San Diego, California - (The Hosting News) - June 1, 2006 - Web host and online presence solutions provider, Aplus.Net, has unveiled two new security tools, Hotlink Prevention and IP Blocker. The tools are designed for strengthening online security, and are immediately available to Aplus.Net web hosting customers free of charge.

According to the company, The Hotlink Prevention tool helps combat ''hotlinking,'' or the act of directly linking to an image on another server. There are a number of problems associated with hotlinking. Whenever the web page with the hotlinked image is accessed, the individual hosting the image is being robbed of bandwidth and misled in terms of site hits. Hotlinking can also contribute to illegal activity such as phishing and identity theft. For example, if a bank is not protected from hotlinking, then a fraudster can hotlink the bank's official images and request sensitive information from the bank's customers to access their accounts. The Hotlink Prevention tool thwarts any hotlinking attempts targeting Aplus.Net customer websites.

The IP Blocker tool is another online security measure, the purpose of which is to block abusers from customer websites. If an Aplus.Net customer notices a specific IP address draining resources, leaving inappropriate comments, or attacking his/her site in any way, the IP Blocker tool gives that customer the power to block the abuser from returning to the given website. This tool becomes especially useful in the case of major issues, such as DDoS attacks.

Ivan Vachovsky, CEO of Aplus.Net commented, ''One of Aplus.Net’s top priorities is to protect our customers’ online security. The Hotlink Prevention and IP Blocker tools are useful additions to our large arsenal of online security products and services.''

The new tools are free of charge for Aplus.Net web hosting customers, and can be accessed through the Control Panel.

Aplus.Net is an online presence solutions provider that specializes in catering to small and medium-sized businesses. Aplus.Net offers products and services including web hosting, web design, domain names, online marketing, dedicated servers, and e-commerce. Aplus.Net is among the ten largest privately held web hosting and domain name registration companies in the USA and is a facilities-based provider. Aplus.Net has been awarded many honors for excellence, including the prestigious CNET Editors' Choice Award. Top US publications, such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, Black Enterprise, and PC Magazine often seek advice from its experts.

To learn more about the free tools included in Aplus.Net hosting packages, please visit: http://hosting.aplus.net/cptools.html.

For more information about Aplus.Net, please visit: www.aplus.net.