Author: dpepper

The root password is the key to full control over your server, and it’s essential that it remains secure. At some point, nearly every server administrator will need to change the root password, either to revoke access to previously authorized individuals or due to an internal password policy. Additionally, the server’s root password should be changed any time a security breach is suspected.

Should you discover (or suspect) that a client or customer’s IP address has been blocked by the firewall on your cPanel VPS server, or should you just need to open or close a port, you may be able to quickly resolve the issue yourself with just a little help.

If you find that you are able to receive email but cannot send email, your email client may not be properly configured for SMTP authentication, which is required by your mail server.

Setting up email in a client such as Outlook or Mac Mail on your cPanel server for the first time can be a bit complicated, but once you know a few key pieces of information, you can get almost any email client up and running quickly.

The most essential concept to understand in web hosting is the Domain Name System. At its most basic level, DNS determines whether a visitor to your site sees the actual site, or a “Server not found” error. Like a telephone book, DNS matches names (your domain name) to numbers (IP addresses).

In recent updates, cPanel has modified some of the notification settings for their control panel. As a result, you may find that the priority of certain notification types have changed and you may begin to receive notifications that you previously had not encountered. In particular, the notification options for Security Advisor changed with the release of WHM 56 on April 26, 2016.

Are you unable to connect to your cPanel based VPS server  or dedicated server to send or receive email, log into cPanel or WHM, or make an FTP or SSH connection? Are you able to view your website in your browser? If not, and the connection simply times out, it's possible that your IP address has been blocked by the dedicated server’s firewall. Typically, this is the result of too many failed logins (through cPanel, SSH, FTP, email, etc.) in too short a period of time.

As you might expect, most support requests on managed cPanel servers fall into a few basic categories. What you might be surprised to discover is that many common problems can be resolved by following a few simple steps.

CSF (or Config Server Firewall) offers several advantages over the APF (Advanced Policy Firewall), including more robust protection against Denial of Service, SYN flood and other common attacks. One of its most appealing features is its plugin for WebHost Manager that allows you to quickly access firewall settings and common tasks through a graphical interface.