eApps March 2011 Newsletter

March 2011 Newsletter

In This Issue

eApps Virtual Machine in the Cloud – LAUNCHED!

Meet eApps – Jairo Rizzo

“Mr. Watson, come here. I need you.”

Latest Promotions

50% Off First Month Virtual Machine

For New and Existing Customers - Create your Virtual Machine in the Cloud plan and get an immediate 50% off the first month.

To take advantage of this offer go to http://portal.eapps.com/create-a-cloud and use promotion code VM1103501M in the Order Summary.

Valid Through Mar 31, 2011

50% Off GlobalSign EV SSL Cert

For New and Existing Customers – EV SSL cert only $199!!!.

Extended Validation SSL certificates offer the highest level of visible security, but they are the most expensive. We have a limited supply of GlobalSign EV certificates for $199, over 43% off of our already low price of $349. ACT NOW, this special price of $199 is limited to the first 15 customers, limit of one per customer.

To take advantage of this offer, send an email to sales@eapps.com with “$199 EV Cert Offer” in the subject.

Valid While Supplies Last

Tech Tip

Security: How to Improve Security of Data Transmission to your eApps Hosted Server

FTP is one of the most common protocols for transmitting data to and from a hosted server, but it is not the safest because your login credentials are passed in clear text.

We recommend that you avoid using FTP, and use SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) instead because these transmissions are encrypted. For more information on SFTP, see https://support.eapps.com/hsp/sftp. If you must use FTP, consider the following:

Do not store login credentials in the FTP application you use on your local PC. If your computer gets infected, Trojans/Worms are designed to obtain the credentials, login to your hosted server via FTP, and compromise it.
Make sure you have an active virus scanner on your PC. Be aware that many local infections steal login credentials. Popular password stealers are: PWS-FerTP, Trojan-Spy.Win32.Zbot.gen, PWS-WoW, MSIL / VB.B
Change passwords frequently, using strong passwords. If your local virus scanner finds a trojan/worm you should immediately change all passwords on your eApps hosted server.

If you suspect that your eApps hosted server has been compromised, contact eApps support immediately at support@eapps.com.

Create-A-Cloud™

eApps VM in the Cloud

We are pleased to announce the availability of our Virtual Machine in the Cloud hosting service.

After months of hard work, our team has built the most compelling Cloud based hosting service you can find. How can we back this bold claim? Consider what the eApps Virtual Machine in the Cloud offers.

Define your resources – With our innovative Create-A-Cloud™ tool you choose exactly the RAM, CPU, Disk and other resources you need. You pay for ONLY what you need, and can easily change resource allocations!
Support & applications included – We are known for fast, responsive support of not just your service, but the key applications powering your site! No Cloud offering gives you more.
Speed & performance in a True Cloud – Our infrastructure consists of 64 bit Xen Virtual Machines running on the most powerful and fast servers and storage systems money can buy. All of this is powered by OnApp, the most highly regarded Cloud management system available in the Hosting industry today.

Our new Virtual Machine in the Cloud service is compatible with the VPS service we have offered since 2004. Some of the tools have changed, but rest assured that the supported Application Repository is easily available in the new environment. Our new service still includes a full set of supported applications for mission critical web sites. That’s why we now say – Go farther, faster, with eApps Cloud.

For more information on the eApps Cloud please contact sales@eapps.com

Meet eApps – Jairo Rizzo

Jairo was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia in the state of Santander. He attended the New Hampshire Technical Institute in Concord, NH and later transferred to the University of New Hampshire. He graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering Technology with the option of Computer Science. While at UNH he worked at the school’s Research Computing Center where he fell in love with Unix, going on to learn many flavors of Unix and related technologies.

The youngest of four children, he views his family as true role models. His two brothers are physicists, his sister is a financial engineer, his father is a chemical engineer and college professor, and his mother is a college English professor. Many of Jairo’s best friends and relatives reside in the US.

Since joining eApps, Jairo has discovered that the job as technical support representative is very challenging, requiring strong analytical skills, computer skills and the ability to listen to customers so that he can fully understand their needs. When not working, Jairo enjoys dining out and socializing with friends, watching movies and TV, mostly comedies and Discovery/National Geographic type programs.

Say hello to Jairo when you get a chance. He is fluent in English and of course Spanish and says he really enjoys meeting and helping eApps customers.

“Mr. Watson, come here. I need you.”

Computers 1, Humans 0

Recently, the long running TV game show Jeopardy! featured a face-off between an IBM computer system named “Watson” versus two of the most successful champions from prior games. The human contestants were crushed and humiliated. Jeopardy! is not a simple question and answer game. To be successful a contestant must not only have a large base of knowledge, but must understand the deepest complexities of language.

Author and technology entrepreneur Ray Kurzweil, in his Wall Street Journal article entitled “When Computers Beat Humans on Jeopardy” has some interesting insight into what this technological achievement means for the future. Kurzweil expects the “natural language processing” ability demonstrated by Watson to soon creep into Internet search engines and extend our reach in other ways. He points out that the development of “artificial intelligence” steadily improves while computing power continues to become more affordable, paving the way for the practical use of Watson-like capabilities.

Fear not. Kurzweil doesn’t think Watson will become HAL from 2001 A Space Odyssey and take over. He sees good things ahead!