We haven’t made a song and dance of it until now, as we largely wanted to keep it a surprise, but the new Netwise Hosting website is now live. I think almost everyone will agree that it is a step in the right direction for us, and really helps to highlight our position as a growing leader in the data centre owner/server colocation fields.

In the coming weeks, we will also be adding our Colocation Calculator, a tool that we hope will quickly become a go-to app online for anyone interested in colocation services.

As always we welcome any feedback, and take particular interest in how the site is performing across different browsers, so feel free to let us know – good or bad!

Otherwise, why not head on over to the main site and check out the changes.

Late last night, Microsoft released a warning to notify the public of a serious flaw in their Windows Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). The flaw allows an attacker to run code behind the systems firewall, which gives the would-be infiltrator potentially limitless power over a given system. This security flaw affects all current versions of Windows, as well as the Remote Web Workplace function in Small Business Server 2003. Home releases of Windows such as Vista and 7 are less likely to be effected by this security flaw, as RDP is disabled by default. If RDP is enabled, users can also enable Remote Desktop’s Network Level Authentication (NLA) manually to negate the problem.

Microsoft’s official statements, along with additional information, can be found here – MS12-020.

The security flaw has been fixed by Microsoft’s March ‘Patch Tuesday’ bug fix release, which will prevent the attackers from executing code remotely without proper authentication. Microsoft is urging all Windows users to run updates as a matter of urgency. The software giant has set the flaws official ‘Exploitability Index’ to 1 (Critical), meaning serious attacks are expected within the next 30 days.

Outside of the regular bug fix update, you can also manually fix the flaw by installing Microsoft Fix It 50844 found under the ‘Fix it for me’ tab found here.

The Netwise Hosting team have already rolled out the update on all Windows system deployments within our data centres, giving our customers front-line protection as soon as it became available. However, we still urge all customers to review their own security policies in the coming days, as workarounds are expected to be in development now that attackers are aware of potential entry points. Home users should also check for security flaws, and ensure the new Microsoft Patch (or at the very least the fix to enable NLA) has been installed.

This years Data Centre World Conference and Expo takes place over two days (29th February – 1st March) at London’s Olympia Exhibition Hall. As one of the worlds premier industry-specific shows, the largest and most influential data hosting organisations from around the globe descend on London to promote their brands and services.

Though not exhibiting this year, some of the Netwise Hosting team will be in attendance to meet with some of our key suppliers and to mix with the interesting crowd the show pulls each year. One of the primary reasons for our visit this year is to provide a video testimonial for our evaporative cooling manufacturer, EcoCooling. The system has enabled our private London data centre to operate at a PUE of just 1.15, making it one of the most energy efficient in Europe.

We look forward to meeting with you at the show. If you are going, mention it on Twitter and we will make sure to come and see your stand on the day.