With 2020 coming to a close, now is the time to look to 2021 and beyond – especially as it relates to the ever-changing digital world we live in. While only time will tell what the new year has in store, we anticipate that our online presence will continue to grow rapidly. With that, we expect more cybersecurity challenges to emerge. Below, we’re discussing our cybersecurity predictions for 2021. By understanding what digital security might look like in the coming year, you can take the right precautions to protect yourself. Cybercriminals Will Continue to Target Remote Workers It’s expected that many businesses will continue remote operations at least into the first half of 2021. We already saw some of the cybersecurity impacts of remote work in 2020, and we anticipate that this will continue to be an issue well into the new year. Specifically, hackers will likely target more remote

Whether you maintain a blog for personal reasons or as a supplement for your business website, choosing the right hosting plan is essential. All too often, web hosting for blogs is not considered a high priority – but choosing an inadequate solution could leave your site vulnerable to hackers and downtime. Luckily, dedicated server hosting offers an effective solution. There are many reasons to consider hosting your blog on a dedicated server to get the most out of every new post, which we’ve outlined below: Improve Your Digital Security One of the biggest advantages of having a dedicated hosting plan is improved security, especially when compared to shared or cloud-based hosting plans. Regardless of your blog’s purpose, the last thing you need is for a hacker to gain access and begin making posts on your behalf. This could tarnish your reputation as a blogger – and of course, if your

There's no overstating the importance of security on your website, regardless of whether you use it to promote your growing business or as a personal blog. Unfortunately, countless threats are lurking on the web today – and your site could be targeted at any time. Fortunately, by following our website security checklist, you can avoid some of the most common cybersecurity mistakes that site owners make. 1. Set Up DDoS Protection Distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks have become an increasingly common threat in recent years. These attacks work by flooding your site's server with fake traffic, slowing down your website or even causing a complete server outage. If you don't already have DDoS protection in place as part of your hosting plan, now is the time to implement it. There are various DDoS protection options available; many work by "screening" traffic as it comes into your site to make

When you need web hosting, reliability and performance are crucial. However, as people shop for dedicated hosting plans, many fail to realize that the physical location of the host’s data center can have a major impact on speed, latency, and more. Read on to learn how to choose a data center location that offers the best results. Why Does Data Center Location Matter? Latency refers to the amount of lag that occurs when data transfers from one place to another (such as from your dedicated server to your computer). In many cases, the farther you are away from your data center, the longer it's going to take for that information to move. The same applies to users who are trying to access your website. To reduce latency as much as possible, it’s best to choose a centrally-located data center. If you're hosting a website on a dedicated server, this may

The digital world is teeming with cybersecurity threats ranging from phishing schemes to distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks and everything in between. Therefore, keeping your data safe online has become more challenging than ever before.  Unfortunately, people often fall victim to threats when they make common cybersecurity mistakes. By being aware of these errors and how to stay safe, you may be able to avoid becoming another cybersecurity statistic.  Let’s take a closer look at five of the most common security mistakes people make online: 1. Assuming You're Not a Target Even if you’re aware of the many risks that exist on the web, you might have adopted an “it won’t happen to me” mentality. Unfortunately, online security breaches are more common now than ever – and it seems as though no one is safe from being a target. With this in mind, protecting your data begins with understanding

If you take online gaming seriously, you're probably familiar with the popular platform, Steam. This third-party, cloud-based gaming library gives you easy access to game downloads as soon as they become available. From top-rated gaming developers to indie game designers, you can find just about any game imaginable on the Steam platform. With more people using dedicated servers for gaming, however, one common question we get here at ReliableSite is whether or not Steam can be used on a dedicated server. The simple answer is "yes," but there are a few things you should know before you get started. Let’s take a look! Benefits of Using Steam on a Dedicated Server There are many reasons to start using Steam on a dedicated gaming server if you're not already doing so. For starters, having a dedicated hosting plan will help you take your online gaming experience to new levels regardless of

These days, keeping information safe online is a greater challenge than ever. Security risks seem to lurk around every corner of the web – and even some of the most seemingly "secure" websites have been compromised by online attacks. If there’s one field that faces an even higher than usual risk when it comes to data breaches and other security concerns, however, it's the healthcare industry. This is especially true during these unprecedented times when healthcare offices are handling high volumes of sensitive patient data. Healthcare Industry Special Considerations and Risks With the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic and flu season converging simultaneously, it's no wonder that data security is an even bigger concern among healthcare professionals. Combine this with laws and regulations like the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and it's easy to see why so many medical offices are under additional strain this year. Not only are healthcare

Downtime is every website owner's worst nightmare. Unfortunately, it can happen to the best of us – and it never occurs at a "convenient" time. Unexpected site downtime can not only cost your business thousands of dollars (or more), but it could also tarnish your reputation. By knowing how to handle downtime when it occurs, you can minimize the impact it has on your site or business. 1. Confirm the Outage If a regular user has alerted you of the downtime, it's always best to confirm for yourself that your site is down. Check out the issue on your own and ask a few other people you trust to visit your website and see if it loads. 2. Determine the Cause Once you've confirmed that your site is actually down, it's time to get to work determining the cause. There are many potential sources of website downtime, ranging from a

With more than 126 million users across the globe, Minecraft remains one of the most popular multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). However, if you've ever tried to play Minecraft over your home internet connection, you've probably experienced just how frustrating lag and other connectivity issues can be. Fortunately, you always have the option of switching to a dedicated server for gaming, which you can use exclusively to host your Minecraft world. Take some time to familiarize yourself with the many benefits of having a dedicated Minecraft server – and consider bringing your gaming experience to the next level! 1. Control User Access When you have your own dedicated server host, you also have total control over who can access your Minecraft world. This makes it possible to pick and choose which players are able to take part in your game, whether you want to keep it limited to just a

If you've spent time shopping for hosting plans, you've likely realized that there are many options available. So, how can you know which is best for you? Two of the more popular types of web hosting in use today are dedicated hosting and semi-dedicated hosting. By having a better understanding of how these plans differ, you can select an option that meets your needs. What Is Semi-Dedicated Hosting? A semi-dedicated server is also commonly referred to as a virtual dedicated server (VDS) or a virtual private server (VPS). With this type of hosting, a single server is essentially divided into segments that are shared by any number of users. This segmenting of a single server into many different ones is often done through the use of specialized software known as hypervisors. What Is Dedicated Hosting? With a fully dedicated server, on the other hand, a single server is allocated for