|
Web Hosting
Resources
|
Questions about
setting up and using
email on IT servers
come daily. Hopefully
these pages and links
will help you get up
and running in short
order!
|
How to Set up your Email
Client
Detail instructions for
setting up your email
client:
Outlook Express
Setup
|
These
instructions
are based on
Outlook
Express 6.0,
but should
work for
prior
versions.
 Startup
Outlook
Express,
then click
Tools,
then
Accounts,
then Add,
then Mail
Enter
your name
as you would
like it to
appear, and
then click
Next (eg:
John Doe)
Enter
your full
email
address,
and click
Next (eg:
jdoe@mydomain.com)
Enter
your mail
server name
for both
incoming &
outgoing
mail server,
and click
Next (eg:
mail.yourdomain.com)
Enter
your account
name
(same as
your full
email
address) and
password,
and click
Next (eg:
jdoe@yourdomain.com)
Click
Finish.
The
Internet
Accounts
window
redisplays.
Click
on the
Mail
tab, and
your Account
you just
created
should
appear.
Click
on
Properties,
then
Servers
Click
on the box
labeled 'My
server
requires
authentication'
|
|
Eudora Setup
Screen snapshots
for setting up an
email user in Eudora
I used Eudora 5.2,
in the 'Advanced
Setup' mode.
Screen 1:
|
Other information:
How
to view your email using a Web
Browser
Allow users to change their
email password
If you maintain a
group of email
accounts for your web
site, sometimes users
may wish to personally
change their email
passwords. If so,
here's a suggestion on
how to handle it:
1. Set up each user
through cPanel and
assign them a starter
(default) password
2. Instruct them to
access their email via
the web (www.yoursite.com/webmail)
3. After logging in,
they will be presented
with the screen to
select between NeoMail
and Horde. On this
screen is a link to
'Change Password', as
shown below:
4. Have them enter
their new password
(twice), and that's
it!
|
Check
your email
account
name:
When setting
up a client
email
program to
retrieve
user's
email, the
email
account name
entered for
all users
should be in
the form of:
usernamer@domainname.com
The only
exception is
the main
(admin)
account for
your web
site. The
reason for
this is that
most web
sites on IT
on on shared
servers, and
including
the domain
name with
the username
is the only
way to make
the email
account
unique.
Firewall:
If you are
trying to
use Web Mail
from your
work site,
and get a
connection
refused,
your company
may have a
firewall in
place that
is blocking
port 2095.
Contact your
company's
network
administrator
for options.
|
Attachments being
blocked
|
IT
automatically
filters
(blocks)
certain file
types if
included as
an email
attachment.
The reason
is to
protect the
end user.
Workaround?
First "zip"
the file(s)
you wish to
attach as an
email
attachment.
Here is a
list of the
files that
are blocked:
|
(?:ad[ep]
#
list
of
extns
#
|ba[st]
#
|chm
#
|cmd
#
|com
#
|cpl
#
|crt
#
|eml
#
|exe
#
|hlp
#
|hta
#
|in[fs]
#
|isp
#
|jse?
#
|lnk
#
|md[be]
#
|ms[cipt]
#
|pcd
#
|pif
#
|reg
#
|scr
#
|sct
#
|shs
#
|url
#
|vb[se]
#
|ws[fhc])
|
|
|
What is
spam?
Let's make
it simple
and define
spam as any
junk or
commercial
advertising
email that
we receive
that we did
not request.
Learn more
about spam
at the
Spam
Abuse web
site
How can I
block spam?
IT provides
Spam
Assassin
as a tool to
block spam
email from
the server.
By default,
Spam
Assassin is
disabled
when your
web site is
first setup
by IT.
Client (PC)
side spam
tools:
Email Setup
|
Posted
by
bethohio3
on
4/10/2003
Forgive
me
if I
get
too
basic
here,
but
I
thought
I'd
spell
as
much
of
it
ought
as I
can.
For
each
email
account,
you
need
the
following
settings:
User
information
(Your
name
and
email
address)
Logon
Information
(User
name
and
password)
Server
information
(incoming
and
outgoing
mail
servers)
Your
ISP
tech
support
staff
is
used
to
providing
this
information,
but
they
are
doing
it
based
on
the
assumption
that
you
are
using
their
incoming
and
outgoing
mail
servers.
Since
you
have
your
own
domain,
though,
you
don't
want
to
use
their
mail
servers.
You
want
the
mail
to
go
through
your
own
mail
servers
(i.e.
mail.mydomain.com)
There's
a
caIT,
though,
many
ISPs
won't
let
you
use
an
alternative
outgoing
mail
server.
This
is a
Good
Thing,
because
it
allows
them
to
ensure
that
only
people
with
accounts
on
their
system
are
able
to
send
email
through
it.
So
what
does
that
do
to
your
settings?
User
information
is
the
easiest:
your
name
and
email
address
Logon
information:
Your
username
and
password
for
your
IT
account.
However,
remember
what
I
wrote
in
the
earlier
message.
If
you
are
using
your
main
cpanel
login
name,
omit
the
"@mydomain.com"
Incoming
mail
server:
mail.mydomain.com
Outgoing
mail
server
(SMTP):
Ask
your
ISP,
or
copy
what
you're
using
for
your
email
address
under
your
ISP.
That's
right--your
outgoing
mail
server
is
through
your
ISP,
even
though
it
is
for
a IT
hosted
email
account
under
your
own
domain.
Depending
on
the
current
settings
required
by
your
ISP,
you
may
also
need
to
provide
authentication
information
for
the
SMTP
outgoing
server.
In
my
case,
that
is
my
username
and
password
for
my
ISP
account.
I
can't
use
the
same
settings
as
my
incoming
mail
server,
because
I
use
my
cpanel
username
and
password
for
that--that's
to
authenticate
with
IT.
I
hope
I
haven't
totally
confused
you.
Just
try
and
keep
in
mind
the
pieces:
You
have
an
incoming
mail
server
and
you
apparently
have
all
the
settings
correct
for
that.
You
have
an
outgoing
mail
server,
and
that
needs
to
be
your
ISP's
mail
server
name,
and
your
authentication
information
for
your
ISP.
|
|
|
Back to TOP
|
IT allows you
to access your
email accounts
via a web
browser. We
refer to this
feature simply
as Web Mail.
Using Web
Mail:
IT offers two
web mail
interfaces:
NeoMail and
Horde. To
access your
email from a
web browser,
simply:
- point your
browser to
http://www.yourdomain.com/webmail
- then select
either
NeoMail
or Horde
|
|
|
|
Horde
Project
Web
Site:
|
NeoMail
Web
Site:
|
One Step
Access to Web
Mail:
There's a
simple work
around if you
know which
program you
want to use.
Set up a
subdomain to
point directly
to the email
login page you
want. Choose
from your
options below,
and then in
cPanel create
a a subdomain
(such as
webmail.yoursite.com)
to point to
the prefered
email
interface.
Here are the
important urls
to remember
(replacing
yoursite.com
with your
actual domain
name)
If I recall
the initial
setup
correctly,
http://www.yoursite.com/webmail
points to
http://www.yoursite.com:2095/,
which is the
insecure
login. You can
also reach the
secure login
at
https://www.yoursite.com:2096/,
but I have
found that I
get a warning
because my
domain name
isn't the one
that's
certified.
If you want to
link directly
to horde, you
can do so via
http://yoursite.com:2095/horde/index.php
or the secure
server
https://yoursite.com:2096/horde/index.php.
The same holds
true for
neomail at
http://www.yoursite.com:2095/neomail/neomail.pl
and
https://www.yoursite.com:2096/neomail/neomail.pl
I like that IT
offers us the
choice, but
once I made my
choice, I
preferred
one-click
convenience.
Web Mail
'Javascript'
Interface:
The head guru
recently came
up with a
quick
WebMail
Javascript
interface that
you can use on
a web page,
allowing users
to logon to
their Webmail
account via a
web page front
end interface.
"Connection
Refused"
Message:
Webmail uses
port 2095 to
access your
email. If you
get a
connection
refused
message when
using Webmail,
chances are
that it is due
to a firewall
blocking port
2095. Please
discuss this
with your
company's
network
administrator.
Alternatives
for accessing
your WebMail:
|
|
|
We've collected a list
of various free (or
cheap) utilities and
programs that our TCH
users have suggested
recommended in our
discussion forums.
Enjoy!
|
PC based
tools
Spam & Web
Blockers:
Web Mail:
|
Web site
Addons
News,
Weather, etc.
Stock
Quotes
Virus Info
Bulletins
|
|
Back to TOP
3rd
Party Applications
Back to TOP
Tools & Scripts
Main > Script
categories
|
|
Back to TOP
IT web servers support
FrontPage 2002
extensions (FPE).
However, FPE is not
automatically
installed when your
site is configured.
Use cPanel to quickly
install FPE.
Other Microsoft
Products
Although IT supports
Front Page extensions,
our servers operate on
the Linux operating
system. Thus we do not
support Microsoft ASP
web pages, nor
Microsoft specific
products, like Access
Database.
FrontPage and
subdomains
You can create subwebs
off the main site
using the FrontPage
server admin tool.
Check out the relevant
menu item in FrontPage
to do that.
In
FP2002 it's under
Tools > Server.
In
FP2000 you just
right-click the folder
in the main web you
want to make a subweb,
and click create web.
Then go to
tools-security-permissions
to set the author,
administrator, etc...
Problems publishing
with FP
Some people have
encountered problems
publishing with Front
Page. The Head Guru
has indicated that
there is a bug with FP
2000. Here is what he
wrote:
"You can not publish
to HTTP and a IP
address in Frontpage
2000 or back. It will
only publish to FTP.
Once your domain name
resolves and is fully
propagated it will
upload just dandy.
This bug was corrected
in FP 2002 but
persists in FP 2000
and earlier.
Simply put, you have
to FTP until your
domain propagates."
|
Back to TOP
|
What is FTP?
FTP stands for
File
Transfer
Protocol.
Simply put, it is a
method for copying
files between your PC
and your web site.
Most users will
install an FTP client
(utility) program on
their PC to facilitate
this process.
FTP Client Software
There are several well
known FTP utilities,
both free and paid,
that we can suggest
that you check out and
consider. These
include:
How to upload your
files
After you have signed
up with IT for a web
site, and have
registered a domain
name, you'll be ready
to upload your web
site. Your homepage
should normally be
named index.html or
index.htm. This is the
page that will show
when someone visits
http://www.yoursite.com.
Follow the
instructions below to
learn how to upload
your file.
Start
your FTP client and
click the connect
button.
Enter
ftp.yoursite.com
as the server name.
Use
the user name/password
provided in your IT
welcome email
Connect
and then go to the
public_html
directory on your web
site
Delete
or replace the file
called
index.html
Upload
your
index.html file
and any other files
you need to upload.
Disconnect
and close the FTP
client.
Point
your browser to
http://www.yoursite.com
and view your new home
page
Allowing others to
do web maintenance
You may wish to allow
others to do some web
maintaince and FTP
work, without giving
them access to cPanel
or the master
administrative
userid/password.
Simply create a new
FTP account for that
person, and identify
the folder that they
can access. For
example, you could
give them access to
public_html or a
subdirectory within
public_html.
|
Back to TOP
|
PHP Support for
Version 4. PHP is a
widely-used
general-purpose
scripting language
that is especially
suited for Web
development and can be
embedded into HTML.
MySQL is the world's
most popular Open
Source Database,
designed for speed,
power and precision in
mission critical,
heavy load use.
Online
Documentation
Other web site
links
Other information
You
cannnot edit the
php.ini file on IT
GD
support is installed,
by, default, on IT.
GD2
support is available
upon request
|
Back to TOP
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
|
Search engine
optimization is the
process of selecting
appropriate keyword
phrases for a specific
site and enhancing aspects
of the site to ensure high
rankings when the selected
keyword phrases are used
in a particular Internet
search.
Search engine optimization
must begin with an
understanding of the
search engine spider's
algorithms. All search
engine rankings are
determined by a search
engine spider's algorithm.
An algorithm is simply a
sequential series of
logical steps.
All computer programs are
algorithms: execute line
1, then line 2, then line
3, etc.
For a Search Engine
spider, the algorithm
performs an analysis on
each page it 'spiders'.
This analysis can be quite
elaborate and complex.
Understanding the
complexity of the
algorithm allows one to
optimize a specific web
page or site for a certain
keyword phrase. We will
get into the details of
search engine optimization
but first, let us
understand the uniqueness
associated with Internet
marketing.
Internet
Marketing: Have things
changed?
Traditional marketing
involves finding a media
outlet (print, radio, TV,
etc.) whose demographics
(age, gender, median
household income, etc.)
best mimics one's existing
or desired customer base.
Once this demographic
match is determined, the
content, brand, item, etc.
is placed within view of
the designated potential
consumers with the hope of
attracting their
attention.
Now enters the age of the
Internet marketing.
The Internet is literally
a network of millions of
computers (i.e. servers).
These servers are filled
with vast amounts of
information. It is
estimated that there are
well over 10 trillion
pages (10,000,000,000,000)
and millions of new pages
are added every day.
Early on, it was
recognized that this vast
amount of information had
to be organized in some
logical fashion in order
for it to be useful.
Consequently, indices
evolved forming simple
structures based on
subject. Further
refinement of indexed
pages within individual
subjects still represented
an overwhelming amount of
information. This led to
the development of the
search engine.
A search engine consists
of a searchable index in
which search results are
based on a search engine
spider's algorithm. A
search engine spider reads
a web page and then
analyzes its subject value
on specific criteria. This
would include page titles,
body text, images, etc.
The ultimate goal in this
analysis is to be able to
serve the most relevant
pages to the requesting
party.
Therefore, this vast
amount of information is
just sitting there waiting
to be 'served' to whoever
asks. Here lies the major
distinction between
traditional and Internet
marketing: the information
is not served unless asked
by the viewer.
Traditional Marketing
uses demographics to
attempt to narrow a large
population down to a
targeted 'potential'
viewer.
Internet Marketing is
the opposite, requiring no
demographics, because it
is the very targeted
viewer (consumer)
searching for the specific
content.
Thus, the strategy of
Internet marketing is very
different.
Have things changed?
Yes! They are looking for
you; you are not looking
for them.
Search Engine Optimization
involves alterations to
the visual and technical
aspects of a web page that
result in top rankings
from searches performed
using specific keyword
phrases. In other words,
search engine optimization
ensures that they will
find you.
A Side
Note: Pay Per Click
Campaigns
Pay Per Click involves a
web site owner paying a
search engine directly for
rank. You pay (or bid) for
specific keyword phrases
and rank position within
the paid inclusion listing
for these phrases. Costs
are accrued directly from
viewers 'clicks', meaning
you are only charged if
the viewer 'sees' your
site. This type of
Internet marketing was
created for obvious
reasons, to generate
revenue for the search
engines. Generally,
results for paid inclusion
(PPC) are displayed on the
same page but in a
separate area from the
non-paid search results
(e.g. Google's paid
listings are located on
the far right separate
from the 'main' rankings).
My personal feeling is
that 'relevancy' of a
match (web page associated
to search phrase) should
not be an item of trade.
When one does a search for
a specific subject, the
results should be based
solely on the relevancy of
a particular page, not on
the ability of someone to
bid the highest price.
Relevancy should not be
sold!
I would also like to add
that if a web site were
properly optimized, the
site would obtain top
rankings among the major
search engines for the
most relevant keyword
phrases for that site.
With these results, a PPC
campaign's importance is
minimized and is, in my
opinion, eliminated.
To get a free quote on
search engine submission
services:
visit this link:
http://www.heebeha.com/marketing.htm
|
Back to TOP
|
Shopping cart
modules available:
Credit Card
Merchants:
Third party
shopping cart
alternatives:
|
Back to TOP
|
SSH (Secured Shell)
command line prompt is
not provided with any
of our web hosting
plans.
Effective 3/13/2003
IT will only offer SSH
to those customers who
can show a valid
technical reason for
needing such.
If you are approved,
there will be an
annual recurring $10
fee to cover the
activation and support
for the SSH service.
SSH Alternative?
Check out
PHP Shell
for a possible shell
workaround.
|
Back to TOP
|
Options for an SSL
Certificate
1. If you already have
your own SSL
certificate, IT will
install and host your
certificate for $35.
2. Or you can order
your SSL certificate
through IT for $85.
There would still be
a $35 installation
fee, for a total cost
of $110
3. Or you can drop a
help desk ticket and
request to use IT's
shared SSL
certificate.
Using our Shared
SSL
Simply parse your page
like this:
where * = your server
number
Shared -vs-
Dedicated SSL?
Well, the difference
is a matter of
appearance, if you ask
me. But I'm not the
expert.
With shared, your
visitor's address bar
will reflect an
address that is not
'originating' from the
same site. With
dedicated, your
visitors will always
see your domain name
in the address bar of
their browser.
Which company would
you feel more
comfortable completing
a transaction with:
https://islandiatech.com/~bill/checkout.php
-or-
Other information:
|
What is SSL?
|
Protocols
Information and
communication on the
Internet travel thru
specific protocols,
called ports. Here are
some examples:
Port
80 is used when you
view a web site (http
protocol)
Port
25 is used to send
email (smtp protocol)
Port
21 is used to upload
files to your web site
(ftp protocol)
Port
443 is used for
sending secured web
pages encrypted using
the SSL (secured
sicket layer) protocol
How do we access
these protocols?
Normally, we are not
aware that we are
using a specific port
number. But we
indicate the protocol
by the URL we enter:
http://www.mysite.com
indicates to use the
http protocol (port
80)
ftp://ftp.mysite.com
indicates to use the
ftp protocol (port 21)
https://www.mysite.com
indicates to use the
SSL protocol (port
443)
What does using SSL
do for me?
Operating a secure
server (SSL) allows
you to conduct
e-commerce or other
sensitive exchanges of
data with your
visitors in a way that
will hopefuly make
them feel more
comfortable doing
business with you.
SSL provides two basic
ingredients of
security:
Safe
Passage of
Information: Your data
cannot (we hope) be
decoded by any party
that might intercept
the communications.
Server
Authentication: If
your server is granted
a certificate by a CA
(Certificate
Authority), your
customer's can protect
themselves from being
directed to another
server that is
pretending to be yours
by checking the
contents of the
certificate.
|
How does SSL work?
Examples
Here are some coding
examples for
implementing secured
pages
USING SSL
When the SSL (Secure
Socket Layer) feature
has been enabled for
your account, you can
use SSL to encrypt any
page on your site. For
example, to call a
form on your site, you
would use the
following:
<a href =
"https://www.ssl9.com/joeshmoe/form.html">file</a>
You can SSL encrypt a
CGI script while
calling it with the
following:
You must reference the
page through the
hostname of the ssl
server (the name that
is on the digital
certificate) or you
will receive the
"certificate does not
maIT error".)
Note, most hostnames
must begin with the
"www" prefix as in
www.ssl9.com
(All links on the
page that are being
referenced via the
"https" protocol must
either be "relative"
links, or they must
start with "https".
They should not start
with "http". If they
do start with "http",
the page will show a
"this information is
not secure" error
message.)
Also, if you are
referencing a
directory with the
"https" protocol (for
example, you want the
"index.html" page to
load), you must put a
forward slash after
the directory name.
Examples:
Incorrect:
https://www.ssl9.com/kin27327
Correct: https://www.ssl9.com/kin27327/
|
|
IT
currently offers three
full featured
statistical reporting
package for our
customers: Analog
Stats,
Webalizer, and
Awstats.
As of April 10, 2003
the problem with
unresolved IP
addresses has been
fixed.
 Analog
Stats
Analog stats produce a
simple and easy to
understand summary of
all the people who
have visited your
site. It is fast and
provides great
lightweight
statistics.
This tool provides
reports on your site
visitors including
monthly,
daily and hourly
visitor summaries,
referrer
information showing
how visitors are
finding your site,
the
most common keywords
being used to find
your site through the
search engines.
AWSTATS
 Check
out:
Customizing Stats
Recently, users on the
IT discussion forums
identified a way to
customize AWSTATS.
The config file is
located in the /tmp
directory. But, by
default, if you change
or modify it, the next
day IT servers replace
it with the original
version!
Solution? Set the
permission of the
config file to read
only (chmod 444)
Webalizer
|
Back to TOP
Contact us to find out more
about what we can do for your
company. We'll be happy to
create a winning marketing plan
with you. site
marketing
Back to TOP
|
Your
Name: John
Doe
