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The benefits of IPv6

The-benefits-of-native-IPv6_16000953_801435169_0_0_7036379_300

If you're looking at one of Snel.com's great range of products to meet your hosting needs, one of the key benefits of our service is the fact all our servers are offered with native IPv6 by default. As our entire infrastructure is IPv6 supported, you can rest assured that your dedicated servers with instant setup are fully futureproofed.

Why IPv6 is important for your server?

For the uninitiated, IPv6 is an advanced protocol for assigning web addresses that offers far more potential combinations that the older IPv4 technology that is most commonly used. This assigned each device a unique 32-bit numerical IP address, represented as four numbers ranging from 0 to 255. The problem with this is that there are limited combinations of these numbers - around 4.3 billion - and they are fast running out. With the use of the internet expanding at an ever-increasing rate, the world will use all available IPv4 addresses very soon. This is where IPv6 comes in. Whereas IPv4 supports 32-bit addresses, IPv6 uses a hexadecimal system to generate 128-bit addresses. This equates to 2128, or 3.4×1038 addresses available, which should be enough to secure the future of the internet for a very long time to come.

Snel.com provides IPv6 on all of their servers

Snel.com provides 18,446,744,073,709,551,616 free IPv6 addresses to customers - complete with reverse DNS - and our customers are able to use the Native IPv6 addresses as soon as their server is activated. If you're still on IPv4, it may therefore be a good idea to make the switch to IPv6 in order to ensure you can expand in the future. Several of the world's biggest websites, including Google and Facebook, have already done this and earlier this year a World IPv6 Launch day was held to persuade businesses to become IPv6-enabled.
Updating software and routers to cope with this may be a complex and time-consuming process, which is why it is a great idea to use native IPv6 servers, such as those provided by Snel.com, in order to make this transition as straightforward as possible. The drive to get websites to update to IPv6 seems to be working, as earlier this month, data from Akamai revealed the amount of traffic using IPv6 has exploded since the first efforts were made last year, with ZDNet noting this has been driven greater availability of the system and more end-user devices that support the protocol.

Kaspersky finds new complex security threat

Kaspersky-finds-new-complex-security-threat_16000953_801426521_0_0_7063333_300Small companies using web hosting services may need to ensure they have strong security systems in place to protect their operations from cyber-threats, which are growing in complexity and frequency.
In recent years, there have been several high-profile viruses uncovered that it has been suggested are the work of government-sponsored hackers. Viruses such as Stuxnet, Duqu and Flame have become progressively harder to track and may have the potential to do a lot of damage to a business or individual.
This week, security firm Kaspersky announced it has uncovered a new threat, which it stated bears many similarities to the Flame virus from earlier this year. It has named the code Gauss, after the title of its main module.
According to the firm's chief security expert Alexander Gostev, there are several key elements of Gauss - such as its design and code-base - that are shared with Flame. Indeed, it was only by using the knowledge gained from analysing Flame that researchers were able to detect Gauss, which is thought to have been active since September 2011.
Mr Gostev said: "Similar to Flame and Duqu, Gauss is a complex cyber-espionage toolkit, with its design emphasising stealth and secrecy." However, he noted it appears to have a different purpose to the earlier viruses, as it seems to be targeting multiple users with the intention of acquiring large amounts of data, with a focus on banking and financial details.
In additional to gathering access credentials for various online banking systems Kaspersky observed Gauss "steals detailed information about infected PCs including browser history, cookies, passwords, and system configurations". Also, while Flame was apparently focusing on users in Iran, Gauss is thought to be aimed at companies elsewhere in the Middle East, with Lebanon the main target.

Lebanese banks including the Bank of Beirut, EBLF, BlomBank, ByblosBank, FransaBank and Credit Libanais were the primary targets of the malware, Kaspersky's analysis revealed, while it has also been coded to target users of Citibank and PayPal.
Around 2,500 infected machines were uncovered by Kaspersky, though the firm stated it estimates the total number could be in the tens of thousands, making it significantly more widespread than Duqu or Flame. Find out more on how to maintain a dedicated server at snelserver.com.

Subscription-based gaming on the way out?

Subscription-based-gaming-on-the-way-out-_16000953_801423896_0_0_14044887_300For game developers running massively multiplayer online (MMO) titles through their servers, the standard revenue stream for many years has been the subscription model, where players pay a monthly fee for access to the service.
But the era of this model could be set to end due to declining subscriber numbers and the emergence of new payment options, which has led several firms to re-think their strategy. Last week, EA confirmed it will introduce a free-to-play option for its Star Wars: The Old Republic title after its latest financial results revealed the number of paid subscribers fell to under one million.
Even the most popular title, Blizzard's World of Warcraft, has not been immune, as the developer recently revealed its subscriber base is at its lowest level since 2007, dropping from 12 million in 2010 to nine million this year. Therefore, many companies may look to alternative revenue streams in order to encourage more players. This week, it was suggested by Chris Lye, global brand manager at Guild Wars developer ArenaNet, that this will become essential for any firm that wants to turn a profit.

He said: "I do feel that any developer who wants to be successful in today's market needs to take a really hard look and say 'Do we really want to use a subscription, is that the best thing for this game?'"

Mr Lye observed there is a growing awareness in the MMO sector that the days of using a 'launch-and-leave' model are declining as developers seek to find ways to foster longer-term relations with their customers. "A lot of players are telling us 'we don't want to be locked into a subscription, we want an a la carte model of what we spend our money on'," he said.
Therefore, freemium and microtransaction solutions are likely to become the business model of choice for many game developers in the coming years. Mr Lye said while not every player will make payments using these systems, that should not be an issue for companies, as these solutions still add value to games, provided companies ensure they continue supporting the title and offer ongoing updates for both free and premium players. Snelserver.com has dedicated servers with no contracts.

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