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- Posted by Support
- 06 April 2011
From PayPal:
Starting April 7, we will be adding the following list of IP addresses for www.paypal.com to the DNS:
66.211.169.74
66.211.169.14
64.4.241.193
64.4.241.225
173.0.84.2
173.0.84.34
173.0.88.2
173.0.88.34This change should be transparent to most merchants and may not require any action on your part.
However, if you are using IPN for Order Management and your IPN listener is behind a firewall, you may need to update your firewall configuration to allow outbound access to these IP addresses. This action will ensure that your IPN listener does not get intermittent timeouts when performing IPN validation by posting back to https://www.paypal.com.
For more information on IPN, please refer to https://www.paypal.com/ipn.
These new IP addresses have been added to MTS FAQ: https://ppmts.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/92.For those of you who are still using the Zen Cart Paypal IPN as your method of receiving PayPal payments, the Zen Cart Developers are strongly recommending that you instead use PayPal Express checkout which is more up to date.
The announcement from the Zen Cart team is in this post: http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=177771
This is a good time to remind you that you really should be using PayPal Express Checkout if you’re accepting PayPal on your site. Using the old IPN/Website-Payments-Standard method for payments is becoming antiquated and has been known to have problems in various circumstances. Using the newer Express Checkout approach is far more reliable for completing payments and giving your customer up-to-date confirmation that their order has been paid and accepted by your store.
Naturally, also upgrading to the latest version of Zen Cart is similarly valuable and important.Although e have already updated all of our server's firewalls, we strongly advise you navigate to Admin >> Modules >> Payment >> PayPal Website Payments Standard - IPN and make sure you are NOT using it. This method is quite deprecated and very prone to API call issues when PayPal is having issues or taking the normal "very long" time to respond to the IPN call. To switch, simply uninstall it and switch to the PayPal Express Checkout.
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- Posted by Support
- 18 March 2011
On 3/2/2011 Dr Byte of the Zen Cart development team made an announcement regarding a a v1.5.0 BETA release of coming Officially PA-DSS Certified release version 1.5.0. Version 1.5.0 series will actually precede the long awaited Zen Cart 2.0 release. The point of the 1.5.0 series is security and Zen Cart's dedication to become the first free Open Source Ecommerce Solution that is fully PA-DSS certified.
Patches and support for the current 1.3.9 series will be as needed while the team works hard to attain the compliance we all seek for PCI-DSS. Version 2.0 is obviously still underway and continues in development. 2.0 will be a completely different animal to the current Zen Cart series to date. We have been told that modules, templates and other addons will not function and we will be bringing only our databases in to the new platform Zen Cart v2.0. The Zen Cart team noted the following with regard to v2.0...
And, of course, while all this has been going on we’ve also been continually working on coding for v2.0, including things like rewriting the admin for easier usability, improved plugin architecture, and much much much much much more.
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- Posted by Support
- 20 January 2011
Those of you who get our newsletter already know about the USPS change for Zen Cart 1.3.9... But now we have a verified UPS issue with rates calculations as well.
Zen Cart USPS International Shipping
While this isn't a bug, Zen Cart 1.3.X USPS shipping will need to be updated to accommodate recent USPS changes. The change in the API on the part of USPS is causing the following error on checkout for International shoppers.
"We are unable to find a USPS shipping quote suitable for your mailing address and the shipping methods we typically use."The "fix" provided by Ajeh (http://www.zen-cart.com/forum/showthread.php?t=171314) is to properly update the USPS shipping module in your Zen Cart and thus accommodate the new changes from USPS.
Zen Cart UPS Shipping Rates Too High
Forum thread 1st January 2011, 09:33 PM
For some reason starting this morning my UPS ground shipping increased by 25%. I have had several orders today and when I double checked them in UPS Worldship they were all about 30% higher than Worldship. My orders from last night and earlier are fine. They match UPS Worldship perfectly. I have not made any changes in the shipping module in the last few weeks. iIeven checked it out and it is as it should be. Does anybody have any ideas? Should I call UPS?
Thanks in advance.
Paul HallThis post offered up by opticnoise, new zenner, offered up the following solution which we have tested an found to be working...
Zencart recently had an issue where UPS shipping rates were always calculated at customer counter rates even when the RDP option was selected. Since UPS changed the label for the rate code used for the UPS pickup method, Zencart’s module now sends an incorrect label for the rate code. The online UPS tool used by the Zencart’s built-in UPS module will calculate rates based on customer counter if no code is provided or if the label is not recognized.
$this->_upsRateCode = 'Regular+Daily+Pickup';
in file:
/includes/modules/shipping/ups.phpneeds to be updated to
$this->_upsRateCode = 'Daily+Pickup';
For a detail document, please see http://www.opticnoise.com/node/19
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- Posted by Support
- 28 November 2010
Many of you already got a nice taste of this year's holiday sales... But one of the biggest days there is, Cyber Monday is revving up to rock your store. We want very much to see you all successfully get all that you can tomorrow, so we compiled a quick checklist to keep you on track.
- Update any PPC campaigns to include specific holiday themed searches
- Shipping information, deals and locations should be fast, clear and easy to find
- Return policies are fair, clear and easy to find
- Contact information, especially phone numbers is easy to find
- Phone staff or live help on hand all day to assist shoppers
- Sales, coupons and deals are easily located from any page on your website
- You have backup payment and shipping options ready to go
- You have adequate stock on hand
- You are prepared to ship orders immediately
- You have very recently tested your cart, pages and especially checkout
- Any social media campaigns are setup, checked and ready to go
- Email boxes for questions are working and manned all day
While these all seem simple and logical enough, we hope it is helpful for you to look this checklist over. Remember, expect about 8 to 12 hours of increased traffic and sales. The largest hours are typically 11am to 3 pm, as people will shop their lunches away tomorrow.
Thank you,
PRO-Webs Supporthttp://pro-webs.net/
330-871-HELP
Does Your Site Exist? -
- Posted by Support
- 25 November 2010
Happy Thanksgiving to all, rest up for tomorrow, this weekend and especially Monday. When you get a few minutes check out the new PRO-Webs site design and let us know what you think. We are manning the phones, lets make this the biggest Black Friday weekend ever!
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- Posted by Support
- 19 November 2010
We have pulled back the implementation for Google's mod_pagespeed as it requires mpm_prefork, which is considered a more resource intensive mpm in Apache and pages with lots of errors (HTML Errors) will cause additional Disk I/O on the server. Given Zen Cart's already hungry operating status we think this should wait at least until mod_pagespeed is out of Beta testing.
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- Posted by Support
- 16 November 2010
There's been a lot of buzz about Google's new Apache module, mod_pagespeed, and we wanted to give hosted customers an update on where we currently stand on it.
mod_pagespeed is an open-source Apache module created by Google which optimizes and accelerates web pages. mod_pagespeed includes filters that optimize JavaScript, HTML and CSS stylesheets. It also includes filters for optimizing JPEG and PNG images.
We are currently working to get to get this module implemented on all PRO-Webs servers. Installation of this module will be scheduled for each server over an evening (between 9pm and 12am EST) and should result in a maximum downtime of 20 minutes while Apache is recompiled.
We expect to have all servers installed by weeks end. The reviews so far are that you can expect a 10 to 30% increase in your page load speeds! We are towing the line and keeping you in touch with Google's Best Practices!
Re-DesignMany of you following PRO-Webs on Facebook have already heard the news.... PRO-Webs is getting a re-design and re-function!
Basically, just like our office, we have outgrown the current structure and navigation of our website. We will fully re-design PRO-Webs to improve our usability, tools, navigation, speed and overall user experience. As a company we have been experiencing these growing changes and intend to rise to the occasion!
Watch Facebook for sneak peeks and calls for your feedback and suggestions!
Thank you,
PRO-Webs Support
http://pro-webs.net/
330-871-HELP
Does Your Site Exist? -
- Posted by Support
- 01 November 2010
As many of you may already know, Zen Cart 1.3.9H has been released. This version contains NO security minded updates and is rather a bug fix version of 1.3.9G.
Zen cart 1.3.9G was actually a rushed release to immediately make available fixes for several reported admin vulnerabilities. In fixing these issues the Zen Cart team was perhaps a bit overzealous with the level of security.
Having correctly consulted their PCI/DSS adviser Zen Cart released the "H" version to relieve a bit of the "over" secured areas causing some buggy behavior and inconveniences for shop owners.
IF you have a 1.3.9H version upgrade pending, your site will be scheduled this week and upgraded to the "H" version, thus skipping "G".
IF you need or wish to purchase an upgrade you can visit our store and checkout normally. (http://pro-webs.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_38&products_id=202)
Holiday Shopping 2010
On the minds of every shop owner is the holiday shopping season 2010 and what it holds for their businesses. Our experience has shown us that successful shop owners always have a plan.... and a backup plan.
Do you have a plan for your marketing, fulfillment, shipping, specials and other related holiday needs?
Although this is last year's checklist, we highly suggest you spend a few minutes using this list and your own business sense to make sure your shop is ready to produce the holiday sales you want for your business.
Thank you,
PRO-Webs Support
http://pro-webs.net/
330-871-HELP
Does Your Site Exist? -
- Posted by Support
- 15 October 2010
Greetings SEO Contract Customers,
We have need to write and bring you up to speed on some changes in your contracts, cost and staff here at PRO-Webs.
The first thing I would like to address is the addition of the newest PRO-Webs team member, Austin.
Austin is a junior at Maplewood Career Center school here in Ravenna. He is currently enrolled in the Information Technology Program while he finishes his high school education. Austin's plans are to finish high school, attend college and work in the industry as a web developer or programmer.
Austin has aspired to these fields for some time and while he has experimented a bit, has never found as source of adequate training.... We intend to give him this.
Bringing Austin on part time in his junior year is part of a bigger plan. Next year Austin will enter the apprentice phase of his training and will be continuing his education outside of the school in the workplace. Our thoughts were simply to bring him in early so that we both can get the most out of his apprenticeship next year.
So next time you call, if you get Austin on the phone be sure to extend him a warm welcome!
Now on to the cost and contract part. Please take a few minutes to review your contract details. Not much has changed in the last year, but some of you older clients will notice some changes which you may have missed in previous communications.
The cost has gone up for some and down for others. Please note that our services are based on traffic, specifically unique visits, and they always have been. We do not frequently review these rates vs traffic, usually only once or twice a year.
The most recent review, yesterday, was carried out for another purpose as well. This purpose unfortunately was to raise the prices to meet cost raises in resources, tools, API's, labor and other related costs associated with our SEO contract program.
While this was a small increase, you may notice it more so if your daily unique visits, which were reviewed at the same time is up enough to push you in to the next tier. I apologize for the need to raise the cost, but the cost to complete the tasks has risen the same.
If you have any questions or concerns as to what your rate will be, please reply to this email and ask now, as the day your invoice is sent is the first billing day on your new month.
Thank you for your time and have a great weekend.
PRO-Webs Support
http://pro-webs.net/
330-871-HELP
Does Your Site Exist? -
- Posted by Support
- 30 September 2010
Good Morning Zenners!
I am writing today to notify you of the newest release of Zen Cart. Last night Zen Cart 1.3.9G was released to fix/patch some vulnerabilities and bugs.
In the 1.3.9 family, this version release is the most important to date as it contains very important XSS injection patches.
You are advised to update your cart's software as soon as possible to avoid security issues or failed PCI scans.
If you are running a version older than 1.3.9 you can view our upgrades here (http://pro-webs.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_38&products_id=202).
If you are running version 1.3.9 then the version upgrades are here (http://pro-webs.net/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_38&products_id=248)
As always Zen Cart SEO contract clients will receive a %15.00 discount.
The changed files are in the version download /docs/ folder for reference. If you need to download the new version you can do so here (http://www.zen-cart.com/index.php)
Thank you and have a great day!
PRO-Webs support
http://pro-webs.net/
330-871-HELP
Does Your Site Exist?
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