[updated 5/23] Plesk Web Hosting Server Changes to Begin Thursday 5/16
[update 5/23/2013] The migration process will be complete this evening (Thursday). One last sync of e-mail data from the old server to the new one is scheduled for this evening or early Friday morning. That will copy over any messages that happened to go to the old server address after the switch to the new server address was made. You may notice that messages you previously saw and/or deleted may reappear when this happens. Due to our efforts to not miss anything, that is unavoidable.
Additionally, for customers that have databases hosted on the Plesk hosting server, any changes made to MySQL databases on the old server, between early Thursday morning (5/16), when the migration began, and when the DNS was pointed to the new server (for most sites, between 5/21 & 5/22), may not be reflected on the new server. That was one of the reasons we suggested to not make any changes to the site during the migration process. If any of those changes are critical, we may be able to have our migration team retrieve database records from the old server (during that time frame), if necessary. However, we must be notified ASAP, in order for our migration team to be able to help because they are only available for a limited period of time.
[update 5/22/2013] The migration process is mostly done. The DNS switch was made on 5/21. The final steps will be completed on Wednesday (5/22). Anyone who controls their own DNS (instead of Widomaker) should contact us to get the new IP address.
[update 5/17/2013] The migration process is mostly done. The final steps will be completed on Monday (5/20) when the new server and IP address go live. Anyone who controls their own DNS (instead of Widomaker) should contact us to get the new IP address to start using on Monday.
[update 5/15/2013] The migration process has been scheduled to start early Thursday morning (12:00 AM) and last through noon on Friday. It’s possible that it could go though Saturday.
[update 4/30/2013] The migration process has been postponed and is being rescheduled for the week of, May 13th, 2013, It may last for several days. This date may change.
[update 4/19/2013] At this time we are planning to begin the migration on, or around, Monday, April 29th. It may last for several days. This date may change.
There are some upcoming changes that may affect Web Hosting customers who have a domain name hosted with Widomaker. Please pass this message along to your IT staff or Webmaster.
Beginning in the next couple of weeks, we will be migrating all web hosting accounts to a new, upgraded, server. We do not anticipate significant problems with this process. However, when moving from one server to another, sometime issues can arise.
An exact date that this process will begin will be posted on Widomaker’s web site (http://home.widomaker.com/) soon. At this time, we are planning on starting this process toward the end of April or the beginning of May.
Before this process begins, we suggest that you…
– make sure you have an up-to-date backup of your web site data including any databases
– make sure you have an up-to-date backup of any settings, such as a list of your e-mail accounts and/or custom DNS records
– if you had any unusual customizations made to your web hosting or DNS setup that was not done via the normal features of the Plesk Control Panel, please contact us regarding themOnce the migration date has arrived…
– avoid making changes to your web site or e-mail addresses
After the migration process has completed…
– Verify that all aspects of your web site, e-mail, mailing lists, password protected directories, etc., are working properly. If you notice any issues, notify us immediately so our migration team can investigate.
CISPA, the Privacy-Invading Cybersecurity Spying Bill, is Back in Congress
A coalition of Internet advocacy organizations and individuals are launching a week of action to combat the CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act.
Please take a moment to learn more about why CISPA is a bad idea, then send a message to your Representatives asking them to oppose this bill. Visit the sites below for more information…
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/02/cispa-privacy-invading-cybersecurity-spying-bill-back-congress
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/03/week-action-opposing-cispa
https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9048
Changes to Paper Billing
For customers that do not use a credit or debit card, but instead receive a paper statement or invoice via US Mail, we are changing when we mail out paper statements. Services have always been paid in advance of the next service period. We had been mailing out paper statements about two weeks before the beginning of the next service period. We will now be mailing out paper statements about a week earlier. This was due, in part, to technical reasons regarding the time it takes to suspend, cancel, or reactivate DSL service and DSL lines of customers that use broadband DSL Internet service.
We ask that any customer who, as a result of this change, or for any other reason, needs a few extra days to pay their bill to please e-mail or call our office so arrangements can be made to accommodate their needs. Also, any customer who would like to adjust the day of the month that statements are sent out or are due may call our office to make that kind of adjustment.
[resolved] DSL Outage, Wmbg & Newport News Area, 1/19/2013
Beginning just before noon on, Saturday, January 19, 2013, some broadband aDSL customers in the Williamsburg, Newport News, and surrounding areas started experiencing trouble getting connected or surfing. The telephone company is aware of the problem and is working on it now. At this time there is no ETR (estimated time of repair). Once we get an update from the telephone company we will pass it along here. We apologize for the inconvenience.
Update Saturday, 1/19/2013, 12:30 PM: Most affected customers have reported that their service began working again around 12:30pm. However, as the phone company continues their work, there may be periods that service stops working. Once the phone company reports that all repairs are completed we will update this message.
If you were affected, but your service is still not working again, please reboot your equipment by turning off (or unplugging the power to), and turning back on, your DSL modem as well as your router (if you have one). Once the equipment reboots, which usually takes about 2 minutes, restart your computer and check your Internet connection.
After rebooting your DSL modem and router and waiting about 2 minutes, if you still cannot connect, please contact us with your name, telephone number, and acct# (if you know it). Please provide the status of the lights on your DSL modem. Let us know which lights are lit up solid and which lights (if any) are out, or blinking. Be sure to leave your equipment connected and turned on.
Update Sunday, 1/20/2013 5:12 PM: Most customers continue to be working, however, Verizon is still working on the cause of the problem and interruptions may still occur. Per Verizon, they are waiting on a replacement card to resolve the issue. Still no ETR at this time.
Update Monday, 1/21/2013: Verizon reports that repairs are complete.
Holiday Hours for Widomaker
Our Christmas / New Years Holiday Hours are as follows:
Christmas
Monday, December 24th: Office Closed – Phone Support 8am to 2pm
Tuesday, December 25th: Office Closed – No Phone Support Hours
Normal Office / Phone Support hours resume on Wednesday, December 26th.
New Years
Monday, December 31st: Office Closed – Phone Support 8am to 2pm
Tuesday, January 1st: Office Closed – No Phone Support Hours
Normal Office / Phone Support hours resume on Wednesday, January 2nd.
56K Dialup Account Changes
Sometime this week (week of Tuesday, Dec. 18th, 2012) we will be making some changes to our 56K dialup services. This should not affect most of our 56K dialup users. However, in some cases, if the user hasn’t connected via dialup recently, they might not be able to log in after the changes take place. In that case, affected users should call our office to have any dialup login issues quickly resolved. These changes do not affect any of our other services such as DSL.
Thanksgiving Hours
In observation of the Thanksgiving Day holiday, we will be closed on Thursday, November 22nd, 2012.
Phone Support hours will be the normal 8am to 8pm on Friday and 10am to 4pm on Saturday, but the office will be closed.
Normal hours will resume on Monday, November 26th.
All systems will remain monitored and any status updates can be found here, as well as by calling our support line (757-253-7621) and listening to the automated message.
Hurricane Sandy 2012
As Hurricane Sandy approaches, please make sure you have prepared. Visit your local city or county web site for preparedness information. Follow them on Twitter or Facebook. Visit the Ready Virginia site. Make a list of important phone numbers.
Severe weather like Hurricane Sandy can cause power outages, flooding, and other damage which can cause interruptions to your Internet connection. Before that happens, make sure you have alternate methods of getting up to date information and communicating with friends and family. Make sure you have a battery powered radio with fresh batteries. Make sure you have your cell phones charged and have your home and car charger for them.
If you have a land-line telephone at your location, make sure you have a corded (hard-wired) telephone that you can connect. Cordless telephones do not usually work during power outages.
Service and status information from Widomaker can be found on our website (http://home.widomaker.com/), our blog site (http://weblog.widomaker.com/), our Facebook page, our Twitter page, and by calling our office (757-253-7621).
Dominion VA Power info can be found on their Storm Center web page. They are also on Twitter and Facebook.
Once the storm has passed, and if you have power, please report any service problems by contacting our office by telephone or e-mail.
Internet Explorer 0-Day Vulnerability
There is a zero-day vulnerability that has been discovered and in the wild exploiting Microsoft’s Internet Explorer (7, 8, and 9). Due to this, it would be a good idea to switch web browsers for a few weeks until security updates can be released for Internet Explorer. Also, make sure your anti-virus software is up-to-date.
The following are several other web broswers you can install and use:
- Mozilla Seamonkey – Seamonkey is an all-in-one internet application suite containing an Internet browser, email & newsgroup client with an included web feed reader, HTML editor, IRC chat and web development tools.
- Mozilla Firefox
- Opera
September 3rd 2012 – Office Closed
In observation of the September 3rd Labor Day holiday, we will be closed on Monday, September 3rd, 2012.
Normal hours will resume on Tuesday, September 4th.
All systems will remain monitored and any status updates can be found here, as well as by calling our support lines and listening to the automated message system greeting.
Support the EFF!
