Summersault Blog

This article was originally written for publication in a trade magazine about the BSD family of operating systems; it’s been updated slightly since then.

When a friend and I started our technology business 11 years ago in 1997, we didn’t choose FreeBSD, it chose us.  But we’re sure glad it did, and we came to build our company on FreeBSD.

We started out with a focus on graphic design and website development.  We were small, starting out in a college dorm room, but with high aspirations about what we could do for the world.  It was only after a few projects that we realized we needed a place to send our clients for hosting the websites we had just built for them.  When we asked a friend who was involved in running a small local dial-up Internet Service Provider where to host, he offered us some space on one of their servers, where they were already hosting a number of websites.

We got our FTP username and password, and we were off and running.  We eventually co-located with that local ISP, and partnered with them enough that they gave us shell access on that shared web hosting server, and eventually even root access.  It was a FreeBSD box running version 2.1 of the operating system.

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Just today, we’ve received two reports of our clients getting mailings from organizations claiming that payment is needed in order to maintain or renew services related their hosting account or domain, and in both cases, the mailing was just a scam. These mailings often come in the format of an official order form that appears to be important and time-sensitive, and so it scares the unsuspecting domain owner into sending a check rather than risk losing their website.

We’ve written here before about the horrors of domain management on the Internet, but this is a particularly troublesome practice, and adds a whole other layer of complexity and hassle to an already difficult and complex system. In another recent case, one of our customers did have their website go offline briefly because they’d sent payment to the wrong organization and ignored the notices from the real domain authority - yikes! Here are a few tips to avoid being swindled by these notices:
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As the Internet continues to grow and change at a rapid pace, new and innovative website design possibilities become a reality everyday. For our company that means keeping up with the newest innovations in website design and programming, and for our customers it means a broader spectrum of opportunities to reach their target audience.

But more than that, this is a crucial time to understand and support Net Neutrality. Without the guiding principals of Net Neutrality to protect us and our customers from crippling restrictions imposed by large telecoms and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), today’s innovations in web technology may soon be out of reach for companies and individuals without industry connections or deep pockets.
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When Mac OS X Leopard was released in October 2007, there was significant outcry about a number of changes made to the built-in firewall. One security consultant even went so far as to call the firewall “a mess…so simple as to be nearly useless”. Apple soon released a few security updates that fixed a number of complaints about the firewall, but for me, a general sense of brokenness and distrust prevailed. Now we’ve upgraded some of our Macs in the office to Leopard, and recently my negative perception of the new firewall has changed.
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In a service business, it can sometimes be difficult to measure the true level of satisfaction that our clients experience. The testimonials they offer say a lot, and even after all these years its still surprising that so many of our clients consider working with us to be a relief from the norm of some poor customer relations practices in the technology industry.

Even so, it’s nice to be able to turn to cold hard numbers to see how we’re really doing, and one area where we do have those figures handy is in the customer satisfaction survey we ask every person who contacts us for technical support to fill out. Here’s what the numbers say from recent months:
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As we’ve built Summersault’s web hosting infrastructure over the years, I’ve had a great time learning all about the security and privacy issues that come with managing a complex network of computer servers connected to the Internet. Of course, it didn’t begin there - part of being a good geek has always meant showing curiosity in how things work and what’s going on behind the scenes, and I can’t remember a time I haven’t enjoyed testing the boundaries of how secure various systems are. Perhaps that’s why I very much enjoyed Bruce Schneier’s book Secrets & Lies, a formalized (but accessible) look at of a lot of the security concepts and practices I’ve encountered over the years.
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RICHMOND, IN – Summersault website development is pleased to announce that it now offers hosting packages that use the popular cPanel control panel software for site management. The tool allows Summersault’s website hosting customers to easily manage all aspects of their web presence from a single, user-friendly interface.

“We’re so excited to offer this level of hosting service,” said Chris Hardie, Summersault co-founder and Principal. “A number of our clients have been asking for something like it, and we’re pleased to join many others in the hosting industry who see cPanel as the gold standard in control panel software.” Read the rest of this entry »

The IMail Server from Ipswitch software is a business-oriented e-mail management system that runs on the Windows operating system. A few years ago, we were hired by a local Internet Service Provider, Parallax Systems, to help migrate their IMail Server system to a new mail server using qmail and vpopmail on a Unix-based operating system, one of the most popular mail management system setups on the Internet.

As a part of that process, we created a Perl script to assist with the migration of all the virtual domain data, individual user mailboxes and preferences, forwards, aliases, address book files, etc. It uses the Windows registry key maintained by the IMail software and creates equivalent configuration settings under the qmail/vpopmail setup.
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We recently found ourselves with several dead computer backup batteries on our hands (they help keep things running smoothly during power outages), as well as some other computer equipment that we were ready to get rid of. This “e-waste” contains toxic chemicals that, if absorbed into our bodies can cause a number of serious problems like brain damage, so we wanted to make sure it was disposed of properly, even if it meant paying a fee. In our attempts to “buy local” even in waste disposal, some research led us to Rumpke and their “E-waste Recycling” program. (I’d like to provide a link to a web page with more information about this program, but Rumpke doesn’t have one now.)

The minimum cost for this service was $98, which covered a full service visit with two people coming into our business, and carrying out all the e-waste that we requested. Our contact at Rumpke was Brian Huffman. You can contact him at 1-888-242-0510 ext. 5294.

There are other options in Indiana, but finding information about them is also frustrating due the lack of accessible information. The Indiana Recycling Coalition publishes a directory of reuse and recycling options in Indiana, but it is not user-friendly. If you have an old computer to get rid of, do you think you would call a “Broker”, a “Processor”, a “Processor/Broker”, a “non-profit”, or one of the “Other Players in Indiana”? Your guess is as good as mine. Those are the category choices provided, and no detail at all is provided about the services provided by each organization. And since about half of these recyclers don’t have websites, finding the best option for your e-waste recycling needs, or any viable option is currently a daunting task in our area.

There are organizations like ours interested in recycling, and organizations in the e-waste recycling business, but there is currently a missing link between them— a failure to use the web effectively to provide information potential recyclers need to make purchasing decisions.

I hope this situation improves soon.

Microsoft Exchange is a common choice for organizations looking to share contacts and calendar events internally. It also works as a central mail server, allowing emails with large attachments to be sent around internally as well.

There are two major problems with Microsoft Exchange as a solution.
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