Tech Talk Changelog

March 2020

  • Multiple system security and stability upgrades
  • Improvements made to our Order Manager to ensure customers are assisted without delay
  • Performance improvements made to our Mail Filters (Blacklists and Whitelists) resulting in a better customer experience
  • Our Beta Manage DNS tool is live in konsoleH -- new features include the ability to add multiple DNS records at once and UX improvements
  • We’ve updated our konsoleH WordPress app installer to the latest version of WordPress (5.3.2)
  • File Manager tool: Security improvements
  • Password reset tool: Security and stability improvements

February 2020

  • Create and manage additional FTP users with ease using version 2.0 of our new tool
  • Check if your website is compatible with PHP 7.2 before upgrading. If you’re using version 7.2 or higher, the PHP compatibility checker in konsoleH will be disabled
  • Performance improvements when updating mail filters for our customers based in Germany (Blacklists and Whitelists)
  • Upgrades to our restore back up tool
  • Increased visibility of the FTP Tool Update button to improve the user experience
  • Spam filter improvements

January 2020

  • Debian 10 is available for all new Self-Managed Servers

December 2019

  • We’ve rolled out PHP 7.3 to all Web Hosting and Managed Servers
  • PHP configuration values displayed in a consistent manner, regardless of the login level
  • Self-Managed Server Rescue system has been updated to Debian Buster

November 2019

  • We’ve put further measures in place to reject traffic from known malicious sources, assisting customers with the prevention of malicious activity against their domains
  • Successfully upgraded all Shared hosting and Managed Dedicated servers to Debian Stretch
  • Ongoing Security updates
  • Apache2 (CVE-2019-10092)
  • MySQL (MariaDB 10.1.43)

October 2019

  • Improved system monitoring allows us to support our customers faster
  • We’re continuously working to improve our customers’ experience with our systems and have improved the information that is displayed when terminating a service.
  • Ongoing Security updates
  • Aspell (CVE-2019-17544)
  • ImageMagick (CVE-2019-11470)

September 2019

  • We’ve improved the ‘Contact Us’ tool in konsoleH by adding the option to contact our Restructures department directly.
  • Our PHP Config tool has been improved to prevent customers from being automatically logged out while using the tool.
  • Completed a number of security updates

August 2019

  • We now peer with CINX, the Cape Town Internet eXchange Point (run by ISPA). This connection ensures the fastest and most cost-effective internet traffic path for customers.
  • Spam filter accuracy improvements
  • Completed a number of security updates

July 2019

  • We’ve made enhancements to the tools used for transferring domains to xneelo, creating a better user experience for our customers

June 2019

  • Following improvements to our email logs, we are able to assist customers with incoming spam queries without a copy of the spam email. In the past, this process was cumbersome for customers without the header/ footer of the email.

May 2019

Feature updates:

  • We’ve introduced a PHP Compatibility Checker in konsoleH. With this tool, customers can easily determine if their website is compatible with PHP 7.2.
  • The link to ‘Pay Now’ by card is easily accessible under the Statement Overview in konsoleH.
  • We have simplified the way customers change their payment method to debit order. Previously, changing your payment method; adjusting your preferred payment interval and supplying your banking details were three separate steps. We have integrated these steps into one simple process.
  • We have made efficiency improvements to the way our contact centre consultants manage server entries on behalf of customers.
  • In aid of first-time resolution of queries, customers are now able to add attachments/ files when creating a case via the Contact Us form in konsoleH (accepted files types are: pdf, jpg, png, txt).

April 2019

Feature updates:

  • With the implementation of SRS (Sender Rewriting Scheme) on our Shared and Managed Servers, customers with SPF records can now forward emails without experiencing SPF failures
  • Customers can now more easily edit their files in the File Manager
  • Customers are able to add AAAA records (IPv6) and change the TTL for multiple records via the Import Zone feature in the Manage DNS tool (konsoleH 2).
  • While the DNS tool (in konsoleH 2) was only available to Web Hosting & Managed Server customers, it has now been made available to Self-Managed Server customers

Security updates:

  • Provided secure access to AWStats for domains making use of Cloudflare

March 2019

Feature updates:

  • Additional anti-spam rules have been added to decrease the number of unsolicited emails received by customers
  • A ‘Contact us’ form is now available in konsoleH making it easy for customers to send us a request to contact them. This page also includes suggested Help Centre articles for ease of reference

Security updates:

Bug fixes:

February 2019

Feature updates:

  • Upgrade to MariaDB 10.1
  • Spam filter accuracy improvements
  • Some providers have started delaying email sent from domain names without authentication mechanisms. To ensure email delivery without delay, we have added neutral SPF records to all domain names that previously had none.

January 2019

Feature updates:

  • WordPress version 5.1 is now available for new WordPress installations via the konsoleH WordPress AppInstaller
  • The Error Logs tool in konsoleH 1.0 has been improved and now works with the new apache error log format

Security updates:

November – December 2018

  • WordPress version 5.0 is now available for new WordPress installations via the konsoleH WordPress AppInstaller

Feature updates:

  • PHP 7.1 & 7.2 is now available. Use our Help Centre article to assist you in upgrading to the new PHP version
  • SiteBuilder was successfully upgraded to v3.2, resulting in a number of UX and feature improvements.
  • PHP 5.6.38 Changelog

Infrastructure and maintenance updates:

  • Incoming and outgoing email compression (gzip) enabled on all managed servers. All new email is automatically compressed, while the compression of old emails is rolled out on a per server basis. This improvement will result in a cost-saving for customers with disk overusage
  • Linux kernel version 4.9 rolled out to all managed servers. The new kernel offers improved resource management while mitigating “noisy neighbour” scenarios for shared server customers
  • Relocation of servers to new generation, cold aisle containment hosting pods. These pods offer improved cooling efficiency, which has a positive effect on the lifetime of a server while reducing hardware failures

Security updates:

  • Hetzner no longer supports Formmail as this technology is outdated and presents a security risk. Support for Formmail ends on 14 December 2018. Find out more
  • OpenSSL (CVE-2018-0735 and CVE-2018-5407)
  • MySQL Fail2Ban rule rolled out

Bug fixes:

September – October 2018

  • We now have three IPv6 transit providers which solidify our IPv6 reach across multiple networks and IX points
  • We now have peering in place with Internet Solutions. With this latest inclusion, the Hetzner network now peers with or is directly connected to all significant South African networks
  • We have moved the secondary NAPAfrica Johannesburg Layer 2 circuit to MetroFibre Networx (MFN). This redundancy improvement allows us to switch between MFN and EOH should we experience severe network issues on either network

General Updates

  • Ubuntu 18.04 is available on our self-managed servers. Ubuntu 14.04 will be supported with security updates until it reaches end of life in April 2019
  • The web server encryption protocol TLS 1.0 has been discontinued. Read more

Security Updates

Feature Updates

Bug Fixes

April – June 2018

  • MariaDB has been updated to 10.0.35
  • Debian security updates: 1 May 2018 and 8 May 2018
  • Imagemagick update fixed several vulnerabilities which could result in denial of service or memory disclosure
  • Webmail － the updated version increases security and includes a tweaked design with konsoleH branding and mobile compatibility
  • WordPress appinstaller, has been updated to version 4.9.6
  • Our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy have been updated in light of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and now include a Data Processing clause
  • TinyMCE was updated to the latest version (4.7.11)

January – March 2018

  • WordPress version 4.9.4 is now available from the konsoleH WordPress AppInstaller

Security updates: