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Free and Cheap Web Space Options

There are some good deals on the internet concerning web space and hosting but you have to look to find the best deals. You should also consider how long a provider has been in business.

Finding free web space on the Internet is simple. All you have to do is use a simple Web search (Google, Bing, Qwant or DuckDuckGo) and the results should bring back options for free web space. There are many individuals and businesses looking for a place to put their website without having to pay for the service. These free services can provide anywhere from 250MB to 3Gb of online web space for hosting your web site.

Free sites also come with some cool stuff, such as 1-click installers for open source apps, web statistics, site management, sub domain names, logs and more. These additions are good for people that have little or no knowledge about building a web site.

A free service provides benefits to all people and may sound like a good idea but the goal is to do your research to see if the deals are viable or not. Free services can also bring other unwanted things that you have to deal with when you sign up for the service. Usually, you have to submit to advertising and surveys by filling out a form before you can get your free service. Be sure that you read the user agreements that come with the free services. At RightBiz.net we offer you 1Gb of free space with No Ads, one free email address and SQL database. If that’s all you need it’s a good place to start and you can always upgrade your package later, if needed.

There’s a lot of competition for your Web site hosting dollars, and you can find some pretty good deals if you look hard enough.

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5 Things You Can do to Secure Your WordPress Site

Making sure your WordPress site is secure from hackers is important. Being hacked is no laughing matter. It can result in a loss of all your data, the collection of your personal information and that of your customers or followers, and it can put you at risk financially. Let’s look at 5 things you can do to help secure your WordPress site.

#1 Fix Any Malware Issues
Find a way to clean up detected malware issues. It’s common for blog owners to underestimate the cost of being down related to security problems or the time it takes to deal with an issue. Sucuri is a good solution for removing malware.

#2 Choose a Host Provider
If you have your blog on a server that is shared your security risk goes up tenfold. Consider the risk to your blog and then multiply that risk by the number of other sites and blogs on that server. That’s what your risk is. A dedicated server or VPS may be more than you can handle, but another good choice is WordPress hosting that’s managed. It’s certainly worth the cost as you get better security, better support, a faster site and automatic backups.

#3 It’s Time to do Some Site Clean Up
You need to keep your blog nice and tidy. Remove old plugins you aren’t using. Delete themes you no longer use. Host websites that are in development on a different server than websites that are live.

#4 Control Sensitive Data
When you are doing your site clean up, make sure you aren’t leaving behind any sensitive data for the world to be able to gain access to. Check all of your php files, because these are like road maps to your site setup and give a hacker all of the information they need to ‘bust in.’

Don’t keep your backups on the server with your site files. That’s just encouraging a hacker to download them and use them to hack your website. Disable directory browsing to stop a hacker from seeing the blog’s folders.

Be careful when you are using the CPanel file manager and having it save copies of your important files temporarily. You are much better off using secure file transfer protocol.

#5 Don’t Let Your Guard Down
This might seem obvious, but it’s not always practiced. You need to be vigilant about staying on top of everything on your site. This will decrease the risk of being hacked.

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Expired Domains – Can Be Profitable

It’s a sad fact, but many people start an online business and then abandon it when they’re aren’t making as much money as they thought they should be (of course there may be many other reasons why they stopped working on their online business, but getting frustrated and giving up is a common scenario). For this reason people don’t always renew their domain names when they expire, these expired domains can actually be money in the bank to the savvy internet marketer.

The biggest advantage is that many of these expired domain names actually have a website that is ranked high in the search engines and has a nice steady stream of traffic. Buying a site that has a high rank and that already gets traffic will make it so much easier for you to make money since you don’t have to invest the time to start from scratch. No matter what some of the more unethical ‘gurus’ online may try to tell you, it takes time to get your website to the point where it is getting enough traffic to be profitable.

Allowing a site to ‘age’ can help the traffic a lot as the search engines tend to like older sites more. It also allows for there to be a lot of backlinks into the site, and again, building these links is time consuming so if you can benefit from someone else who has done the work for you, you can be that much further ahead.

Another great advantage is you might be able to pick up a gem, though it’s rare, in a market that has become saturated and it’s difficult to find a good domain name. This expired domain may be just the thing but you will most likely be paying a premium for it.

That brings me to another point, while there are many places online where you can buy domains that have expired you do have to be careful to not get caught up in the moment and overpay for a site. You should be willing to spend time to do your due diligence and make sure that the domain you are interested in is actually worth the amount of money that is being charged for it.

Some of the things you should check out are the number of back links to the site, what the page rank is and how long the site has been active. Some unscrupulous people will try to make a killing on a site that is no longer in it’s heyday and not getting the traffic it once did. They will show you old stats that are no longer accurate as a way to trick you into paying more than the domain is actually worth.

If you know what you are doing and are willing to invest the time to adequately research any given site to make sure it’s still profitable, than buying expired domains can be an amazing way to get a turnkey site up and running (and making money) for you. Someone else has already done a lot of the work, now you get to reap the rewards. Have fun!

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Using a Password Service to Protect Your WordPress Site

It seems all we talk about is creating strong passwords and if you are like most people, you create a password that you thought was solid only to find out it is not. What’s the solution? Using a password service is a great way to create a strong password and protect your WordPress site.

There are a number of these services – A few that come to mind are LastPass, 1Password and a newer one called Keeper Password Manager. You install the software on your computer and it will create these wild passwords that are up to 50 characters and really just look like gibberish. What’s even better is that it memorizes them for you, because there is no way you could remember these passwords. Then to keep all those passwords secure you use a master password. That way even if your passwords are stolen the hackers are going to need the master password.

A good master password needs to be strong – in fact it’s critical because all your other passwords lay in the balance of this. Follow as many password rules as you can and this one you need to memorize along with any passwords needed to access your computer.

You will need to be patient as it takes time to transition your entire life online to a password service. You’ll be surprised at just how often you use passwords. Think about it – every time you login somewhere you use a user ID and a password. Getting the system up and functioning completely can be a real challenge, but stick with it, because eventually you will be far more secure and have way less passwords to remember.

You should actually have a password service for your mobile devices and your desktop devices. These are different and will require two different downloads and if it’s a paid service two different purchases.

If you really want to boost your password security on WordPress use more than one password. Have a two factor authorization. This means that your login will require two parts of information. For example, your password and something you know. It provides an extra layer of protection in a number of applications including Twitter, Apple, Dropbox and Google.

Today is a good day to get started with your password service!

Check out the Keeper Password Manager.

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Essential Tips to Keep Your WordPress Blog Secure

If you have a WordPress blog you need to be concerned with security just like you do with any website. Hackers are always looking for an opportunity to attack a site and your WordPress blog could be a target. Here are some essential tips to help keep your blog secure and hacker free.

Hide your login error messages – Error login messages could provide hackers with ideas about whether they have figured out your username and password correctly or incorrectly. It is a good idea to hide it from all unauthorized logins. Just add the following code in functions.php

add_filter(‘login_errors’,create_function(‘$a’, “return null;”));

Maintaining backups – Keep backups of your entire WordPress blog. This is just as vital as it is to keep your site secure from hackers. If the hackers are successful at least you will have a full backup files to get your site up and running again quickly.

Changing default “wp_” Prefixes – Your WordPress blog might be at risk if you are using the predictable wp_ prefixes in your database. Use the iThemes Security Pro plugin to change this.

Prevent directory browsing – Another security issue is when your directories and all the files in the directory are accessible to public. Use this test to check if your WordPress directories are properly protected:

* Enter the following URL in browser, without the quotes. “http://www.domain.com/wp-includes/”
If it shows blank or redirects you back to the home page, you are safe. However, if you see a list of items in your directory, you are not safe.

To prevent access to all your directories, place this code inside your .htaccess file.

# Prevent folder browsing
Options All –Indexes

Keep WordPress core files & Plugins up to date – One of the easiest ways to keep your WordPress site safe is to simply make sure your files are always current. Here are few ways you can do that:

* Deactivate & remove plugins not used – Unused plugin will eventually become outdated and can cause a security risk so it is best to delete them.

* Login to your dashboard frequently – When an update is available you will see a A yellow notification at the top of your dashboard. Login frequently and keep up to date with the most recent WordPress files. Subscribe to WordPress Releases RSS (https://wordpress.org/news/category/releases/feed/).

That’s just a few essential tips to keep your WordPress blog secure. There are plenty of others. Remember the more you do the less you are at risk.

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Avoid Lock Outs and Protect Yourself from WordPress Hackers

If you haven’t already experienced a lockout or hacker intrusion, you are one of the lucky ones. The effects of hacking are not minor, they can bring down your entire operation, cause you to lose all of your work. Don’t put securing up your website at the bottom of your to do list or it might be too late. Let’s look at some things you can do to make sure your site is secure.

#1 Start by Creating Solid Passwords

One of the easiest ways to get through a site’s security is with their password. Many people put off creating solid passwords because they claim they take too much time, but think about the time it will take to try to rebuild all your hard work.

* Every password on every site should be different
* Every password should be at least 15 characters
* A password is strongest if it is not a real word
* Use a mix of capital letters, lowercase letters, special characters and numbers.

Your password is your first line of defense against hackers, so make sure it’s strong. Never write your passwords down, they should always be kept in your head or you can use password manager such as Keeper Password Manager.

#2 Make Sure Your Site is Up to Date

WordPress has a lot of updates, too many people don’t bother getting all of these updates, and many of them fix security breaches and bugs, as well as providing the latest features. Sure, it’s hard to stay ahead of the hackers, but taking every step possible makes good sense.

#3 Change Your WordPress User Name

When you set up your WordPress account, you will get a default login username of admin. You need a good username with a strong password.

#4 Protect Yourself from Brute Force Attacks

You may not be aware, but almost every website receives more than a couple hundred unauthorized login attempts every single day and that includes your website. To guard against a brute force attack make sure you have put into place all of the suggestions. You can install the iThemes Security Pro plugin for WordPress to protect your site from these kinds of attacks.

#5 Monitor for Malware

You must be constantly monitoring your site for malware. iThemes Security Pro is a good solution for your WordPress site and it even has a free basic version. Thought the Pro version has many additional features.

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Making Sure Your WordPress is Securely Installed

Often the One-Click installs offered by many web hosts don’t install the latest version of WordPress, so after installing it, check to see if it’s the latest version and then do an update if needed. Also check the default themes and plugins and update them if necessary.

The next thing you need to do is take care of security issues on your site. WordPress has a plugin called iThemes Security Pro (formerly Better WP Security), that lets you change certain WordPress features to make it more difficult for the hackers to gain access. Be sure to take advantage of this tool to give you the best chance at a secure WordPress site.

iThemes Security Pro will let you:

* Change the default ‘Admin’ username to something different
* Lock entrance to the admin at specific time periods
* Change your admin user ID from 1 to something different
* Ban users based on the IP addresses
* Automatically email your database backups to yourself
* Change the URL you use to login from wp-login to something different
* Change your WordPress directory files from wp-content to something different
* Change your database prefix from wp_ to something different
* Check the number of hits on 404 pages and lock the user out if they are excessive
* Track any file changes
* Limit the number of times you can login attempts with the wrong password

And there’s more.

One of the easiest ways to get through a site’s security is with their password. Many don’t take the time to create solid passwords because they claim they take too much time, but compared to the time it will take you to attempt to rebuild your site, it seems like such a small price.

When you are creating a password:

Every password should be at least 15 characters
Every site should be different
Is strongest if it is not an actual word
Is strongest if it is a mix of special characters, lowercase letters, capital letters and numbers.

Regular Backups

The last thing you need to do is make sure you are taking regular backups of your site files and database(s). That way should the unthinkable happen, you will at least have a backup safely stored away, which will certainly reduce your stress.

One of the most popular plugins for doing this is called UpdraftPlus. This will create a backup and then upload that backup to Dropbox for safe keeping. You can also email that backup to yourself. That’s because the Dropbox plugin keeps only one backup, so sending to yourself allows you to keep many versions.

Get busy, add your plugin(s), change your passwords, make your backups and make your site as secure as possible.

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Domain Name Parking – Works For You

More people are turning to the internet to make money, they are also snapping up domain names like crazy. For that reason, if you have a certain niche market you’ve been thinking about, it may be a good idea to buy your domain name now, even if you can’t get to it right away, so it’s not already taken when you want it. You may actually be able to earn a little money while it just sits there if you use domain name parking.

Once you’ve bought your domain name it can just ‘sit’ idly by and do nothing, or you can register with a domain parking site. This will allow you to place ads on your parked domain and potentially make a little revenue for you until you’re ready to build your niche website.

One thing to keep in mind though is that unless you have a very highly searched for domain name, your site isn’t going to get much traffic and it won’t generate many sales so the cost of a domain parking service may not be worth it.

In that case you may just be better off keeping your domain parked at the place where you registered it. If you do want to try to make some money from your domain and you have a great domain name that gets a lot of traffic every month, you have to be careful which domain parking service you use.

You want to make sure that you get a fair share of the revenue generated by the ads on your site. You also want to be able to generate your own landing pages so you can optimize your click through rate and make more money.

Domain parking can provide you with a nice additional monthly income. If you are able to register your new domain name (one that is a very popular search term) or you may even be able to pick up an older domain name that someone has let expire, in either of these scenarios you might be able to make some nice money every month.

Do not make the mistake of thinking that all domain parking companies are created equal. Make sure you do your research so you can get the biggest cut of the click through rate (CTR) possible. To get the most out of your domain name keep your landing page and advertisements very targeted. If your domain name is golfballs.com you might not want to include ads that are not about golf balls.

Some people have actually built whole online businesses around finding great domain names and parking them. They don’t just buy a site and park it until they can get to it, they buy a domain name based on the number of monthly visitors it will receive and then they place ads on the site and do everything they can to optimize the click through rate… that is how they make money.

Whether you buy a domain name and want to earn a little money until you can get to it or you buy a domain name with the express purpose of using a domain name parking service to make money from it, there are a lot of companies around and you should choose one carefully. You’ll find a list I use in my last blog post here.

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Domain Name Parking – What Is It

What is domain name parking? Well, let’s say that you’ve got a great idea for a niche website but you’re in the middle of something else and just won’t be able to get to it for a while, in the meantime you don’t want anyone else to snap up that great domain name you’ve come up with, so you buy the domain name and park it until you can get to it.

When you buy a domain name you can then build a website with that name, and have a hosting company host it for you. Hosting simply means that you will have a small ‘space’ online where your website will appear when someone enters your domain name into their computer browser. Sometimes, though, someone will either buy a domain name that they simply can’t put up a website with right away or they will buy a domain name with the sole idea of parking it to generate some income.

While it’s true that in most cases you can just park your domain with your domain registration company or hosting account for free, (you don’t even have to park it but any visitors that may come to your domain will receive an error message), you can also park it with a company that specializes in helping you monetize your parked domain. Here are a few:

BODIS – https://www.bodis.com/
Domain Apps – https://domainapps.com/
ParkingCrew – https://www.parkingcrew.com/
Rook Media – https://www.rookmedia.net/
SmartName (A GoDaddy Company) – http://www.smartname.com/smartname/
The Parking Place – https://theparkingplace.com/
Voodoo – https://www.voodoo.com/

And two more:
Afternic – https://www.afternic.com/domain-parking/
Sedo – https://sedo.com/us/park-domains/

They will place ads on your parked domain and whenever you get a visitor you will get paid if they click on one of the ads. This can either be a nice little extra income stream until you can build the website or it can become a full time income, though in order to make that much money you will need to have many parked domains and you will have to be very careful in choosing your domain names.

It’s up to you to decide which method makes sense for you and your financial goals, but one thing you do need to be careful of are all the scams that will promise to provide you with a system to make hundreds of thousands of dollars, or more, by parking domains. I’m not saying that you can’t benefit from learning all the ins and outs of this process by getting a system, I’m just saying that you need to be careful that you don’t get taken in the process.

One of the best ways to get traffic to your parked domain for free is choosing wisely when it comes time to pick out your domain name. If you choose a term that has many monthly searches and you keep that term (keyword) intact and use it as your domain name, you will get a lot of ‘organic’ traffic. Organic traffic is any visitor that finds your site simply because they entered the keyword you were focusing on for your site. This is different from people who click on a link and are taken to your site.

Whether you use domain name parking temporarily until you can get your website built or you use it as an income stream, just take a little time to find out the best way to go about this method for an online business.