Should I become sender score verified

Apr 8, 2010 by Paul White

After months of dealing with low open rates with one of my biggest client's email lists, I have finally gotten to the point where I am willing to join return path's sender score verified program which is a paid whitelist to ensure delivery into the inbox. I will be documenting my experiences here for good or bad.  Thus far the program is looking very promising

What sender score and IP reputation is really worth to your mail server

Feb 19, 2010 by Paul White

Most webmasters and server admins are relatively clueless as to what makes email really run.  Recently I was forced to migrate all my websites to new IPs.  I knew I was going to take a hit for this but I didn't realize how much.  This whole experience have given me a new perspective on how to get into yahoo's inbox with your bulk emails and newsletters.

How much is my traffic worth?

Feb 18, 2010 by Paul White

This is often the question many webmasters ask themselves.  The answer is not a straight forward one, but after discussing this with a few of my clients I have come up with a way to help you decide how much your traffic is worth.  However if you count on Google Adsense you may find yourself disappointed.

Adblockers financial impact on your websites traffic

Feb 12, 2010 by Paul White

Adblockers have a place in the world.  That place was back when we all were using dial up internet.  Now that everyone is on high speed broadband connections, adblockers are doing more harm than good.  I will show you some concrete data to prove that adblockers are hurting any website that is dependent on Google Adsense for Revenue.

Hacker Attacks and Invalid character in a Base-64 string

Jan 13, 2010 by Paul White

On my websites I have them setup to email me anytime a server error happens.  If you ever get an error like "Invalid character in a Base-64 string",  This is likely a hacker attack.   In my case it was on the members login on my client's website.  I logged in and shut down the site.  10 minutes later I started it back up and the hacker had left.  Interesting is what the HTTP RAW data reveled.

HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR:84.0.182.175, 84.0.162.91, 84.0.237.176, 84.0.228.6, 84.0.220.100, 84.0.147.233, 84.0.159.1, 84.0.84.37 HTTP_PROXY_CLIENT_IP:84.0.182.175, 84.0.162.91, 84.0.237.176, 84.0.228.6, 84.0.220.100, 84.0.147.233, 84.0.159.1, 84.0.84.37 HTTP_CLIENT_IP:84.0.182.175, 84.0.162.91, 84.0.237.176, 84.0.228.6, 84.0.220.100, 84.0.147.233, 84.0.159.1, 84.0.84.37

Never seen these values before.  According to the logs the IPs were from hundreds of compromised systems. However they all had these values in common.   I am going to add a rule to detect the Class A IP in the 80.x.x.x block in the HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR, and block.  Hopefully this helps some other people out

Class C IP RBL blacklist not cool

Dec 5, 2009 by Paul White

Today I went through getting one of my new clients setup on the Feedback Loop with the major ISPs.  Most of the them came back saying I was approved to their feedback loop system, but one of them said I was not approved because I was found on an blacklist.  This is not something you want to see.  Allow me to explain.

Godaddy Dedicated Server Performance VS Colocated Server Performance

Nov 15, 2009 by Paul White

If you are thinking about getting a dedicated server with Godaddy because of their cheap prices, I understand. But how far will their server really take you?  After dealing with performance issues with godaddy with another client, I build my own server and colocated it.  Then I did some benchmarks comparing the two.  Huge difference. Click read to see the bench marks.

How to increase your open rates for your bulk emails

Nov 14, 2009 by Paul White

If you are are like me you have a strong belief that if you want it done right you have to do it yourself.  Running a Mail Server that sends any kind of bulk emails brings many issues that noobie Server Admins don't have a clue about.  I found there wasn't much information about how to properly run a mail server so I thought I would write a complete blog on the issue.  So if you want to greatly increase your open rates, read this

Must haves for running your Colocated Server

Oct 31, 2009 by Paul White

Getting your own server is not easy, nor is it cheap.  For anyone thinking about it.  Here are some things you will need to make it functional as part of a revenue generator by hosting your client's websites.

How to Start a Web Design Business

Oct 29, 2009 by Paul White

Recently a guy was asking me about how to get a web design business off the ground.  Well since I have been doing this for a while I am going to share this with all the noobies out there.  So if you are new the web design, and want to know a good plan for getting your business established read this.