HELM, WHM/cPanel, Windows, Linux, web hosting talk, Search Engine Optimization, PHP, ASP discussion blog

Google Panda – Penguin updates

Kailash — Thu, 17 May 2012 05:02:30 +0000

Google Panda is an algorithm used by Google for search results ranking. To provide better and more accurate search result, Google updates this algorithm on a regular basis. On April 24, 2012 the ‘Penguin’ update was released, which affected many web sites.

Windows Server 2008 R2 – First only 64-bit operating system

Kailash — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:55:43 +0000

Windows Server 2008 R2 is a server operating system released by Microsoft in July 2009. It is built on Windows NT 6.1. It is the first ONLY 64-bit operating system released by Microsoft. There is no 32-bit version available for Windows Server 2008 R2.

Windows Server 2008 R2 supports Hyper-V virtulization, IIS 7.5, built-in .Net frameworks i.e. .Net Framework 3.5 etc. any many other features. The operating system is available in seven different editions: Foundation, Standard, Enterprise, Datacenter, Web, HPC Server and Itanium.

Microsoft has announced that Server 2008 R2 will be the last version of Windows supporting the Itanium architecture.

Stop WordPress asking for FTP details to install/upgrade plugins

Kailash — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 18:03:46 +0000

How to Stop WordPress Asking for FTP details to Upgrade Plugins:

If you install/upgrade WordPress plugin from WordPress admin area, you will need to specify FTP details each time. It is not a problem if you have few plugins but if you have installed many plugins, it consumes lots of time installing/upgrading plugin from WordPress admin.

To avoid this, you can directly specify your FTP details in your wp-config.php file. You just need to add following codes in your wp-config.php file:

define(‘FTP_HOST’, ‘ftp.yoursite.com’);
define(‘FTP_USER’, ‘Your_FTP_Username’);
define(‘FTP_PASS’, ‘Your_FTP_password’);
// If SSL connection is requireed add following line as well
define(‘FTP_SSL’, true);

Save your wp-config.php file and try to install/upgrade plugin from your WordPress admin area.

Kailash Aghera

How to Stop WordPress Asking for FTP details to Upgrade Plugins

RatePoint Accounts Permanently Closing on February 02, 2012

Kailash — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 10:06:41 +0000

RatePoint Accounts Permanently Closing on February 02, 2012. Following is the notifications that sent out to their users:

————————————————————————–
Important Message Regarding Discontinuation of RatePoint Services

RatePoint customers, partners, and friends:

As some of you may know, RatePoint’s assets and technologies are currently being acquired. Unfortunately this means that all RatePoint accounts will soon be closed. Effective February 2, 2012, all RatePoint services, including Reputation Management, Email Marketing, Surveys, and Product Reviews will be discontinued. Your ability to access your RatePoint account will end at this time.

However, we are happy to suggest a viable alternative to RatePoint. For customers that want to continue using a good reputation management platform, we highly recommend Customer Lobby. We’ve arranged for them to waive the activation fee, provide discounted rates, and import existing reviews for any RatePoint user! Please read this article, call 866-718-9549, or contact ratepointtransfer@customerlobby.com for more info.

We recommend removing all RatePoint widgets, buttons, seals, and signup boxes from your website as soon as possible, along with any links to any ratepoint.com sites. If you have any data you’d like to retrieve from your RatePoint account — such as contacts, business reviews, or product reviews — you should do that on or before the morning of February 2 at the very latest. After that time, you will be unable to retrieve your information.

For more information, feel free to email support@ratepoint.com or see the help articles below:

Thanks for your support; we wish you all the best.

Sincerely,
RatePoint, Inc.
————————————————————————–

Yahoo! 360° is closing on July 13, 2009

Error when trying to upgrade SMF 1.1.15 to 1.1.16

Kailash — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:47:20 +0000

It has been reported by many SMF users that they are facing problem to upgrade SMF version from SMF 1.1.15 to 1.1.16 automatically. You may receive the following error while upgrading SMF 1.1.15 to SMF 1.1.16:

The package you are trying to download or install is either corrupt or not compatible with this version of SMF

You might not encounter this error in previous version.

Instead of upgrading it manually, there is a workaround to upgrade it automatically. You just need to follow the below steps:

[1] Download upgrade package from the following URL:

http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/downloads/smf_patch_1.0.22_1.1.16.tar.gz

[2] Extract the archive using WinRAR or other software.

[3] Now zip the extracted folder to .zip extension let us say “smf_patch_1.0.22_1.1.16.zip”.

[4] Upload this zip file in your packages directory.

[5] Login to the administrator area and use the package manager to find and to install the “smf_patch_1.0.22_1.1.16″ file.

This should work who are facing problem to upgrade version automatically.

Kailash Aghera

Web Application Gallery module is unavailable

Kailash — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:04:05 +0000

If you have upgraded your WebsitePanel version to WebsitePanel 1.2.0, you may receive the following error while accessing Microsoft Web Application Gallery:

Application Gallery module is unavailable:
- MsDeployIsNotInstalled.

You may receive even if MsDeploy 1 and MsDeploy 2 are installed on your server. The solutions are different for 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems.

[1] Fix for 64-bit operating system:

- Install the latest version of MS Deploy (x64 version):

http://www.iis.net/download/WebDeploy

- Run WebsitePanel Server application pool in 64 bit mode .
- Restart IIS service.

[2] Fix for 32-bit operating system:

You will need to make changes in Windows registry.

- Open registry to change MsDeploy v1 path.

- Go to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IIS Extensions\MSDeploy\1]

- Under “InstallPath_x86” enter the value C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy\ (or path of ms deploy 1 installation)

- Go to [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\IIS Extensions\MSDeploy\2]

- Under “InstallPath_x86” enter the value C:\Program Files\IIS\Microsoft Web Deploy V2\ (or path of ms deploy 2 installation)

Do NOT forget to restart IIS after making above changes.

Kailash Aghera

Microsoft Windows 7 – Next Windows Operating system

What is Black Hat SEO and does it affect my website ranking?

Kailash — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:34:57 +0000

Black Hat SEO is technique in order to increase your website ranking in search results. Such techniques may include spamming other websites with links, adding large amount of keywords in the keyword tags, using invisible text on web pages, using a fake page that is not seen by the visitor (hidden iframe) but for search engine spider bots only and many more. In short, these are techniques that are used to get higher search rankings in an unethical manner.

Previously, such techniques might work to boost your ranking but nowadays your website will be penalized by search engines if you try to use such techniqus. If you try Black Hat SEO techniques, there is a chance that your website gets banned by search engines.

How to optimize MySQL database using phpMyAdmin

Kailash — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:23:06 +0000

Whenever you delete large number of records from your MySQL database, it is recommend to optimize your MySQL database for the best performance. In this article, we will show you how to optimize MySQL database using phpMyAdmin.

- Open your phpMyAdmin tool.
- Select the database you want to optimize on the upper left.
- Select the tables you want to optimize (usually checkmark all tables)
- Using the selection box at the bottom, select “Optimize Table”

This will execute the OPTIMIZE TABLE SQL query on the selected tables.

How to repair a corrupted MySQL database from cPanel and phpMyAdmin

Kailash — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 06:11:49 +0000

Sometimes, your MySQL database may be corrupted and it requires to repair your MySQL database. Here we will provide you steps to repair corrupted MySQL database from cPanel and phpMyAdmin.

[1] Repair a MySQL database from cPanel

Log in to your cPanel and go to MySQL Databases. In the section Modify Databases, select a database from the drop-down box next to Repair DB: and then click the Repair DB button.

If the database engine used by your database supports repair (for example, MyISAM supports it), you will see a list of the repaired tables within the database.

If your database engine does not support repair (e.g. InnoDB database engine), you will get the following error message:

note : The storage engine for the table doesn’t support repair

[2] Repair a MySQL database from phpMyAdmin
- Open your phpMyAdmin and select the database whose tables you wish to repair.

- Select the tables you wish to repair, or simply click [Check All] to select all tables.

- Click the box [With selected:] and choose Repair table. This will execute the REPAIR TABLE SQL query on the selected tables and they will be repaired.

How to change the database storage engine of a MySQL database table

Kailash — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 05:58:30 +0000

You may require changing MySQL database storage engine for your table.

Let’s assume that you have a database table called your_table using MyISAM engine and you wish to change the engine from MyISAM to InnoDB.

You can change the storage engine using the following MySQL query:

ALTER TABLE your_table ENGINE = InnoDB;

If you have phpMyAdmin, you can execute the above query from there.

Open your phpMyAdmin tool and select the database which contains your_table. Then click the SQL tab, paste the above query there and click the Go button.

WordPress 3.2 now available

Kailash — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 04:45:27 +0000

WordPress 3.2 is fifteenth major release of WordPress and comes just four months after 3.1 (which coincidentally just passed the 15 million download mark this morning), reflecting the growing speed of development in the WordPress community and our dedication to getting improvements in your hands as soon as possible. We’re dedicating this release to noted composer and pianist George Gershwin.

The focus for this release was making WordPress faster and lighter. The first thing you’ll notice when you log in to 3.2 is a refreshed dashboard design that tightens the typography, design, and code behind the admin. If you’re starting a new blog, you’ll also appreciate the fully HTML5 new Twenty Eleven theme, fulfilling our plan to replace the default theme every year. Start writing your first post in our redesigned post editor and venture to the full-screen button in the editing toolbar to enter the new distraction-free writing or zen mode, my personal favorite feature of the release. All of the widgets, menus, buttons, and interface elements fade away to allow you to compose and edit your thoughts in a completely clean environment conducive to writing, but when your mouse strays to the top of the screen your most-used shortcuts are right there where you need them.

Are You Ready for WordPress 3.2?

The minimum requirements:

PHP and MySQL

As of 3.2, you’ll need to be running PHP 5.2.4 and MySQL 5.0. As they mentioned almost a year ago when they announced that this change was coming, the percentage of people running older versions of PHP and MySQL is relatively low. With more than 45 million people using WordPress, though, even a small percentage can mean a lot of people! Don’t caught with your pants dashboard down — make sure you’re running compatible versions of PHP and MySQL before you update tomorrow when WordPress 3.2 is released.

How to access Web Disk (WebDav) on cPanel server

Kailash — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 05:34:32 +0000

The Web Disk feature is cPanel’s implementation of the WebDav protocol. This feature allows you to manage files associated with your website. By creating an account and accessing your Web Disk, you can navigate, upload, and download files to and from your web server as though they were part of your personal computer.

How to access Web Disk (WebDav):

1. Login to cPanel and click on Web Disk icon.
2. Scroll down the page and click on “Access Web Disk” button.
3. Choose your locate system’s operating system.
4. Scroll down and hit the Go button.
5. Click the Save button.
6. On your computer, hit Save, Open, and Run.

Web Disk allows to drag and drop the files/folders easily from your local system to your website.

WordPress 3.1.4 released

Kailash — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 07:28:55 +0000

WordPress 3.1.4 is available now and is a maintenance and security update for all previous versions.

This release fixes an issue that could allow a malicious Editor-level user to gain further access to the site. Version 3.1.4 also incorporates several other security fixes and hardening measures thanks to the work of WordPress developers Alexander Concha and Jon Cave of WordPress security team.

WordPress 3.1 released

Kailash — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:15:56 +0000

The long-awaited fourteenth release of WordPress is now available. WordPress 3.1 “Reinhardt” is named in honor of the jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Version 3.1 is available for download, or you can update from within your dashboard.

This release features a lightning fast redesigned linking workflow which makes it easy to link to your existing posts and pages, an admin bar so you’re never more than a click away from your most-used dashboard pages, a streamlined writing interface that hides many of the seldom-used panels by default to create a simpler and less intimidating writing experience for new bloggers (visit Screen Options in the top right to get old panels back), and a refreshed blue admin scheme available for selection under your personal options.

There’s a bucket of candy for developers as well, including our new Post Formats support which makes it easy for themes to create portable tumblelogs with different styling for different types of posts, new CMS capabilities like archive pages for custom content types, a new Network Admin, an overhaul of the import and export system, and the ability to perform advanced taxonomy and custom fields queries.

With the 3.1 release, WordPress is more of a CMS than ever before. The only limit to what you can build is your imagination.

By the Numbers

There were over two thousand commits to the codebase in the 3.1 cycle! For a more comprehensive look at everything that has improved in 3.1, check out 3.1’s Codex page or the more than 820 closed issues in Trac.

How to create a MySQL database from cPanel

Kailash — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 05:21:31 +0000

1. Login to your cPanel (https://yourdomain.com:2083).

2. Once logged into cPanel for the domain (https://yourdomain.com:2083 or use IP address instead of domain name if the domain is not pointing to the server), click MySQL databases under the Databases section.

3. Enter a name for the database and click Create Database.

4. Once the database is created, click Go Back.

5. Enter a username and a strong password for the database and click Create User.

6. Once the user is created, click Go Back.

7. Now you need to add the user to the database. Under Add User To Database, select the appropriate user and database.

8. Click Submit.

9. Select the appropriate database privileges for the user and click Make Changes.

- Kailash Aghera

IPv4 exhaustion – Last blocks of IPv4 net addresses get handed over

Kailash — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 05:39:11 +0000

The last five blocks of the IP Version 4 addresses have been handed over to the regional bodies that distribute them.

Those five blocks, called /8s and which contain 16 million addresses each, are expected to be completely depleted by September 2011.

The move to the new addressing scheme, IP version 6, is under way but could take years to complete.

“This is one of the most important days in the internet’s history,” said Rod Beckstrom, head of net overseer Icann at a press conference called to mark the handing over of the final five blocks.

“It is a point that the founders of the internet thought would occur far in the future,” he said. “It gives us an opportunity to shift to an internet protocol that offers a pool so large that it is difficult even to imagine.”

IPv6 has a pool of addresses a billion, trillion times larger than the 4.3 billion that IPv4 can support.

While that pool of 4.3 billion addresses was seen as plenty when the net was getting going, its recent growth has seen it get used up very quickly.

The shift to IPv6 was needed, he said, to support the continuing growth of the net and its greater use by all kinds of connected devices.

“The future of the internet and the innovation it fosters lies with IPv6,” said Mr Beckstrom.

Despite the imminent exhaustion of the IPv4 pool, few ISPs, companies, academic organisations and others have made the switch. A World IPv6 Day is being planned for 8 June that will give governments, companies and others the chance to test out the technology.

Cisco, Verizon, Yahoo, Google, Facebook and many others have committed to testing IPv6 on 8 June.

In the UK, the switch to the new addressing scheme might take years, said Philip Sheldrake, head of 6UK, an organisation set up to advise companies how to make the move.

Most firms would upgrade equipment, routers, hubs and modems, as part of their “normal replenishment cycle”, he said.

Equipment that is going to be in use for years before being replaced could be fitted with “dual stack” systems that can handle both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses

Some ISPs and others may take a more aggressive approach to the switch, said Mr Sheldrake.

“There are automated approaches that involve some remote updating of firmware in equipment,” he said.

“The internet does not break when IPv4 is exhausted,” said Mr Sheldrake explaining why this long term shift was feasible.

“What we are looking at here is that some parts of the world that have less IPv4 will be more on the front foot of adopting v6 than the UK because we have some good v4 space,” he said.

Source: BBC NEWS

No related posts.

Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace’

Kailash — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 10:52:48 +0000

You may receive the following error while starting SQL server 2008 Management Studio:

The type initializer for ‘Microsoft.SqlServer.Management.Dmf.PolicyStore’ threw an exception. (Microsoft.SqlServer.Dmf)

Could not load file or assembly ‘Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace, Version=10.0.0.0, Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=89845dcd8080cc91′ or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified.

In most cases, uninstalling Visual studio and .Net 4 and reinstalling them fix the problem. In case if it does not resolve the issue you can follow the below steps to resolve this error:

1. Run Command Prompt and find the location of the DLL file using the following command:

dir Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace.dll /s

2. Copy the location with the DLL name.

3. Run VS 2008 Command Prompt as Administrator.

4. Execute the following

GACUTIL –i “{Location of Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace.dll} found at step 1”

If the DLL file Microsoft.SqlServer.Diagnostics.STrace.dll is missing on your system, you may, however, copy it from other working system.

Hopefully this should resolve the error.

Kailash Aghera

ERROR: looks like you have lame nameservers

Kailash — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 19:33:16 +0000

You may receive the following error in your DNS report:

ERROR: You have one or more lame nameservers. These are nameservers that do NOT answer authoritatively for your domain. This is bad; for example, these nameservers may never get updated. The following nameservers are lame: 1.1.1.1

There are many resons for this DNS error.

[1] Nameservers are not configured properly in the DNS server.
[2] IP addresses of DNS server are not listening.
[3] Firewall configuration issue.
[4] Nameservers do not resolve proper IP addresses.

Kailash Aghera

Fantastico error ‘You cannot install more than one script in the root directory of a domain’

Kailash — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 05:25:18 +0000

If there is no script installed in the root (i.e. public_html etc.) for your domain name but you still get the message stating that you cannot install more than one script in the root directory of a domain, it means that a previously installed script was not properly removed. To resolve this problem you should follow these steps:

1. Log in cPanel and go to File Manager
2. Navigate to .fantasticodata in your Home Directory
3. Delete the file installed_in_root.php

Make sure that show hidden files/folders is enabled in your file manager.

SoftLayer and The Planet Begin Merged Operations

Kailash — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 20:16:31 +0000

Dallas—November 16, 2010—SoftLayer Technologies®, the innovative on-demand data center services provider, and The Planet® today began merged operations under the SoftLayer name.

The transaction merging the companies was completed on November 9, creating the largest hosting services provider in the world. The new SoftLayer brings customers the full-range of infrastructure as a service from one source, with fully-automated solutions and innovation, greater technical expertise, expanded geographic diversity, and higher customer value through increased economies of scale. Details include:

76,000+ deployed servers
10 data centers
24,000+ customer accounts in 110+ countries
More than 1,500G of total connectivity

“Our first priority over the last few months has been to create the most seamless transition possible for our customers,” said Lance Crosby, continuing Chief Executive Officer of SoftLayer. “We’re operating as one company, but the only differences customers should notice will be the opportunities they have as we offer more options to more people, with even more value. All products and services continue to be provided, supported, and managed as before.”

Existing Planet accounts and services remain unchanged and accessible through the same control portals that Planet customers have used previously. In addition, the company has greatly integrated the SoftLayer and Planet portals to provide an easier transition for all customers. Legacy Planet customers can log into the SoftLayer Customer Portal with their Planet username and password, access information about their systems on either platform from within either portal, and move between both portals without signing in and out.

New products and services will only be offered on the SoftLayer platform, where the company will consolidate its offerings over time to leverage its advantages in automation and advanced networking architecture. However, legacy Planet customers will not be required to migrate their services, allowing them to decide when such a transition makes the best sense for their individual goals and needs.

“With our merged size, strategic advantages, and market position, we are ready to bring even more changes to the industry than either of us could have alone,” said George Karidis, SoftLayer Chief Strategy Officer, who is also serving as Chief Integration Officer. “We’ve worked hard to get ready for this day. I’m proud and, frankly, impressed by how far we are toward full integration. We’re hitting the ground running, already at a point that many merged companies don’t reach for months.”

SoftLayer’s new executive team brings together leaders from both companies: Mr. Crosby; Mr. Karidis; Tom Blair, Senior Vice President, Sales; Nathan Day, Chief Scientist; Sam Fleitman, Chief Operating Officer; Suzy Fulton, General Counsel; Mike Jones, Chief Financial Officer; and Duke Skarda, Chief Technology Officer.

DH Capital served as exclusive financial advisor to SoftLayer in connection with the merger transaction.

About SoftLayer Technologies
Headquartered in Dallas, SoftLayer is the innovation leader in on-demand web hosting and data center services. As the largest hosting company in the world, SoftLayer lets customers create dedicated, cloud, or seamless hybrid computing environments, leveraging the company’s world-class data center facilities in Dallas, Houston, Seattle, and Washington D.C., and network Points of Presence nationwide. SoftLayer integrates and automates all elements of its platform, empowering enterprises of any size with complete control, security, scalability, and ease-of-management via a leading Customer Portal and Open API. For more information, please visit www.softlayer.com or call 866.398.7638.

Source: http://www.softlayer.com/press/release/501/softlayer-and-the-planet-begin-merged-operations