1984 Hosting is an 'ethical web hosting' company known for civil rights protection and their use of green, eco-friendly energy - it uses only electricity from renewable energy sources. This service offers its own i-MSCP interface to manage your web hosting account. 1984 Hosting offers unlimited storage, data transfer, and domains with all their plans.
Since their founding in 2006, 1984 Hosting has grown to become Iceland’s largest web hosting provider by far. Built on the three core values of civil rights protection, green, eco-friendly energy, and the utilization of free, open-source software, 1984 Hosting is a popular choice for civil rights enthusiasts.
Users should notethat their data centers are based in Iceland and therefore may be somewhat slower to load for website visitors located farther away, but if freedom of speech is the primary characteristic you’re looking for in a web host, 1984 Hosting is an excellent candidate.
Features & Ease of Use
1984 Hosting is notable because of Iceland’s civil rights and freedom of speech laws – and indeed, most of their users endorse them primarily because they’re a huge supporter of journalistic expression. They make every effort to protect the privacy and security of their users, and this is made possible because the company operates exclusively out of Iceland’s journalistic safe haven.
However, it does come with a caveat: their user interface isn’t the best in terms of user-friendliness, as certain sections are only partially translated and you’ll occasionally be redirected to Icelandic webpages.
That said, managing your website via their control panel is straightforward enough. In place of the typical cPanel or Plesk control panel, 1984 Hosting offers their own i-MSCP (internet Multi-Server Control Panel) interface, which you can use to manage everything you need within your account.
1984 Hosting also offers unlimited storage, data transfer, and domains with their plans – an even more impressive feat when you consider how expensive bandwidth in Iceland is.
If you’re big on eco-friendliness, you’ll be happy to know that 1984 Hosting utilizes only electricity from renewable energy sources, and they’re committed to achieving the highest possible energy utilization efficiency levels.
They also employ only free, open-source software on their servers, in line with their belief in everyone’s right to learn and share what they’ve learnt with others.
Pricing & Support
1984 Hosting offers shared hosting and VPS hosting packages. Their plans, while not the cheapest onthe market, are affordably priced and come with the security and peace of mind valued by those searching for greater journalistic expression and protection of free speech.
There’s no free plan or money-back guarantee available, but if you register for a 24- or 36-month contract, you’ll get an additional discount. Plus, in accordance with their support of customer’s civil rights, they also accept anonymous payment through Bitcoin.
1984 Hosting’s support leaves something to be desired: they offerhelp in form of a knowledge base, FAQ, and email submission form. Unfortunately, the link to the FAQ was broken when I checked it, and a quick search online revealed that it seems to have been broken for quite some time now. The questions and answers in the knowledge base are also written in Icelandic, though that can be remedied by Google Translate. If all else fails, their staff are fluent in English and are fairly responsive through email.
Was given runaround for 2 months but site never hosted.
Prior to signing up, I asked if the web authoring program (linux-based) that I'd used for prior websites was compatible with theirs.Was told that if it had standard ftp, it would work.Unfortunately that wasn't true.I signed up for the obligatory year's service.1984's servers never allowed a connection and thus an upload of the site was never possible.For two months, I got the runaround. I sent screenshots of the settings to them several times.What was troubling was that the story always changed. For example, at one point, they said they didn't use ftp, but instead sftp. Other times they said they did use ftp.After they asked for the connection dialog, despite having sent screenshots of it twice, I finally just told them to forget it.After two months it just wasn't worth the headaches. It was clear that they weren't really interested in hosting my site.The fundamental problem of their servers not allowing a connection, was never solved. After two months I don't think they actually meant to solve it.
Before signing up, I sent 1984 an email with the version of the (linux-based) website creation program I used and asked if it was compatible with their system. and was told there shouldn't be any problem and was told that standard ftp was used. I'd used the same program before to run a different website.It should therefore have been a straightforward process to upload the site.Never could get a connection established. 1984's servers denied the connection every time. For two months I sent screenshots of settings and the connection dialog to them. It never seemed like they paid any real attention as the story changed frequently. For example, I was told a different protocol than ftp was needed, but then later was told ftp would work.When they asked me for the same information I'd already sent twice I finally gave up.
With many countries facing attacks on journalistic expression and civil rights, it’s no wonder that 1984 Hosting’s operational ethos resonates with such a large customer base. Their plans, while not the cheapest on the market, offergood value for your money.
Pros
Data centers located in Iceland’s journalistic safe haven
Servers employ open-source software
VPN services provide additional security
Commitment to eco-friendliness
Cons
Support base is lacking
Certain sections of the website are in Icelandic.
Sandra Tanoto
Sandra is a writer and editor based in Singapore. Sandra keenly understands the need for businesses to remain on the cutting edge with the latest technologies and enjoys researching and the newest developments in tech.
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