Commercial Network Services VPS Provider - Updates

www.commercialnetworkservices.com

CNS Forex VPS Provider is one of our top 5 VPS Providers. We got an important email updates on their services, which we like to share with you especially for those considering a Forex VPS Provider. The updates covers new features, services, and improvements on their VPS Technology. Take note of the bundling program for 5 new brokers. 

We'll keep you updated on changes to these updates.

See:  Guide On Selecting A Forex VPS Provider & Why You Might Need A Forex VPS Service 

 

RE: CNS SUBSCRIBER UPDATE - December 2013

• Two-factor Authentication UPGRADED!  - Our 2FA has been upgraded to provide changing codes from a mobile application instead of waiting for SMS and we have extended protection to the CNS Client Area.  Now available by subscription for servers off the  CNS network!  Activate 2FA now to secure yourself from emerging threats
• New Emergency SMS Contact Numbers - Save our emergency SMS contact numbers in your mobile phone now so you can reach our Help Desk in the event of an emergency in your area
• New ON NET Connections - more brokers have direct connected to the CNS network to provide you with a low latency and high redundancy connection.
• New bundling brokers: We are welcoming five new FOREX brokers into our VPS Bundling program - can you get a free or discounted CNS VPS?
• UK datacenter migrating to LD5 - We are moving our UK datacenter into Equinix LD5.  Many more ON NET connections on the way
• Windows 2012 R2 now available with vRSS! : Learn about the benefits of 2012 R2 (Win 8.1) and how to get it
• CNS Remote Admin update 1.0.17: Manage the health of your VM and control Autoboot from your PC or mobile device with CNS Remote Admin.   v1.0.17 just released!
• Autoboot updates: Are you still running an older version of Autoboot? 3.0.35 is now available.
• Autoboot/2FA Software Bundle - Already have an Autoboot software subscription?  Add 2FA free for six months until January 31, 2014
• DNS manager update: The DNS zone manager in our client area has been upgraded to make your zones easier to manage
• Google Checkout gone, Bitcoin now accepted! : We now accept Bitcoin, to replace Liberty Reserve, Perfect Money and Google Checkout.  Includes a list of all payment options.
• Coming Soon : A peek at what we are working to bring you in the future
• Happy Holidays : We hope you have a fantastic holiday, and we look forward to working with you in 2014.

Two-factor Authentication Upgrade:

In previous subscriber updates, we told you about a strong increase in RDP hacking robots coming from the Internet.  That threat was successfully mitigated when we changed our default configuration to randomize RDP ports.  Unfortunately, new and even more dangerous threats are appearing and specifically targeting the online trading community.  This makes it that much more important for all traders and trader services to employ stronger authentication than the traditional user name and password.  Traditional user name and passwords are commonly compromised by malicious software, or from hacked web sites in which the victim has used the same password.  Hacked email accounts are also a common source of further compromise. CNS Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is a system where two different factors are used to authenticate a system login. Using two factors as opposed to one delivers a higher level of security when authenticating your login. The CNS 2FA solution combines something you have - your mobile device (phone or tablet) - with something you know - your control panel or VPS password. This can be compared to using an ATM card to withdrawal funds where you are required to have both the card and the PIN to complete a transaction, though in that example your ATM PIN may rarely change and the 2FA PIN is changing every 30 seconds. Previous versions of CNS 2FA were only available with CNS VPS subscriptions and required a one-time PIN code be sent to the subscriber by SMS. Due to the variety of mobile providers worldwide and the different methods they use to process SMS messages, SMS PIN's could sometimes be delayed by several minutes.  Some countries even restrict commercial SMS deliveries to working hours. With the release of CNS 2FA v2.5, CNS is introducing software tokens for mobile devices. The software displays a changing code on the mobile device, which only needs to be added to the end of the password at VPS login. This avoids the need to wait for a SMS delivery. For subscribers without a modern iOS, Android, or Windows mobile device- SMS codes are still supported. Note: The ability to receive the one-time PIN by email is no longer supported because of security risks (email accounts are often hacked before any other services the victim may subscribe to). 2FA renders key loggers ineffective because the PIN code changes every 30 seconds- for token generated PINs and 5 minutes- for PINs sent by SMS (can only be used one time). A stolen password is only 1/2 the information needed to login - the attacker must also have your mobile device in their hand to read the PIN code and enter it. Brute force hacks are out of the question. All that is needed is a software application installed in your mobile device to display the codes.  There are already three that we know of which will work:  Google Authenticator, Authy and OTP Authenticator.

CNS 2FA is compatible with Google Authenticator, Authy and OTP Authenticator.

We strongly recommend this free service to all subscribers. To date, CNS has not seen a single 2FA protected VPS hacked. CNS is taking security even further by extending the 2FA service to protect CNS Client Area logins.

CNS Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is compatible with any hosted Windows server, and has been tested on Windows 2003 R2, Windows 2008 R2, Windows 2012 and Windows 2012 R2. It is available free with every CNS VPS subscription, and is also available by subscription for Windows servers off the CNS network. 

How to install 2FA:Installing CNS 2FA is detailed in the CNS Two-factor Authentication How-to Guide.

[Top]

New emergency SMS contact numbers:
We have made permanent a SMS gateway to our Help Desk for your use during emergencies in your area.  The service was first introduced during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, enabling subscribers who were without power to reach our Help Desk.  Since then we have been sending targeted messages to subscribers in areas preparing for major storms with information about the SMS service.  With all the commotion of preparing for the storms, these messages have at times arrived too late to be read by the subscriber.  There is of course also the possibility of an unexpected disaster preventing us from alerting you to this alternate contact method.  And so we ask that you save the number in your mobile phone now, for your use during a power failure or other emergency in your area later. SMS is ideal because it does not utilize jammed voice lines, will continue to try getting messages thru and also uses very little battery compared to voice.

Please save these numbers in your mobile device now so you will have them later if needed. Upon receipt, CNS will acknowledge your message and interact through SMS to assist you. For faster service, please include your email address in the message.

In the UK: +44 1872 672038

All other regions, worldwide: +1 858 633-8999

 

New ON NET Connections: 
More FOREX brokers have connected to CNS via ON NET.  ON NET is a direct and private connection between the CNS network and your broker (or other provider's) network for low latency and high redundancy.

In a typical hosted environment, IP traffic must travel between the VPS provider's network and thru the network(s) of commercial IP providers, who route and deliver the traffic to the remote network.  Even for short distances where end to end latency is typically very low, it can sometimes result in periods of high latency or even disconnects due to congestion at public peering points, or service issues that may temporarily route the traffic over a much longer distance - even when both sides are in the same datacenter.

With ON NET, traffic does not route through the public Internet - both sides are "on the network", with the Internet always available as an immediate backup route for high redundancy.   We have established points of presence (POP) to CNS ON NET in 51 different datacenters in the US and UK.  ON NET POP's are connected to the CNS network by a direct and private fiber-optic connection, bypassing the Internet and its inherent problems completely.

By connecting their network to ON NET, providers are demonstrating their commitment to provide you with outstanding quality of service.  Every broker, signal provider or other entity with mutual subscribers on the CNS network is invited to connect to our ON NET POP near them to provide low latency and high redundancy to subscribers on the CNS network.  Utilizing ON NET connectivity does not require any special software or settings - it's completely transparent to CNS subscribers. If you are trading with any of these brokers in our NYC datacenter then you are already ON NET with them right now.**

The following brokers are ON NET with our New York City datacenter:

ATC Brokers
AxiTrader*
Capital One Forex
CMS Forex
Direct FX Trading Party
Excel Markets
Finotec (UK)
Forex Nation*
FX Salt*
Gold Goat (New Zealand)
Graalia
Integral**
International Capital Markets (Australia)*
Invast*
Pepperstone*
PrimeXM
Real Forex (Israel)
Sensus Capital Markets*
SmartTradeFX
Which Way FX

*bundling partner -  keep reading
**Integral requires that you contact your account representative in order to enable the ON NET connection

ON NET brokers may display the logo on their web site.  They will also be indicated on our latency chart.  If you would like your broker to connect with ON NET, please contact them and let them know!  We will be happy to work with them and get them connected. 

[TOP] New Bundling Brokers:We are pleased to welcome Core Liquidity Markets, Invast, Sensus Capital Markets, Sterling Gent Trading and Forex Nation  to our growing list of brokers sponsoring a CNS VPS for their traders.  The CNS VPS Bundling program allows brokers to include a free or discounted CNS Trader's VPS with their customer accounts by sponsoring all or part of the CNS subscription fee that is invoiced to the trader by CNS. The CNS VPS subscription remains the property of the trader while enabling the sponsoring broker to post credits directly to the subscribers renewal invoice to offset or pay the renewal fee in full. Each broker has their own program terms to qualify for sponsorship. If you would like to apply your CNS VPS subscription to a brokers bundling program then please open a CNS support ticket and provide the coupon code as listed below. If your broker is not yet a member of our bundling program then please ask them to join! More information for brokers about our Bundling program for brokers can be found here. The most current list of brokers participating in our bundling program can always be found in this knowledge base article.   More brokers are on the way - stay tuned! The following is a list of our Broker Bundling members and their respective program details as of December 19, 2013:

Broker Terms Coupon Code Datacenter/Latency Regulator:  ASIC [AU] Each month, AxiTrader will credit up to $35.12 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who trade over 100 lots in a calendar month regardless of your account balance. (Value edition Traders VPS with 896MB of RAM). Please contact service@axitrader.com.au or +61 2 9965 5830 for further information/requests. AXITRADER NYC Regulator:  FMA [NZ] Each month, you will be credited up to $35 of the monthly fee for a CNS VPS if you have traded more than 100 Standard Lots (round turn) within the previous month. (No minimum balance maintenance requirement.) BNFX NYC/1ms   Regulator:  ASIC [AU] Core Liquidity Markets will sponsor up to $42.80 (Trader's VPS Value Edition - NYC 2 CPU cores included with 1152MB RAM) each month to any client who trades over 50 lots (round turn) and maintains an account balance of $5,000 usd. Please contact support@clmforex.com or +61 2 8015 5431 with any questions. CLM NYC/1ms Regulator:  FSP [NZ] Divisa Capital (www.divisafx.com) now offers FREE VPS hosting (up to a $47.80 value)! Any client who maintains an average balance of $5,000 and completes 25 standard lots per month is welcome to use this service. Please email support[at]divisacapital.com for additional information. DIVISA NYC/2ms Regulator:  NFA [US] EES FX will sponsor a VPS at CNS free for any trader that trades with EES FX meeting the following criteria:   Subscriber to EES FX ($99/month). Live account holder with EES FX TE with $25,000 deposit that does at least 60 standard 100k r/t trades in 1 month. Purchase any EA worth over $1,000 and receive a free VPS for 6 months. EESFX NYC/1ms Regulator:  ASIC [AU] Each month, Forex Nation will credit up to $35.12 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who trade over 100 lots in a calendar month regardless of your account balance. (Value edition Traders VPS with 896MB of RAM). Please contact Forex Nation for further information/requests. FOREXNATION NYC No formal regulation [VG] Each month, FXSalt will credit up to $35.12 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who trade over 35 lots round turn in a calendar month. This offer is available to any of our live MT4 or cTrader/cAlgo traders. For more information please visit www.fxsalt.com or email helpme@fxsalt.com FXSALT NYC Regulator:  ASIC [AU] IC Markets will sponsor any client who trades over 20 lots (round turn) per calendar month. No minimum balance applies. Please contact info@icmarkets.com.au or +61 2 8014 4280 with any questions. ICMARKETS NYC Regulator:  NFA [US] Each month, IBFX will credit up to $35.12 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who have a minimum $5,000 average balance. (value edition Traders VPS with 896MB of RAM) IBFX NYC/<1ms Regulator:  ASIC [AU] Each month, IBFX (Australia) will credit up to $35.12 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who have a minimum $5,000 average balance. (value edition Traders VPS with 896MB of RAM) IBFXAU NYC/<1ms Regulator:  ASIC [AU] Invast Financial Services Pty Ltd will credit up to $35 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for clients who maintain a balance of $5,000 in their trading account. For further information jump on the 24hr Chat function at www.invast.com.au or email vps@invast.com.au INVAST UK/2ms Regulator:  ASIC [AU] Each month, Pepperstone will credit up to $35 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who have a minimum $10,000 average balance. Must trade over 200 lots in a calendar month on their EDGE account. Please contact Pepperstone at +61 3 9020 0155 / support@pepperstone.com with any questions or issues. PEPPERSTONE NYC Regulator:  MFSA [MT] Each month, Sensus Capital Markets will credit up to $35.12 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who trade over 100 lots round turn in a calendar month. This offer is available to any of our live MT4 traders. For more information please email sales@sensus-capital.com SCM NYC Regulator:  FSPR [NZ] Each month, SpediaFX will credit up to $32.56 to subscribers who trade at least 50 lots. SPEDIAFX NYC/1ms Regulator:  BVI [BM] Sterling Gent Trading Ltd (www.sgtmarkets.com) now offers FREE VPS hosting (up to a $47.80 value)! Any client who maintains an average balance of $5,000 and completes 30 standard lots per month is welcome to use this service. Please email support@sgtmarkets.com. SGT UK/6ms Regulator:  AISC & FSA [AU] Each month, Vantage FX will credit up to $35.12 of the monthly CNS VPS fee for customers who trade over 10 lots round turn on Forex in a calendar month on a standard account or 20 lots on a Pro account. Email support@vantagefx.com Regulated – ASIC & FSA VANTAGEFX UK/<2ms Please contact the broker directly for more information about their bundling program offer. If you would like to see your broker listed here then please contact them and tell them about our Broker Bundling program. Thank you!

UK Datacenter moving into Equinix LD5:Our UK datacenter will be moving into Equinix LD5 in the next few weeks.  We are moving into LD5 so we can have more space to grow while also better positioning ourselves for lower latency to more brokers our FOREX trading subscribers use.  There is no need to do anything - IP address assignments will remain as they are.  We will continue to leverage the new C4L network in the London metro area to deliver low latency to all datacenters in the region from the new facility.

The move will take place during an upcoming maintenance window.  All VM's in our UK datacenter will be hibernated to prevent reboot and will seamlessly resume operation as soon as they arrive in the new facility.  We will send all UK VM subscribers a reminder when a specific date is scheduled.  We are right now waiting for C4L to complete the build out of their new and impressive London metro network.

We have many new ON NET connections planned for our UK datacenter.  The first to come online will be PrimeXM.  (PrimeXM is already ON NET with our NYC datacenter.)  If you would like your broker to connect to CNS via ON NET, please contact them and let them know!  We will be happy to work with them and get them connected. 

[TOP] Windows 2012 R2 NOW AVAILABLE with vRSS: Windows Server 2012 R2 is the latest Microsoft operating system available.  Windows Server 2012 R2 includes new features to improve performance and usability.  The full list of new features and improvements is very long.  Probably the one feature all subscribers will enjoy is virtual receive-side scaling (vRSS).  Receive-side network processing in multi-core virtual machines is conventionally bottlenecked by the fact that a single virtual processor services all the interrupts from a virtual network adapter. Virtual Receive-side scaling solves this problem by enabling a network adapter to distribute its network processing load across multiple virtual processors in multi-core virtual machines. Windows Server 2012 R2 also includes the native Windows start button, which was removed by Microsoft with the Win8/2012 release.  Microsoft heard the communities feedback and has restored the feature.  If you are currently running 2008 or 2012 then 2012 R2 is definitely an upgrade to consider.  Upgrading your OS requires a full reinstall of your applications, although an upgrader from 2012->2012 R2 may become available in January.  The minimum resource requirements are the same as 2008 and 2012, which are 1GB of RAM and 30GB of disk.    Please contact CNS Support if you would like to change your VM's OS.

[TOP] CNS Remote Admin Update 1.0.17: CNS Remote Admin v10.17 is now available.  Remote Admin is a tool for use by Commercial Network Services subscribers to manage Windows virtual servers and desktops. Just some of the features in CNS Remote Admin are: view logged on users, running processes, events, download/upload files, and even control CNS Autoboot. Recommended for all CNS virtual server & desktop subscribers. CNS Remote Admin is a great way to monitor the health of your VM's operating system.  Changes desktop version of CNSRemoteAdmin 1.0.17: Replaced old 2FA support with new CNS2FA. Reworked internal engine for tabs and network connection. Now all operations are working faster, especially File Manager and Event Viewer. Fixed navigate up in File Manager, now navigating to upper folder instead of root of drive C: Fixed error when trying to navigate to folder, which was just renamed in File Manager. Fixed issue with error showing remote screenshot in some cases (In Windows 2008 and Windows 2012). After reboot in Windows 2003 it is required to make logon to Windows with using Remote Desktop before using screenshot feature.  Fixed progress bar in File Manager when copy/open files.  Added support of rad files where line by line means: remote ip, login, password, and optionally 2fa. To open it, call app with passing full path to rad file as first argument. Changes in mobile version of CNSRemoteAdmin 1.0.17:  Replaced old 2FA support with new CNS2FA.  Added feature to sort columns in Process View.  Added basic touch to zoom and double-tap to full screen feature in remote screenshot viewer.  Fixed issue with error showing remote screenshot in some cases. Getting CNS Remote Admin: CNS Remote Admin will be installed in your VM with the 2012 Platform Update Driver.  Our new control panel utilizes CNS Remote Admin to operate some control panel functions.  To utilize CNS Remote Admin on your PC or mobile device, you just need to install the remote client: Download for Windows PC To get CNS Remote Admin for your iOS or Android device, search the playstore/appstore for "CNS Remote Admin".

[TOP] Autoboot updates:Autoboot 3.0.35 is now available. The 3.0.35 release is a minor update with bug fixes and some new features. To upgrade your Autoboot, please run the installer from your CNS VPS.  Autoboot will also be updated for you when running the 2012 driver update (above). Autoboot v3 features as of 3.0.35: Use alerts to restart the application, the VPS/PC, or email you a message. Global restart: Autoboot will restart all configured applications after a VM reboot Schedule applications to start/stop Resource alerts option: Trigger an alert if the VM runs low of RAM House cleaning option: delete MT4 logs daily CPU Affinity - enables binding applications to selected CPU cores of the computer. Works with 4 or more CPU cores. Compatible with NinjaTrader API Application Management - Autoboot will trigger an alert if: CPU (used by the app) exceeds a preset amount RAM (used by the app) exceeds a preset amount application hang or crash key words in MT4 or EA log files are found (it monitors both logs and you can pick the words to trigger an alert, such as 'trade context busy') [TOP] Autoboot is free for all CNS VPS subscribers for use in a CNS VPS. To upgrade, close Autoboot (if it is open) and run the installer from your CNS VPS. [Download Autoboot documentation] Autoboot is also available by subscription for use in PC's and VPS's not hosted by CNS. The subscription fee is US$5/month or US$36/year. A free first month is available by using the coupon code AUTOBOOTTRIAL at checkout.  (Offer expires January 31, 2014) Autoboot features are a direct result of your feedback. Please - let us know if there is anything we can do to make Autoboot work better for you.

[TOP] Autoboot/2FA Software Bundle Subscribers to our Autoboot software (for VM's not hosted by CNS) can add two-factor authentication free for six months!  Use the coupon code "2FA" at checkout when ordering two-factor authentication.  You must have an active Autoboot software subscription for the code to activate.  Please contact CNS Support if you require assistance.  The 2FA subscription must be ordered by January 31, 2014 to qualify.

[TOP] DNS Manager Update We have upgraded the DNS zone manager in our control panel.  Subscribers who utilize our free DNS hosting will enjoy the new integrated user interface.  It is clear and easy to understand, and also secured by two-factor authentication when 2FA is activated in the control panel.  We maintain four public name servers, free for all subscribers to use by registering a new domain or transferring a domain registration into your CNS account. To get to the DNS zone manager, click "my domains" in the CNS control panel and then "manage DNS zones".  Please contact CNS Support if you require assistance.

[TOP] Google Checkout gone, Bitcoin now accepted! Google shut down their checkout service as of November 20, 2013.  They decided their focus was best concentrated in other areas of the payment space.  This makes three payment services we have lost in the last few months, the other two being the Liberty Reserve shutdown and then Perfect Money refusing to work with US corporations shortly after.  We realize with our global subscriber base, traditional credit cards and payment services can not always be utilized by all subscribers.  And so we are pleased to announce Bitcoin is now accepted! Bitcoin uses peer-to-peer technology to operate with no central authority or banks; managing transactions and the issuing of bitcoins is carried out collectively by the network.  It is the first viable currency with no central database that can be shut down by anyone.  And it is quickly gaining acceptance with merchants both on and offline.  Even bitcoin trading has started taking off. All Bitcoin transactions are converted to USD at the time of payment and any refunds or reversals will also be converted from USD to Bitcoin at the time of reversal.  If you would like to change your payment method for any active subscriptions to Bitcoin then please open a support ticket and let us know.

[TOP] Coming Soon: Some of the things we are working on bringing you in the near future: We are continuing to upgrade our routing and switching equipment with bleeding edge technology to provide the lowest latency possible. More ON NET connections are being established and the diversity is expanding.  New service and signal providers are expected to connect via ON NET.  Expect many more in UK after the datacenter migration is complete. We are leveraging Hyper-V Replica technology to bring you new emergency recovery options. We are working to enable data center migrations from within the subscriber control panel, so you can move your VM between CNS datacenters with just a few clicks. More SaaS publishers are coming online to bring you their subscription software, many with exclusive discounts for CNS subscribers A new CNS web site will be released (about time - we know).

[TOP] Happy Holidays:It has been a great year for us here at CNS.  Our subscriber base is continuing to grow as we evolve our services and features based on your feedback.  Thank you for your support.  We are very excited to bring you more new services and features in 2014, some we have been working on for many months. We would like to take this opportunity to wish our subscribers, partners, employees, friends and families a very happy and healthy holiday and a prosperous New Year. We hope you have a fantastic holiday, and we look forward to working with you in 2014.