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Archive for the ‘Support’ Category

Setting Up Mac Mail

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

To setup your copy of Mac Mail, do the following:

1. Start your copy of Mac Mail from the dock.

2. The Welcome to Mail screen will appear.

Setting Up Mac Mail

Enter your name, department or business name in the Full name field. This is what people will see when they receive email from you.
Enter the full email address and password in the corresponding fields below.
Click on the Continue button

3. The Incoming Mail Server screen will appear.

For Account Type select IMAP.
For description enter a short summary of either the name or purpose of the mailbox.
For Incoming Mail Server enter the name of your mail server “mail.yourdomainname.com”.
For User Name enter the full email address.
For Password enter the current password for your email account.
Click on the Continue button.

4. A Verify Certificate window will appear.

Setting Up Mac Mail

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Tags: Domain Names, Email, How To, Mac mail, Web Hosting, Website
Posted in Random, Support, Tips for Hosting | No Comments »

Setting Up Email on Thunderbird

Tuesday, January 17th, 2012

To setup an email address on your copy of Thunderbird (v7 or higher), do the following:

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Account Settings.

Setting Up Email on Thunderbird

2. In the Account Settings dialogue box click on Account Actions. Select Add Mail Account.

Setting Up Email on Thunderbird

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Tags: domain, Domain Names, Email, Thunderbird, tips and tricks, Web Hosting, Website
Posted in Business Websites, Email, Random, Support, Tips for Hosting | No Comments »

Setting up email on your iPad or iPad 2 is a hot topic. Due to a huge amount of our customers requesting information on how to do this, we have decided to create a detailed tutorial to allow for quick and easy setup.
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Tags: Email on iPad, iPad 2, iPad Email, iPad2, iPads, Setting Up Email on your iPad, Support
Posted in Email, Support | No Comments »

An Introduction to VPS

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

Recently we discussed recognising when you might need to move from shared hosting to a dedicated server. What wasn’t discussed was that, for some people, moving to a dedicated server is a big commitment of time and money. While dedicated servers are an excellent option, it is a big step from a shared server to dedicated server solution.

Luckily for those people who are still unsure if a dedicated server is right for them, there is a middle ground. That middle ground is a Virtual Private Server, or VPS.

I should note that all server types play a role, from share hosting right through to dedicated servers. Each type of hosting has pros and cons that depend on your needs. Your needs will change over time, as will the type of hosting that provides the best fit your needs. The most important thing is that you choose the type of hosting that provides what you need right now.

WHAT IS A VPS?

A Virtual Private Server is just that – virtual, private and on a server. A VPS takes advantage of virtualisation to offer a dedicated hosting-like experience, albeit with a number of virtual servers hosted on the one physical piece of hardware. As the hardware is shared amongst several users, the cost of leasing the hardware is less than for a dedicated server. However, you retain some of the flexibility of a dedicated server, enabling you to get a better understanding of what a dedicated server can do for you.

HOW DOES A VPS WORK?

A VPS uses virtualisation to divide a single physical server into a number of self-contained servers. The server runs a full operating system with root access for the administrator, a guaranteed amount of RAM and has secure shell access for remote administration.

Almost all server-side virtualisation on the market today is either hardware-based or operating system-based virtualisation.

Hardware-based virtualisation uses a thin software layer, called a hypervisor, that imitates the hardware of the server, creating a copy of the system resources for each “guest” operating system running on the server. While this increases the number of different types of guest operating systems available, efficiency is reduced as the hypervisor is emulating all the hardware to maintain compatibility with different operating systems.

Operating system-based virtualisation creates a single layer of the common operating system elements and then allocates the server’s resources across each of the virtual servers, which run in “containers”. Operating system-based virtualisation is more efficient than hardware based virtualisation, as it only needs to virtualise system resources, which is then shared by all containers, rather than for each of the containers as required.

Each VPS at Digital Pacific operates in this way thanks to Parallel’s Virtuozzo server-side virtualisation software. Virtuozzo allocates the server’s resources across all of the containers and is able to dynamically allocate these resources as required. This method requires that each container runs the same type of operating system as only a single set of components is made available to all the containers.

In the case of Digital Pacific, each VPS runs a Linux-based operating system, and several different distributions of Linux are available for you to use.

MANAGED SERVERS

Administering your own server can be intimidating, as you still need to have an understanding of the basics of server administration. Digital Pacific eases the transition from shared hosting to a VPS through its managed VPS plans. The Digital Pacific managed VPS service is designed to reduce some of the workload of running a VPS for people that don’t have access to a system administrator, or don’t have the time to run the server on their own. The plans include initial server set up and ongoing maintenance (such as firewalls and operating system updates), daily backups and bundles in some additional support hours at no extra cost.

If you think you’re ready to get a taste of the flexibility of running your own server, be sure to check out Digital Pacific’s managed and unmanaged VPS plans today.

An Introduction to VPS

Tags: dedicated hosting, Parallels, virtual private server hosting, Web Hosting
Posted in Support, Web Hosting | No Comments »

3 Easy Tips to Help Secure Your WordPress Site

Friday, January 7th, 2011

3 Easy Tips to Help Secure Your Wordpress Site
The chances of someone hacking into your WordPress site are much more common than you think. The last thing you need is someone pretending to be you — publishing inappropriate content and sending out offensive emails!

What’s worse is that if hackers gain access to your site, they can also upload viruses or add hidden links and tags throughout your site. This often results in your site being picked up by Google and consequently shut down. (To detect them, run a WordPress scanner.)

The sad news is that you can never prevent people hacking into your blog. But the good news is that there are a few simple things that you can do that will help minimise the chances of this happening to you.

1) Use a secure password and change it often

I know this sounds blindingly obvious, but it is amazing how little attention people pay to their passwords. It needs to be unique, not ‘guessable’, and changed every few months!

The safest passwords to use contain a mix of letters and numbers. Even better, add some symbols. For the full lowdown, check out this article on how to create a solid password.

2) Use the most updated version of WordPress

Using the latest version of WordPress is a great way to make sure your site is as secure as possible.

Like all successful programs, WordPress is always developing new versions to release into the marketplace. If there is a loophole or some kind of flaw, WordPress will detect it, fix it up, and create a new improved version for you to download.

You can upgrade to the latest version of WordPress at the WordPress website. It is exactly the same process as downloading the program. To make life easier, all WordPress versions above 3.0 (which you should be using anyway!) are programmed to update automatically. Just keep an eye out for these notifications on your dashboard!

If you have the latest version of WordPress, your dashboard will also notify you of any plug ins you need to update as well.

3) Subscribe to the WordPress mailing list

You’ll notice on the WordPress site that there is a mail form. It is located on the download page, in the bottom right corner of your screen. Here, there is a mailing list that you can sign up for to receive regular news and updates.

Not only will these newsletters notify you when it’s time to upgrade your version of WordPress, but it will also give you advice and support on how to optimise your WordPress site and stay out of trouble.

A you looking for wordpress hosting? We have a number of plans to get you started.

3 Easy Tips to Help Secure Your Wordpress Site

Tags: Secure Wordpress, wordpress hosting, wordpress security
Posted in Support, Web Design, Webmaster | No Comments »

How to set up Email Auto-Responders

Friday, December 17th, 2010

As a Digital Pacific customer, you have the capabilities to create an auto-responder. This process varies depending on the type of control panel being used. See below for the steps involved for cPanel, Parallels Pro and Parallels Plesk control panels.

cPanel Control Panel
(How to create an auto-responder in cPanel)

Once logged into cPanel, click the “Auto Responders” icon in the “Mail” section.

On the next page, click the “Add Auto-responder” button. That should take you to the next screen where the responder message can be created.

Insert the email address you wish to create the auto-responder for in the top “Email” section. Fill out the following fields accordingly.

In the “Body” section, be sure to leave a message that lets the receiver know how long you will be gone, along with any other contact-specific information. Click the “Create/Modify” button when finished.

When you have returned to work, simply log in to the “Auto Responders” section again and delete the active message.

Parallels Pro Control Panel
(Creating an email vacation message in Parallels Pro)

Once logged into the Parallels Pro control panel, select the “Vacation” option from the “Email” section.

Select the option to “Edit Configuration”.

In the following screen, modify the vacation message, making sure to give the user your date of return. When satisfied, click the “Enable” box and “Update”.

When you return to work, be sure to log in and disable the feature so that vacation messages are no longer sent.

Plesk Control Panel
(How to create and autoresponder in Plesk)

Once logged into the Plesk control panel, select the “Mail Accounts” option.

Select the email address you want to use as an autoresponder.

Click the Autoresponders option.

Select Add New AutoResponder and fill out the short form with the details of your message remembering
to set your date of return.

Click finish and your set.

When you have returned to work, simply log in to the “Auto Responders” section again and delete the active message.

Searching for an email hosting provider?
Digital Pacific has email hosting plans for both personal and business use.

Tags: auto-responder, Email
Posted in Support | No Comments »

Domain Registration Scam

Thursday, November 4th, 2010

We’ve told you about domain renewal scams before and would like to bring a similar one to your attention. Once again we’ve chosen to call this a scam even though it is technically a legit, yet deceiving, business practice.

This letter was forwarded on to us from one of our customers who own a .com.au domain. The way the scam operates is through a document sent in the mail that looks like an invoice for your domain. In reality it’s asking you to register a slight variation of your domain name at a heavily inflated price. As you can see on the letter the stated domain is a .com where the recipient owns a .com.au domain.

Domain Registration Scam

Because these letters look like an invoice a lot of people are paying them, no questions asked, especially with the prospect of receiving a free gift (a portable DVD player in this case) for paying before a certain date. As we said, technically this is a legal operation – notice the ‘this is an invitation to register’ in small text – but it’s extremely misleading and unethical and we don’t want people to be taken advantage of!

What to do if you get one of these letters? Throw it in the bin. Or if it’s from a different letter, please let us know about it so that we can bring it to the attention of our readers.

Tags: domain name scam, scam
Posted in Domain Names, Random, Support, Webmaster | 2 Comments »

Web Page Navigation – Getting Your Visitors From A to B

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

How good are you at getting your web visitors from point A to B on your website? If you haven’t thought about that question much in the past, it is definitely something to put on your to-do list now. Simply getting your web visitors from A to B can rely mostly on your web page navigation system and how it is set up. Here are some tips to keep in mind while assessing your layout.

Keep It Simple

Like so many other things in life, simple is better. Too many links in too many places can be overwhelming and confusing, so it is best to focus on what is important for your specific site’s goal. Also, extremely fancy designs for a navigation can have a similar negative effect.

Consistency is Key

The navigation menu should be the same on all of your pages. What this does is makes it quick and easy for users to find what they need instead of spending extra time trying to get re-accustomed to a new system. When that happens, you can be sure that most people will simply go back to the search engine and find another site.

Vertical vs Horizontal Navigation

When deciding the location on a web page for the navigation menus, it is best to think about the natural flow of the site. It is best to note that visitors will most likely click on items as they come in order, either left to right or top to bottom. Therefore, it is vital to organise your navigation links accordingly. Many websites include both a vertical and horizontal navigation menu on a web page, but is wise to note that the top navigation will probably be more popular than the horizontal, depending on the layout.

Be Descriptive

Be concise, but also be descriptive by choosing appropriate words. You want your visitors to know what sort of information is going to be on the page before getting there. This lessens the amount of times users have to click around to find what they are looking for.

Link Home

A good point to keep in mind is that web visitors may enter your website on any page (not just the home page). You want to keep those people interested in your site as long as possible, and easy and clear navigation with a link to the home page is essential. In addition, it’s not pleasing to make your other visitors use the back button to return home, and it can be just another annoying feature to drive them away.

Grouping

It is important to put similar navigation items near each other. For example, if your sidebar navigation system lists fantasy books, rock music, cell phones and science fiction books in that order, you might want to make sure all the book topics are together. This helps visitors to be able to keep track of what’s on offer at your site without having to jump around. If your navigation system contains sub-pages, be sure that your group subpages in logical categories as well.

Another idea to keep in mind is that of primary and secondary navigation menus. Primary navigation should include links to your main pages of interest. All others, such as the Contact or About Us pages, should be put into a secondary navigation and stressed less in the design.

Easy Access to Important Pages

Any important pages, such as your main information or selling pages, should be accessible within one click from the homepage. Pages that are hidden deep within the site are likely to get skipped over as a web visitor is generally not going to stick around for more than a couple minutes.

Avoid Linking Out

In the navigation, it is probably a bad idea to link out to external websites. If you have these external links on the main navigation, it will most likely lead to visitors quickly exiting your site, and if you’re wanting sales, clicks or loyal readers, then you want to keep your visitors on your site as long as possible.

Check for Broken Links

A broken link anywhere can be annoying to web visitors, but a broken link in the navigation can be even worse. Be sure to use a link checker to see that your site’s links are all active.

Tip:

If you use Google Analytics to track your website’s stats and traffic, they have a handy “Site Overlay” tool that can show you which links get the most clicks (in percentages) on each page. In that way, it’s easy to see where visitors tend to go next, and it can help you make better navigation plans.

Beyond Main Menus:

Navigation structures go deeper than the main navigation menus on a web page. Think about a blog that features links to the next and previous posts at the top or bottom of each article. This navigation structure is also good to think about within the content sections themselves to help guide a visitor where you want them to go.

Without proper web page navigation, it is safe to envision your web visitors as lost sheep with the attention span of a fly. Don’t assume that people will simply know where to go just because you do, and don’t assume that they will take the time to work it all out on their own. In today’s fast-paced Internet world, visitors are generally skimmers, and if they can’t get the info they need in an instant, they will simply move on to the next. I know I would. You?

Web Page Navigation – Getting Your Visitors From A to B

Tags: horizontal navigation, user friendly navigation, vertical navigation, web page navigation, website menu, website navigation
Posted in Support, Web Design, Webmaster | No Comments »

What’s New in WordPress 3.0

Thursday, July 1st, 2010

Whats New in WordPress 3.0

If you haven’t upgraded to WordPress 3.0 yet, we definitely suggest you get on it. Upgrading this CMS not only makes your install more secure, but it also opens you up to some amazing new features. Seriously, this is one update you would be sad to miss given the number of fantastic upgrades and features. Here are some of those that should be noted.

Custom Username

On the initial install, users are given the option to choose a custom username instead of using the standard “admin”. There have been security risks associated with the past use of “admin”, so the ability to choose now makes access more secure. Passwords are also open for customisation at this time.

New Default Theme

Kubrik has been retired, and “2010″ has been installed as the default theme. One look and you will surely agree that the new default theme opens users up to a more modern blog look right from the beginning. It is also more capable of harnessing the additional 3.0 features.

Custom Headers

When navigating through the backend, you will quickly notice a cleaner and brighter appearance, but the changes go much deeper. There is now the option to choose a custom header right from the backend by either choosing one of 8 given for the default theme, or by uploading one of your own.

Custom Background

There is also the option in the backend to choose either a new background color, or for uploading a new background image without the need to play around in the code.

New Updates Menu

Any plugins or theme updates that need to take place will be notified under the Dashboard Menu, and it is good to note that plugins can be updated in bulk.

Shortlink Feature

In a world of Twittering and Facebooking, shortened links are great for saving space and keeping things tidy. WordPress 3.0 has integrated a shortlink feature right on the post page to speed up the process. The cool thing about this option is that the shortlink is given with your base domain name (great for online branding), and it looks like the post id (what would originally be displayed if you didn’t set up pretty permalinks.

Custom Post Types & Menus

If there are certain types of posts you are constantly creating that have special functions, such as adding a video or podcast, you can create a custom post type for it. They sort of act as categories for your posts, but they also give you the ability to choose certain features that should be active for that post type. In addition, users can now access these post types from menu options in the dashboard.

Multi-Site Feature

WordPress 3.0 gives you the functionality of WordPress MU by allowing multiple blogs to be run from one master install. As with many of these options above, it is not available on immediate install; you have to insert a simple line of code into your config.php file to enable the Network option underneath the Tools menu in your dashboard.

The Multi-Site feature opens up many doors for bloggers who couldn’t be bothered previously by converting to MU.

For a complete list of the new WordPress 3.0, please consult the official WordPress codex.

Have you already upgraded to 3.0? If so, what do you think of these new features.

Posted in Support, Webmaster | No Comments »

Password Protection

Monday, May 3rd, 2010

The Internet is a powerful tool that can bring the entire world to us with one simple click. On the other hand, if used incorrectly, it can bring us to the world – and not in a good way.

I’m talking about Internet security. Everywhere you look there is a new security threat making itself known, causing countless people to be asked to change their passwords again and again. We at Digital Pacific know how frustrating it can be to have to remember yet another password, but we also understand that it is often just a good password that is keeping intruders from taking over your emails, your bank accounts or, perhaps, even your identity.

Password Protection

The First Line of Defense: Choosing a Strong Password

Always choose strong passwords when you have to create a new one. The difference between a strong and a weak password can mean the difference between your information being truly private or not.

Weak passwords are those that contain:

Names and dates of things important to you (pet’s name, son’s birthday, etc.).
Simple words, even words spelled backwards are too easy.
Minimal combinations of numbers, letters and characters (adding a number at the end of a word is not good enough).
Repeating characters or patterns (a1111, a21a21).
Minimal characters in total (shorter passwords will be easier to crack).

Did you know that according to a recent survey by Symantec, 10% of the respondents often used their pet’s name to create a password? That is unfortunately a sign of a weak password. To create a stronger password, you will first want to think outside the box. Don’t immediately grab your favorite word and put some numbers with it and call it a day.

You will definitely want to shoot for a longer password, perhaps 10 characters or more in total.
Try to not choose a straight dictionary word. Sure, these will make a password easier to remember, but that will also make them easier to hack. Why not think of a sentence or saying that you enjoy, and then take the first or last letter from each word to make your password?
Throw in uppercase and lowercase letters.
Be sure to include symbols, numbers and punctuation (if your password system allows it) in random locations in your password. Instead of just placing them at the beginning or end, how about dispersing them throughout?

If you need help generating a strong password there are numerous websites around that actually generate passwords for you. A good example is http://www.strongpasswordgenerator.com/

The Second Line of Defense: Don’t Use the Same Password

It is best to always choose a new password for each website or program you are using. The reason for this is if one account gets hacked, no matter how trivial that account may be, there could now be the wrong information (your same login and password you use for your banking website) in the wrong hands.

According to the same Symantec survey, 45% of users use a few different passwords that they rotate around through their accounts. This is, of course, better than using the exact same password for all, but still risky.

The Third Line of Defense: Change Your Passwords Periodically

For extra protection, it is wise to change your passwords every few months. Just like choosing a hard to guess password, shortening the length of time using a specific password will lessen the chances of that password getting hacked. You don’t have to be too strict with your time frame here; just put a mark on your calendar every few months to signify when to make the change.

A Quick Recap

Passwords are important in our technological world. To make sure you are safe and secure, remember to follow the points in this post: choose a strong password, don’t use the same password, and change your passwords periodically.