WordPress vs other Content Management Systems

 Choosing a content management system (CMS) is a critical decision that can have far-reaching consequences for your website. There are several options available, each with its own set of advantages and disadvantages.

There are several content management systems (CMS) available, yet WordPress is the most popular one.

In this article, we will compare WordPress to other content management systems to see which is a better fit, but first, let us define a content management system (CMS).

What do you mean by Content Management System?

A content management system or CMS is software that enables users to create, manage, and change website content without requiring specialized technical knowledge.

In layman’s terms, a CMS is a tool that allows you to create a website without having to write all the code from scratch.

Rather than developing your own system for creating web pages, storing images, and performing other functions, the content management system handles all of that basic infrastructure for you, allowing you to concentrate on more forward-facing aspects of your website.

There are several CMS or content management systems available, yet the most popular ones are:

• WordPress

• Joomla

• Drupal

Let us start by discussing each of them individually before deciding on the best thing.

1: WordPress

WordPress is the most widely used content management system in the world, powering more than 30% of all websites. Both large and small businesses use it. Moreover, it is written in PHP and makes use of the MySQL database.

WordPress began as a blogging platform, but developmental changes have added more features and an extensive plugin library. The software has evolved into a full-fledged CMS that is used to create powerful websites. It is simple to use, has a large community, and plugins for almost every scenario are available.

It has several features including:

• Simple to use

• Customizable

• Provides thousands of add-ons such as themes, plugins, and widgets.

• Has a large support community that includes tutorials, troubleshooting, knowledge development, etc.

• Encourages SEO practices and much more…

As a result, it's an excellent choice for beginners, but because it can create any type of website, it's also an excellent choice for small and large businesses, schools, blogs, stores, and personal websites.

2: Joomla

Joomla is a free, award-winning content management system that does an excellent job of balancing extensibility and accessibility.

Joomla is simple to use, which helps to explain its widespread popularity. It powers millions of websites and online applications, ranging from corporate websites to personal blogs.

Joomla and WordPress are the most similar, and these two are the best options for functionality and customizability.

Both are free, open-source, and simple to set up and use, and they are appropriate for everyone from bloggers to experienced web designers.

It has many advantages such as:

• More sophisticated user management

• Adaptable to various content types

• Support multiple languages

• Use different templates for a different type of content

Thus, the decision between Joomla and WordPress content management systems is influenced by two factors: your level of expertise and the complexity of your website build.

WordPress provides users with the tools they need to build websites with relative ease whereas Joomla's strength is in its complexity.

3: Drupal

Drupal powers over a million websites, making it the world's third most popular content management system (CMS). It is widely regarded as the most powerful CMS, with the great potential for developing a broader range of complex projects and web applications.

 The drawback is that it is also the most difficult to use, which is not ideal for complete beginners.

 Drupal and WordPress are similar, that they are both free, have a large number of add-ons for functionality, and have a large user and developer base.

 Regardless of the fact that they were released only a few years apart, WordPress has grown in popularity over the years due to its ease of use.

 It's brilliant if you know how to use Drupal features, but if you don't, you'll be perplexed, and the platform will be rendered useless.

 It's ideal for large websites with thousands of visitors at once and a variety of privilege levels.

 Because of its complexity, speed, and security, it is ideal for enterprise-level websites, social networks, eCommerce, education, government, and service providers.

 It is better suited to those who have previous web development experience.

 Conclusion:

 This concludes that, while there are many content management systems on the market, WordPress is more popular because of its user-friendly interface, which allows even beginners to begin their online journey without much struggle.

 Source: https://www.htshosting.org/knowledge-base/wordpress/253/wordpress-vs-other-content-management-systems

 

cPanel vs. Other Hosting Control Panels

 As a first-time hosting customer, you will certainly require something to help manage your website’s server.

This invariably necessitates the use of a control panel, which reduces your technical load. While some web hosting companies include a control panel with their plans, others require separate purchase of a control panel.

HTS hosting includes a control panel with all of its hosting plans, at no additional cost.

Now, here the question arises, what is the most important web hosting control panel in the market? Any guess?

Yes, it’s cPanel. It was first made available in the year 1996. It is a website hosting dashboard that runs on the Linux operating system and, through its graphical interface, aids in the management of your website.

However, due to the unexpected price changes in cPanel, people have started searching for alternatives.

Such alternatives are open-source software, which means they are developed and maintained by a community of like-minded people.

The main difference between cPanel and its alternatives is their compatibility with specific software and the level of support provided.

In this article, we will cover the most popular control panel, i.e. cPanel, and its alternatives, one by one.

• cPanel

This panel is only available for Linux users. It is one of the most popular control panels. It includes a graphical user interface and a server management interface through WHM (Web Host Manager).

Because these environments are interconnected, you can manage your website in either of them. As a result, it is ideal for both beginners and developers who prefer console over pretty design.

cPanel offers numerous features. All of them are on the same page, which is convenient because you won't have to navigate through multiple menus to find what you're looking for. These features include the following:

• Domain name configuration, registration, and transfer

• Set up of autoresponders and email forwarders, as well as email creation and management

• Automation of backup creation.

• Monitoring of server performance

• Database creation and administration

• Logs of visitors and errors

• Creation of file managers and FTP users and so on…

As we have discussed cPanel and its features, let us now look at its alternatives and what they offer.

• Alternatives to cPanel

• Plesk

Plesk is the second most popular control panel in the market after cPanel. Unlike cPanel, which is only available on Linux servers, Plesk is available on both Linux and Windows servers. So, if you are running Windows, Plesk is a safe bet.

Moreover, Plesk, like cPanel, has an appealing and user-friendly interface.

When comparing Plesk and cPanel, Plesk has a centralized control panel.

cPanel has separate panels for accessing WHM subscriptions and managing users, whereas Plesk allows you to enter admin or other user credentials through a single login interface.

Also, one of the distinctive features of Plesk is the availability of a wide range of automation tools. They will free up your time and resources, allowing you to concentrate on website development rather than server maintenance.

HTS Hosting includes the Plesk control panel with its Windows hosting plans, so you won't have to pay extra for it, and you'll be able to enjoy a dependable hosting service at an affordable price, with constant support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

• DirectAdmin

It is a standalone control panel for Linux that is one of the most cost-effective alternatives to cPanel.

DirectAdmin provides three levels of access: administrator, resellers, and users, with each level limiting control options based on the user control. It also includes anti-spam tools.

Customization is made simple with its efficient user interface by simply changing the visible number of menus for the end-user or importing new interface designs.

DirectAdmin provides a useful overview of all the server resources that are currently in use, in addition to DNS management, IP configurations, account management, and much more.

• Interworx

Interworx, which manages and handles website hosting, is ideal for web- designers and developers as well as agencies and resellers.

It is divided into two parts:

• NodeWorx, which focuses on holistic server configuration and monitoring.

• SiteWorx, which gives you access to tools for managing your websites, email, and databases.

Users can upload and create websites, email accounts, manage statistics, and even change other preferences within SiteWorx. It also allows you to manage core services such as MySQL, DNS, and FTP, as well as configure firewall rules and manage spam.

• ISPConfig

ISPConfig, a popular choice among bloggers, website owners, and small businesses, includes all of the basic features you'd expect from a control panel, but it's completely free.

The interface of ISPConfig's may appear a little outdated, but that's only because it focuses primarily on support functions. It supports more operating systems than any other control panel alternatives.

Because ISPConfig does not include a one-click installer, installing and configuring it on your server can be time-consuming. Although there are guides available, many are user-submitted and may not contain all of the most up-to-date information required for beginners.

• Webuzo

Webuzo, a popular choice among web publishers, programmers, and developers, was created by the Softaculous founders.

Webuzo, designed as a single-user control panel, assists users in deploying web applications and system applications on virtual machines or in the cloud.

Webuzo, like other control panels, supports all of the essential server management features, such as DNS, web servers, FTP, databases, and more.

• Vesta Control Panel

Vesta is an open-source control panel that is simple to use and free. One of the major advantages of Vesta is its low system requirements, which translates to faster loading times.

Although Vesta does not support multi-server configurations, it does prioritize performance by employing Nginx for the web panel frontend and Apache for the application backend.

Conclusion:

Each of the aforementioned panels has its own quirks, advantages, and disadvantages. It is difficult to say which one is superior. This is a matter of personal preference. However, these web panels all have one thing in common: they make managing servers and hosting easier and faster. As a result, they are an excellent choice for both beginners and developers.

Source:https://www.htshosting.org/knowledge-base/cpanel/252/cpanel-vs-other-hosting-control-panels

 The method by which an HTTP user agent, such as a web browser, provides a username and password while making a request, in the context of an HTTP transaction, is referred to as the basic access authentication. HTTP Basic authentication (BA) implementation provides the simplest technique that is meant for enforcing access controls on web resources. This is due to the fact that it does not need session identifiers, cookies, or login pages. Standard fields are used by HTTP Basic authentication in the HTTP header. With regard to request and response messages in HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), HTTP header fields refer to the components of the header section. The operating parameters of an HTTP transaction are defined by these. Basic Authentication over an HTTP connection is used to protect one or more directories. The user credentials are sent as cleartext in Basic Authentication. Since HTTPS is not used, these are vulnerable to packet sniffing.

Confidentiality protection with regard to transmitted credentials is not provided by the BA mechanism. These are encoded with Base64 in transit and are not encrypted or hashed in any form. That is why basic authentication is used along with HTTPS to ensure confidentiality. The web browser has to cache credentials for a reasonable period of time as the BA field gets sent in the header of each HTTP request. This ensures that the user is not constantly prompted for the username and password. It needs to be mentioned that the caching policy differs between browsers.

Cached Credentials

In the context of web servers, these are used to provide the service of web hosting by web hosting service providers. Web hosting is required to make websites accessible over the Internet. The most reliable and popular web hosting service providers are usually referred to as the “Best Windows Hosting Company”, the “Top Cloud Hosting Company”, the “Best Website Hosting Company”, etc. With regard to web server, HTTP does not provide a method that can instruct the client to carry out the log out of the user. Certain methods can be used for clearing cached credentials in certain web browsers. One such method involves the redirection of the user to a URL on the same domain, using incorrect credentials intentionally. It should be mentioned here that there is inconsistency in this behaviour among various browsers and browser versions. In modern browsers, basic authentication’s cached credentials are usually cleared while the browsing history is cleared. Users are allowed by most browsers to specifically clear only credentials.

Server-Side Protocol

When it is required by the server that the user agent authenticates itself for the server, post receiving an unauthenticated request, a response needs to be sent with an HTTP 401 Unauthorized status line and a WWW-Authenticate header field. The construction of the WWW-Authenticate header field with regard to basic authentication is as follows:

WWW-Authenticate: Basic realm="User Visible Realm"

The charset parameter might be included by the server. It is indicated by this parameter that the server expects the use of UTF-8 by the client for the purpose of encoding username and password.

WWW-Authenticate: Basic realm="User Visible Realm", charset="UTF-8"

Client-Side Protocol

The Authorization header field might be used by the user agent when it wants to send authentication credentials to the server. The construction of the Authorization header field is as follows:

A single colon (:) is used to combine the username and password. Hence, a colon cannot be present in the username. It is an octet sequence into which the resulting string is encoded. By default, the character set that has to be used for this encoding is unspecified till it is compatible with US-ASCII. However, the use of UTF-8 might be suggested by the server. This is done by sending the charset parameter. A variant of Base64 (+/ and with padding) is used to encode the resulting string. Next, a space and the authorization method are prepended to the encoded string.

Source: https://www.htshosting.org/knowledge-base/technology/251/information-on-basic-access-authentication

How to Speed up your website?

 One of the most important things you can do is learn how to speed up your website. Fast loading pages are critical for website success because they influence so many factors.

It is critical to remember that a high-performing website requires ongoing maintenance. This will improve your website rankings, your conversions will improve, and your visitor traffic will rapidly increase.

Even the most skilled professional will admit that the work of a website is never truly finished.

As a result, even if you are a web professional, a small business owner, or a blogger, you must pay attention to the speed of your website.

Before improving the speed of your website, it is necessary to measure it.

In this article, we will cover the ways to improving the speed of your website, one by one.

Check the loading time of your Website

To proceed, you can access the current state of affairs on your website by examining the load time.

You can evaluate the performance of your website with the help of various online tools, including

• Google Page Speed

• GT Matrix

• Pingdom

• Webpage Test and so on…

A good rule of thumb is that if the tool indicates that your website loads in three seconds or less, you're in good condition.

However, if it takes longer, it is worth looking at the root cause of such delay.

The above tools are ultimately intended to show you the loading process of your website.

However, it is advisable to back up your website and database files before making any changes to your website.

Select an Appropriate Hosting Service Provider

If your website appears to be slowing down, it could be due to shared server space or your hosting provider. It might be the case that the latter may not be capable of handling your content management system (CMS)

While it is acceptable to use low-cost shared hosting at first, once you begin receiving traffic, you must ensure that your hosting scales meet the demands.

However, the majority of web hosting providers provide a variety of hosting services, such as:

• Shared

• Dedicated

• Virtual Private Server

• Cloud

• WordPress Hosting

Everyone starts with shared hosting, which is totally acceptable. However, the server configuration can become a limiting factor for your site's speed at some point. It’s important to upgrade to something more suitable.

Also, it is necessary to keep in mind the location of the server as it has a major impact on the page load time of the website.

The greater the distance between your server and the person requesting to view your website, the greater latency in the response.

You can verify this by loading your site from various locations in one of the speed testing tools.

As a result, it is preferable to select a hosting provider with a data center close to where the majority of your audience resides.

Optimize your content

It is extremely important to examine your website content, which may or may not be properly optimized.

In this context, optimization refers to images and media content.

So, you can optimize your website content in the following ways:

• Begin by compressing the images, without compromising on the quality. Fortunately, there are a plethora of image optimization website plugins available.

• Make certain that images are loaded directly to your server. This eliminates the need for any additional HTTP requests to load your images from another source.

• Use the appropriate image size for your user's screen. Remember that unused pixels add extra weight to your website.

• For your media content, start using lazy loading. This means that your images will only load when a page visitor views them.

Evaluate for Unnecessary Plugins and Themes

While plugins are a great way to make websites more functional and add features, however, there is such a thing as having too many plugins.

Installing them indiscriminately on your site not only raises the risk of security issues and conflicts, as well as the need for maintenance, but it can also cause your website to slow down.

Many plugins add extra style sheets and JavaScript files to the page, increasing the page weight and HTTP requests.

Furthermore, if they are not properly coded, they may load these assets in places where they are not required, sometimes on every page! So, to speed up your website, you can get rid of them.

Make use of Caching

Caching, in general, refers to storing parts or the entirety of your website in such a way that they are faster to access and load.

It is the process of storing frequently requested data locally, either on your server or in your web browser. Caching frequently accessed data points on your local computer.

So, depending on the server type you are on, don’t forget caching. Try browser caching if you use Shared Hosting or Managed WordPress Hosting and your skills are limited. Website browsers employ a cache, which reduces the number and size of HTTP requests thus, allowing web pages to load even faster.

Use a Content Delivery Network

If you are catering to a global audience, there is an alternative way to deal with latency and location issues, i.e. content delivery networks

These are global networks of computers that contain a copy of your website or at least its most important static files.

When it comes to speeding up your website, using a CDN has several advantages, such as:

• Users receive data from the closest location to them. This reduces the distance and the possibility of lags and latency, thus increasing the page loading time.

• Instead of just one server, server load can be distributed across multiple servers. This reduces the possibility of download speeds slowing during peak traffic periods.

Optimizing Database

The majority of the advice in this guide is about improving your site's front end. It is, however, equally important to consider what you can do on the back end to speed up your website.

This is especially true when working with a database-driven CMS such as WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal. The database must be optimized on a regular basis. This entails clearing it of unnecessary data and removing temporary disc space.

This makes it leaner and allows it to respond faster.

In addition, you can optimize the database with the help of plugins in your WordPress website or manually through a database management program.

Conclusion:

Understanding how to speed up a website is a valuable skill. Site performance is critical to the success of your website because it is important to both users and search engines. Following the steps outlined above will undoubtedly improve the speed of your website.

Source: https://www.htshosting.org/knowledge-base/web-hosting/250/how-to-speed-up-your-website

Distinction between Static and Dynamic IP Address

 Every computer that connects to the internet has an Internet Protocol (IP) address. However, not all IP addresses are the same in appearance or behavior. Both internet and your network are linked through IP addresses.

In this article, we will examine the different types of Internet protocol along with their key features.

Before proceeding further, let us first understand the concept of IP (Internet protocol) address.

IP (Internet Protocol) Address

An IP address is a number that is assigned to each device on an internet protocol network. They identify computers and devices and allow them to communicate with one another in the same way that your physical address tells people where to send your birthday card.

IP addresses are internally stored as numbers. While computers prefer numbers, humans prefer names.

The Internet employs the Domain Name systems (DNS) as an internet address book, allowing you to navigate the internet and address devices on your network using words, such as www.htshosting.org, rather than numerals. These devices could be anything that has an internet connection.

When you enter a URL into your web browser, DNS is used to determine the IP address for that domain.

There are four types of IP addresses, namely public, private, static, and dynamic IP addresses.

The location of the network influences both public and private addresses.

Let's move on to the other two kinds of IP addresses: static and dynamic.

What is a Static IP address?

IP addresses that do not change are known as static IP addresses. When you give a device a static IP address, that number usually stays the same until the device is decommissioned or your network architecture changes.

Servers and other critical equipment typically use static IP addresses. They are also given to you by your internet service provider (ISP).

Depending on the terms of your service agreement, your internet service provider may or may not assign you a static IP address.

However, IPv4 and IPv6 are the most commonly used versions of IP addresses.

However, the majority of devices use IPv4 addresses, which look like 151.162.150.82

Here, each segment of IP address represents the following:

• 151.162.xx.xx- The first half of your IP address identifies your network. Depending on where you live, it could refer to an internet service provider or a broader set of devices.

• xx.xx.150.82- The second half of the IP address identifies your host as well as each machine on your network.

Remember that this is only the example of an IP address to clearly understand internet protocol.

Static IPs are preferred by businesses that provide dedicated internet services, such as web hosting, due to their consistency.

Advantages

• Improved DNS support

• More dependable communication

• Simple remote access

• More credible geo-location services

Disadvantages

• More vulnerable to hacking

• Difficult to setup and manage

• Comes with an additional charge

What is a Dynamic IP address?

Dynamic IP addresses, as the name suggests, are subject to change. Dynamic addresses are assigned by servers that support the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). Because IPv4 does not provide enough static IP addresses, we use dynamic addresses.

Your internet service provider’s DHCP server may assign your home or office a dynamic IP address on the internet.

Your network router is most likely the one that assigns dynamic IP addresses to your devices in your home or business network. Consumer electronics use and support Dynamic IP as a standard.

In comparison to static IP addresses, dynamic IP addresses are less expensive to deploy and manage. They are not, however, appropriate in all circumstances.

Advantages

• Easy and automatic configured

• Cost-effective

• Better Security

• Less prone to hacking

Disadvantages

• Limits remote access

• Can cause downtime

• Has an impact on the performance of geolocation services

• Unlikely to be useful for hosted services

Which is better, static IP or dynamic IP?

Servers and peripherals are the two types of devices that are most commonly assigned static IP addresses.

Static IP addresses are required in certain situations, such as

• Using allow-listed IP addresses to connect to Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)

• Using allow-listed IP addresses to gain access to website the admin section

• Remote access to your devices

Many web hosts and email providers provide static IP addresses as add-ons or perks with certain plans. However, a static IP address is not required for running a website.

Employers and other network administrators can decide who has access to the system by allowing-listing IP addresses, which are critical for security.

Dynamic addresses change frequently, making them more difficult to locate. However, keep in mind that a DHCR server failure can result in network-wide downtime.

Dynamic IP addresses are by far the best option for local networks and home users because they provide much-needed security at a low cost.

Conclusion:

Static IP addresses are typically recommended for businesses that host their own websites and internet services. Static IP addresses are also useful when remote workers connect to the network through a VPN.

Dynamic IP addresses are sufficient for the vast majority of consumers. They are typically less expensive and pose fewer security risks.

Source: https://www.htshosting.org/knowledge-base/ip-address/249/distinction-between-static-and-dynamic-ip-address

Restarting Services on Your Server

 The services on the server, often known as daemons, can be restarted with the aid of several methods. Daemons can be described as processes, which keep running in the server’s background. The need to restart a service might appear when either the configuration of the service gets changed or when the service encounters some issue.

It needs to be mentioned that if the hostname is updated, then user access to certain services and interfaces, such as CalDAV and CardDAV (Calendars and Contacts) as well as Horde Webmail is temporarily blocked by the system. Access to these interfaces and services is restored by the system after the hostname update gets completed.

To digress, a server is either a computer program or a piece of hardware that provides certain functionality to devices or programs that are known as clients. This functionality is delivered over a network and can be resources, services, data or programs. A distribution application structure, known as the client-server model, is used for this purpose. Devices or programs initiate communication sessions with servers, wherein the servers wait for the incoming requests sent by the clients. This communication that takes place between the clients and the servers usually happens over a computer network. A client requests for content or service from a server.

There are many types of servers, such as database servers, mail servers, file servers, print servers, game servers, application servers, web servers, etc. Web servers are used by web hosting companies for providing the service of web hosting which makes it possible to access websites online. Be it the “Best Cloud Hosting Company”, the “Best Windows Hosting Company” or the “Best Website Hosting Company”, every hosting company needs web servers on which the files (content) of websites are stored and delivered from. When these files are received by the Internet connected devices that had requested for the content online, then the web content becomes accessible to them. Web hosting companies provide all the necessary services and technologies for this purpose through their various web hosting plans.

Returning to the main topic, there are certain important points that need to be mentioned. Whenever the hostname of the server gets changed, one of the below-mentioned methods need to be used for ensuring that all the required system and service changes take place.

• Calling WHM API 1's sethostname function

• Using the Change Hostname interface in WHM.

WHM >> Home >> Networking Setup >> Change Hostname.

• Running the /usr/local/cpanel/bin/set_hostname utility. This needs to be run as the root user.

Restarting Services in WHM

The Restart Services interface in WHM can be used for restarting most of the services.

Home >> Restart Services

Restarting Services from the Command Line

If IPv6 is used, then the IPv6 addresses are removed from the network device by the service network restart command. You need to run the command that is the most appropriate for your version of cPanel & WHM, in order to restart your IPv6 configuration, post running the service network restart command. For the version 11.52 and earlier versions of cPanel & WHM, you need to run the command, /etc/init.d/cpipv6 restart after restarting the network service. For the version 54 and later versions of cPanel & WHM, you need to run the command, /scripts/restartsrv_cpipv6 after restarting the network service.

Using the Script, restartsrv

The command, /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_* can be used to try to restart such a service from the command line that does not start from WHM. The “*” needs to be replaced with the correct value for that service, when the aforementioned command is run.

Direct Service Restart

When the script, /usr/local/cpanel/scripts/restartsrv_* does not prove to be useful in restarting the service, it is possible to try to restart the service directly.

The command, /etc/rc.d/init.d/service restart needs to be used for those servers that run Amazon Linux, CloudLinux, Red Hat® Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 6, or CentOS. In it, the path to the service is, /etc/rc.d/init.d/service.

The command, systemctl restart service-name.service needs to be used for those servers that run RHEL 7, CentOS 7, CloudLinux 7. In it, the service-name is the service that needs to be restarted.

Service Error Logs

In the event that the restart fails, you need to check the error log of the service to avail help for diagnosing the problem. You will have to check the documentation of the service in order to know the location of the error log. This needs to be done because the errors are logged differently by each service. Let us touch upon the common locations with regard to the error logs of some services.

• Apache web server – Its log location is /usr/local/apache/logs/error_log

• BIND nameserver – Its log location is /var/log/messages

• ProFTP FTP server – Its log location is /var/log/messages

• Pure-FTP FTP server – Its log location is /var/log/messages

• Exim Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) – Its log location is /var/log/exim_mainlog for detailing all Exim transactions.

• Exim Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) – Its log location is /var/log/exim_rejectlog for detailing rejected messages and reasons.

• Exim Mail Transfer Agent (MTA) – Its log location is /var/log/exim_paniclog for detailing configuration and similar errors. It needs to be mentioned here that Exim will not run on some distributions and will have serious problems if this log is not empty.

• Courier mail server – Its log location is /var/log/maillog. It needs to be mentioned that the Courier mail server has been removed in cPanel & WHM version 54. The Courier mail server is present only in version 11.52 and the earlier versions of cPanel & WHM.

• Dovecot mail server – Its log location is /var/log/maillog

• MySQL database server – Its log location is /var/lib/mysql/hostname.err

In it, you need to substitute “hostname” with the hostname of your server.

• OpenSSH secure shell service – The location of the log file will depend on the syslog service’s configuration. Its log locations are - /var/log/messages, /var/log/secure, and /var/log/auth

Before concluding, it is important to mention some important facts in the context of web servers and the service of web hosting. Powerful server performance and high uptime are the most important factors to consider when opting for any web hosting service, regardless of its type (shared, dedicated, reseller, VPS, cloud, WordPress). Apart from that, the essential features that need to be present in an ideal web hosting plan, to provide the best hosting experience are fast page loads, secure hosting service, data backup facility, 24*7 technical support. All of these as well as many other features are an integral part of every web hosting plan of HTS Hosting along with highly affordable pricing. The web hosting plans of HTS Hosting cater to every budget segment and a wide range of hosting requirements to ensure an outstanding web hosting experience for all its global clients.

Source: https://www.htshosting.org/knowledge-base/server/248/restarting-services-on-your-server

How To Manually Remove CPanel-Provided Hardened Kernel

 The information that is being provided here is regarding the way by which cPanel-provided hardened kernel can be manually replaced with a standard kernel. It needs to be mentioned that the cPanel-provided hardened kernel was deprecated in cPanel & WHM version 68. Hence, updates to this kernel are not provided any more. It is strongly recommended that the hardened kernel be removed. It also needs to be mentioned that the server will need to be rebooted during this procedure. Hence, the downtime needs to be planned accordingly.

To digress, cPanel is a popular web hosting control panel software. It offers a graphical interface as well as automation tools, and administration is enabled in it via a standard web browser through the aid of a three-tier structure. Web hosting is a service that is provided by web hosting companies for the purpose of ensuring that websites are continuously accessible over the Internet. Server space, necessary technologies, and services are provided in web hosting through various web hosting plans to keep websites continuously accessible. Shared hosting, dedicated hosting, reseller hosting, cloud hosting, VPS hosting and WordPress hosting are some of the main types of web hosting services that are offered by most of the web hosting companies. The “Best Windows Hosting Company”, the “Best Cloud Hosting Company”, etc. are the terms with which the most efficient web hosting companies are usually referred to.

How to Manually Remove the Kernel?

The below-mentioned steps need to be carried out for manually replacing the cPanel-provided hardened kernel with a standard kernel.

1: Log in to your server. This has to be done vis SSH.

2: The following commands need to be run:

• rm /etc/yum.repos.d/cPkernel.repo

• yum list --showduplicates kernel

A list of available kernels is returned by the system. These kernels can be installed.

• [root@c6 ~]# yum list --showduplicates kernel

• Loaded plugins: fastestmirror

• Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile

• * base: reflector.westga.edu

• * epel: mirror.compevo.com

• * extras: ftp.osuosl.org

• * updates: dallas.tx.mirror.xygenhosting.com

• Installed Packages

• kernel.x86_64  

 3: If a specific kernel needs to be installed, then the following command needs to be run:

yum install KERNELNAME 

In it “KERNELNAME” represents the desired kernel. Alternatively, the command, yum install kernel-2.6.32 needs to be run for installing the latest kernel.

• [root@c6 ~]# yum install kernel-2.6.32

• Loaded plugins: fastestmirror

• Setting up Install Process

• Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile

• * base: reflector.westga.edu

• * epel: mirror.compevo.com

• * extras: ftp.osuosl.org

• * updates: dallas.tx.mirror.xygenhosting.com

• Resolving Dependencies

• --> Running transaction check

• ---> Package kernel.x86_64 0:2.6.32-696.16.1.el6 will be installed

• --> Finished Dependency Resolution

• Dependencies Resolved

• Package   Arch           Version                                                  Repository     Size

• Installing:

• Kernel     x86_64        2.6.32-696.16.1.el6                                 updates        32M

• Transaction Summary

• Install       1 Package(s)

• Total download size: 32 M

• Installed size: 131 M

• Is this ok [y/N]: y

• Downloading Packages:

• kernel-2.6.32-696.16.1.el6.x86_64.rpm                                       |  32 MB     00:11

• Running rpm_check_debug

• Running Transaction Test

• Transaction Test Succeeded

• Running Transaction

• Installing : kernel-2.6.32-696.16.1.el6.x86_64                             1/1

• Verifying  : kernel-2.6.32-696.16.1.el6.x86_64                            1/1

• Installed:

• kernel.x86_64 0:2.6.32-696.16.1.el6

• Complete!

4: The reboot command needs to be run to reboot the server.

5: Once the server reboots, you need to log in once again to your server via SSH. Then the command, uname -r needs to be run.

The output is supposed to resemble the following:

2.6.32-696.13.2.el6.x86_64

It is recommended that you navigate to the Security Advisor interface in WHM, after the hardened kernel has been replaced. Post that, install the KernelCare’s free symlink protection from CloudLinux.

Source: https://www.htshosting.org/knowledge-base/cpanel/247/process-to-manually-remove-cpanel-provided-hardened-kernel