Writing

Thoughts on technology, business, and the gap between them.

PCI Compliance Project: Vendor Selection

We're testing four PCI scanning vendors to find the best fit for user-friendliness, cost, and reliability. Here's how ControlScan, ScanAlert, Comodo HackerGuardian, and SecurityMetrics compare in their sign-up processes and initial impressions.

Selecting Secure Software

Before choosing software, research its security history using tools like Secunia. Check how quickly vendors fix issues and watch for recurring problems. Unresolved critical vulnerabilities are red flags worth investigating further.

PCI Compliance Project

Testing PCI compliance for Plesk control panel using multiple vendors to find the most reliable, cost-effective solution. Goal: identify best scanning tools and establish procedures for out-of-the-box PCI-compliant servers.

Credit Card Data Still Unsafe Despite PCI

Major companies passed PCI compliance yet suffered massive data breaches. PCI certification is just a starting point—small businesses must encrypt data end-to-end, limit access, and maintain secure systems to truly protect customer information.

Managed Dedicated Servers

rackAID partners with SoftLayer to offer managed dedicated servers, combining reliable hardware with expert support. Features include 24-hour deployment, KVM remote access, VPN security, and no hardware markup—just transparent management fees.

How to Stop Email Backscatter

Experiencing hundreds of bounce messages for emails you never sent? You're likely a backscatter victim—where spammers forge your address as the reply-to field. Here's how to identify and minimize the problem.

Plesk not Showing All Domains?

Missing Plesk domains? They're still there! The search box above the domain listing saves the last query, showing only filtered results. Simply click "Show All" to the right of the search box to restore your complete domain list.

Webhosting Magazine 2007 Award for Best Support

rackAID wins Web Host Magazine's 2007 Editor's Choice Award for Excellent Linux Server Support. We're expanding in 2008 with new staff, products, and services to deliver faster response times and cutting-edge solutions to our clients.

Hackers use Cron to Re-Hack Your Server

Hackers are using cron jobs to automatically relaunch malicious processes like IRC bots on compromised servers. Even after killing these processes, they respawn within minutes. Solution: Add the apache user to /etc/cron.deny to prevent this persistence technique.

Memory Mirroring to the Rescue

When a server crashed due to bad RAM with no replacement available, memory mirroring came to the rescue. By enabling RAID-like protection for memory, the system ran stable with half capacity until proper repairs could be made.

Let's talk about what you need.

Tell me about your situation. If there's a fit, we'll schedule a call.

Start a Conversation