- LexiConn Support

In this Month’s Newsletter…

* Happy Holidays from LexiConn!

* Log4j Vulnerability Update

	DECEMBER 2021 NEWSLETTER
Happy Holidays from LexiConn! We wanted to take a moment to wish each of you a happy and healthy holiday season. Here’s to a successful and fulfilling 2022! We value our relationship with you, and look forward to being your hosting partner in the years to come. As we approach our 26th year of operation in the hosting industry, we consider ourselves fortunate to have such wonderful clients, and appreciate all of the relationships that we have built during that time. These last two years have been difficult for everyone in a multitude of ways and we hope that 2022 ushers in better times. Despite the real world volatility, we have worked hard during this past year to ensure stability and provide peak performance for all of our clients’ websites. This includes network upgrades, server performance improvements, more robust backup systems, and of course, our continued dedication to providing the customer support that you have come to expect. For our Magento clients, we have upgraded software and configurations to get the most out of things like Varnish, Elasticsearch, Redis, and the Magento software itself. As has always been the case, we fully support Magento/Adobe, both the Open Source and Commerce editions. Additionally, our malware/anti-virus monitoring software from Sansec has been upgraded, and we continue to improve our store monitoring system to detect issues as quickly as possible. The ShopSite software is still in regular development and receives major updates, as well as smaller maintenance releases. We offer and support the latest version available, while working with ShopSite to further enhance the product. We also fully support the Enterprise version, which brings stability and improved performance for larger stores, as well as the ability to tie into ShopSite more easily as it uses MySQL on the backend rather than SQLite3. In the WooCommerce / WordPress arena, we now have available a WordPress specific malware/anti-virus system that we can install for $20 per month. This tool scans all files and the database as well. We have improved our WP Rocket integration for faster cached pages. Improved support for a CDN through services like CloudFlare is also available. Thanks again for trusting us with your website hosting and we look forward to helping your business thrive in the coming year!
Log4j Vulnerability Update Recently, a vulnerability in Apache’s log4j logging framework has turned the Internet upside down. It allows hackers to run code on any vulnerable server or computer, which can lead to a full compromise. Although the software is from Apache, it does not affect the Apache webserver. Only specific software packages that embed the logging library, most notably Java. However, popular Java applications like Elasticsearch and Tomcat are not vulnerable to this attack. Once we heard about this vulnerability, we assessed all of our servers and software, and we quickly determined that none of our servers were vulnerable to attack. We upgraded Elasticsearch across all servers as a precaution. We are confident that all LexiConn clients are safe from this vulnerability. Like what you’re reading? Subscribe by Email to our blog and receive an email when a new post is published. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Complete contact and support options can be found at: https://support.lexiconn.com/ Sincerely, - The LexiConn Team If you have a moment, please let us know how we’re doing! REVIEW LEXICONN

]]> https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/lexiconn-may-2021-newsletter/#post-49633 https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/lexiconn-may-2021-newsletter/#post-49633 Tue, 25 May 2021 17:16:03 +0000 lexiconn

In this Month’s Newsletter…

* Roundcube Email System

* Featured Client: cover.world

* ShopSite Updates

	MAY 2021 NEWSLETTER
Roundcube Email System Roundcube webmail is a browser-based multilingual IMAP client with an application-like user interface providing full functionality that you would expect from an email client. We have started rolling out the Roundcube webmail option to our shared servers, This email solution will be available in addition to the Openwebmail program that is already in place. This newer system includes MIME support, address book, folder manipulation, message searching, spell checking, and much more. For a full breakdown of all of the features of this software, please reference: Roundcube Webmail This program is not yet available on all servers, but that rollout will be completed soon. As such, if you do not see the option yet, you will in the near future. For those of you that have grown accustomed to the Openwebmail system, that program will remain available. Both will be visible at the /webmail URL for your account.
Featured Client: cover.world This month’s featured client is cover.world. Cover World was launched in 2017 and was originally a jet ski cover ecommerce storefront. The product line has now expanded to include other cover types with more being released soon. https://cover.world/ For more detailed information on this month’s featured client as well as a listing of all past featured clients, please go to: Featured Client Forum Affiliate Program… Interested in earning recurring revenue by referring others to LexiConn? Join our Affiliate Program (free) at: LexiConn Affiliate Program For those of you not interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer a free month of hosting for your account for each referral.
ShopSite Updates Here are two issues that could impact your store: USPS Web Tools Notice: Unsecure HTTP Endpoint Retirement - We have applied a USPS patch to all of our hosted stores to address this issue. This patch is a guaranteed fix for any v12 or newer store. Any store older than v12 may need to upgrade by June 24. PayPal Express Checkout Issue - Any merchant using the ‘Accelerated Boarding’ method for PayPal is likely experiencing an issue accepting payments. The recommended solution is to switch to ‘API Digital Signature Authentication’ instead. This is a client side fix as opposed to a patch we can apply, so be sure to read the article for detailed instructions on implementing the fix. Like what you’re reading? Subscribe by Email to our blog and receive an email when a new post is published. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Complete contact and support options can be found at: https://support.lexiconn.com/ Sincerely, - The LexiConn Team If you have a moment, please let us know how we’re doing! REVIEW LEXICONN

]]> https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/may-2021-cover-world/#post-49630 https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/may-2021-cover-world/#post-49630 Thu, 13 May 2021 18:25:03 +0000 lexiconn Website: https://cover.world/

Description: Cover World was launched back in 2017 by Steven Dietrich. Cover World was originally a jet ski cover ecommerce storefront.  The site now sells bimini tops and boat covers, with RV and car covers being released soon.

The COVID19 ecommerce boom has helped fuel growth for the store, in part due to increased demand for marine related products.  Cover World has been lucky to work with only USA manufacturers, which helped allow for on time fulfillment while competitors selling overseas covers couldn’t stock covers.

Technologies Used: Steven states, “We started on Magento 1 and quickly upgraded to Magento 2.  It was very buggy at first but with a senior level M2 developer you’ll be fine.  We chose Magento 2 due to a custom and large database requirement (250,000 product SKUs).

For marketing I’d skip the SEO agencies and hire a good content writer/planner first.  A good PPC agency is key if you are going to run ads efficiently, checkout The PPC Guys.”

Advice / Tips: Steven finished, “I’ve worked with a number of developers and web hosts over the years, my current setup with LexiConn and a Florida based Magento developer is so much better now.  Let LexiConn take care of DevOps and server side items, they’re better than everyone I tried and communication is a near instant reply.  I’d recommend hiring an individual freelancer to handle development, agencies don’t normally have motivation to get deeply involved in every project.  It’s a night and day difference when your hosting and development just works, thanks LexiConn!”

In this Month’s Newsletter…

* Happy Holidays from LexiConn!

DECEMBER 2020 NEWSLETTER

Happy Holidays from LexiConn! We wanted to take a moment to wish each of you a happy and healthy holiday season. We value our relationship with you, and look forward to being your hosting partner in the years to come. Hopefully 2021 is a much brighter year for us all! This past year has obviously been an extremely tough one all around, filled with unprecedented pressures introduced by the health crisis. Virtually every business has been impacted in some manner. As projected, it would appear that a difficult winter is in store. Thankfully, we are able to operate in a relatively normal manner and will be able to continue to provide the top notch service and support that you would expect. We do have several new things on the horizon for the new year, including updates to our Account Manager. Additionally, we will continue to be at the forefront of ecommerce support for our Magento, ShopSite, and WooCommerce offerings, with our personalized touch of course! Amazingly, this coming February will mark LexiConn’s 25th anniversary! Back then, our goal was to provide unmatched personal service, tireless innovation, and rock solid reliability. That sentiment still embodies who we are today, and what we will continue to strive for in the years ahead. Thank you for being a loyal LexiConn client and here’s to better things in 2021!

As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Complete contact and support options can be found at: https://support.lexiconn.com/ Sincerely, - The LexiConn Team If you have a moment, please let us know how we’re doing! REVIEW LEXICONN

]]> https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/lexiconn-november-2020-newsletter/#post-49624 https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/lexiconn-november-2020-newsletter/#post-49624 Tue, 24 Nov 2020 16:02:15 +0000 lexiconn

In this Month’s Newsletter…

* ShopSite Version 14 sp2

* Magento 2 Security Tips

* WP/Woo Scanning Service

	NOVEMBER 2020 NEWSLETTER
ShopSite Version 14 sp2 ShopSite has recently released this latest version of its award winning ecommerce software. ShopSite officially released version 14.0 sp2. This new version is a point release that includes several features, bug fixes, and patches. Major issues addressed include state/provinces fallback to text input, UTF-8 character encoding, PayPal Promotions, and image upload preview. For a full breakdown of all of the features in version 14.0.2, reference: New Features in ShopSite 14 sp2 If you are not yet running this latest version, details on upgrading may be found on our website at: ShopSite version 14 sp2 upgrade notes The upgrade is free for any ShopSite lease client or license owner running version 14 already. We do highly recommend this upgrade in order to have all of the latest features and up to date integration with third party services.
Magento 2 Security Tips There are several recommendations for improving the security of any Magento 2 installation. These include: Two factor authentication for admin IP restricting admin URL and SSH access Using SSH keys instead of passwords   There are some two factor authentication extensions for Magento 2, or if you are running 2.4.x there is native support as well. If two factor isn’t a viable option for you, let us know what IP addresses you connect from and we can lock down both the admin and SSH to only allow connections from these IPs. Also, with respect to SSH, you should consider using SSH keys instead of passwords as they offer better security. Using them also allows you to provide access to third parties when needed and then simply removing their keys when they are done eliminates their access without you having to update any passwords. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions about setting any of this up as helping you safeguard your data is of the utmost importance to us. Affiliate Program… Interested in earning recurring revenue by referring others to LexiConn? Join our Affiliate Program (free) at: LexiConn Affiliate Program For those of you not interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer a free month of hosting for your account for each referral.
WP/Woo Scanning Service You may recall from a previous newsletter that we were able to offer a scanning service from Sansec that looks for vulnerabilities in your Magento store. We are pleased to announce that we now offer a version of this scanner that can be used for any WordPress website. This is something we highly recommend for all websites using WordPress, particularly those running WooCommerce. This scanner scans all files, the database, and plugins looking for vulnerabilities and hacks. We have discounted the service by over 70% to $29/month for our hosted clients running WP. Drop us a note if you would like to take advantage of this special pricing and we’ll add it to your WP site. For more information on this scanner as well as details about the vendor, please reference: Sansec.io Like what you’re reading? Subscribe by Email to our blog and receive an email when a new post is published. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Complete contact and support options can be found at: https://support.lexiconn.com/ Sincerely, - The LexiConn Team If you have a moment, please let us know how we’re doing! REVIEW LEXICONN

]]> https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/shopsite-version-14-sp2-released/#post-49621 https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/shopsite-version-14-sp2-released/#post-49621 Thu, 05 Nov 2020 18:59:30 +0000 lexiconn ShopSite has released version 14 SP2 of its ecommerce software. The new version has a number of new features and bug fixes. We highly recommend all ShopSite merchants upgrade to the latest release.

More information about this version may be found on the ShopSite New Features page.

In this Month’s Newsletter…

* ShopSite Version 14 sp1r1

* Featured Client: metoliusclimbing.com

* From the Blog…

JULY 2020 NEWSLETTER

ShopSite Version 14 sp1r1 ShopSite has recently released this latest version of its award winning ecommerce software. ShopSite officially released version 14 sp1r1. This new version is a maintenance release that includes several features, bug fixes, and patches. Major issues addressed include ADA improvements, new themes, Customer Registration CAPTCHA, and Mailchimp integration. For a full breakdown of all of the features in version 14.0.1.1, reference: New Features in ShopSite 14 sp1 For complete information on this specific maintenance release, reference: v14.0 sp1r1 maintenance release fixes some problems with v14.0 sp1 and earlier If you are not yet running this latest version, details on upgrading may be found on our website at: ShopSite version 14 sp1 upgrade notes The upgrade is free for any ShopSite lease client or license owner running version 14 already. We do highly recommend this upgrade in order to have all of the latest features and up to date integration with third party services.

Featured Client: metoliusclimbing.com This month’s featured client is metoliusclimbing.com. Metolius Climbing is a small company owned and operated by climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/ For more detailed information on this month’s featured client as well as a listing of all past featured clients, please go to: Featured Client Forum Affiliate Program… Interested in earning recurring revenue by referring others to LexiConn? Join our Affiliate Program (free) at: LexiConn Affiliate Program For those of you not interested in becoming an affiliate, we offer a free month of hosting for your account for each referral.

From the Blog… Here are some recent posts from The LexiConn Blog: 9 Ways to Make Your Website Faster – Fast loading websites are a must have to succeed. ShopSite Version 14 – Lots of Great New Features – A detailed look at what is included in this release. Like what you’re reading? Subscribe by Email to our blog and receive an email when a new post is published. As always, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Complete contact and support options can be found at: https://support.lexiconn.com/ Sincerely, - The LexiConn Team If you have a moment, please let us know how we’re doing! REVIEW LEXICONN

]]> https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/july-2020-metoliusclimbing-com/#post-49612 https://support.lexiconn.com/news/forums/topic/july-2020-metoliusclimbing-com/#post-49612 Mon, 13 Jul 2020 18:59:48 +0000 lexiconn Website: https://www.metoliusclimbing.com/

Description: Metolius Climbing came to be when Doug Phillips started making rock climbing gear out of his garage in Camp Sherman, Oregon during the early 1980s. Metolius Climbing, takes its name from the Metolius River near his house. The company slowly outgrew the garage and relocated to Bend, Oregon and is now a brand that has worldwide recognition. It’s still a relatively small company owned and operated by climbers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Jason from the company states, “While Metolius does sell directly to the public via our website the website is mostly an online catalog and a source of information for retail outlets like REI or Moosejaw who sell our equipment in their brick and mortar stores or their websites, as well as a resource for our international distributors in over 45 countries. Rock climbing has many disciplines within the sport like bouldering, big wall climbing, trad climbing, indoor climbing, and sport climbing. Metolius makes products for all these categories like crash pads, porta-ledges, packs, bags, carabiners, climbing protection like cams, gloves, harnesses, climbing holds, training boards, plus much more. Our website is also a great source of information giving tips on training, or guides on how to safely use our equipment.”

Technologies Used: Jason continued, “Metolius hired a Certified ShopSite Design company to design and build our new website but unfortunately they had to close up shop during the process. But they recommended us to another Certified ShopSite Designer by the name of Lauren Brewer from Lauren Hill Design. Her experience and expertise with the ShopSite platform is second to none, as well as her knowledge of website development. Also another great resource is the ShopSite forums which I have used many times over the years.”

Advice / Tips: Jason finished, “I can’t say enough good things about the support team at LexiConn. It is probably the best customer support I have ever experienced. They have hosted our website for over ten years and I have gotten to know many of them by name. Whether you call or email the response is always quick, and the entire staff is helpful, knowledgeable, and friendly.”