MrinTech » Security

How to Login Securely to your cPanel Account using HTTPS?

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:29:05 +0000

cPanel is one of the widely used and offered Control Panel for Shared, VPS (Virtual Private Severs) and Dedicated Web hosting Servers.

Logging in securely into cPanel (using HTTPS) will be an added advantage, as the transfers between the server and user computer will be fully encrypted. Let’s check out in this post How to Login Securely into cPanel using HTTPS (Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol)?

Note: Almost all Web Hosting Providers make use of Dedicated/Shared SSL Certificates on their servers, so that the user can Login securely into their Web Hosting Control Panels (WHM, cPanel etc.). In case your Web Hosting provider has not installed a SSL certificate on your server, you can request/ask them to do so OR you may want to switch to some other popular Web Hosting Provider like HostGator

Login Securely into your cPanel Account using HTTPS:

Using Server IP Address

Your website is hosted on a Web Server which have an IP Address. This IP Address can be found either in the cPanel OR in the Welcome Email (which you got at the time of signing up) OR can be requested by opening a Support Ticket with your Web Hosting Provider.

You can use this IP Address to login securely to your cPanel Account. Here’s the URL you need to enter in your Browser:

https://YourSitesIPAddress:2083 E.g. https://208.43.230.554:2083

Using Server Name

Another way of logging in to your cPanel Account using HTTPS is by means of Server Name. The Server Name on which your Website is hosted can be found either in the cPanel itself OR in the Welcome Email (which you got at the time of signing up) OR can be requested by opening a Support Ticket with your Web Hosting Provider

You can use this Server Name to login securely to your cPanel Account. Here’s the URL you need to enter in your Browser:

https://ServerName:2083 OR https://SecureServerName:2083 E.g. https://gator1234.hostgator.com:2083

Either by using your Server IP Address or by using your Server Name, you can securely login to your cPanel Account using HTTPS, provided that your Web Hosting provider has already installed a Dedicated/Shared SSL on the server.

Additional Tip: Instead of logging in to your cPanel Account every time, if you prefer using Third Party FTP Clients for managing things in your account, than we highly recommend you to use WinSCP over other available FTP clients. For WinSCP, you need a secure port number for your Web Server which can be requested/asked from your Web Hosting Provider. For example, the secure port number for HostGator Shared Servers is 2222.

This Post: How to Login Securely to your cPanel Account using HTTPS? was originally made on MrinTech

Instantly Remove Passwords from your own PDF Files/Documents

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 10:00:41 +0000

Do you know you can instantly remove passwords from a PDF File/Document (Adobe Acrobat Reader Document), just by using a Freeware?

If YOUR OWN PDF File is protected by a Security Password and you want to remove it, so that you can open/share the document instantly, than BeCyPDFMetaEdit is going to help you a lot!

Note: This post is NOT about PDF Password Cracker, Utilities/Services which allows you to Break PDF Password Online, Encrypted Password Cracker etc. – If you own (have all copyrights) a Password Protected PDF File and want to remove its password for instant opening/sharing, than this post is highly useful for you. Cracking PDF Passwords of other person/organization may directly result in copyright infringment, if their PDF Files are protected by Copyright laws!

Following are the steps you need to follow in order to remove Password from your PDF Document, in case you earlier protected it by some PDF security software:

1. Download BeCyPDFMetaEdit from HERE and install the utility on your PC/Laptop.

2. As soon as the utility is installed, run the application and the application will instantly ask you to locate the Password Protected PDF File from your Computer Hard Disk:

Before hitting the Open Button, make sure you select Complete Rewrite, instead of the default selected option i.e. Incremental Update.

3. Once you have selected Complete Rewrite and the PDF File whose password you want to remove, hit the open button. As soon as you hit the Open Button, the Program will ask for the Password of your PDF File – Make sure you enter your PDF Password Accurately, as otherwise you will get error messages and you have to start over!:

Hit OK Button after entering the correct password and the Password Protected File is ready for further operation(s) in the Program.

4. Now, go to Security Tab and under Security System Drop Down Menu, select No Encryption:

Now, Hit the Save Button. The PDF Password will be removed instantly and you will be getting following confirmation message:

Using BeCyPDFMetaEdit, you can also repair your Damaged PDF Files/Documents, by restoring a proper file structure, so that the file can be opened without errors by viewer applications like Adobe Acrobat Reader, Foxit Reader etc.

No doubt, this is a great and must have utility for everyone.

Also See: Combine Multiple PDF Files into a Single PDF File and HTML to PDF Convertor Online

This Post: Instantly Remove Passwords from your own PDF Files/Documents was originally made on MrinTech

All About “Google AdSense Access and Authorization” Feature

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 15:54:09 +0000

No Doubt, Google AdSense is one of the best online money making program for various Bloggers/Webmasters around the World.

Some months back Google AdSense introduced AdSense Access and Authorization or Allowed Site feature under Account Settings for all AdSense Publishers around the World. Let’s see in this post: Why Publishers must use Google AdSense Access and Authorization feature? And, What sites/domains, a publisher should authorize/add to their AdSense Account white list?

Why a Publisher should use AdSense Access and Authorization feature?

There are many websites/blogs which may use/steal (don’t know why?!?!) your Google AdSense Code/Publisher ID to show Advertisements on their respective Websites. Also, the Advertising revenue generated from those sites will be credited to your AdSense Account. But what if such sites are hosting illicit/malware/plagiarized etc. materials? – This will result in Temporary/Permanent Ban of your Google AdSense Account one day or the other, as indirectly you are violating Google AdSense TOS/Program Policies!

Although you haven’t done anything wrong, but your AdSense Code/Publisher ID on other websites, which are hosting illicit/malware/plagiarized content, may show Google that YOU OWN ALL THOSE WEBSITES! (A Terrible Experience can be read here)

In order to remain safe from above mentioned tragedy, Google AdSense Access and Authorization feature is highly useful! With AdSense Access and Authorization feature, you can specifically mention all Domain Names/URLs in AdSense Account Settings, which are allowed to show Advertisements from your AdSense Account/Publisher ID!

What are the Domains/URLs a Publisher should authorize using AdSense Access and Authorization Feature?

Following are the Domains which a Publisher should Authorize:

All Domains, which the Publisher wants to monetize by suitably placing appropriate AdSense JavaScript Code
Specific URLs of Third Party Websites where you want your Advertisements to be displayed.
All Country Specific Domains of Google like google.co.in, google.co.uk etc.* (Complete List here) – Depending on the location of your Website visitors
translate.googleusercontent.com, including country specific TLDs like translate.googleusercontent.hu, translate.googleusercontent.kr etc.* – Depending on the location of your Website visitors
webcache.googleusercontent.com*
Domains/Sub-Domains of Major Search Engines like bing.com, search.yahoo.com, uk.search.yahoo.com etc.*

* Services/Websites like Google Translate (Example), Cached Page of your Website by Google (Example) etc. shows content from your Website to visitors by using a different Domain Name. Not allowing such white listed sites may affect your revenue, as AdSense may block Ad Serving on all such domains, as you haven’t authorized them using Google AdSense Access and Authorization feature.

Although the list of websites showing your content/page/posts can be endless and there can be many possibilities. Many of them will be using a separate domain and many of them will be using iFrame etc. for showing your Website content/pages/posts. But, you can track the Domain Name of all such websites from within AdSense only!

Whenever a domain, not in your Authorized List, shows content from your Website, AdSense will give you following Alert as soon as you login to your AdSense Account:

Your ads have recently appeared on websites you haven’t authorized. To avoid lost revenue, make sure to authorize any sites where you display ads by visiting your account settings

All you need is to go to Account Settings >> suitably analyze the domains >> add all the white listed domains to your Authorized List >> It’s all done

No doubt, AdSense Access and Authorization Feature is highly useful for Bloggers/Webmasters around the World, as a Webmaster can now control all the domains which are allowed to show Advertisements from his/her AdSense Account/Publisher ID.

Also See: Run Google AdSense Ads on WordPress.com and Google AdSense India

This Post: All About “Google AdSense Access and Authorization” Feature was originally made on MrinTech

CloudFlare is now Available as a Module for Drupal

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 15:32:37 +0000

If your blog/website is using Drupal as its Content Management System (CMS), than the good NEWS is that CloudFlare is now available as a Module for Drupal based Blogs and Websites.

CloudFlare offers Free Cloud Based Security for your Drupal Blog/Website. CloudFlare make use of data from Project Honey Pot, which is a Distributed SPAM Harvester Tracking Network, to make your Blog/Website safer from Hackers/Attackers, Malicious IP Addresses and Bad Bots:

Not only CloudFlare offers Cloud Based Security, but it also acts like a Free Content Delivery Network (CDN) for your Blog/Website. CloudFlare has got many Proxy Servers located around the world and your site will be very fast to visitors, as the visitor will see a cached copy of your Website from the nearest Proxy Server of CloudFlare in his/her Browser. On average, CloudFlare-powered websites load 30% faster, use 60% less bandwidth, and process 65% fewer requests.

What does CloudFlare Module do?

1. Corrects $_SERVER["REMOTE_ADDR"] so it contains the IP address of your visitor, not Cloudflare’s reverse proxy server.

2. Integrates with Cloudflare’s Threat API so you can ban and whitelist IP addresses from the Drupal Comment administration screen.

3. Integrates with Cloudflare’s Spam API (in development).

4. Integrates with Cloudflare’s Client Interface API (planned).

How to get started with Cloudflare?

1. Sign-up for a Free CloudFlare Account using THIS LINK

2. Follow their configuration wizard.

How to install CloudFlare Module on Drupal?

1. Install and Enable this module.

2. Add one line of code at the end of your settings.php file:

$_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] = $_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"] ? $_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"] : $_SERVER["REMOTE_ADDR"];

3. Save your email address and Cloudflare API key to the Cloudflare administration screen on your Drupal web site (admin/settings/cloudflare).

How to use CloudFlare Module?

Presently using the CloudFlare Module, you can only ban IP addresses from the Comment Administration section (/admin/content/comment). Look for the “Update Options” drop down listbox and choose one of the available Cloudflare Actions.

How do I download the module?:

Visit THIS PAGE for download related information for CloudFlare Module.

Apart from Free Service, CloudFlare has also got Pro and Enterprise Plans which have much more advance features like Web Application Firewall, Post Content Verification, Web Vulnerability Control (XSS) etc., than the Basic Plan.

No Doubt, CloudFlare is currently offering Top-Notch and Free Protection, when used with any Website/Blog, along with a Free Content Delivery Network.

Also See: CloudFlare for Self Hosted WordPress Blogs

This Post: CloudFlare is now Available as a Module for Drupal was originally made on MrinTech

Enhance WordPress Blog Security using CloudFlare

Enhance WordPress Blog Security using CloudFlare

Mrinmay Bhattacharjee — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:41:38 +0000

You can enhance your WordPress Blog Security by yourself using Plugins like WP Security Scan etc., but still it’s not sufficient for your Blog!, because Attackers and Bad Bots are constantly developing New Methods of attacking WordPress Blogs.

Than the only option left is to opt for Free Cloud Based Security provided by CloudFlare for your Self Hosted WordPress Blog. CloudFlare make use of data from Project Honey Pot, which is a Distributed SPAM Harvester Tracking Network, to make your WordPress Blog safer from Hackers/Attackers, Malicious IP Addresses and Bad Bots.

Not only CloudFlare offers Cloud Based Security to your WordPress Blogs, but it also acts like a Free Content Delivery Network (CDN) for your WordPress Blog. CloudFlare has got many Proxy Servers located around the world and your site will be very fast to visitors, as the visitor will see a cached copy of your Website from the nearest Proxy Server of CloudFlare in his/her Browser.

Anyone can make use of CloudFlare Services either by Changing Domain Name servers provided by CloudFlare after Signing Up OR simply by using CloudFlare WordPress Plugin

Limitations of CloudFlare

Currently CloudFlare is in Beta Stage and following are the limitations in case you are going to use it for your WordPress Blog:

CloudFlare may affect internal statistics programs which are dependent on Apache Logs – The positive site here is that, your Web Server will get less load due to very few requests directed towards Apache
CloudFlare delivers static Website content to your Visitors by means of its various proxy servers located around the World. Under this if you make any changes to your WordPress Blog, then the changes may take some time to get reflected in every part of the World
If CloudFlare detects any user using Malicious IP Address or with an Infected Computer, he/she have to enter a CAPTCHA, powered by reCAPTCHA, before he/she is granted access to the Website

But CloudFlare is extensively working on above limitations, so that both Webmaster and Site Visitor gets a great experience from CloudFlare’s unique Service.

No Doubt, CloudFlare is currently offering Top-Notch and Free Protection, when used with any Website/WordPress Blog, along with a Free Content Delivery Network.

This Post: Enhance WordPress Blog Security using CloudFlare was originally made on MrinTech