Deprecation old PHP-versions
Almost all our customers use PHP, and it is very important to keep this up to date. In the short term, several versions of PHP will be deprecated. This means that you probably have to change your PHP-version as well. For those readers wondering what PHP is, and what this may mean for you, we have a short explanation in this post.
Update: Let's Encrypt TLS certificates
Let's Encrypt offers free certificates for securing the connection to websites. This causes the familiar green lock icon to appear in the URL bar. Even though Let's Encrypt still has a Beta status, we are well on our way to implement it for our shared hosting customers. In the near future you can simply check a check box to enable it on your domains and sub-domains. After enabling Let's Encrypt, traffic to and from your page will be encrypted. We will provide this service free of charge. Read more about free Let's Encrypt TLS certificates on our blog.
DNSSSEC
DNS (Domain Name System) is the system that makes sure that the website is reachable via the domain name. DNSSEC is the more secure extension of this system. We are happy to announce that, by now, over 95 percent of all domains registered through us are better protected against DNS-spoofing. For more details, please read our blogpost.
Update TOTEM
Last year we informed you about the start of TOTEM, a project to facilitate digital safety trainings for activists, journalists and human right defenders. The tool will be a an extension of the offline course that the trainers use, and in a further stadium the tool will also be accessible for others.
By now the project is running at full speed. We organised two inspiring and effective workshops with trainers, we decided to work with open edx software and the subjects of the first trainings have been discussed. We will keep you posted!
Sponsoring Tor server
From September onwards we are running and sponsoring an important Tor server. This server is part of the Tor-bridges network. Tor is free software for enabling anonymous communication. Normal Tor traffic can be intercepted relatively easily, for example in countries like China. This bridges network enables users to connect to a Tor network more securely. More details can be found on the Tor-network.org website.
Update Roundcube
Our standard webmail-client, Roundcube has been updated. As a result of this update it is now possible to use Roundcube for PGP-encrypted email. If you want to use this option, we advise you to install the browser plugin Mailvelope.
Click here to save the world
Next to issues directly involving Greenhost, we want to use our newsletter to point you attention to other items that we feel are relevant. And even though we know that we can't save the world with one click, we regularly run into petitions or campaigns that we think deserve some extra attention. In this newsletter, we want to endorse a petition by one of our partners, Access Now.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection wants to add an "optional" field asking people to list their social media accounts to its mandatory border-crossing forms. We think this is a breach of privacy and we therefore like to ask you to sign this petition to protest against the U.S. government's expansion of Social Media surveillance.