How to Best Use a Remote Desktop Connection.

Due to our increasingly virtual world, the use of a Remote Desktop Connection to access other computers over the internet has been steadily growing in popularity.  The problem, however, is that many individuals and businesses alike are not well equipped to use them.  Most locations that you want to connect to will only have a Dynamic IP address that changes over time, which can create a huge barrier that limits access to your remote connection.  By using a static IP address this problem can be easily overcome.

Typically, when you want to access your remote computer over the internet, you enter the IP address of that computer into the remote access software. This create a remote desktop connection. With a Dynamic IP address, the IP will be constantly changing and getting into your remote computer from off site will be impossible.   Assigning a fully qualified domain name to your Dynamic IP address will save you the burden of remembering the numeric address each time and allow you to access your information more quickly and with ease.  With our software client running on the same network as the remote computer, we will know any time your IP address changes and be able to direct you to that remote machine regardless of what IP address it’s currently assigned.

Learn more.

How well are you protecting your sensitive information?

More and more often, you hear stories about information loss: identities stolen, emails lost or destroyed illegally, credit card information compromised, etc.  Depending on the degree of sensitivity, these situations can create a major headache (and in some instances, lawsuits) for individuals, companies and management alike.

In addition to selecting the right hosting and monitoring services for your data, it’s important to ask yourself regularly if you and your business are taking the right precautions to protect sensitive information.

At a bare minimum, ask yourself the following questions:

  1. Do we have an enterprise strategy for protecting sensitive information?
  2. How well is the strategy being executed?
  3. Who is responsible for its execution and enforcement?
  4. Does this strategy control access to sensitive information within and outside of the company?
  5. Do we know where our sensitive information is at any point in time?

Asking and addressing these key questions can help us better control our sensitive content and prevent the unauthorized access and potential theft or loss of it, resulting in less overall risk to ourselves and our businesses.

3 Tips for Choosing the Right Domain Name

We see a ton of new domain names each day– some good, some great, some…well, you know.  Regardless if it’s a blog,  personal website, or a full-scale enterprise presence, choosing the right domain name is crucial in creating a successful website project.

Registering your domain name may be a piece of cake, but deciding on a name isn’t always so easy.

Below are a few simple tips for choosing the right domain name:

1) Make it Relevant - When at all possible, choose a domain name that closely matches your project purpose.  If you’re a business, use your business name when possible.  For personal sites and blogs, focus on your core theme or brand goals when choosing a name.  Remember- your domain name should always relate to and be cohesive with your overall business and brand strategy.

2) Consider your Searchability - Choose a name that is rich in key words that describe or relate to your project/business.  This will help indirectly increase your site visitors as Google will see links that use your domain name.  The benefits are two-fold– you’ll have a domain name that not only reaches your audience but also lands you a little higher in search results.

3) Keep it Simple – Choose a name that people can easily remember.  Avoid unnecessary numbers and lengthy words. If people have to write it down, chances are that it’s too long and they’ll easily forget it.  Heed the basic marketing principle “keep it simple, stupid” and avoid any unnecessary complexities.

With these guidelines as a start, you’ll be well on your way to choosing the right domain name for your business or project needs.   And to our more seasoned site managers, do you have any additional tips to share?

No-IP Anycast Network Update

During our almost 11 year history we’ve maintained a 100% DNS uptime. Deploying many DNS servers in multiple locations has been key in providing such up time. An extension of this has been utilizing Anycast to provide higher availability, help reduce DNS latency and increase resilience to internet based attacks.

Visit the Wikipedia page about anycast if you’re interested in detailed information or are looking for alternative sleep aids.

DNS queries are routed to the data center closest to you or your customers, lowering DNS response times. This results in a faster loading site and better end user experience.

Fact: For every 1000 kilometers of fiber there are 10 milliseconds of delay

We are also able to perform maintenance without effecting service. DNS traffic is automatically rerouted to the next closest data center during a maintenance window.

Anycast also helps in minimizing the effectiveness of DNS directed DDOS attacks, since a single NS record is distributed across multiple locations, servers and bandwidth providers.

Since 2007, No-IP has been using IP anycast on some of our name server (NS) records. In the coming months all Managed and Backup DNS NS records will use anycast. Stay tuned as we keep you posted with our progress including other exiting features to be announced later this year.

Windows 3.0.1 b Now Available.

The second beta release of the Windows 3.0.1 b Dynamic Update Client (DUC) is now available. We’ve fixed a few issues with the first beta.

Bug Fixes/ Features Include:

  • Windows Service in XP
  • NAT WAN IP discovery issues
  • Mouseover tray icon for current IP
  • few minor fixes

This new version can be downloaded on our Windows Beta download page.

Disclaimer: Should you encounter any bugs, glitches, lack of functionality or
other problems with the client, please let us know immediately so we
can rectify these accordingly. Your help in this regard is greatly
appreciated.

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