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Blocking bad bots and search engines using .htaccess
2022-10-26
Take control of your server resources by learning how to block aggressive bots and unwanted search engines using .htaccess and mod_rewrite. This guide provides copy-paste ready configurations to prevent bandwidth theft, stop scrapers, and ensure that only relevant search engines crawl your website.
How to optimize Umbraco 8 performance
2021-12-23
Out of the box, Umbraco is a well built and pretty fast content management system. However, it is still important you perform some steps to further optimize Umbraco's performance and loading speed.
How to add a trailing slash in Umbraco 8
2021-11-28
Add a trailing slash to URL's in Umbraco 8, using IIS URL Rewrite Module, without breaking the Umbraco backend. Forcing one particular URL avoids duplicate content, which is important for SEO.
Hugo development environment in WSL 2
2020-07-25
Using WSL 2 it is pretty easy to install Hugo in Windows, setting up your local webdevelopment environment and configure Hugo to listen on your Ubuntu's IP address, here is how.
How to fix System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException “The given key was not present in the dictionary” Exception with MySQL Connector/NET and utf8mb4 character set
2019-10-18
MySQL Connector/NET and utf8mb4 character set can cause an exception System.Collections.Generic.KeyNotFoundException "The given key was not present in the dictionary".
Setting up Monit monitoring in Windows Subsystem for Linux WSL
2019-03-10
A couple of years ago, I wrote a blog article about setting up Monit monitoring on an Ubuntu VM on Hyper-V. Now it’s time to do the same, but then in Windows Subsystem for Linux, or WSL. So, without further ado, here is how to install and configure Monit monitoring in Windows 10 WSL.
Converting an Access 2003 database to 2007 and higher online
2019-01-04
Learn how to programmatically convert legacy Microsoft Access 2003 (.mdb) databases to the modern .accdb format using Classic ASP and the ACE engine. This guide provides essential scripts for performing online conversions and database maintenance directly on your IIS web server. It is an ideal solution for sysadmins managing legacy environments who need to upgrade data storage without local access to Microsoft Office.
11+ Tips to optimize Umbraco 7 CMS
2018-11-07
Umbraco 7 is a popular, ASP.NET powered, content management system (CMS). Out of the box Umbraco performs pretty well, but there are still some areas you need to tweak and tune for a more performant Umbraco website. Here are 11+ tips.
Tips to speed up WordPress, serve gzip compressed static HTML files
2016-09-05
Gzip compress and serve WP-Super-Cache or Cache Enabler static HTML files, to supercharge your WordPress blog!
Optimize(d) WordPress hosting (9+ practical tips)
2016-08-01
9+ Practical tips to optimize WordPress hosting - or for any other PHP web application for that matter. Learn optimizing your WordPress hosting
AppCmd introduction and examples
2016-05-17
The AppCmd.exe command is your one-stop-shop for administering Windows Server IIS web servers. In combination with WinRM it is your Swiss Army knife for your daily routine. This post introduces appcmd and provides you with a lot of helpful appcmd examples.
My WordPress web.config
2015-06-22
Do you host your WordPress website on Windows Server IIS? And are you having trouble with your web.config? Here is mine :)
PHP 5.6 default_charset change may break HTML output
2015-03-31
A change in PHP's default_charset php.ini setting causes HTML output to break if you try to set a different charset in your HTML head. It also might break functions like htmlentities() and htmlspecialchars().
Monit monitoring on Ubuntu 14.04 VM on Hyper-V
2015-02-15
In this post you’ll learn about setting up a Monit monitoring service for your websites and services. Monit is a free and open source service monitoring application which can perform various event-based actions. Monit can send email notifications, restart a service or application, or take other responsive actions. We set Monit up on a Ubuntu 14.04 VM, built on Hyper-V. And we use Monit to monitor several websites, and send out notifications on downtime.
Conditionally start Application Pools on remote IIS web servers
2014-09-11
In this article you'll learn how to start all stopped application pools that have the ApplicationPool.AutoStart property set to $True using AppCmd.exe or PowerShell. This is something you often or occasionally have to perform on various servers, for example when an application pool hangs.
Check website availability with PHP and cURL
2014-09-10
A useful PHP script to check if your website is up and online available. It uses PHP and cURL. This script comes in handy because website uptime and availability is important, and you want your website to be always online available.
Add (custom) headers to MailMessage class
2014-04-23
The System.Net.Mail Namespace leaves out the required Message-ID header in email. Here is how you can add this important header to your email, to make sure email arrives.
Configure SQLServer sessionState for Umbraco
2014-04-23
Configure Umbraco for SQLServer sessionState storage and prepare Umbraco for high performance web garden or web farm, and load balancing environments. This post explains it all.
Test MySQL database connectivity with MySql.Data.MySqlClient
2014-02-16
MySql.Data.MySqlClient ASP.NET test script