I have been using MTNL at home for last 2 years and except for the pathetic customer service and horrible billing issues, I do not have anything to complain.

But that changed recently!!!

Here is a breif summary of the mods that I installed.

First thing that I would recommend to do is install the phpBB Anti-Spam ACP mod. This mod will prevent bots from doing automated registrations on your forums by removing fields you want in registration and profile form until users reach certain requirements. This will block many bots but not all of them.

The next mod that you should install is Johanan's Anti-Spam mod. This mod is also to prevent bots from doing an automated registration on your phpBB forums.

The third mod that you should install is a custom CAPTCHA mod for phpBB. The visual confirmation available with phpBB is weak and can easily be bypassed by most of the spam bots. You can read more about How to add a custom CAPTCHA to phpBB2.

The next mod to install is the Dispatched spam protection mod. This phpBB anti spam mod will protect your board from automatically dispatched spam.

These mods will stop pretty much all the spam bots from registering on your phpBB board.

You may also consider installing Links Rejector as an optional mod if you allow guest posts on your forums. Links Rejector will reject all guest posts that contain links.

These mods made the spam posts from 5-10 previously to 0 on my phpBB forums. These antispam mods are not a 100% full proof way of combating phpBB post spam however it will surely help you reduce the spam menace significantly.

Happy posting!

However the most important thing that I like about IE 7 is that it renders my site correctly. I had raised a issue about CSS rendering of IE 6 in the topic and how it failed to display this website correctly. Looks like Microsoft got the CSS/xHTML parsing fixed :-)

The default search goes to MSN.com, however you can install plugins to search via Google or other popular search engines. Overall I think its worth upgrading from Internet Explorer 6 to Internet Explorer 7.

For those who are not aware, Blue Frog was an innovative way of fighting spam. Blue Frog maintained a list of "do not spam" email list. If a spammer sent out email to any email id in this list, they would be bombared with opt-out emails.

However the list was encrypted. A spammer could submit one email id and see if it exists in the list but could not download the entire list. Recently, though, a spammer based in Russia, through the use of dictionary based attacks, was successful in downloading most of the email ids in that list.

The Spammer community then threatened to spam these email ids or worst, send virus, trojans and other malicious programs via email. After weeks of attack and counter-attack, Blue Frog finally decided to give up and shut shop. What a shame!

php_value session.use_only_cookies 1
php_value session.use_trans_sid 0

In order to redirect the URLs already indexed in search engines with the php session id ( PHPSESSID ) values add the following code in .htaccess file

Options +FollowSymlinks
RewriteEngine On

RewriteCond %{QUERY_STRING} ^PHPSESSID=.*$
RewriteRule .* %{REQUEST_URI}? [R=301,L]

It may happen that editing .htaccess file may not be possible for you or that it produces Internal Server Error (Error 500).

In such cases you can add the following piece of code in your php application itself to get rid of phpsessid

ini_set('url_rewriter.tags','');

There may be many other methods to remove php session ids from the URLs but these two work best for me.

1. Login into the old server via Shell as root.

2. Backup the account using the following command

/scripts/pkgacct cPanelUserName

Replace cPanelUserName with actual cPanel username of the account.

3. The script will create cPanelUserName.tar.gz file in the /home directory of the old server.

4. Login into the new server via Shell as root

5. Transfer the cPanelUserName.tar.gz file from old server to the new server using rsync.

rsync -ave ssh old-server-hostname:/home/cPanelUserName.tar.gz /home

Replace old-server-hostname with either the old server Main Ip or the hostname. In the above command we are assuming the tar file to be present under /home directory of the old server.

6. Once the transfer is done, we must unpack and install the file as a new account in the new cPanel server. For this type the following command

/scripts/restorepkg cPanelUserName

Verify that the site is working correctly on the new server.

MySQL 4.0 option is only available with cPanel stable build 114 or earlier, so make sure you downgrade to cPanel S114. Make backup of all accounts via WHM backup script.

The idea was simple, in order to earn your free web hosting account, visitors had to register at our forums and make 50 good posts. After this they could request their hosting account. In order to maintain the hosting account, they had to make 50 posts in the sonnex hosting forums every year. Well not a bad deal if you ask me.

However as popularity of the website increased we had to move from a reseller account to a dedicated server. This naturally meant increase in the running cost. Where was the money coming from? Honestly there was no revenue source so most of the money was coming from our pockets.

Soon many people wanted more features, reliability and better support and they were ready to pay for it. As the demand for support and uptime increased, we launched few paid plans along with our free hosting plans. Things were working great for few months until a spammer hosted in one of our free accounts got our server down. Many paid/free hosting members left.

The year ahead was equally challenging. Web hosting prices dropped and dropped to rock bottom. Any and every kid in the next door who had a reseller account or a VPS started his hosting company. Many of those fly by night hosting shops ran away with people's money and data.

Since hosting had become to cheap, many who couldn't afford it earlier, opted for paid plans in the hope of better support and uptime. This meant, we had to concentrate more on our paid plans, clients and in promoting our company. Since resource were bare minimum we decided to close the free web hosting section of our company.

This move will allow us to concentrate on our core market and improve our service better. The resources which were being directed to maintaining free hosting accounts will be now diverted to our paid section.

There is some problem displaying the site in Internet explorer. However the site looks great in Firefox. I have added new links to the site that are not complete yet.

I will post my resume and few other details on the website. More updates coming soon.

You can check out the website at SonneX Hosting

This is an old one, but very important: Put quotes around phrases that must be searched together. If you put quotes around "electric curtains," Google won't waste your time finding one set of Web pages containing the word "electric" and another set containing the word "curtains."

Similarly, put a hyphen right before any word you want screened out. If you're looking up dolphins, for example, you'll have to wade through a million Miami Dolphins pages unless you search for "dolphins - Miami."

Google is a global White Pages and Yellow Pages. Search for "phonebook: home depot norwalk , ct," Google instantly produces the address and phone number of the Norwalk Home Depot. This works with names ("phonebook:robert jones las vegas, NV") as well as businesses.

Don't put any space after "phonebook." And in all of the following examples, don't type the quotes I'm showing you here.

Google is a package tracker. Type a FedEx or UPS package number (just the digits); when you click Search, Google offers a link to its tracking information.

Google is a calculator. Type in an equation ("32+2345*3-234=") or just 32+2345*3-234=

Google is a units-of-measurement converter. Type "teaspoons in a gallon," for example, or "centimeters in a foot."

Google is a stock ticker. Type in AAPL or MSFT, for example, to see a link to the current Apple or Microsoft stock price, graphs, financial news and so on.

Google is an atlas. Type in an area code, like 212, to see a Mapquest map of the area.

Google is Wal-Mart's computer. Type in a UPC bar code number, such as "036000250015," to see the description of the product you've just "scanned in." (Thanks to the Google Blog,

Google is an aviation buff. Type in a flight number like "United 22" for a link to a map of that flight's progress in the air. Or type in the tail number you see on an airplane for the full registration form for that plane.

Google is the Department of Motor Vehicles. Type in a VIN (vehicle identification number, which is etched onto a plate, usually on the door frame, of every car), like "JH4NA1157MT001832," to find out the car's year, make and model.

For hours of rainy-day entertainment, visit http://labs.google.com. Here, you'll find links to new, half-finished Google experiments-like Google Voice, in which you call (650) 623-6706, speak the words you want to search for and then open your browser to view the results. Disclaimer: It wasn't working when I tried it. (Ditto a lot of these experiments.)

Many of the Internet companies of the 1990's did not need to do all too much to get people to join their programs or buy their products. Life was very easy going. People did very little work and saw quite a reasonable paycheck.

Many people were being bombarded by different Internet opportunities left and right. The people selling these opportunities were playing a numbers game by flooding everyone possible with a chance to cash in on the Internet Marketing Revolution.

These people enjoyed a very comfortable period of time up until about 2003 even when Internet Business was going bad. We saw more and more businesses pop up with the hope of making money out of nothing just over night...

Well just like the fall of the dot.com's there has been a fall in Internet marketing businesses. If you are going to stay in the race, you have to regroup and follow what people want today...

Internet business marketers of 1998 to 2003 had an easy life. They put up their site, paid for marketing and had people join. They didn't need to pay all too much attention to details because if you had a "website" people would buy from that website. Cashing in on the Internet Gold Rush was a dream come true.

Many Internet marketers saw instant results and thought that is how life is going to be...The American population as a whole got into this mindset as well, much like the dot.com boom.

The time is now 2005 and many of these people have dropped out. In order to stay, you need to be unique to survive. Most importantly, you need to follow some of the same techniques that worked for people before the Internet. Just as those pre-internet people have followed the same marketing techniques used in the mail order business.

Internet Marketing Techniques for the year 2005 and beyond have changed.

If you haven't already figured it out, there is a bit more work involved to get customers. People already have the "what is in it for me mindset" before even going to your web site...

So you must provide them specifically with that type of information...

Here are a few guidelines to follow:

Providing original helpful free content is key.
Provide your visitors something of value.
Make sure you stay up Internet technology.
Provide your readers with something that keeps them coming back.
Provide your readers with good, timely customer service.
Most important, teach them what you have been taught.
You must truly want to help others achieve success.

Lastly keep it simple. Don't reinvent the wheel or do something new. You can get what you want if you help others get what they want as well. You want to look for a system that has leadership, customized recruiting tools and the directional leadership to get you off running smoothly.

1. You must have a guru or mentor:

If you aren't proficient in Internet marketing, website design and copywiting--and most people aren't, do the smart thing and seek out an Internet marketing expert to help you.

This can be a huge financial advantage for you, because 90 percent of those individuals coming online don't have a clue what their doing. And instead of doing the smart thing and seeking out an expert for help, they'll just struggle along trying this and that and losing money, until they're finally forced out of business.

2. You must have a back-up plan:

Not having a back-up plan for your home business is like being stuck out in the desert with a flat tire and no spare. You just aren't going anywhere. Sometimes, try as hard as we might, our ideas just don't work and we have to scrap them.

That's why you should always have a back-up plan. Give your home business every chance to succeed, but if you sense it's not going to happen, don't be afraid to pull the plug on it and move on to plan "B."

3. You must have relentless desire and determination:

This is the number one reason why most people don't succeeed. They don't have relentless desire and determination. I want you to commit the following words to memory:

"Any success you achieve will be in direct proportion to your desire and determination. The more desire and determination you have, the greater will be your success!"

Here's another example to illustrate my point:

Most people think it's Kobe Bryant's amazing talent that sets him apart from the other players in the NBA. And make no mistake, his talent does play a significant role in his success. But what really makes Kobe Bryant special is his "relentless desire and determination." He just wants to win more than everybody else.

That's the mindset you have to have. You have to want to succeed with your home business more than anything else in the world--anything!

And remember these words:

"Any success you achieve will be in direct proportion to your desire and determination. The more desire and determination you have, the greater will be your success!"