Hanbiro.com review

First impression

Hanbiro is a technology company with corporate software, hosting, and solutions in the area of IT infrastructure. They began operations in 1999 and has its headquarters in South Korea, as well as offices in Vietnam and Japan. Some of the services they offer include Shared Hosting, Dedicated Server Hosting, Groupware Solutions (Collaborative Software), and Email Solutions. Their target market is companies that need high-level communication, data management, and very securite IT systems.

Trial Period

No free trial period exists with this Korean provider. They do, however, have a promotional offer whereby customers receive bonus months of service when purchasing extended contract plans, i.e., one month of service free when on a six-month contract or two months of service free when purchasing a yearly contract. And as for a refund policy - there isn't any.

Billing Cycle

Something I liked about Hanbiro's shared hosting plans is they don't make it complicated when it comes to billing cycles. You get to choose from going month to month, semi-yearly, or take the leap and go for the yearly cycle. Choosing the 6 months option will get you a free month and on the yearly option they'll offer two months' free.

Currently, they accept payments through all major Credit Cards and Bank Deposits, as well as the Samsung Allat payment system.

Control Panel

Hanbiro does not offer standard control panels like cPanel or Plesk in their hosting plans. Instead, they seem to stick to in-house tools that most likely get bundled into the broader set of business solutions they offer, such as groupware and CRM solutions. This integrated ecosystem style of approach to the business customer could not be quite as flexible or intuitive as widely used control panels that have been famous for ages for being user-friendly with rich feature environments.

Limits

For their Shared Hosting, users can choose between the Standard or Enterprise plan. The Standard plan comes with 1 Core E5620 CPU, 1GB RAM, and 80GB disc space, whilst the Enterprise plan features 2 Core E5620 CPUs, 2GB RAM, and 160GB storage. Both options run on a 1Gbps line, but one needs to be aware that they don't make use of fast SSD storage drives, but rather standard HDDs.

Website Builder

This provider does not offer an integrated website builder with their hosting plans, which might feel like a bit of a letdown for those who want an all-in-one solution for setting up their websites. However, this doesn’t mean you’re out of options. You can pair their hosting with external tools like WordPress, which is widely supported and offers countless customization possibilities, or third-party website builders such as Wix, Squarespace, or Webflow. These platforms allow you to design your site with user-friendly drag-and-drop features and then connect it to Hanbiro's hosting. While it might require a little more setup, this flexibility ensures you can create exactly what you envision for your website​.

Security

Hanbiro adopts a strong stance on the security of its infrastructure and hosting services. Basic security measures such as firewalls, DDoS protection, and antivirus software are included by default. More advanced protection such as IPSec VPNs, intrusion prevention, and application layer threat detection is offered through its Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution. Options in disaster recovery environments, encryption software, and automatic virus scanning using tools such as Symantec and Avast are also available. A notable omission of security that Hanbiro must address is two-factor authentication (2FA) of user and customer panels, something that could go a long way in improving log-in security.

OS

Their available operating systems depend on the type of hosting you are after. With their shared hosting packages, customers have the option between CentOS or Debian on Linux plans, two of the most secure and stable operating systems. For the shared hosting packages' Windows option, customers can choose from Windows Server Standard 2003, 2008, or 2012.

Support

They offer support through several channels such as Email, Phone, Live Chat, Support Tickets, and a contact form on their website. They also offer remote support in the case of hands-on support, for which installation of their support software needs to be done in order to establish a direct link to their team. Response times were fast, and in my case, agents replied within a minute.

Conclusion

Hanbiro seems to be a decent choice if you are looking for a new provider. It’s solid and does its job well, but isn’t flashy or loaded with extras. It’s a good choice for businesses and users who value stability, and flexibility in operating systems, and don’t mind taking a hands-on approach to website building since there’s no bundled website builder. If you’re tech-savvy or have a developer on board, Hanbiro's offerings can be a great fit. However, if you’re someone looking for plug-and-play simplicity with all the bells and whistles like drag-and-drop site builders or extensive documentation, this might not be your best bet.