June 2011 Summaries

CodeGuard is a service that provides automatic website backups, offering peace of mind to site owners. It captures changes in code and allows users to scroll through old versions. A special free plan for CloudFlare customers includes basic backup services for one website up to 1GB in size. To start using CodeGuard, simply click on the app within your CloudFlare dashboard and follow the instructions provided.

The CloudFlare App offers GlobalSign HackAlert, a cloud-based malware detection and monitoring solution that alerts website owners via email if their site is infected. It automatically scans the content for signs of compromise and provides clear instructions on how to resolve the issue. This service requires no configuration and helps prevent scary browser or search engine warnings to visitors, as well as potential customer infections from drive-by downloads. The HackAlert Basic Plan covers up to 100 pages of a site for $5/month/site.

In June 2011, CloudFlare planned to release a new web app every business day but faced delays due to unprepared developer partners. One of their frontend developers suggested a game similar to Asteroids that could be played on websites. They discovered Erik Rothoff Andersson, an 18-year-old Swedish hacker who had created the game "Kick Ass" in just 24 hours. CloudFlare offered to distribute and handle billing for the game, with a nominal fee of $0.99 per installation. The game was renamed "Browser Blaster," allowing website owners to hide it behind a secret keystroke series. This collaboration aimed to provide talented web app hackers with distribution channels, infrastructure, and billing processes to realize their work's potential.

On June 2, 2011, LulzSecurity.com allegedly hacked Sony Pictures' website and published obtained information. The site had quietly registered for CloudFlare earlier the same day. Concerned individuals requested the removal of LulzSecurity.com's website from CloudFlare, but as a network provider, not a hosting provider, removing the site would only have affected its speed. Additionally, CloudFlare provided security to LulzSecurity.com and other websites against DDoS attacks. The company believes in maintaining a free and open network and does not censor content. The experience of being attacked by hackers validated CloudFlare's core value proposition: sharing data about attacks across the network benefits everyone using it, as more rules are generated to mitigate threats. Today, CloudFlare is stronger than before and continues to learn from new attacks.

On June 25, 2011, Matthew Prince announced a new blog post addressing frequently asked questions about SEO and Cloudflare. Initially, despite making sites faster, Cloudflare didn't seem to improve search engine rankings. After investigating the issue for three months, it was discovered that one site behind Cloudflare having an origin problem led to reduced crawl rates on all sites sharing its IP address. To resolve this, a new technology was developed to isolate affected sites and their IP addresses were listed in a special category within search crawlers. This allowed search engines to crawl at maximum velocity without overburdening the origin. The results have been positive, with improved page speed scores and better search rankings for users.

On June 25, 2011 at 2:00AM, Matthew Prince shared a blog post highlighting that their startup, CloudFlare, had reached an impressive milestone of serving over 1 billion requests in a month. Just eight months later, the company has experienced significant growth and now serves more than 1 billion requests daily, reflecting a remarkable 3,000% increase in this period.

On June 24, 2011, John Roberts introduced Browser Blaster, a game that can be added to CloudFlare-powered websites with just one click. The game allows visitors to "blast" the website's elements if they know the secret code. Erik Rothoff Andersson, a young Swedish developer, created the game, and it was made into a CloudFlare App after Roberts reached out to him. Browser Blaster is easy to add to websites for $0.99/month and can be customized with personalized codes or set to Automatic Mode. The game also allows visitors to share their experience on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

On June 19, 2011, Matthew Prince discussed AutoMinify, a beta feature that was initially unsatisfactory due to its inefficiency with highly dynamic content and compatibility issues with existing minification libraries. Despite the benefits of minification on text-based resources, they decided to develop their own solution, which works inline in the response stream and is 100x faster than competitors. AutoMinify is now included free with any plan and can be enabled or disabled for CSS, JavaScript, HTML, or a combination thereof through the CloudFlare Settings control panel.

On June 17, 2011, John Roberts introduced CDNJS Selections, a selection of scripts from the full CDNJS collection hosted on CloudFlare's global CDN. The open-source repository features community-driven projects and is highlighted by five JavaScript libraries that help site owners deal with legacy browsers: Modernizr, Google Chrome Frame, Flexie, CSS3 Finalize, and JSON2. These scripts can be added to a website using the CDNJS Selections App without any code changes.

On June 17, 2011, CloudFlare launched its Singapore data center, becoming the 12th facility in their global network. The Merlion, a symbol of Singapore, now has a counterpart in protecting the region through CloudFlare's services. The company plans to add more facilities in London and Miami soon, aiming to be within a few hops of virtually every Internet user. Their data center location strategy is based on traffic patterns from specific regions. They are currently analyzing network traffic for potential expansion areas.

The text discusses the collaboration between CDNJS, a project providing a central repository for JavaScript libraries, and Cloudflare, a web performance and security company. CDNJS was initially using Amazon's CloudFront service but faced issues with pricing and SSL support. After reaching out to Paul Irish from Google's Chrome dev team, Cloudflare offered its globally-distributed network with low latency and SSL support to power CDNJS libraries. The new setup significantly improved latency times compared to the previous one and Google Libraries API. This collaboration aligns with both companies' mission of making the web faster and more secure.

CloudFlare introduces a new offering called StopTheHacker to protect websites from malware attacks and maintain online reputation. This AI-based scanning technology, supported by the National Science Foundation, provides daily scanning and reputation monitoring for $15/month on your most popular 25 pages. It is available in four languages and requires no installation, with timely email alerts upon security issue detection.

The text discusses the utility of JavaScript in modern websites and how debugging can be challenging due to the variety of web browsers. It introduces ExceptionHub, a CloudFlare App that helps developers monitor their website's performance by logging full stack traces for any JavaScript errors encountered on live sites. The service records critical details like browser and operating system versions, allowing developers to reproduce and fix issues. A 50% discount is offered for subscribing before June 22, 2011.

Matthew Prince shares his experience of founding CloudFlare, which launched in September 2010 with eight employees and has since grown significantly. The company now serves over 12,000 page views per second and is looking to hire its 20th employee. Initially, they struggled to attract their first 100 websites but now see more than that signing up in an hour. Prince credits the success of CloudFlare to his team's passion and vision, and he encourages others with similar aspirations to join them.

The text discusses the integration of Zoompf's Web Performance Optimizer (WPO) into CloudFlare, a cloud-based front-end performance scanner that analyzes websites for over 380 potential issues slowing them down. Beyond analysis, it provides explanations and recommendations on how to improve website speed. For the first week of availability, Zoompf is offering its Basic Plan at a discounted price of $49.99/month for CloudFlare customers. The tool is non-invasive, easy to use, and integrates seamlessly with CloudFlare Apps.

CloudFlare has opened its newest data center in Frankfurt, bringing their global network count to 11 data centers worldwide. The new facility will improve performance for areas previously serviced by Paris and Amsterdam locations. Special thanks are given to the U.S. Department of Commerce and representatives from the German Region of Hesse for assisting with customs paperwork. Upcoming plans include Singapore going online, followed by Miami and London, expanding their network footprint to 14 core Internet exchange points.

On June 13, 2011, John Roberts introduced Monitis as the first new CloudFlare App of that week. Monitis is a comprehensive server monitoring solution that goes beyond web monitoring to cover various aspects such as server CPU, applications, databases, memory, processes, end-user experience, uptime, page load, transactions, and more. The service offers an intuitive dashboard and can be extended via API and command line tools. Monitis is offering a special discount for CloudFlare customers, with their Basic Plan available at $8.99/month, including 8 external monitors at a 20-minute frequency. To start using Monitis, users need to go to the CloudFlare Apps dashboard and follow the setup instructions.

On June 13, 2011, John Roberts announced the introduction of five new CloudFlare Apps. These apps range from webmaster tools and analytics to live chat, monitoring, and support services. They are all available through the CloudFlare dashboard. Some customer feedback includes positive comments on Twitter and Facebook about the usefulness and affordability of these new features. Five more apps will be announced soon.

On June 10, 2011, Matthew Prince introduced Clicky as a Cloudflare App partner, providing real-time analytics for websites. Real-time data is crucial for understanding visitor behavior and optimizing website performance. With Clicky enabled, users can track visitor sources and interactions, with advanced segmentation and analysis tools. The special plan for Cloudflare customers offers $10/month for up to 50,000 pageviews per day, with the possibility of higher-volume plans in the future.

CloudFlare has developed Rocket Loader™, an innovative solution that addresses two core problems in website performance. Firstly, it ensures that all scripts on a page do not block the content from loading, and secondly, it loads all scripts asynchronously to improve speed and efficiency. Rocket Loader uses local storage caching for more intelligent script storing and works across various browsers and devices. Unlike some other companies, CloudFlare does not require content caching to make these improvements, making it suitable for highly dynamic websites. The technology is included in all of CloudFlare's plans, including the free one.

The text discusses a new Cloudflare App called SnapEngage, which is a live chat tool designed to help website owners communicate with their customers and visitors more effectively. It offers features such as chatting directly from IM clients like Skype or Google Talk, using mobile devices for customer support, co-browsing, and proactive chat. The service supports 26 languages and can be easily integrated into a website via Cloudflare Apps with a simple toggle. A free 15-day trial is available, after which the account will be limited to one chat per day unless upgraded through the Cloudflare dashboard.

On June 8, 2011, John Roberts discussed the integration of UserVoice as a Cloudflare App. This partnership aimed to help businesses better engage and assist their customers by providing a Full Service plan that combined feedback tools and support platforms into one package. The UserVoice Helpdesk allowed for tracking and responding to user issues while the Feedback tool gathered prioritized ideas from customers. Through this integration, Cloudflare users could easily set up their UserVoice account with a 30-day free trial and additional features available upon upgrade.

The text discusses the integration of Pingdom, an uptime monitoring service, with Cloudflare's platform. It highlights that while Pingdom was previously a partner app, it is not currently participating in the Cloudflare Apps program. The author encourages users to monitor their website's performance and reliability using third-party verification tools like Pingdom. The text briefly describes some of Pingdom's features such as downtime alerts, performance and uptime stats, and troubleshooting capabilities. It also provides instructions on how to create a free Pingdom account through the Cloudflare Apps dashboard.

Google Webmaster Tools is a collection of utilities from Google that help site owners improve their website visibility. To use these tools with Cloudflare, users can verify ownership of the site through the Cloudflare Apps page. Once verified, users can enable features like Always Online, which caches a subset of pages for display when the origin server is offline. The process involves signing in to Google from the Cloudflare Apps page and following a link to Google Webmaster Tools for verification.

On June 3, 2011, CloudFlare introduced its new CloudFlare Apps feature. The company now offers VigLink, Apture Highlights, and Google Analytics in the Apps dashboard for easy integration with one click. Customers have expressed their satisfaction on Twitter and Facebook, looking forward to more apps being released soon. Five additional apps are set to be launched starting Monday, June 6th (GMT).

The text discusses an older version of Google Analytics that was available through Cloudflare but is no longer supported. It highlights how adding Google Analytics through Cloudflare Apps ensures its installation on all website pages, including error pages, and keeps the latest version updated without any code changes. Additionally, users can access new Site Speed measurement data from their Google Analytics dashboard. Users do not need to remove the original Google Analytics code when using it via Cloudflare, as visitors are only counted once. In the future, Google Analytics will be removed from Cloudflare settings and offered exclusively within the Cloudflare Apps dashboard.

On June 1, 2011, Cloudflare introduced Apture Highlights as its second app in the Cloudflare Apps program. This free app enhances user engagement on websites by automatically adding contextual search to them. Users can search and share content without leaving the site, which increases engagement rates by two to three times. Apture integrates seamlessly with various platforms such as Google, Wikipedia, Amazon, Flickr, YouTube, and more.

On June 1st, 2011, CloudFlare launched its first app in the CloudFlare Apps Dashboard called VigLink. This free app helps website owners earn revenue from their site's outbound links by automatically turning unaffiliated links into affiliated ones. Additionally, it provides detailed analytics of visitors' activities once they leave a site. To enable VigLink, users can visit the Apps page or access it through their CloudFlare account. Once turned on, VigLink's code is properly placed on the website. If multiple domains are managed by CloudFlare, users can activate VigLink for each domain separately. Both CloudFlare and VigLink look forward to user feedback regarding this partnership.