Cpanel Archives - NZServers

CloudLinux 7 to CloudLinux 9 Update

Mike (admin) — Sat, 27 Apr 2024 22:17:17 +0000

Proposed update for the server upgrade
May 2024

We have upgraded to CloudLinux V9

The original plan was to upgrade the server software using Migration software called Elevate.
In a perfect world this would have been seamless, but sadly the upgrade stalled at stage three out of four stages.
A fix was weeks away with no gaurantee this would solve the issue so we decided to migrate to a new server using Cloudlinux 9 instead of the original plan of CloudLinux 8.
CloudLinux 8 supported PHP 5.3 and PHP 5.5 but was also reaching end of life.

PHP 5.3 and 5.5

We have tried to accommodate clients using old versions of PHP and while the importance of getting away from these old versions. The rubber has now hit the road for the two users reliant on PHP 5.3 being Fastpage users.

The server now supports PHP 5.6 and upwards

As of my last update in 2023, the following versions of PHP have been deprecated and reached their End of Life (EOL). This means they no longer receive security updates or bug fixes, making them insecure for use in production environments. Here is a list of deprecated PHP versions starting from PHP 5.3:

PHP 5.x Series

1. PHP 5.3

– **Released:** June 30, 2009
– **EOL:** August 14, 2014

2. PHP 5.4

– **Released:** March 1, 2012
– **EOL:** September 3, 2015

3. PHP 5.5

– **Released:** June 20, 2013
– **EOL:** July 21, 2016

(Versions above are no longer supported on the server)
***********************

4. **PHP 5.6**

– **Released:** August 28, 2014
– **EOL:** December 31, 2018

PHP 7.x Series

1. PHP 7.0

– **Released:** December 3, 2015
– **EOL:** December 3, 2018

2. PHP 7.1

– **Released:** December 1, 2016
– **EOL:** December 1, 2019

3. PHP 7.2

– **Released:** November 30, 2017
– **EOL:** November 30, 2020

4. PHP 7.3

– **Released:** December 6, 2018
– **EOL:** December 6, 2021

5. PHP 7.4

– **Released:** November 28, 2019
– **EOL:** November 28, 2022

PHP 8.x Series

– While PHP 8.0 and PHP 8.1 are actively supported as of 2023, it’s important to check the latest PHP lifecycle schedule for the most current information on supported versions. Typically, each PHP version receives active support for two years and security support for an additional year after that.

Current Recommendations

– **Use Supported Versions**: Always use a supported version of PHP to ensure you receive security updates and performance improvements. As of the latest update, PHP 8.1 and PHP 8.2 are the recommended versions.

– **Regular Updates**: Regularly update your PHP version to the latest stable release to maintain security and compatibility.

Checking PHP Version Lifecycle

You can always refer to the official PHP supported versions page to get the most up-to-date information on the lifecycle of PHP versions: [PHP Supported Versions](https://www.php.net/supported-versions.php).

Conclusion

All PHP versions from PHP 5.3 to PHP 7.4 have reached their End of Life and are considered deprecated. It’s crucial to upgrade to a supported version of PHP to maintain the security and performance of your applications.

WordPress Sites

WordPress sites using PHP versions lower than 7.4 cannot be upgraded to the latest versions of WordPress.
The later you leave upgrading the PHP version you will find it harder to upgrade.

P HP Compatibility and WordPress Versions – Make WordPress Core

End of Life for CENTOS 7 and CloudLinux 7

It is a changing world if you are in the IT industry.
If you have created bespoke applications outside of supported products like WordPress, then this may apply to you.
Centos 7 is a free fork of Redhat Linux.
As of the 30th of June 2024, Centos 7 reaches its End of Life (EOL).
This means the product will still work except no more updates for security and bug fixes for the operating system.
CloudLinux 7 is being forced to an EOL status in line with Centos 7

Bespoke Applications

If you have developed your own PHP code and your own MYSQL interface we just hope that you have used acceptable practices.
If errors are picked up and if time permits we will contact you to resolve the issue.
Our main focus has to be upgrading the MYSQL then forging ahead with upgrading Linux.

Fastpage CMS

We ceased development of the product on the 1st of December 2013.
This product is forced to run under PHP 5.3.
As the product is no longer supported any applications that happen to be using this and fail the MYSQL checker we will have no option to fail archive these applications and use a placeholder image.
As we have notified people of the EOL of Fastpage many times any of our time to resolve issues with Fastpage will need to update to a new CMS.

https://nzservers.com/fastpage_deprecated-software/

The post CloudLinux 7 to CloudLinux 9 Update appeared first on NZServers.

CPANEL 2FA Two Factor Authentication

Mike (admin) — Fri, 11 Jun 2021 21:55:35 +0000

2FA has been around for a while and now available for access to CPANEL
You may have seen this with banking apps where a code is sent to your cellphone to authenticate that it is you making the request.
2FA is essential to protect your information from hackers.
Now CPANEL allows 2FA which allows a code to be sent to an authenticator app like Google Authenticator.
Authenticator Apps have many other uses such as enabling 2FA on WordPress or any other application you use to access sensitive information.
Google Apps, Clickup, Evernote, Stripe, Roboform…this list goes on.

It us up to you to configure your authenticator app as this is a client-sided application. For security reasons you must do this and research what is best for you.

Mike Wilkinson

There are a choice of Authenticators you can use.

If you use Windows 10 you can download an Authenticator which is handy if you work on a laptop.
Google authenticator is good for this as it will sync across all your devices using the same app.
With a Laptop make sure you have password protection enabled when you log in.

Note:

2FA requires a smartphone with a supported time-based one-time password (TOTP) app. We suggest the following apps:

For Android, iOS®, and Blackberry® — Google Authenticator
For Android and iOS — Duo Mobile
For Windows® Phone — Authenticator

The post CPANEL 2FA Two Factor Authentication appeared first on NZServers.

Optomise Website

Mike (admin) — Mon, 18 Sep 2017 05:01:52 +0000

Speed up your website using CPANEL Optomisation setting
CPANEL Option

CPANEL has a unique feature called ‘Optimise Website’

This sends your website in a compressed mode to a browser increasing the speed of your site loading.

Before this option is enabled you must make sure that your site is not already sending gzipped data.

Gzip compression makes it possible to compress your web files (mainly HTML, CSS, and JS files), sometimes up to 70%-80%. This much smaller compressed version of the file is then sent to the browser of the visitor instead of the larger original file. The browser of your visitor will then automatically decompress the compressed file and serve the uncompressed original file to your visitor.

This is a start to getting your website to load faster.
There are also techniques like CDN known as Content Delivery Network which is a system of distributed servers (network) that deliver pages and other Web content to a user, based on the geographic locations of the user, the origin of the webpage and the content delivery server.

The compression will speed your webpage load.

This tool from Websiteplanet.com will help you to test your site

Check if your site includes GZIP compression by clicking on the link below

www.websiteplanet.com/webtools/gzip-compression/

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Please Note – if we find your site has GZIP compression enabled there is no charge.
CDN – Content Deleivery Network
Suitable for large volume sites

[contact-form-7]

The post Optomise Website appeared first on NZServers.

Let’s Encrypt Auto SSL Certificates

Mike (admin) — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 00:31:40 +0000

All SSL certificates are auto-generated using Let’s Encrypt.
If you have created a new domain and the auto SSL task has not generated the SSL certificate you can manually generate the SSL certificate by choosing SSL/TLS.

Choose Manage SSL Sites.
Select a domain that is usually the +Subdomains:autodiscover,cpanel etc.
Choose Autofill by Domain which will generate the CRT, Private Key and CABUNDLE
Once you have done click on install the certificate.

Please not you can only generate certificates for domain that point to NZServers, which the system will work out automatically.

If you want more security, you can use the SSL/TLS Wizard then choose the security level you require by buying a SSL Certificate through CPANEL.

The post Let’s Encrypt Auto SSL Certificates appeared first on NZServers.

Changing PHP Versions

Mike (admin) — Wed, 18 Jan 2017 22:25:06 +0000

You change PHP versions by using your CPANEL or Control Panel
Accessing CPANEL
You can use https://sv5.nzhost.net.nz:2083/ or http://yourdomain.xxx/cpanel
Under the software section find this icon called Select PHP version

You can set the PHP version only for the entire domain

The default version of PHP selected will show at the top – currently set at PHP 5.5

Suggest that use the Tab Use Defaults – then you can customise the settings if you want.
(Note if nothing is loaded for the PHP version you want to use please click on the ‘Reset to Default button’ or ‘Use Defaults’ then check the values and save or set)
(The CPANEL screen you see display depends on the theme you are using)

PHP 5.3
PHP 5.4
PHP 5.5
PHP 5.6
PHP 7.0
PHP 7.1
PHP 7.2
PHP 7.3
PHP 7.4

When you have selected your PHP version then click save.
If you encounter errors on the new PHP version you can either resolve the issue or switch back to the previous version.

Note:-
Make sure that any PHP directives such as php_flag or php_value in the .htaccess file are valid for the PHP version you are using otherwise you may encounter an internal server error.
Example php_flag register_globals Off will not work on PHP versions higher than PHP 5.3

Changing PHP on a Subfolder or Addon Domain

The first step is to use the PHP selector within your CPANEL and select the version of PHP you want in the subfolder.

If you see nothing in the modules selected click on reset to default button and then check what modules are loaded.
DO NOT CLICK ON SET AS CURRENT.
All this does is load the correct values for the modules.

In the main .htaccess file of the folder add this code to the top of the .htaccess file in the subfolder you want a different PHP version.

SetHandler application/x-lsphpxx

Most PHP file will have the extension php if not you could use this command

SetHandler application/x-lsphp71

Replace xx with the version of PHP

lsphp53
lsphp54
lsphp55
lsphp56
lsphp70
lsphp71
lsphp72
lsphp73
lsphp74

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Note there is a charge for doing this of

$60.00

excl of GST as you can do this yourself.

[contact-form-7]

The post Changing PHP Versions appeared first on NZServers.

Filtering Email Attachments

Mike (admin) — Wed, 14 Sep 2016 05:17:19 +0000

A lot of emails received today contain affected zip files

The server scans attachments but only up to a certain size, otherwise the server will slow right down.
Hackers normally send through other infected computers sending larger attachments.

You can set a filter in CPANEL under the email section to get rid of these.
Choose either Global to apply for all emails or Email filters if you want to select individual emails.

Select Create a Filter

Give the filter a name

Choose Body
Contains
enter .zip to discard any emails with a zip attachment
Actions – I would select Discard Message – that’s up to you.

Update

1/12/2016
We have had to force a ban on emails containing attachments of certain file types.
This applies to sent and received emails.
Right now there are huge volumes of emails to random email addresses usually containing large attachments with hidden Malware.
Some of these hit the right spot, most emails are bounced as the return to address does not exist.

Technically is it up you to block what you don’t require using CPANEL.
For some of you doing that it’s much appreciated.

Right now we have to take action to protect server loads.
We will remove the block once we shift to a new server, then monitor loads again.

For unsafe attachments please expand the link below

Unsafe attachments

The list below are the current file extensions blocked.
If you attempt to send these file you will receive a message like 550 (Archived_DAT.UNOFFICIAL)
.bat
.btm
.cmd
.com
.cpl
.dll
.exe
.lnk
.msi
.pif
.prf
.reg
.scr
.vb
.vbs
.url
.pif
.docm

if you want to send an email with an attachment which is blocked please do the following:-
Rename the file to say .pdf extension.
Example:
Sending a exe attachment
Rename the .exe file to .pdf
Explain to the person receiving the email to rename the email back to a .exe extension

The post Filtering Email Attachments appeared first on NZServers.

Email Forwarder

Mike (admin) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 22:56:54 +0000

You need to be able to access your CPANEL to do this

Logging into CPANEL

Once you are in CPANEL, look for the Forwarders Icon

X3 Theme

Choose the Add Forwarder button

Now you are now ready to add your forwarder.
The Address is the alias as shown below – if you want to say forward sample@nzservers.com you will enter this as follows:-
(make sure you choose the correct domain)

Avoid forwarding to Gmail, AOL or Hotmail.

The destination can be an existing POP3 domain.

Once you have done that, click the Add Forwarder button

Deleting a Forwarder

Against each forwarder there is a Delete button – just click that.

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Note there is a charge for doing this of

$60.00

excl of GST as you can do this yourself.

[contact-form-7]

We will contact you by email to make sure you have requested the forwarder

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

The post Email Forwarder appeared first on NZServers.

Accessing your Webmail

Mike (admin) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:40:48 +0000

use http://mydomain.co.nz/webmail or http://mydomain.co.nz:2096

(note substitute mydomain.co.nz for your own domain)

This will take you to this domain mentioned below.

Webmail Doesn’t work

If for any reason you can not access the webmail the firewall may be blocking port 2096 or your IP may be blocked.
Blocked IP Information

Using GMAIL

If you are using your domain email from a lot of devices we suggest you switch to GMAIL which will allow you to access your emails from any device.
You can read about this here – Using Gmail.

If your A record (website) is with another server then you must use the link below.

New Server
https://sv5.nzhost.net.nz:2096/ or https://107.151.6.226:2096/

The post Accessing your Webmail appeared first on NZServers.

Logging into CPANEL

Mike (admin) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:32:17 +0000

We have forced users to use a secure web address when logging into CPANEL which uses a ‘Signed Certificate’.

Logging into CPANEL please use the web address below.

http://yourdomain.xxx/cpanel
(please replace yourdomain.xxx with your domain name)

or:-

New Server https://sv5.nzhost.net.nz:2083/ or https://107.151.6.226:2083/

Port 2083 must not be blocked by your firewall otherwise you will not gain access.

Reset the CPANEL Password

You have the ability to reset the CPANEL password by selecting the Reset Password Option
This will send a password to the email address nominated on your CPANEL account

If you don’t know what the email address is associated with your CPANEL A/C please select the option below.

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Note there is a charge for doing this of

$60.00

excl of GST as you can do this yourself.

[contact-form-7]

We will contact you by phone or email to make sure you have requested the reset

The post Logging into CPANEL appeared first on NZServers.

Controlling Spam

Mike (admin) — Wed, 14 Jan 2015 01:12:40 +0000

Spammers are getting clever by using other people’s computers to send spam through.

Spam Assassin

There is an option in SPAM Assassin where you can assign scores to specific tests that SpamAssassin uses to examine incoming messages.
This is done as follows:-

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Form for NZS to enable Spam Assassin

Note there is a charge for doing this of excl of GST as you can do this yourself. [contact-form-7] We will contact you by email to make sure you have requested this

Creating an Email Filter

you will need access to your CPANEL to do this

Sometimes spammers use your email address as the reply to address when sending SPAM.
If you notice a lot of email coming through from a particular domain you can create a filter to block this.
If you notice the emails all come from a domain called .eu you can set up a filter to block this.

Using your CPANEL email options choose either Account Level Filtering which is best or User Level Filtering

Select Create a new filter

For example to exclude all emails from a sender with a domain ending in .eu

The post Controlling Spam appeared first on NZServers.

Cpanel Archives - NZServers

CloudLinux 7 to CloudLinux 9 Update

Proposed update for the server upgradeMay 2024

We have upgraded to CloudLinux V9

PHP 5.3 and 5.5

The server now supports PHP 5.6 and upwards

PHP 5.x Series

1. **PHP 5.3**

2. **PHP 5.4**

3. **PHP 5.5**

PHP 7.x Series

1. **PHP 7.0**

2. **PHP 7.1**

3. **PHP 7.2**

4. **PHP 7.3**

5. **PHP 7.4**

PHP 8.x Series

Current Recommendations

Conclusion

WordPress Sites

End of Life for CENTOS 7 and CloudLinux 7

Bespoke Applications

Fastpage CMS

CPANEL 2FA Two Factor Authentication

Optomise Website

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Let’s Encrypt Auto SSL Certificates

Changing PHP Versions

Changing PHP on a Subfolder or Addon Domain

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Filtering Email Attachments

Update

Email Forwarder

X3 Theme

Deleting a Forwarder

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Accessing your Webmail

Webmail Doesn’t work

Using GMAIL

Logging into CPANEL

Reset the CPANEL Password

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Controlling Spam

Spam Assassin

All too hard?

Get NZServers to do this

Creating an Email Filter

Proposed update for the server upgrade
May 2024

1. PHP 5.3

2. PHP 5.4

3. PHP 5.5

1. PHP 7.0

2. PHP 7.1

3. PHP 7.2

4. PHP 7.3

5. PHP 7.4