ServerTastic Blog - Stuff that happens at ServerTastic and other product related things
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March 11, 2010

CA Root Upgrade for SSL Certificates

During the second half of 2010 VeriSign, Thawte, Geotrust and RapidSSL certificates will transition to use a 2048-bit root.

This will have no impact on existing certificates. These will continue to work as expected. However once the root has been updated (we will provide details when this happens) you must ensure you install any intermediary certificates as instructed in your fulfilment emails.

An important change to note is that once the new roots are in place RapidSSL will be issued with an intermediary certificate. This has become common practice within the industry.

Prior to the change you may want to ensure that your applications support the use of 2048-bit certificates.

For more information and FAQ's please see the links below

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Filed under  //   Geotrust   rapidssl   SSL   VeriSign  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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March 8, 2010

RapidSSL and Geotrust now secure WWW and non-WWW domain

PLEASE NOTE: Due to an implementation problem this feature has been temporarily disabled. We will update with more details as soon as we can.

The latest update to the SSL order system means that RapidSSL and Geotrust certificates now automatically secure the WWW and non-WWW domain in a single certificate.

For instance if you order a RapidSSL certificate for servertastic.com it will also secure www.servertastic.com for no extra charge and within the same certificate. You do not need to do anything extra in the order process this is automatic.
The following certificates now have this feature at no extra cost

All these are available for amazing discounts on ServerTastic.

If you are not already signed up to our newsletter visit the blog and do so now. More exciting features and promotions will be announced soon.

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Filed under  //   EV   Geotrust   QuickSSL Premium   rapidssl   SSL   True BusinessID  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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March 2, 2010

REPOST:How To Add A Reference To Your Order

via blog.servertastic.com

I have read a few queries recently from customers asking about reconciling invoices against purchased products. Particularly SSL certificates where the invoice description does not include the SSL domain.

Last year I posted how to add your own reference to invoices. I thought this would be a good opportunity to highlight this post.

Click Here to read this post.

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Filed under  //   ServerTastic  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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March 2, 2010

Upgrade to SSL Order System

During 3 March from 20:00 EDT (4 March 01:00 GMT) there will be some upgrade work performed on the SSL order system. This work is being performed by our supplier and will affect VeriSign, Geotrust, RapidSSL and thawte orders.

The work being performed will enhance some of the certificates with additional features (more details to follow). 
No significant outages are expected however the following services may be affected by this upgrade
  • Invite URL's may not function
  • Delivery of invite URL's may be delayed
  • Re-issues may not be possible
  • Approver emails may be delayed
If the upgrade does require an outage this should be minimal. Our system is designed to automatically complete any outstanding orders once the supplier system becomes available again.
Any existing SSL certificates will NOT be affected.
You will still be able to order SSL certificates via the ServerTastic website. However, as stated the delivery of invite URL's may be delayed. We suggest you follow us on twitter for up to date information.
Watch out for announcements later this month with more details of the exciting new features this upgrade will bring.

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Filed under  //   ststatus  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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March 1, 2010

System Migration Complete

via flickr.com

We have completed a migration of the ServerTastic system. As a result the web site access speeds have been vastly improved. Although customers accessing the site via the old system may experience some slow speeds as the database is accessed remotely. Once your DNS has updated the speed will improve (should be no more than a couple of days).

Orders which are completed via the automated system should also occur much quicker. This includes orders for SSL Certificates, SmarterTools and DotNetPanel.

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Filed under  //   DotNetPanel   ServerTastic   smartertools   SSL  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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February 24, 2010

Hosting Controller Promotion

We currently have a stock of Hosting Controller licences just waiting to be purchased. Prices have been marked down by a further 10% (on top of the existing 10% discount!)

All licences are new and come with the same level of support as purchasing directly from Hosting Controller. They also include the SmarterBundle software at no extra cost (*minimum spend $199.00).

This promotion is a limited stock offer so buy now to avoid missing out!

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Filed under  //   Hosting Control Panels   Hosting Controller   Promotions  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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February 24, 2010

VeriSign Trust Seal

via verisign.com

VeriSign have launched the VeriSign Trust Seal. This is designed for websites that do not collect customer or payment information online and therefore do not need a VeriSign SSL certificate but want to establish trust.

At the moment the trust seal is not available to VeriSign resellers (such as ServerTastic). It is anticipated that this will become available during May 2010. We will then investigate pricing for our customers.

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Filed under  //   Site Seal   SSL   Trust   VeriSign  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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February 22, 2010

SSL Certificate Flagged For Quality Review

via flickr.com

The RapidSSL and QuickSSL Premium SSL certificates sold by ServerTastic are usually issued in less than 10 minutes from your order. They simply require you to click a link in an email to complete domain validation.

However we are receiving an increase in the number of tickets asking about delays in the certificate being issued and "quality reviews". It is possible that your SSL order may be flagged for a quality review by RapidSSL/Geotrust. This means that the order must be completed by a member of the RapidSSL/Geotrust staff.

You will know if your certificate has been flagged for review because on the confirmation page after you click the email authorisation link you will see the following wording

Your order is pending a final quality review prior to issuance. This review is normally completed within one business day. For more information on why your order was selected for final quality review visit our FAQs at [link]

There are many reasons your order may be flagged for review. These include:

  • Domain whois details appear invalid
  • Website does not load or resolve
  • The domain contains a flagged phrase. For example BANK is a defined term therefore a certificate for riverbanktours.com may be flagged for quality review
  • Your order was randomly selected for review (unlucky!)

Here are some of the things you can do (before requesting your certificate) to try and reduce the likely hood of your order being flagged for a quality review:

  • Remove any whois privacy settings on your domain
  • Make sure the domain whois contains valid details
  • Make sure the domain resolves to a live website

If your certificate does get flagged for a quality review there is very little ServerTastic can do to speed up the review process. They are all checked on a first come first served basis during working hours Monday to Friday. The review is performed by RapidSSL/Geotrust NOT ServerTastic. You can try and speed up the review by contacting Geotrust on the LiveChat link from their support page. In most cases they can do the required steps with you while on line.

It is also likely that the certificate would have been flagged if you had ordered through any other reseller or direct.

You can always contact ServerTastic if you have a problem with your order but please be aware there is little we can do if the order is under quality review.

Remember you can also check the status of your order at any time via the Self Service System.

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Filed under  //   Geotrust   QuickSSL Premium   rapidssl   SSL  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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February 5, 2010

Advanced warning of ServerTastic system maintenance

via flickr.com

This is an advanced notice of maintenance to the ServerTastic system.

Week commencing Monday 22nd February 2010 we will be making some infrastructure changes. This will involve relocation of system databases and the main website.

This may mean a slow down in website performance at some times and the site may be unavailable for short periods of time.

This work is required to ensure the ongoing stability of ServerTastic as we continue to grow.

Status updates will be posted to Twitter with the hashtag #ststatus

Thank you for your continued support.

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Filed under  //   ServerTastic   ststatus  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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February 3, 2010

SmarterTools Reseller Performance

Over the years we have sold many products on ServerTastic. One of the companies we have worked with from the start has been SmarterTools. They produce an awseome range of products including SmarterMail (a highly efficient mail server with ActiveSync support), SmarterStats (a mega powerful web site statistics package with SEO reporting) and SmarterTrack (a customer service portal as used on ServerTastic).

This morning I received an email from them detailing my current reseller performance (we have to meet certain quarterly sales targets). In the summary was the lifetime total products sold. I have done a screen grab below as I could not believe it myself!


Yes we have sold $415,351.96 worth of SmarterTools products! This proves a number of things. 
  • SmarterTools produce fantastic products
  • It was the right decision to become a reseller. We have also renewed our partnership for another year; Press Release.
  • You (our customers) clearly love the products (and I am grateful you chose ServerTastic as your reseller)
If you have not heard of SmarterTools before check out the range of products on our website available for a 10% discount over RRP.

We also have SmarterMail 6.x DemoWolf tutorials available at a massive 60% discount!

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Filed under  //   ServerTastic   smartermail   smarterstats   smartertools   smartertrack  
Posted by Andy Gambles 

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