Security for my domains
Hi there,
So I hope someone can either help me, or point me to another forum that you think can help me.
Over the years I've had to pay extra for dedicated domains b/c I like to keep certain domains separate from other domains so people can't look them all up by doing a reverse lookup.
I can't afford to get an IP for every single domain, I have quite a few (around 30).
Now I'm realizing even getting a dedicated domain doesn't help b/c people can see they are all owned by the one person. And putting them all on the shared server is bad for SEO, so either way I don't win.
I feel this is a security risk just like back in the day when domain registrants had no privacy options & people could look you up & get a home address or phone number & then use it to bully or stalk you.
While the domain doesn't give them that info, if someone is out to bring you down & yes this happens often online, this will help them.
Does anyone have a suggestion on how I can accomplish this?
I'm currently on a reseller account, but I'm looking to switch hosters, as mine is terrible at communication & every day I find out some new problem that is a stressor for me.
I'm thinking of going VPS, but I don't see how that would solve the problem.
I don't want to have to buy dedicated IPs as they are very costly & now hosters are less likely to give them out vs. 6 years ago when I last changed hosters.
Thank you
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You could use a company such as CloudFlare to obscure your IP address. The basic service is free and is relatively easy to set up requiring a change to your DNS records and adding the CloudFlare IP ranges to your firewall white-lists. CloudFlare - The web performance & security company 0 -
Hi Dave, Someone mentioned this, but said it wasn't full proof. And how does this affect my SEO? Thanks 0 -
Hi there, Unfortunately there is nothing that is fool proof. I have seen some ingenious efforts by individuals who have successfully rooted a box despite the best efforts of the respective security teams despite their experience/training/hardware/policies etc. If someone wants in that badly at some point they will most likely get in.. You as the Administrator are responsible for this and must do all you can with regards to data integrity and security. CloudFlare is not a fail safe but it can offer some obscurity if configured correctly and is a lot cheaper and less complicated than other options. With regards to your SEO that should remain intact. For everything else there is good encryption for making the data quite useless in the hands of others and of course maintaining the education of your users. Inform them about subjects such as Social Engineering/Phishing and Malware. Offer two factor authentication policies. Restrict access to certain IP's etc. The list is quite endless with regards to what you can do. Hope that helps. 0 -
Thanks Dave. Ok, please understand I'm not a techi/geek, so I have to rely upon others to do whatever. Oh, I thought this feature of Cloud Fare was free. The feature you mentioned, is that under the free or $20/month plan? There's no way I can afford the $200 plan & as it is, getting dedicated IPs may be cheaper than paying another $20, although I'm still not clear if this account covers ALL my domains, or I have to get an account per domain which I'd never be able to do. I called them (I didn't know they are in the UK) & the girl in sales didn't understand what I was talking about, so I wrote to tech support. Hopefully I'll get an answer tomorrow as I REALLY have to change hosters & that's another issue, finding a new hosting company I like tha thas phone support, not just tickets. The other security isn't my concern right now. I do the best I can with WP's plugins, but thank you. Just so you understand, I'm just a tiny micro company on a more than tight budget :) Thanks again P.S. Is Cloud Flare the only company that offers these services? 0 -
No problem at all, The free CloudFlare account will suffice for your needs. There are many hosting companies to pick from. I'd recommend reviewing them carefully by simply searching for them on Google and see what people have to say. There are plenty of videos on YouTube relating to CloudFlare. Worth having a look through them. There are other companies. Google is your friend. 0 -
Hopefully I'll get an answer tomorrow as I REALLY have to change hosters & that's another issue, finding a new hosting company I like tha thas phone support, not just tickets.
Hello, You can also review our hosting partner directory at: cPanel Hosting Partner Directory Thank you.0 -
Well so far I'm not thrilled with Cloud Flare. Tech support got back to me & said... Hello, Thank you for contacting CloudFlare. Unfortunately, we were not able to locate a CloudFlare account with your email address (xxxxx). If you have a CloudFlare account and received this message in error, please make sure to use the email address associated with your CloudFlare account. If you'd like to change your email address, click here for more information. If you don't have a CloudFlare account, sign up for a free account at www.cloudflare.com! Regards, The CloudFlare Team"
I'm like WTH??? I have to have an account just to get my question answered? - Removed - Thanks & thanks CPanel, I didn't know you had a directory here. I'll check it out as I'm no longer thrilled with WHT, I feel they were a lot better when the founder was around. He was a nice person & people were nicer on the forum.0 -
No problem at all, The free CloudFlare account will suffice for your needs. There are many hosting companies to pick from. I'd recommend reviewing them carefully by simply searching for them on Google and see what people have to say. There are plenty of videos on YouTube relating to CloudFlare. Worth having a look through them. There are other companies. Google is your friend.
David, I just spoke to someone from CloudFlare, & he said that feature ONLY exists with their Enterprise program which starts at $5k. I don't know where you got this info that it's available in their free package.0 -
Could you let us know the specific feature you are seeking out? There's a comparison of their plans at: Plans | CloudFlare | The web performance & security company Thank you. 0 -
Could you let us know the specific feature you are seeking out? There's a comparison of their plans at: Plans | CloudFlare | The web performance & security company Thank you.
I already stated what I need in my original post. Cloud Flare won't work. It's too expensive for me.0 -
Adding Domain Privacy at your Registrar, using a dedicated IP to each domain, different nameservers for each domain, putting the domains on different hostnames, all of these are also expensive. From CloudFlare: Will CloudFlare hide my IP online? CloudFlare is not an IP protection service and there really is no way to fully hide your IP address online. While basic lookups of a domain on CloudFlare will terminate on CloudFlare's IPs and nameservers checking a domain, CloudFlare is not an IP protection service and there are ways of locating your server IP address whether you are using CloudFlare or not.
And if you used CloudFlare, and you mention you're running Wordpress sites, you'd probably need the CloudFlare WordPress plugin too: cloudflare.com/resources-downloads We recommend that any user on WordPress and CloudFlare should use this plugin
And putting them all on the shared server is bad for SEO
What does SEO have to do with any of this?0 -
Adding Domain Privacy at your Registrar, using a dedicated IP to each domain, different nameservers for each domain, putting the domains on different hostnames, all of these are also expensive. From CloudFlare: Will CloudFlare hide my IP online? And if you used CloudFlare, and you mention you're running Wordpress sites, you'd probably need the CloudFlare WordPress plugin too: cloudflare.com/resources-downloads What does SEO have to do with any of this?
I'll check out the plugin which I assume is free, but they told me their free version (I assume that's the same as this plugin) only helps with the speed of the site & nothing else. As for SEO, I was comparing getting a few dedicated IPs (I can't edit my post to fix a mistake I just noticed) & trying to hide them that way vs. hiding them on a shared server where no one knows who's domain belongs to whom since that shared IP has TONS of domains on it.. And that it's bad for SEO so that option is no good either. In fact I think my SERPs have dropped since I just packed them all onto the shared IP since my hoster was refusing to let me put more than one on a dedicated IP. In the end my website coder thinks the only solution is to get different hosting accounts. I'd have to try & find a hoster who's willing to give me a deal on the other 4-5 accounts. I'm still surprised no one has come up with a solution for this, but I guess most people who have a lot of domains have a lot of money so they can afford to get a different hosting account for every domain if they wanted to. I just don't fall into that category.0 -
Sounds to me, since you mention SEO and SERP, like you're working on something other than just being concerned about domain privacy. There are lots of ways to do that, but none of them is 100% foolproof. if someone is out to bring you down & yes this happens often online, this will help them.
Properly securing your server and keeping all those Wordpress (including plugins) installs up to date can help there. And its not expensive.0 -
Sounds to me, since you mention SEO and SERP, like you're working on something other than just being concerned about domain privacy. There are lots of ways to do that, but none of them is 100% foolproof. Properly securing your server and keeping all those Wordpress (including plugins) installs up to date can help there. And its not expensive.
Ummm, as an entrepreneur, it's my job to consider ALL issues, not just one. And I NEVER EVER talked about security of the site's plugins, etc., only security in terms of people finding out all my domains. Sounds to me like you don't really understand what I'm saying, but thanks for trying anyway.0 -
You mentioned "someone bringing you down, happens often". Hiding who owns the domain won't help prevent that. Security can. 0 -
You mentioned "someone bringing you down, happens often". Hiding who owns the domain won't help prevent that. Security can.
Yes, but nothing about them bringing down my site via attacks, they are doing it via other methods. Anyway, no need for you to respond more, you don't fully understand the situation & you are just guessing. All I needed was help with what I stated, no more. All the best0
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