What do I need from my hosting service?
This question is more easily answered when you have considered other questions first.

1. Do you plan to sell online, display a gallery, or have a blog? If so, your hosting provider should include multiple MySQL databases, which make e-commerce, gallery and blog solutions possible and easy to create.

2. Will you need your own domain email? At Aspire, we always advise business owners to use their own domain emails. Consider it a way to advertise your business online every time you send an email.

3. Would you like to advertise your business online? You may want to get a jump start on advertising with sites like Google, Facebook, and Yahoo. Will your Hosting provider provide Advertising credits to get you started?

4. Who will own your domain? No one wants to discover a nasty surprise; the domain you paid for doesn’t even belong to you! Be sure that you are the sole owner when you register a domain with a Hosting provider.

At Aspire Technology Solutions, we believe these are the basic essentials for any company making its mark online, regardless of size or market, and meeting all of these needs with a Hosting provider at a fair and low price is not too much to ask for.

Harness the online presence of your business with Aspire Technology Solutions; we have it all:

Multiple MySQL Databases – Create blogs, galleries, e-commerce sites, CMS sites, forums, web calendars, and more all with the click of a button!

Unlimited Domain Email – Create as many as you need! Set up auto responders, auto forwards, send newsletters, and connect to Outlook with ease!

Jump-Start On Advertising – Facebook Ad Credits, Free YellowPage.com listing, Google AdWords Credits, and Yahoo Search Credits, they’re all included!

Owning a Domain – The terms are clear, when you choose Aspire as your Hosting provider, you are the owner of your domain and retain all rights to your Company’s name online.

Search Engines and Site Results – Automate search engine submissions to increase your site’s visibility in search results and examine real-time site activity data and see who is visiting your web pages and where they are coming from, all from your easy to navigate control panel!

Unbeatable Tech Support – With an intelligent control panel help option that makes finding the answers you need fast and easy as well as our web technicians who are ready to answer your questions and only a phone call or email away, Aspire Technology Solutions provides consistent web services that can’t be topped.

All of this and more for only $60 a Year!
Contact us today to learn why so many people are choosing to host with Aspire!
(716) 200-4479 Option 4

Web Hosting – The smart shopper’s guide is a post from: @ Blog

These are real threats, putting your data and even your personal security at risk. 

One of my colleagues once phrased it as, “Going online without security software is like jumping into a shark tank wearing nothing but raw meat.”  A colorful analogy, to be sure, but an accurate one.  Every day more new viruses, spyware, Trojans and other malicious applications are released into the wilds of the internet.  Experts (and not just me) say it’s close to the range of 22,000 new malware samples per day. 

What is really at risk when you leave your PC unprotected?  First off, and probably most importantly is time and money.  The expenses of having to have a virus removed can cost 10-times as much as a one-year subscription to a consumer level security application.  This is further exacerbated through down-time and the loss of productivity, not to mention the loss of data. 

I mean, who reading this article doesn’t depend on their PC these days to help them find information online, pay bills, manage bank accounts, communicate with friends and family or Twitter endlessly about how they had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich for lunch?  Just from a life-management perspective, how much time do you lose without having these conveniences at the tips of your fingers? 

And to compound this further, one infection might not even be noticeable, but simply serve to open doors for many more, and more damaging infections to creep in.  Malware programs designed to propagate across a network, key-loggers that try to steal your personal information or bugs designed simply to cripple your PC and make it unusable. 

Yet, so many people walk into our office with horribly outdated security software, or none at all. 

It is sad.  Of course, we fix their problem for an affordable rate, and not a single one ever walks out without a new security software install with a current subscription. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

What is running, or not running on your PC?  Do you have P2P applications such as LimeWire or Kazaa?  They might seem like a convenient way to download files and applications for “free” but their networks are also littered with infected files and malicious applications disguised as popular downloads.  Also, an improperly installed P2P application will run at all times and possibly leave your entire hard drive open to the P2P network – did you want to share your new mp3’s or your personal financial files? 

Has your PC slowed down recently?  Does it take a long time to finish a boot cycle?  Do you have intermittent and unexplainable internet connection interruptions?  Do you get messages telling you about how many malware applications have been found followed by offers to buy some really professional looking (or sounding) security software you’ve never actually heard of until now?

 All of these symptoms may point to a possible malware infection. 

So, how do you fix this?  What precautions should you take? 

First off, having current security software with an active subscription AND making sure it stays updated is the first step.  If you don’t have that, get it. 

Secondly, making sure all of the current Microsoft security updates are installed.  Yes, yes, it is all Microsoft’s fault there are all these viruses….  Uh, no.  Sorry, it’s not.  They need to make sure their software is secure, for sure, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could just trust people won’t do bad things?  It is still the fault of those who write and distribute the malware.  Microsoft, owning 98% of the operating system market, is just their biggest target. 

Different soap-box there; we’ll go off on that tangent another time.  

Third, make sure your data is backed up.  Current and complete.  Having a computer crash due to any reason is always less painful when the data on it is duplicated somewhere else and can easily be restored.  We’ll discuss backups in another blog article. 

A good first step is to stop using P2P applications and make sure your network is secured.  A good Firewall can be your best friend – another topic we’ll address at a future time.  This also includes putting a security key and encryption on your wireless network. 

Those are some of the precautions – but nothing, and I mean NOTHING goes as far as having some common sense. Don’t open random email attachments, don’t surf questionable websites, make your internet passwords strong and keep them secure. 

And if you need help, we’re always around to answer questions.

Viruses, Pop-Ups and Spyware? OH MY! is a post from: @ Blog