Cutting Spam With Greylisting

One of the spam filtration tactics the majority of hosting companies use including Foremost Media is greylisting.

What that means is that each time a given mailbox on our email servers receives an email from an unknown contact (ip), that mail is rejected with a "try again later"-message (This happens at the machine level and is transparent to the end user- in other words our mail server asks the sending mail server to resend the message). This means that all mail gets delayed for a matter of seconds until the senders email server automatically tries to deliver it again. Most legit mail servers are set up for this and try again in a few seconds- where most spamming software will not try again later.

Why use Greylisting?

Greylisting is a very effective method of spam blocking that comes at a minimal price in terms of performance. Most of the actual processing that needs to be done for Greylisting takes place on the sender's server. It has been shown to block upwards of 95% of incoming spam simply because so many spammers don't use a standard mail server which will do automatic retries.

Can I turn off Greylisting?

While logged into your web admin panel there is a check box to enable/disable greylisting. If checked, this will allow users to selectively turn off Greylisting (useful if you have an account that receives time sensitive mail)

Read More

New DNS Services Scam Sent Via Mail

Many of our customers have received a letter via the US Post office from a company called DNS Services containing a "Fake Invoice".

This company has been sending realistic looking bills like the one below, which are really just a solicitation for  their DNS services (A service that Foremost Media hosting customers already enjoy for free. While this practice is  not technically illegal, it is pretty unethical and has caused a lot of confusion for businesses receiving the "fake bill".  If you read the fine print on this invoice you should see this statement:

THIS IS A SOLICITATION FOR THE ORDER OF GOOD AND SERVICES, OR BOTH, AND NOT A BILL, INVOICE, OR STATEMENT OF ACCOUNT DUE. YOU ARE UNDER NO OBLIGATION TO MAKE ANY PAYMENTS ON ACCOUNT OF THIS OFFER UNLESS YOU ACCEPT THIS OFFER.

We at Foremost Media strongly recommend that if you receive this bill you just throw it away.  We do not recommend using their services.  The Foremost Media Name appears on the bill because we currently host your DNS and we have no association with this company.

If you ever have any questions about invoices you receive regarding your website or online marketing don't hesitate to contact us.

Copy of the DNS Services Scam Letter (Sorry About The Quality)

This scam does not appear to be isolated to Foremost Media Customers.  Several other websites have similar warnings to their customers about this very letter:

http://www.jptechnical.com/blog/2012/11/01/warning-dns-services-scam-via-mail/

http://community.spiceworks.com/topic/275093-scam-via-mail-from-dns-services
http://glickscomputerrepair.com/dns-services-scam/

Read More

Monthly Microsoft Windows Update Notification

Foremost Media Server Update Notice:

Monthly Microsoft Windows Update Notification Start Time: Tuesday, October 9, 2012 @ 3:00 AM in the Server's Time Zone
End Time: Friday, October 12, 2012 @ 4:00 AM in the Server's Time Zone 
Impact: Websites may be temporarily offline while servers reboot

What will be done? 
Whenever new Microsoft updates are released, the servers will automatically apply the patches within a patch window of 3:00AM-4:00AM in the server's time zone (based on the server zone you have chosen to be in). This generally happens once per month and starts on the second Tuesday of the month.

How will this maintenance affect me? 
During a Microsoft Update, patches will be installed and servers will automatically reboot. The entire patching process typically takes less than 30 minutes; however, in some cases where Microsoft releases a service pack or large number of patches, it may take longer. During a reboot, your website will temporarily be offline.

Does this require any action on my part? 
This is a general notice and does not require any action on your part. 

Who do I contact if I have questions about this maintenance? 
If you have any questions or concerns, you may simply visit our website and contact our team.  We will be able to assist you. If your website or control panel are unavailable in a manner inconsistent with this notice, please open a service ticket for immediate assistance.

Read More

Testing Your New iPhone Application

This blog post is meant to help you with the first step for beta testing an iPhone application currently in development at Foremost Media. This is NOT the process that all your users will have to go through to install your app. Once you app is ready for prime time we will get your application digitally signed by Apple (Required for distributed on the App Store) and set up distribution through the
App Store.

In the mean time while we test and develop your application we will need to know your Device ID (UDID). Once we have your UDID the application will be signed specifically for your device so you can test it.

Below are some simple instructions on how to retrieve your UDID:

Search iTunes App Store for "UDID" by Harrison Apps, LLC.  This is a free download.

Install the application on your apple device and then launch it:

The application will retrieve your UDID information and you can click on "Send Device Info Email" in the application to send it to your project manager at Foremost Media.

Once we have your UDID the application will be signed specifically for your device and will send further instruction on how to install the app on your device. 

Read More

PHP Vs. ASPX - What's Better

I got a note from a perspective client who heard from a competitor that:

"aspx language was less secure and a dead language to build a site in"

I ran that thought by our development team and it stirred some heated debate (Were a .net shop but some of our guys use to program in .php before starting with us)  Here are the points that I was able to take away from the conversation:  

That sounds like a PHP developer talking. That is almost like saying the iphone is dying because of Android when the reality is both operating systems have market share. This is just opinion but here are a few points about asp.net (aspx) to consider:

• asp.net (Aspx) is typically associated with more enterprise level software. It's a Microsoft language and in the past some of the software you need to develop in it and run it cost money were PHP is more of a free or open source type of language. It's my belief that with paid programs comes better documentation, support, performance, updates and security. 

• Another reason we develop in aspx is that many of the companies we work with have Microsoft ERP or internal systems and integration between these systems is so much easier when they speak the same language to begin with. 

This debate is more like what's better Chevy or Ford. The reality is they are both good products but to say aspx is dead couldn't be farther from the truth. It's almost sounds like a sleazy used car sales man type of pitch. We've used php in the past and it has some great features but we feel like we can deliver a better quality and more secure product using ASPX. I'm not knocking PHP it is used by a lot of popular sites but I don't believe it is a better product.

Learn more about Foremost Media asp.net programming capabilities here.

Posted By Jon Ballard

Read More

I'm shooting a video for my website. What what format would be optimal?

Most of our clients will upload their video to a site like YouTube or Vimeo and then embed from there. These are the settings we recommend when exporting your video for Vimeo or YouTube

Video Settings

Codec: H.264
A codec is the format in which your video will be encoded. Different codecs have different features and varying quality. For best results, we recommend using H.264 (sometimes referred to as MP4).

Frame rate: 24, 25, or 30 FPS

If you know at which frame rate you shot, it is best to encode at that same frame rate. However, if it exceeds 30 FPS (frames per second), you should encode your video at half that frame rate. For example, if you shot 60 FPS, you should encode at 30 FPS. If you're uncertain what frame rate you shot at, set it to either "Current" or 30 FPS. If there is an option forkeyframes, use the same value you used for frame rate.

Data rate: 2000 kbps (SD), 5000 kbps (HD)

This setting controls both the visual quality of the video and its file size. In most video editors, this is measured of kilobits per second (kbps). Use 2000 kbps for standard definition or 5000 kbps for high definition video.

Resolution: 640x480 (SD), 1280x720 (HD)

Choose 640×480 for 4:3 SD video, 640×360 for 16:9 SD video, and 1280×720 or 1920×1080 for HD. If you have the option to control the pixel aspect ratio (not the display aspect ratio), make sure it's set to "1:1" or "1.00," sometimes referred to as "square pixels."

Audio Settings

Codec: AAC (Advanced Audio Codec)

For best results, we recommend using AAC for the audio codec.

Data rate: 320 kbps

320 kbps is the highest quality audio data rate we currently support.

Sample rate: 44.1 kHz

44.1 kHz is the highest audio sample rate we currently support.

Read More

How does Google use human raters in web search?

Google's Matt Cutts explains the process in a video. Google's Quality Raters classify URLs as good, bad, spam and other classifications.

After an algorithm update, Google's engineers can do a side by side (blind taste test) directed to the Quality Raters and the raters say which side they like better."

Read More