The expansion of the internet has led to an increase in the jobs and services that are offered online. Blogs are very popular and have expanded in their range and number. Each place on the internet needs to be paid, hosting is the space you acquire online and this has a specific monthly fee that will be paid each month. Considering this, and the fact that the blog is not very profitable, more and more people are deciding to get some help and join forces in order to decrease the expenses. Even though this is very convenient it can be problematic and carry some security problems. Which they are, and how to avoid them is something we will discuss down below.
What is this?
Before we discuss the consequences and potential threats it is essential to state what this shared hosting is. As stated above, it is used mostly by bloggers, but not just they can use this. The point behind it is the sharing of the server for multiple sites. This is a very convenient usage of internet space, and decrease the price that is being charged. This can carry some limitations in sharing options and space. This can be a good solution for people who have different companies or sister companies that are parts of the same brand, so they can all share a host and be on one server. Sharing hosting is based on two popular operating system platforms, and users can choose one, either Linux or Windows.
One of the providers that are offering services of hosting is king-servers, be free to see it through if in need.
Potential problems with this are that you never know with whom you are sharing the resources with, since each shareholder has a specific amount that holds, and you cannot see into the other owners.
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Slow loading
Since we have a bunch of different data on the server, some experts looked into this and seen that the time needed for the website to be loaded is a bit slower if there is sharing involved. This may be due to the fact that we have multiple sites and it takes time for the data to be retrieved on demand since there is a bunch of data to go through and then send to the demanded user. Sometimes this decrease in the speed is not as noticeable, but in other cases, it can be very inconvenient for the visitors and creators.
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No customizing
When it comes to your piece of the internet, and your website you would like to, for sure, have it customized in accordance with your needs. These small adjustments may not be much, but if you are sharing a host, you may be limited in your options and in essence denounced for some things you might need.
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Trust
We are talking about the internet and space on it, here, as you know, safety is very important. The real question is can you trust your provider? They may state that the sharing is being done between the trusted parties that will not pose a threat or distrust to one another, but you cannot be sure, can you? When there is sharing, the server has all the info of all sites that are located on it. This means that if you would have one party that is mistrusted they will be able to get the data from all others without too much trouble.
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Folder sharing
In this sharing, the data of all the parties involved are placed in the same folder, or it is located on the same spot. This is potentially very dangerous. By storing all data, together, in the same place, if there is a security breach, the one that hacked into the server through one of the websites, will be able to get access to all of the data that is stored on the server. In this case server data would be exposed and data vulnerable. This is a very big deal and may pose a very big problem.
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Reverse IP
The ones that are ought to get data from servers can use something called reverse IP lookup, and the process is mostly explained by the name. The one that wants to steal data from the server will only need to follow one website and breach it, in order to get access to the server. Once on the server, data from all the users are exposed and at a glance, to be stolen and read by the third party. This can be very inconvenient, especially if there is sensitive data on at least one of the websites that are using the host.
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Bad sharing buddy
Once you are online and using this type of service, as mentioned there is no way that you can know with whom you are sharing this space. This means that you will need to be careful with the data you are leaving behind and storing on the server. All it takes is one weak link and the whole server is compromised. When considering this, all it takes is for the opportunistic attacker to get the spot in the chain and wait for a while before it reaches the storage unit, and once this is done, they can slowly take data under the radar for months, even years. It seems like some of the hackers are getting the share in order to get access to the data on the server. This can be very bad, and even though in most cases data breach will not be as bad, in some cases, very sensitive data can be found and leaked. This is why is it important to keep the data protected and not to leave personal info on any website unless sure of its safety.
Conclusion
Host sharing may be a good idea in order to cut down losses or decrease the number of fees that are being paid every month. It is essential to be very cautious and well informed about the possible security breaches.
