 phishing pages, or compromised SharePoint sites to trick victims into entering their work account credentials. SEE: This new phishing attack is ‘sneakier than usual’, Microsoft warnsThe ‘typical’ phishing URLs that NCSC handles include tricking staff to click a link that downloads malware on a work computer, creating cloned login pages, and email with fake alerts about work software such as Microsoft Teams.”Opportunistic scams during the pandemic have demonstrated how cyber criminals constantly find new ways to target us,” said NCSC technical director Ian Levy. “The good news is that you can help protect your workplace by forwarding suspected scam emails to the Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) from your work email account at the click of a button.”

    NCSC has provided guidance for admins to enable the Office 365 ‘Report Phishing’ add-in for Outlook.The Report Phishing tool is actually made by Microsoft and can be installed from Microsoft’s AppSource site. After installing the add-in, admins need to create a mail flow rule to report phishing instances to SERS. After it’s enabled, a new Report Phishing button appears in main Outlook toolbar. For Outlook on the web, the Report Phishing button appears in the sidebar. “The NCSC’s Suspicious Email Reporting Service (SERS) enables the public to report suspicious emails by sending them to report@phishing.gov.uk. The SERS analyses the emails and where found to contain links to malicious sites, seeks to remove those sites from the internet to prevent the harm from spreading,” NCSC notes. SEE: Malware developers turn to ‘exotic’ programming languages to thwart researchersThe reports are sent to both Microsoft and the NCSC. For organizations that cannot install the Report Phishing button for Outlook, NCSC is still encouraging businesses to forward or attach scam emails to send to report@phishing.gov.uk. More

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    Ethereum most popular cryptocurrency amongst Singapore investors

    Fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic, 67% of personal investors in Singapore say they have expanded their cryptocurrency portfolio, which is more likely to include Ethereum. Some 33% in the country, though, have yet to invest in cryptocurrency, with more than half citing a lack of knowledge as the key reason. Amongst those who held cryptocurrencies, 78% said they owned Ethereum while 69% had Bitcoin and 40% carried Cardano, according a survey released Monday that polled 4,348 respondents in Singapore, including 2,862 who said their investment portfolio currently included cryptocurrencies. The study was conducted by cryptocurrency platform Gemini, financial platform Seedly, and cryptocurrency price-monitoring site CoinMarketCap.  Respondents were aged between 18 and 65, with an average household income of SG$$51,968 ($38,467). Half of those who owned cryptocurrencies 25 to 34 years old, while 19.8% were 35 and above.  

    Some 67% of respondents who owned personal investment products said they had cryptocurrency in their portfolio. Amongst the remaining 33% who did not, 69% pointed to a lack of knowledge and understanding of digital assets as a barrier. Another 52% cited the market’s volatility as an obstacle, while 29% said they were uncertain how to invest in cryptocurrencies. However, 34% said they planned to purchase their first cryptocurrency in the next year. Some 76.2% would do so if the price was attractive, while 58.6% would buy cryptocurrency if it provided better investor protection.The majority of those who had invested in cryptocurrency, at 81%, said they did so as a long-term investment. Another 58% said they traded cryptocurrencies for profits and 43% tapped such deposits for interest gains. Across all respondents, 59% expressed interest in cryptocurrency investment as a form of decentralised finance, while 41% were keen on its potential for hedging against inflation. 

    Some 64% of those who owned cryptocurrencies had at least 5% in their investment portfolio. This portfolio mix increased to more than half amongst 20% of cryptocurrency holders aged between 18 and 24. Another half of respondents between 35 and 44 years owned cryptocurrencies worth at least SG$10,000 ($7,402).In choosing a cryptocurrency exchange, 55% prioritised security while 23% said a regulated exchange or platform were their deciding factors. Another 20% assessed such decisions based on the platform’s service fees. Gemini’s Asia-Pacific managing director Jeremy Ng said: “Similar to the growing momentum in the cryptocurrency industry across the world, we are seeing a growing level of investor interest in Singapore, which is encouraging. This study has underscored that barriers to entry for potential investors still remain. Engagement with, and education of, both the crypto-curious and current investors will be key to tackling the knowledge gap and ensuring that cryptocurrency is accessible to everyone in Singapore.”Seedly’s co-founder and CEO Kenneth Lou also pointed to growing demand for financial literacy in such investments, as cryptocurrency increasingly was “a recognised investment channel”. Australian cryptocurrency exchange, Independent Reserve, early this month said it received an “in-principle approval” letter from Singapore’s industry regulator Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to operate as a licensed provider of digital payment token services, which included cryptocurrencies. Independent Reserve, which established its Singapore operations last year, said it was required to implement controls to ensure “proper due diligence, suitable solicitation, and adequate risk disclosure” to secure the licence as a virtual asset service provider. The exchange has more than 200,000 customers in Singapore, Australia, and New Zealand, and processes Ethereum and Bitcoin amongst other cryptocurrencies on its trading platform. MAS in 2019 said it was assessing plans to allow payment token derivatives, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, to be traded on local exchanges and for such activities to be regulated. The move was aimed to address international investor interest in cryptocurrencies, it said.The Singapore regulator then had cautioned that payment tokens and their derivatives were not suitable for most retail investors as these tokens typically offered little or no intrinsic value, were difficult to value, and were subjected to high price volatility. It advised retail investors to “exercise extreme caution” when trading in payment tokens and their derivatives.In a written response to parliament in April 2021, Singapore’s Senior Minister and Minister-in-charge of MAS Tharman Shanmugaratnam reiterated that cryptocurrencies were highly volatile because their value typically was not tied to economic fundamentals and, hence, were “highly risky as investment products”. Tharman noted that the risks differed when cryptocurrencies were used for payment purposes, as opposed to securities tokens, and the government’s regulatory approach would be applied accordingly. In another written response to parliament in July 2021, Tharman said MAS was in the “final stages of review” for several licence applications to operate as digital payment token service providers. Assessment criteria included the applicant’s understanding of risks relating to money laundering and financing of terrorism, he said. MAS in 2018 warned eight cryptocurrency exchanges against engaging in unauthorised trading, specifically, those involving securities or futures contracts. It also had repeatedly cautioned the public about the risks of cryptocurrencies and to understand the environment before investing in digital tokens, stressing that these were not recognised as legal tender and functioned in an unregulated environment.RELATED COVERAGE More