Widomaker
[Resolved] Partial Network Outage (RDU Datacenter)
As of 5:30pm, on Thursday, January 18th, 2018, one of Widomaker’s server providers has experienced an unexpected network outage at one of their datacenters. They are aware of the issue and are working to resolve the outage.
Plesk Web Hosting Server Network Issue on 12/11/17
As of about, 3:00pm ET, on Dec. 11, 2017, Widomaker’s Plesk web hosting server, that provides services to customers using their own domain names to host web pages and/or e-mail, is experiencing a partial network-related service issue. This issue only affects web hosting customers using Widomaker’s Plesk hosting server. The server and network provider has provided the following information:
We appear to be experiencing a partial network-related service issue that is service affecting for some customers. We are aware of the problem and are busy trying to get it to resolution. Our technicians will provide further details once the issue has been resolved. Our number one priority is completely restoring service to optimal levels for you and any other affected party. We sincerely apologize for any problems this issue is causing for you and want to assure you that we are on top of it.
Affected customers may be unable to open their web site, or access e-mail, until the issue is resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope that the server provider resolves the network issue quickly.
[Resolved 10am] Mail Server (Wilma) Down Friday 12/8/17
Beginning around 9:00am on, Friday, December 8, 2017, one of our servers (Wilma) experienced unplanned downtime. We have contacted the server provider to investigate. We are waiting for an update.
The affected server handles e-mail for customers with widomaker.com (or tni.net) e-mail addresses. Access to e-mail is temporarily unavailable. It also handles Widomaker’s web page, which is temporarily unavailable.
Hopefully the server provider will have the problem resolved, shortly. We apologize for the inconvenience. Updates will be posted here (http://weblog.widomaker.com), as well as Widomaker’s Facebook and Twitter pages.
[Update 9:22am] Our server provider has responded to our trouble report:
We’re currently aware of and investigating an issue that may be impacting your service. We expect to have the service restored soon.
[Update 9:45am] The network issue affecting the Wilma server appears to have been corrected. E-mail access and access to Widomaker’s web page appears to have been restored. We are still waiting for another update from our server provider to let us know if the issue is completely resolved.
[Update 10:00am] The server provider has confirmed the issue is resolved.
Maintenance/Downtime 9am-1pm 11/26/17
On Sunday, November 26, 2017, one of our server providers will conduct maintenance on the underlying equipment providing several of our servers. Between 9:00am and 1:00pm, those servers may be shutdown and some services may be unavailable as the maintenance is performed. The maintenance will only affect the following services:
- E-mail accounts with addresses that end in widomaker.com or tni.net
- Widomaker’s home page (www.widomaker.com) and members’ page (home.widomaker.com)
Web and e-mail hosting accounts with their own domain name will not be affected. DSL Internet service will not be affected.
Upcoming Holiday Hours
Please find our upcoming holidays hours, for the end of 2017, below…
KRACK Wi-Fi Vulnerability
On Oct 16 2017 US-CERT released Vulnerability Note VU#228519 after researchers disclosed “serious weaknesses in WPA2, a protocol that secures all modern protected Wi-Fi networks.” They have named the proof-of-concept exploits, KRACK (key reinstallation attacks)…
The weaknesses are in the Wi-Fi standard itself, and not in individual products or implementations. […] To prevent the attack, users must update affected products as soon as security updates become available.
Delayed or Rejected Mail to widomaker.com Addresses on Oct 17 2017
Some customers may be experiencing incoming e-mail delays on 10/17/2017. Widomaker purchases spam filtering services, for widomaker.com (and tni.net) e-mail addresses, from a 3rd party spam filtering provider. All e-mail destined for a widomaker.com (or tni.net) address must pass through the spam filtering servers before it reaches Widomaker’s servers.
On 10/17/2017, this spam filtering provider informed us of an issue, with their spam filtering servers, that is causing incoming mail to be delayed, if it was sent to users with a widomaker.com (or tni.net) e-mail address. They are working to resolve the issue.
Update 3:40PM: It appears that the spam filtering provider took some steps, in an effort to resolve the issue, that, while well-intentioned, caused some pending messages to be rejected, and returned to the sender. In that case, the sender will need to resend any messages that were returned to them. The majority of the delayed messages, however, should be delivered within several hours. The underlying issues appear to have been resolved. Normal e-mail delivery, to and from the spam filtering servers, appears to have resumed.
[Updated 11/16/17] Router and IoT Vulnerabilities (Dnsmasq)
On, October 2, 2017, vulnerabilities (US-CERT VU#973527) were made public, by Google’s security team, in Dnsmasq, a widely used software package included in many Internet-connected devices, such as routers, IoT devices, and Android devices. Exploitation of some of these vulnerabilities may allow a remote attacker to take control of an affected system.
New Hours Beginning 10-9-2017
Beginning on, Monday, October 9th, 2017, Widomaker’s telephone sales and support hours will change as follows:
- 10:00am – 6:00pm, Monday – Friday*
- Closed Saturday (On Saturdays, certain messages, left before noon, if they contain sufficient details, may be processed before the next business day, based on availability.)
- Closed Sunday
* During support hours, if a representative is not immediately available, you may be prompted to leave a message, so a representative, once available, may return your call. If you are prompted to leave a message, please do so.
* If you leave a message, be sure to leave details. Leaving a message that asks our support representative to “just call you back” makes it difficult for us to prioritize the call. If you leave enough detail in your message, we can often quickly send you an email to answer your question, which gets you a response much more quickly than waiting for a call back.
Cox Communications Internet Outage 7/18/2017
Widomaker’s services are all up and running, at the present time. However, some folks who use Cox Communications for their Internet connection, in Hampton Roads, may be experiencing an Internet outage affecting their ability to open websites or check e-mail.
