An FTP account is used for uploading and managing files on your website. An FTP account is automatically created in cPanel when you sign up for hosting, create a cPanel, create an addon domain or subdomain or enable anonymous FTP. So, by default, you already have an FTP account in your cPanel. Use your cPanel username and password to log into it.

You can create new FTP accounts to give access to other users without giving them your cPanel login credentials. For each additional FTP account created, you can also give each user different levels of access by assigning the user to a specific directory. 

This is very useful when outsourcing development with 3rd party developers or for providing your clients, friends or family access to upload files without giving away your precious cPanel credentials; which would give them full access to your management panel and application.

To create an additional FTP account:

1. Log into cPanel
2. In the Files section, click FTP Accounts.
3. In the Login field, type the name of the FTP user. A full FTP user name will always be formatted as user@primarydomain.tld. You cannot create an FTP account without your domain name in it, regardless of the publish destination.
   
4. In the Password fields, enter a password which will be used to authenticate this FTP account.
5. Set a quota for the FTP account. Quota is the maximum amount of bandwidth the FTP user may use. If you leave the quota as unlimited, the FTP user will have the ability to use the total amount of bandwidth for the cPanel account.
   
6. In the Directory field, cPanel will auto-populate an assumed directory based on the FTP username, but that is normally incorrect. So, we recommend erasing everything after public_html/ and providing the directory you would like the user to access.
   • If you erase everything and type a single "/", the user will have access to your home directory (anything outside of the public_html folder).
   Note: In this step, you can determine the level of access for a user. The FTP user will not be able to navigate outside of the specified directory; however, they will be able to access all files and subfolders inside that folder.
7. Click Create.

Learn how to login to an additional FTP account here

FTP Settings and Connection

All of our accounts are able to create and keep a full backup of their hosting package. This is advised as a best practice in case your content needs to be replaced or restored.

We automatically backup our users data and provide access to downloading these archives directly from within cPanel.

How to Generate a Full Backup in cPanel

To generate a full backup in cPanel:

1. Log into cPanel.
2. In the Files section, click on the Backups icon.
3. Under Account Backups, select the appropriately dated backup.
   
4. Click Download

This will begin downloading the backup from the selected date using your browser where you can store it locally for your own backup and records.

How to Generate a Full Backup in cPanel

To generate a full backup in cPanel:

1. Log into cPanel.
2. In the Files section, click on the Backups icon.
3. Under Full Backup, click Generate/ Download a Full Website Backup.
4. On the next page, select the Home Directory option from the Backup Destination drop-down menu.
5. For Email Address, select whether or not you wish to receive an email notification once the backup is complete. (You may also change the notification email address in the provided field if you wish.)
6. Click Generate Backup.

This will generate the back up for you and place the tar.gz file inside of your home directory. You can then download the backup via cPanel, FTP or SSH.

How to Download the Full Backup

To download the backup from cPanel:

1. Log into cPanel.
2. In the Files section, click on the Backups icon.
3. Under Full Backup, click Generate/ Download a Full Website Backup.
4. Under Backups Available for Download, click the link for the backup file you wish to download.
5. Select a destination on your PC where you would like to save the backup.

How to Restore a Full Backup

A full backup must be restored by the root user for the server. We will restore your full backups for free as long as the account previously existed on the server and you have uploaded the file yourself.

A designated manager can add, remove, edit and manage mailboxes, aliases and forwards for everyone at a particular domain. Additionally, each person with a mailbox can edit his own information including setting vacation messages or changing a password.

To manage your mail, simply visit our mail management page. The designated manager must leave the default "User Account" as postmaster to manage all mailboxes. An individual will change it to his mailbox name (ie: "jsmith"). Enter the domain name (without the www but with the the .com, .net, etc.) and the password for the account. If you have any problems, please contact support.

Some Definitions

• Default or CatchAll: Where your mail goes if there is no specific assignment for the address. For example, if someone sends mail to info@yourdomain.com and there is no mailbox, alias or forward set for this address, the info@ mail will go to the CatchAll location. You can set a mailbox or a forward as your CatchAll or you can set CatchAll to bounce or be deleted. Important Note: The preferred setting is to set CatchAll as "bounce" and mail with an unassigned address will bounce back to the sender.
• POP3 mailbox: A mailbox on our system (an actual place where mail is stored). For example, you have a postmaster box set up by default. You might also set up a box for jsmith@, sales@ or support@ and have different people check those boxes.
• Alias: an address@yourdomain.com that points to a POP3 mailboxes on our server - For example, you might have a sales@ mailbox and a sales person named Jane Smith. You might set up the alias jsmith@yourdomain.com to point to the sales mailbox. Then, mail for both jsmith@ and sales@ would come to that box. You are allowed an unlimited number of these.
• Forward: An address@yourdomain.com that points to a POP3 mailbox on some other mail server (ie: AOL, Mindspring, etc.). For example, the address webmaster@yourdomain.com might be forwarded to webmaster@someotherplace.com. You are allowed an unlimited number of these.
• Vacation Message/Autoresponder: An instant reply email message is sent back to the sender as soon as they send a mail message to a mailbox. For example, you might go on vacation and set a message to say "Thanks for writing. I'm out of the office until the 5th. Please call our office at 555 555-1234 if you need immediate assistance." The mail is still delivered to your mailbox.
• Mail Robot: This is the same as an autoresponder or vacation message except that a mail robot is for an address that is not a mailbox. If you wish to receive mail sent to an autoresponder address, you must also copy an address so someone gets the message and can act on it. When you send mail to a mail robot, an instant reply email message is sent back to the sender. For example, you might set a mail robot for support@yourdomain.com to say "Thanks for contacting us. A support technician will answer your inquiry within 24 hours." If you did this, you would have to be sure a copy of the message goes to the technical support mailbox so the message is answered. You are allowed an unlimited number of mail robots.

Initial Setup

Mail will always have one mailbox called "Postmaster". While use of a "CatchAll" is not recommended, the Postmaster mailbox can be made the "CatchAll", or if you create other mailboxes, you can make one of them the CatchAll instead of Postmaster. Alternatively you may also set a forward as your CatchAll or no CatchAll at all. It is best to set your CatchAll to Bounce. You may add mailboxes up to the limit included in your plan. You can not remove the Postmaster mailbox. If you have only one mailbox - Postmaster - and want it to be called something else, make it the CatchAll and use whatever name you want or set up an alias for the name you want and point it to the Postmaster box. If you don't wish to use or check your Postmaster mailbox, you should set a forward or alias for the name postmaster and point Postmaster mail to another location. This is important since bounced mail may end up in the Postmaster mailbox and it could fill up.

Important Notes

Mail Admin Password: The mail admin password is controlled by the Postmaster mailbox. To change your mail admin password, simply change the password on the Postmaster mailbox.

Names in More Than One Place: The system will allow you to set a mailbox and a forward with the same name, but the forward will take precedence.

Rules to Live By: In order to minimize spam and wasting time, here are some rules to live by if at all possible:

• Never set a mailbox as a catchall. Rather point as many addresses as you need to the mailbox of choice as aliases.
• Never set a default forward. Rather set forwards for as many addresses as you need to the email address of choice.
• Always set catchall bounced rather than deleted.

To set up your mail program, use the following guidelines. The basic information is the same for all mail clients, however the way you get to the place where you enter the information is a little different for each one. We have included a couple of images for the more popular mail clients.

Basic Information

• Name: Your real name
• Email Address: The email address you want to be identified with
• Account Name / Webmail Login Name: mailboxname@yourdomain.com
• Type: Mail is POP3
• Incoming (POP3): mail.icglink.com
• Outgoing (SMTP): mail.icglink.com
• SMTP Authentication: Our mail server requires authentication for SMTP (sending mail)

A Note About Phones

When setting up your phone, you will have a choice of using IMAP or POP for checking mail. The answer to which you should use depends on how you manage mail on your primary computer. If you download mail from our mail servers to your primary computer, you should use POP mail on your phone. If you leave mail on our servers, you should use IMAP on your phone. If you do leave mail on our servers, you should also check the box that sets your mail client to remove mail after a certain reasonable period.

Debugging Your Settings

Once you have set up your mail client, if you are having problems and are unsure of whether you have the correct username and password combination, you can test your settings here.

Select your mail client below for instructions on getting started:

• Eudora 4.x for the PC
• Eudora 5 for the PC
• Eudora Pro for the PC
• Netscape 4.5 to 4.7x for the PC
• Outlook Express 5.x and 6 for the PC
• Outlook 2000
• Outlook XP or Outlook 2003
• Entourage for MacOS X
• Eudora 4.3 for Mac
• Eudora 5 for Mac
• Eudora Pro for Mac
• MacOS X Mail
• Netscape 4.x or Above for Mac
• Outlook Express 4.5 for Mac
• Outlook Express 5 for Mac
• Blackberry
• Android
• iPhone / iPad

Eudora 4.x for the PC

• Open Eudora. From the menu bar, choose Tools and then Options.
• The Options window will appear. On the left side of the window, click on Getting Started.
• Fill in the fields as needed and select other left icons as necessary.

Eudora 5 for the PC

• After installing Eudora 5, open it by double clicking on the icon it created. You will see a Eudora 5 screen for a few seconds, then a screen explaining the difference between the advertising-supported version and the paid version. Click OK.
• The next screen is the welcome screen. Click Next to continue.
• Select the option to create a brand new e-mail account and click Next
• Fill in the fields as needed.

Eudora Pro for the PC

• Open Eudora Pro
• Click on the Tools menu and select Options.
• The Options window appears.
• On the left side of the split window, under Category click on Getting Started.
• Fill in the fields as needed and select other left icons as necessary.

Netscape 4.5 to 4.7x for the PC

• Choose Communicator from the menu bar, and then choose Messenger. The Messenger window should appear.
• Choose Edit from the menu bar and select Preferences.
• The Preferences window will appear.
• In the Category list on the left side, look for Mail & Newsgroups. (If there is a plus (+) sign next to Mail & Newsgroups, click on the plus sign to reveal the listings underneath it.)
• Click on Mail Servers.

Outlook Express 5.x and 6 for the PC

• Open Outlook Express.
• After Outlook Express loads, you should see a welcome screen. If the New mail wizard opens, click Cancel.
• Click on Tools and choose Accounts.
• The Internet Accounts window opens.
• Select the Mail tab if it is not selected by default.
• To edit an existing account, double click it.
• To add a new account, click on Add and select Mail.
• Fill in the fields as needed.

Outlook 2000

• When you first run Outlook 2000 after installing it, you will encounter the Outlook Startup window. Click Next to continue.
• If you had a previous version of Outlook, you will encounter the Outlook Mail Usage screen. Choose No to create new mail settings for Outlook 2000 and click Next.
• If you have other email programs on your computer, Outlook may detect them and ask if you want to import the email, address books, and settings from these programs.
• The next screen asks what kind of email account you plan to use with Outlook 2000. Choose Internet Only and then click Next.
• You will see a warning that by choosing Internet only, you will not be able to use Outlook 2000 with systems like Exchange. Click Yes to continue.
• Outlook 2000 will now begin to open. You may see a message that Windows Installer is running. Wait patiently until you see the main Outlook screen. Go make some coffee.
• Now you can begin to configure Outlook to access your email account. Click on Tools on the menu bar and choose Accounts from the menu.
• Click on the tab marked Mail.
• On the right side of the screen, click on the Add button and choose Mail.

Outlook XP or Outlook 2003

• In the Outlook menu bar, click on Tools and then E-mail Accounts.
• For a new account choose Add new e-mail account and then click the Next button.
  • Fill in the fields as needed.
• To edit an existing account, click View or change existing e-mail accounts and then click Next.
  • Click the Name of the E-mail configuration you would like to change.
  • Click the Change button located directly to the right.
  • Fill in the fields as needed.

Entourage for MacOS X

• Open Microsoft Entourage.
• Click on the Tools menu and select Accounts.
• When the Accounts window comes up, click on the New button on the top-left.
• If you get the the Account Setup Assistant window, click on the Configure account manually button. If not, just go to the next step.
• On the New Account window, select the corresponding account type from the Account type: pop-up list (POP3 is recommended). Then click OK.
• When the Edit Account window comes up, fill in the fields as needed.

Eudora 4.3 for Mac

• After Installing Eudora 4.3 open it by double clicking on the icon it created at the location you selected on your hard drive. To begin, you will get a window displaying a Welcome message. Click on the button labeled OK.
• You will be given a box titled Settings. If you do not see this box, go to the Special menu in Eudora and Select the Settings menu-item. Make sure that on the left of the window, the icon labeled Getting Started is selected.
• Fill in the fields as needed and select other left icons as necessary.

Eudora 5 for Mac

• After installing Eudora 5, open it by double-clicking on the icon it created at the location you selected on your hard drive. To begin, you may get a window asking if you want to import settings from another mail program. Click No.
• A window labled Settings will appear.
• Fill in the fields as needed.

Eudora Pro for Mac

• Click the Special menu and select Settings
• The Settings window appears. It is a split window with a menu list on the left side. From that menu list click on the Getting Started icon.
• The right part of the window also changes.
• Fill out the fields as needed.

MacOS X Mail

• Double-click the Mail icon.
• Select MAIL - Preferences
• Fill out the fields as needed.
• Be sure to set SMTP authentication to "password" as follows:
  • Under Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP), select your SMTP server from the list. If you don't have one, choose "Add Server" and add mail.icglink.com.
  • Set Authentication to "password" and use your account ID and password. Click OK to finish.

Netscape 4.x or Above for Mac

• Choose Communicator from the menu bar, and then choose Messenger. The Messenger window should appear.
• Choose Edit from the menu bar and select Preferences.
• The Preferences window will appear. In the Category list on the left side, look for Mail & Newsgroups. If there is an arrow facing right next to Mail & Newsgroups, click on the arrow so that it points down to reveal the listings underneath it. Click on Identity.
• On the right side of the window, fill out the fields as needed.

Outlook Express 4.5 for Mac

• Open Outlook Express 4.5 and click on Edit from the menu bar and then choose Preferences.
• There is a list of categories on the left. The E-mail category, which is under Accounts, should be highlighted so that the Mail Accounts preferences are shown on the right of the window.
• Click on the New Account... button.
• Fill out the fields as needed.

Outlook Express 5 for Mac

• Click on Tools from the menu bar.
• Then select Accounts from the pop-up menu.
• Click on the New button which is located on the top left corner of the window.
• Select POP from the Account Type: pull-down menu, then click on the OK button.
• Fill out the fields as needed.

Blackberry

• Menu / Accounts / Account Setup / Edit:
  • Acct Name = Versamail
  • Mail Service = Other
  • Protocol = IMAP
• Next: Username = full email address
• Next: Email Address = full email address
• Incoming Mail Server = mail.icglink.com
• Outgoing Mail Server = mail.icglink.com
• Next: Advanced: Incoming Server Settings
  • Port = 143
  • Nothing Checked
• Outgoing Server Settings
  • Port = 587
  • Check = Use Authentication (ESMTP)
  • Username = Full email address
  • Password = Same

Android

• Find your mail settings. Each phone is a little different. For example, on HTC phones, click "Mail" then Menu - More - Settings - Account Settings.
• Enter a Name for the Account
• Next: Select IMAP as your protocol
• Email Address = full email address
• Username = full email address
• Password = password
• IMAP Server = mail.icglink.com
• Security Type = None
• Server Port = 143
• Next: Check "Login Required"
• Username = full email address
• Password = password
• SMTP Server = mail.icglink.com
• Security Type = None
• Server Port = 587
• Next - Finish Setup

iPhone / iPad

• Open Settings
• Mail, Contacts, Calendars
• Add Account
• Other
• Add Mail Account
• Name: Your Name
• Address = full email address
• Password = password
• Description = A brief description
• Next: Select IMAP as your protocol
• Incoming Mail Server
  • Host Name = mail.icglink.com
  • Username = full email address
  • Password = password
• Outgoing Mail Server
  • Host Name = mail.icglink.com
  • Username = full email address
  • Password = password
• Next: Do you want to connect using SSL = Yes - If it does not connect, click "Continue"
• Save

Troubleshooting

If you are still having problems, please check our troubleshooting page. If that doesn't work, contact us for more assistance.

A Note About SPAM

We have a strict anti-spam (unsolicited mass e-mail) policy. Please review our policy if you have any questions before sending out any mass mailings.

We offer a mass mailing list service that will make it easy for you to send mail to a large number of your own customers at the same time. Our eBlast111 system is much better than the old ListServ mailing list systems because it is compliant with US law without you having to do anything special. You can not send unsolicited mail (spam) at the risk of discontinuation of service. We have a strict anti-spam policy that must be respected, but you are welcome to send mailings to those people who have specifically asked for information from you.

One advantage of using eBlast111 is that this kind of list is self managing. People can sign up and remove themselves without you being involved. When you sign up for this service, a page can be set up on your site where people can subscribe to your list. Every message you send has a link at the bottom so recipients can easily unsubscribe. eBlast111 is particularly good for large lists since you create a single message and the system sends it out to everyone on the list. This avoids taxing your system resources. Instead it uses our resources to deliver the message.

Can't Receive Mail

• On Line? - Check to be sure you are on-line by opening a web browser and visiting a web site you have not visited lately such as Google or Yahoo.
• Settings? - Check the settings in your mail client software. If the Login box pops up, your username or password may not be correct. Be sure you used boxname@yourdomain.com for the username regardless of what you use for your actual return address. If are unsure of whether you have the correct username and password combination, you can test your settings here.
• Reset Password? - If the tool above reports that your password is not correct and you can't figure it out, you can contact support to have it reset.
• Username Format? - If you still have trouble connecting, you may try changing your username to either boxname/yourdomain.com or boxname%yourdomain.com.
• More Username Formats? - If you have a non-standard mail program such as Eudora Light for Windows 3.1 or Claris Works for the Mac, use the following for your POP account: boxname%yourdomain.com@mail.yourdomain.com
• IP Address Blocked? - If you have tried to enter an incorrect password and it has failed more than three times, it is possible your IP address got blocked by our mail servers as a hack prevention precaution. If you don't know what it is, you can check it out displayed on this page. Then just call our customer service guys and get yourself un-blocked.

Can't Send Mail

• SMTP Problems? - If you can receive mail but can't send it or you get an "RCPT hosts" error when sending it, check the lost connection or ISP disallowing SMTP fixes below.
• IP Address Blocked? - If you have tried to enter an incorrect password and it has failed more than three times, it is possible your IP address got blocked by our mail servers as a hack prevention precaution. If you don't know what it is, you can check it out displayed on this page. Then just call our customer service guys and get yourself un-blocked.
• RCPT Hosts Error: An rcpt hosts file error occurs most often when your mail client has lost its connection to the Internet. Typically this can occur between the time you last checked mail and the time you try to send again. To correct the error, simply check mail again and then send your message. Explanation of the error: In order to avoid allowing our mail server to be used as an open relay, we have a mechanism in place that essentially says you can't send mail unless you have logged onto the system as a valid user. The normal way to do this is by checking mail. This action sends your username and password to the server and logs you on. Then when you send mail, you are able to do so. However, if your connection breaks between the time you check and the time you send, you will not be recognized as a valid user and will receive the rcpt hosts error.
• ISP Disallows SMTP: Your ISP may not allow you to use our SMTP server to send mail. If this is the case, simply use theirs. For example, Comcast users might use smtp.comcast.net rather than mail.yourdomain.com in their SMTP mail settings.
• Limit on Number of Messages: Many ISPs do their part to help control spam by limiting the number of email messages their clients send at one time. They can only successfully do this if they make sure you can only send mail through their servers, so they turn off access to anyone elses SMTP servers except their own.
• If you find it necessary to send legitimate messages to large numbers of people and your ISP does not allow you to do so, you can use our eBlast111 email marketing system to do so.

There are several articles on the subject of sending, receiving and managing spam. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Sending Spam: What you can and can't do. (this article)
• Spam Prevention Tips: What you can do about it.
• Standard Spam Filtering: What we do for all clients.
• Premium Spam Filtering: At modest additional cost.

Spam is unsolicited (unwanted) email. It can be anything from honest solicitations from legitimate businesses who have made the mistake of believing that people will welcome their message, to outrageous, obnoxious or illegal schemes to make money in various ways.

We have a strict anti-spam (unsolicited mass e-mail) policy and prohibit the use of our services for sending unsolicited commercial messages or messages where the recipient objects to the content or to the receipt of the message in general. This prohibition extends to the sending messages from another service which in any way implicates the use of our service, equipment or any of our mail addresses. Forging the message header, in part or whole, of any electronic transmission, originating or passing through our services is prohibited. If we receive complaints (and we WILL receive LOTS of complaints) that a user has participated in such abuse, an investigation will be initiated and action will be taken up to and including termination of service.

By the same token, you are welcome to send mail to clients or others who have signed up to receive information from you. Just make sure your list is "clean". Visit our policies page for more information on our attitude towards spam.

We do not have anti-spam filters or rules in place for outgoing mail, so you can send as many messages as you like at one time to your own customers. To make the process easier and more useful, we offer an eBlast111 mailing list service. One advantage of eBlast111 is that it is self managing. People can sign up and remove themselves without you being involved. When you sign up for this service, a page can be set up on your site where people can subscribe to your list. Every message has an unsubscribe at the bottom and is Can SPAM Act compliant. eBlast111 is particularly good for large lists since you create a single message and the system sends it out to everyone on the list. This avoids taxing your system resources. Instead it uses our resources to deliver the message.

With regard to incoming spam, while you can never get rid of all of it, we offer Spam Filtering and Tagging along with some Spam Prevention Tips you can use to cut out a lot of it.

There are several articles on the subject of sending, receiving and managing spam. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Sending Spam: What you can and can't do.
• Spam Prevention Tips: What you can do about it. (this article)
• Standard Spam Filtering: What we do for all clients.
• Premium Spam Filtering: At modest additional cost.

Spam is unsolicited (unwanted) email. Realistically, you can never get rid of all the spam that comes in. But here are some things you can do to cut out a lot of it.

Server Based Solutions: We provide some protection in the form of our standard server based Spam Filtering and Tagging, but there other steps you can take to reduce the amount of spam you receive.

Use Our Premium Service: We provide a premium spam service that will get rid of nearly all your spam. The cost is quite reasonable. See our features page for pricing details.

Change Your Mail Settings: You can set your catchall to "Bounce" rather than receive every message regardless of who it was sent to. Please review our information on Managing Mailboxes, Aliases, Forwards, etc. for information on how to do this.

Get an extra mailbox: Another simple and low cost way to avoid all the spam rigmarole is to create a new e-mail address at one of the numerous free online services such as Hotmail or Yahoo Mail. Provide it when sites ask for an e-mail address that they obviously intend to send spam to, and the unwanted messages will go to this second address. If you're expecting to receive a legitimate e-mail message, such as an order confirmation, at that address, don't worry: It will stand out clearly among all the spam headers.

Read the fine print: It pays to scan registration forms carefully. Sites that require you to provide an e-mail address and create a password will note that you'll be getting mail from them, and in some cases from their partners (better known as advertisers), if you don't check (or uncheck) a box on the registration page. Scroll through the whole page before clicking the Submit button. Also read the statement next to the opt-out box, since some require that you check it and others that you uncheck it.

Unsubscribe at your own risk: Almost all the mailing lists you ask to be on will provide a way to unsubscribe at the end of the messages they send you. Usually it's as simple as replying with the word "unsubscribe" or "remove" in the address header. Sometimes you must go to the site, enter your ID and password, and then register your preferences.

Beware of replying to obvious bulk mailers or senders you've never heard of. They may offer you a way to opt out, but following their unsubscribe routine verifies your e-mail address, and you'll wind up with even more spam after they sell it to other spammers.

There are several articles on the subject of sending, receiving and managing spam. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Sending Spam: What you can and can't do.
• Spam Prevention Tips: What you can do about it.
• Standard Spam Filtering: What we do for all clients. (this article)
• Premium Spam Filtering: At modest additional cost.

Spam is unsolicited (unwanted) email. In order to minimize the impact of spam on our clients, we provide a spam filtering and tagging system.

Spam Filtering & Tagging

Our spam tagging & removal system is designed to protect our clients from incoming spam. Our standard filtering system removes about half the mail that hits our mail servers. This level of spam filtering is good enough for many clients. However, we offer a premium service for those who really need it. The premium service is offered at a additional cost because system resources for highly effective spam removal are so significant. Our premium service removes or quarantines nearly all your spam based on settings you select. You decide whether to quarantine it for later review or delete it completely.

How It Works

Our system decides whether a message is spam based on a complex point system. It then places fields in your message headers that will help you identify and deal with spam. If a message is given over 8 points, the message is determined to be spam by our standard filtering system and is deleted. A header tag is added to all other messages called X-Spam-Level.

X-Spam-Level: ******

In this tag, the number of asterisks is equivalent to the integer number of points, in this example, there are 6. Rather than actually filter mail with less than 8 points as spam and unintentionally delete a message that you might want, we simply tag the message with information in the header that tells you how many points the message received. It is then up to you to either sign up for our premium filtering service or turn on filters in your mail client so you can avoid seeing messages with any level lower than 8 points.

Filtering Tagged Messages

In order to recognize tagged mail and avoid seeing messages that have been tagged, you must turn on a filter in your mail client. For example, you might include a filter that says, "If any header includes: '******', then delete the message." or you might move the message to a folder where you can look at it later and be sure it's not something you want to keep.

In addition to our filtering and tagging systems, there are other things you can do to reduce your load of incoming spam.

There are several articles on the subject of sending, receiving and managing spam. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Sending Spam: What you can and can't do.
• Spam Prevention Tips: What you can do about it.
• Standard Spam Filtering: What we do for all clients.
• Premium Spam Filtering: At modest additional cost. (this article)

•  (this article)

For those customers who find that spam is wasting more and more of their time, we are pleased to offer an effective, sophisticated spam and virus filtering service using heuristic filtering methods, Bayesian filtering methods, rules based evaluation, white lists, black lists and other methods to define spam and eliminate it from your life.

The cost is quite reasonable for our hosted clients and a third party filtering service for those who don't host with us is available through our spam111 service. See our features page for pricing details and contact us to sign up.

SPAM FILTERING:

Filtering Methods: We use several methods for filtering with message scoring as an evaluation tool. The system decides whether a message is spam based on the number of "points" assigned to it. If a message gets enough points, you can determine it to be spam and it can be discarded or quarantined. You have control over the Delete Value and the Quarantine Value at both the domain and individual levels. Several methods we currently use for assigning points are as follows:

• A Rules Based Approach that analyzes headers and message text for certain specific characteristics. Both positive and negative points are assigned based on what is found in the message.
• A Learning Component that builds a database of tokens from known spam and known ham (wanted messages). These tokens add extra positive or negative point assignments to messages that have the tokens, thereby increasing the certainty that they are or are not spam. The token database is continually updated based on the content of incoming messages so it keeps "learning" what the spammers are doing.
• Collaborative Spam-tracking Databases are used. The system reads a signature of each incoming message and compares it to known spam from several databases. Since spam is typically sent to many people, the first people to receive a spam message can add it to a database -- at which point everyone else will automatically block it.
• Whitelists are a lists of addresses known to be non-spam.
• Blacklists are a lists of addresses or IP addresses known to be used for spam.

Custom Interface: The interface to the system allows you to set your own parameters for filtering. You have the ability to set limits on whether to totally discard messages or just quarantine them for some fixed time period. Additionally, you get statistics and graphs showing the amount of spam the system has processed for you and what happened to it.

HOW TO USE THE SYSTEM:

In order to manage your spam settings, review your usage graphs and manage what is in your quarantine, simply log into the management system. You can log into the system as postmaster@yourdomain.com to manage the entire domain or as yourmailboxname@yourdomain.com to manage only your own spam. The following options are available:

• Global Settings - As you can see from the options below, if the delete score you set is lower than or equal to the quarantine score, no messages will be quarantined.
  • Delete Score: set from 4 to 15 (8 is recommended)
  • Quarantine Score: set from 4 to 15 (5 is a good starting place)
  • Quarantine Days: set from 1 to 14
  • Blacklist Action: Quarantine or Delete
• My Settings - These override the global settings.
  • Username: for example jsmith@somewhere.com
  • Full Name: for example Joe Smith
  • Delete Score: 4 to 11
  • Quarantine Score: 4 to 11
  • Quarantine Days: 1 to 14
  • Blacklist Action: Quarantine or Delete
  • Mail Forward: email address to forward all incoming mail to.
  • Remote POP Accounts: As an ICG Link or Spam111 client, you can use this handy feature to filter mail from external POP accounts using your spam111.com mailbox. So, if you have an account with Comcast, BellSouth or some other ISP, there's no need to live with spam from that mailbox anymore either. When you enter your POP settings, that mail will be filtered and will show up in your spam111 mailbox.
• White/Blacklist - White/Blacklisting looks for particular senders or sender domains and will either delete or accept those messages regardless of their content. It is not a particularly effective method of controlling spam, but it may be useful in some pseudo-spam contexts.
  • Whitelist addresses will always pass through the filters
  • Blacklist addresses will not - Adding every spammer's address to your blacklist is probably not worth the time since spammer's will routinely change their From address.
  • Note: If you white or blacklist an entire domain, you do not have to list any addresses at that domain since it will be covered by the domain rule.
• Training as Spam or Good - You have the option of training the system to learn about what's good and what's not.
  • Training and White/Blacklisting are completely separate, and should not be confused.
  • Training a messages will submit it to our training queue, which is now moderated. If you submit a message for training, we will review it and train our spam filter with it if we think it is appropriate. If not we will disregard it. This prevents the filter from getting confused... one man's ham is another man's spam.
  • Submitting quarantined messages for training as spam is not particularly effective, since the messages already scored high. The maximum score our Bayesian filter will attach is 6 points.
  • Submitting quarantined mail as Good will help prevent similar messages from scoring high, and is critical to keeping our false positives to a minimum.
  • More effective for spam training is submitting messages that eluded the quarantine. If you receive messages that you'd like to train as spam, you can send them to spam@spam111.com for training.
• Quarantine
  • Sort by sender, subject, date or score
  • Delete messages permanently from quarantine.
  • Send messages from your quarantine on to your mailbox or train the system with them.
  • View quarantined messages.
  • Add message senders to White/Blacklists.
• Usage
  • Provides statistics and daily & monthly graphs of deleted, quarantined and sent mail.

VIRUS SCANNING:

All incoming and outgoing email messages that pass through our servers are scanned using Clam AntiVirus. Virus definitions are updated every 4 hours. Virus definition tables are kept up to date and are based on the OpenAntiVirus database along with additional signatures including those for popular polymorphic viruses and some of our own enhancements. Any message having an attachment with the .vbs, .lnk, .scr, .wsh, .hta or .pif extensions will have the attachment stripped from the message before delivery.

HARDWARE SYSTEMS:

Multiple dual CPU servers are in place whose sole purpose in life is to perform virus and spam tagging & filtering. The system is designed in a modular fashion such that machines can be added to compensate for growth. There is always at least one more machine than is necessary to handle the load for redundancy and backup purposes.

This Terms of Services Agreement is made between ICG Link, Inc. and customers who pay for our services. It covers the service dates indicated on paid invoices. This Agreement states the terms and conditions by which ICG Link will deliver, and the customer will receive, the services provided by ICG Link. Each invoice submitted, accepted and executed by both parties is hereby incorporated into this Agreement. This Agreement is intended to cover any and all services ordered by customers and provided by ICG Link. Hosting fees and payment schedules are shown here.

Copyright

All contents on the websites www.icglink.com, www.111webstudio.com, www.icglink.net, www.spam111.com, www.build111.com, www.church111.com, www.bookit111.com, www.contact111.com, www.link111.com and www.suite111.com, including, without limitation, ICG Link's services, software tools, content management systems, hardware design, algorithms, software, user interface designs, architecture, class libraries, objects and documentation, network designs, know-how, trade secrets and any related intellectual property rights throughout the world, including any derivatives, improvements, enhancements or extensions of the above, conceived, reduced to practice or developed during the term of this Agreement, are the property of ICG Link, unless otherwise noted. This Agreement does not transfer from ICG Link to customers any of the aforementioned technology, and all rights, title and interest in and to it will remain solely with ICG Link. Customers agree that they will not, directly or indirectly, reverse-engineer, de-compile, disassemble or otherwise attempt to derive source code or other trade secrets from ICG Link. Customers further agree that they will not, without ICG Link's prior approval, use, copy, download or distribute any material contained on ICG Link's website. ICG Link is not responsible for typographical errors. All trademarks and service-marks are property of ICG Link, unless otherwise noted. The absence of a trademark (TM) or service mark (SM) from a logo does not constitute a waiver of our trademark or other intellectual property rights concerning that name or logo. Mention of third-party products, entities and websites is for informational purposes only and does not constitute either an endorsement or a recommendation by ICG Link.

Limitations on Warranties

Each of ICG Link's guarantees is null and void if the customer fails to follow ICG Link's Acceptable Use Policy or any other ICG Link policies, or breaches this Agreement in any respect.

ICG Link does not monitor or exercise control over the content of the information transmitted through its facilities. Use of the services or any information that may be obtained therefrom is at the customer's own risk. The services are provided on an 'as is' basis, and the customer's use of the services is at its own risk. ICG Link does not make, and hereby disclaims, any and all other express and/or implied representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, protection from security breaches, non-infringement and title, and any warranties arising from a course of dealing, usage or trade practice. ICG Link does not warrant that the services provided will be uninterrupted, error-free or completely secure.

ICG Link does not, and cannot, control the flow of information to or from ICG Link's network and other portions of the Internet. Such flow depends, in large part, on the performance of Internet services provided or controlled by third parties. At times, actions or inactions of such third parties can impair or disrupt Customer's connections to the Internet or its portions. ICG Link cannot guarantee that such events will not occur. Accordingly, ICG Link disclaims any and all liability resulting from or related to such events.

Limitations on Liability

ICG Link shall not be liable for any loss of data resulting from delays, hacking, corruption of data, non-deliveries, mid-deliveries or service interruptions. The customer shall be solely responsible for the selection, use and suitability of ICG Link services, and ICG Link shall have no liability therefor.

Except to the extent of ICG Link's gross negligence or willful misconduct, ICG Link shall not be liable for unauthorized access to ICG Link's or the customer's transmission facilities or premise equipment, or for unauthorized access to, or alteration, theft or destruction of, the customer's data, programs, procedures or information, whether through accident, fraudulent means or devices or any other method, regardless of whether such damage occurs as a result of ICG Link's negligence.

In no event shall ICG Link be liable or responsible to the customer for any type of incidental, punitive, indirect or consequential damages, including, without limitation, lost revenue, lost profits, replacement goods, loss of technology, rights or services, loss or theft of data, or interruption or loss of use of service or equipment, even if advised of the possibility of such damages, whether arising under theory of contract, tort, product liability, strict liability or otherwise.

Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary contained in this Agreement, ICG Link's maximum aggregate liability to the customer for any claim related to, or in connection with, this Agreement, whether in contract, tort or otherwise, shall be limited to the total amount of fees actually paid by Customer to ICG Link for the prior six (6) months.

Electronic Commerce

Customers shall be solely responsible for the development, operation and maintenance of their on-line store and all products, contents and materials in connection with such store, including, without limitation: (a) the accuracy and appropriateness of content and materials appearing within the customer's store or related to the customer's products; (b) ensuring that the content and materials appearing within the store or related to the customer's products do not violate or infringe upon the rights of any third party; and (c) ensuring that the content and materials appearing within the store or related to the customer's products are not libelous or otherwise illegal. The customer shall be also solely responsible for the final calculation and application of shipping and sales tax. Furthermore, the customer shall be solely responsible for accepting, processing and filling any of its customer's orders, and for handling any customer inquiries or complaints.

Indemnification

The customer agrees to indemnify and hold ICG Link harmless against any losses, costs, expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees), claims, damages, liabilities, penalties, actions, proceedings or judgments (collectively, 'Losses') resulting from any claim, suit, action or proceeding brought by a third party against ICG Link or its affiliates, that is related to, or arises out of, (a) The customer's infringement or misappropriation or alleged infringement or misappropriation of any United States copyright, trade secret, patent, trademark or other proprietary right, whether direct or indirect and intentional or non-intentional; or (b) The customer's violation of, or failure to comply with, this Agreement or the Acceptable Use Policy or any other rules and regulations of ICG Link. The customer further agrees to indemnify ICG Link and its affiliates against any Losses that are related to, or arise out of, any content provided by the customer or the clients or customers of the ICG Link customer, and the customer will reimburse ICG Link and its affiliates for all legal expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys' fees, incurred by ICG Link and its affiliates in connection with such Losses.

Termination

This Agreement, and the services provided by ICG Link to the customer, may be terminated by either party at any time and for any reason, upon a no less than thirty (30) days' prior written notice to the other party. Regardless of which party terminates this Agreement pursuant to this Section, any and all payment obligations of the customer under this Agreement, for services that ICG Link provided through the date of termination, will immediately become due, and the customer shall be required to pre-pay any services to be rendered by ICG Link during such thirty (30) day period.

Use of Customer's Name & Communications

Customer agrees that, during the term of this Agreement, ICG Link may publicly refer to the customer, orally and in writing, as a customer of ICG Link, in its resumes, client lists and other promotional materials and communications, including, without limitation, press releases, brochures, reports, letters and electronic media, such as e-mail and web pages.

Customer further agrees that ICG Link may send notification or marketing email to customer contacts from time to time. Customer contacts will be removed from ICG Link mailing lists upon request.

Cost Recovery Fee

During the period beginning with the commencement date for services and ending one year after payment of the final invoice, the customer and any associated individuals, corporations, partnerships or other legal entities which are associated with the customer agree not to solicit and/or offer employment to an employee of ICG Link. Violation of the terms of this clause will be assessed a cost recovery fee equal to 35% of the ICG Link employee's full annual base salary.

Miscellaneous

• ICG Link shall not be deemed to be in default of any provision of this Agreement or be liable for any delay, failure of performance or interruption of the provision of services to Customer that results, directly or indirectly, from any unforeseen or force majeure event.
• ICG Link and the customer agree that, except as otherwise expressly provided in this Agreement, there shall be no third-party beneficiaries to this Agreement, including, without limitation, the insurance providers for either party or the customers of the customer.
• This Agreement is made under and shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of Tennessee. The exclusive venue for all legal actions or proceedings relating to this Agreement shall be the state courts in Williamson County, Tennessee and the federal courts for the Middle District of Tennessee at Nashville, and each party consents to such personal jurisdiction and waives all objections thereto.
• In the event that a provision of this Agreement is held, by a tribunal of competent jurisdiction, invalid or contrary to the applicable law, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect.
• The waiver of any breach or default of this Agreement by either party shall not constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach or default, and shall not act to amend or negate the rights of the waiving party.
• Customer shall not sell, assign or transfer its rights or delegate its duties under this Agreement, either in whole or in part, without the prior written consent of ICG Link, and any attempted assignment or delegation without such consent shall be void.
• ICG Link may assign this Agreement in whole or in part. ICG Link may also delegate the performance of certain services to third parties.
• All notices, demands, requests or other communications required or permitted under this Agreement shall be deemed given when delivered personally or upon receipt of delivery of certified or registered mail.
• ICG Link and the customer are independent contractors and this Agreement shall not establish any relationship of partnership, joint ventures, employment, franchise or agency between ICG Link and the customer. Neither ICG Link nor the customer have the power to bind the other or incur obligations on the other's behalf, without the other's prior written consent, except as otherwise stated in this Agreement.
• This Agreement, including all documents incorporated herein by reference, constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof, and supersedes and replaces any and all prior or contemporaneous discussions, negotiations, understandings and agreements, written and oral, regarding such subject matter.
• This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument. Once signed, a photocopy of this Agreement is considered an original.
• ICG Link shall have the right to modify this Agreement at any time. Notice of such modifications may be given to Customer by posting such changes on ICG Link's website, or by fax, mail or e-mail to the customer.
• ICG Link shall have the right to modify its product line, without notice to the customer.

Execution

An authorized representative of ICG Link and the customer have read the foregoing and all documents incorporated therein, and, by paying for services, agree and accept such terms effective as of the date indicated on the invoice.

By accessing, registering for and using our services, and thereby accepting the terms and conditions of the Terms of Service Agreement, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Acceptable Use Policy, as modified from time to time. The goal of this policy is to protect network resources, preserve the privacy and security of our company and our clients, and maximize the utility of our company, our services and the Internet, while recognizing our position in the Internet community as a whole. The provisions of this Policy are intended as guidelines and are not meant to be exhaustive. Generally, conduct that violates law, regulation, or the accepted norms of the Internet community, whether or not expressly mentioned in this Policy, is prohibited. We reserve the right at all times to prohibit activities that damage our commercial reputation and goodwill. Any violation of this Policy may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account or such other action as ICG deems appropriate.

We support and encourage the free exchange of information and ideas and respect for individual and community rights. We do not actively monitor nor do we exercise editorial control over the content of any web site, electronic mail transmission, mailing list or other material created or accessible through our services. This policy sets forth how we will operate our services and how our customers may use those services.

Potentially Illegal Conduct

We prohibit use of our services for any potentially illegal purpose or in support of any activity in violation of any federal or state law, rule or regulation either intentionally or unintentionally. Activities which are prohibited as potentially illegal include, but are not limited to:

a. Unauthorized copying, uploading, e-mailing or posting of material protected by intellectual property laws, rights of privacy or publicity, copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret or any other applicable law including, but not limited to, digitization and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and copyrighted software unless you own or control the rights thereto or have received all necessary consents.
b. Exporting software or technical information in violation of U.S. export control laws.
c. Posting or e-mailing scams such as 'make-money-fast' schemes or 'pyramid/chain' letters or making fraudulent offers of products, items, or services originating from your account.
d. Threatening bodily harm or property damage to individuals or groups, embarrassing, harassing, stalking, abusing, causing distress or causing discomfort to another or otherwise violating the legal rights (including rights of privacy and publicity) of others.
e. Harm, or attempts to harm, minors in any way.
f. Adding, removing or modifying identifying network header information or use of invalid or nonexistent domain names or other means of deceptive addressing in an effort to deceive, forge, impersonate or mislead. Similarly, e-mail that is relayed through a third party's mail server without the permission of that third party, or which employs similar technologies to hide or obscure the source of the e-mail is unauthorized. Using deliberately misleading headers ("munging" headers) in news postings in order to avoid spam e-mail address collectors is allowed.
g. Attempting to intercept e-mail, access the accounts of others, or attempting to penetrate security measures of our or other entities' systems ("hacking"), whether or not the intrusion results in corruption or loss of data. This includes, but is not limited to, intentionally seeking information on, obtaining copies of, or modifying files, e-mail, passwords or other data belonging to other users without permission.
h. Collection of, or the attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
i. Use of our services in a manner that adversely affects the availability of our resources to other users including unauthorized security probing activities or other attempts to evaluate the security integrity of a network or host system without permission, including but not limited to port scanning, network attacks, and the transmission of viruses or virus hoaxes.
j. Any activity which adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use our services or the Internet. This includes "denial of service" (DoS) attacks against another network host or individual user. Interference with or disruption of other network users, network services or network equipment is prohibited. It is the client's responsibility to ensure that their network is configured in a secure manner. A Client may not, through action or inaction, allow others to use their network for illegal or inappropriate actions. A Client may not permit their network, through action or inaction, to be configured in such a way that gives a third party the capability to use their network in an illegal or inappropriate manner.

We reserve the right to remove any materials which we become aware of that are, in our sole discretion, potentially illegal, could subject us to liability, restricts or inhibits any other customer from enjoying our services or violates this Policy. We reserve the right to cooperate with legal authorities and/or injured third parties in the investigation of any suspected crime or civil wrong. We reserve the right to issue warnings (written or verbal), suspend a Client's account, terminate a Client's account, bill a Client for administrative costs and/or reactivation charges or bring legal action and/or collect damages, if any, caused by violations.

Anti-SPAM Policy

We have a strict anti-spam (unsolicited mass e-mail) policy and prohibit the use of our services for sending unsolicited commercial e-mail messages or where the recipient objects to the content of the message or to the receipt of the message in general. We prohibit use of our services in connection with the sending of the same or substantially similar unsolicited electronic mail messages, whether commercial or not, to a large number of recipients. This prohibition extends to the sending of unsolicited mass mailings from another service which in any way implicates the use of our service, Our equipment or any electronic mail address associated with us or our clients. Forging any message header, in part or whole, of any electronic transmission, originating or passing through our services is prohibited. If we receive complaints that a user has participated in such abuse, an investigation will be initiated and action will be taken up to and including termination of service.

Offensive Files

Our community is composed of many diverse customers. We prohibit the use of our services for the public posting of sexually explicit or pornographic images or other abusive, defamatory or offensive content. Our services shall not be used to publicly promote racism, religious intolerance, ethnic bias, terrorism, violence or hatred. In addition, we prohibit engaging in any of the above activities using the service of another provider but channeling such activities through one of our accounts. We reserve the right to determine what consists of such behavior.

Viruses

We prohibit distributing viruses to or from our systems or using our services to promote computer hacking, destruction of computers or promoting computer viruses.

Content Responsibility

The content (including such items as text, data, attachments, files, audio, video, graphics and other web site content) and any correspondence from visitors (including such items as electronic mail, discussion board entries, guest book entries, chat room entries and other correspondence related to the site) are the sole responsibility of the site owner. You should be sure you own all materials and content on your site or that they are used with permission. Additionally, we make no representation whatsoever regarding the content of any other web sites you may access from our site. A link to another web site does not mean that we endorse or accept any responsibility for the content or use of the site.

Domain Names

If you need a domain name, it will be serviced through an ICANN accredited registrar. Unless otherwise agreed, you will be billed directly by the registrar for this service. When your domain name ownership comes due for renewal, you are responsible for maintaining the rights to the name, including making all payments. Be sure to keep your registrar appraised of any change in contact names and addresses so they can let you know when you need to renew.

Use of Scripts

As part of our hosting service, we offer several powerful, server-based scripts and systems that are available for your use as long as you host on our servers. In the event you move your site to another hosting service, these proprietary scripts and systems will not be moved with your site. We reserve the right to modify or discontinue any or all of these scripts and systems, but it is unlikely that we will do anything but add to them and make them better. We make no representation or warranty to any party with respect to these proprietary scripts and systems. Use of the scripts and systems is at your sole and absolute risk.

Reporting Abuse

If you wish to report a violation of any of our policies, please forward all relevant evidence to us through our online form or e-mail us at: abuse@icglink.com. If a violation was in regard to a spam message or from an e-mail or newsgroup post, please make sure to include the messages full headers in your complaint or we will be unable to determine the true origin of the message.

Reporting Outages

Outages may be reported and escalated as posted in our operating procedures. Use of the outages email address for any purpose other than reporting outages is not allowed. Furthermore, that address may not be used by automated monitoring systems, only by humans.

Privacy Issues

We record information in the web server logs for every hit on a web site. This information is used to report summaries for clients in their usage reports. The information recorded is as follows:

• IP address of the visitor
• Userid if the request was for a password protected document
• Date and time (hour, minute, second, zone) of the visit
• The URL of the page, image or script visited
• The status code our server sent back
• The number of bytes in the item delivered, not including headers
• The URL of the referer (the last place visited) if there is one
• The browser type used

There is currently no option to opt out of the collection of this data. Please review our Privacy Policy for more information.

We Assume No Liability

ICG Link is not able to monitor or restrict all conduct, communications or content that may violate this Policy, prior to its transmission on our systems. Further, ICG Link cannot ensure that any such communications or content will be removed promptly after their transmission or posting. ICG Link is under no duty to look at each customer's or user's activities, to determine if a violation of this Policy has occurred. ICG Link does not assume any responsibility to monitor or police Internet-related activities. Accordingly, ICG Link disclaims any responsibility for any such inappropriate use and any liability to any person or party for any other person's or party's violation of this Policy.

Revisions To This Policy and Product Line

We reserve the right to modify this Policy and our product line at any time. Notice of modifications to this Policy may be given to subscribers by posting such changes to this web site, by fax, electronic mail or by regular mail. Product specifications may change without notice.

Copyright Infringement

ICG Link's network may only be used for lawful purposes. Transmission, distribution or storage of any information, data or material in violation of any United States federal or state regulation or law is prohibited. This includes, without limitation, material protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property rights law. Pursuant to Title 17 of the United States Code, Section 512(c)(2), notifications of claimed copyright infringement should be sent to: webmaster@icglink.com.

Indemnification

ICG Link wishes to emphasize that in agreeing to the Terms of Service Agreement or its equivalent, you agree to indemnify ICG Link for any violation of the Terms of Service Agreement or its equivalent, the applicable law or this Policy that results in loss to ICG Link or the bringing of a claim against ICG Link by any third party. This means that if ICG Link is sued because of your activity, you will pay any damages awarded against ICG Link, plus ICG Link's costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.

This is the privacy policy for our high availability web hosting, rackspace and professional design services.

• Our homepages on the Web are located at
  • http://www.icglink.net for hosting and related information.
  • http://www.icglink.com and http://www.111webstudio.com for design services and links to other ICG Link websites.
• This page is the full text of our privacy policy.
• Users may review our policies for information on how to opt-in or opt-out of use of their information.

We invite you to contact us if you have questions about this policy.

Dispute Resolution and Privacy Seals

We have the following privacy seals:

• Customer Service: Contact ICG Link, Inc. customer service for any questions regarding your privacy as it relates to this web site.

Data Collection

P3P policies declare the data they collect in groups (also referred to as "statements"). This policy contains 1 data group. The data practices of each group will be explained seperately.

Group "Access log information"

We collect the following information:

• Click-stream data
• HTTP protocol elements

In particular, the following information is recorded:

• IP address of site visitors
• Userid if the request was for a password protected document
• Date and time (hour, minute, second, zone) of the visit
• The URL of the page, image or script visited
• The status code our server sent back
• The number of bytes in the item delivered, not including headers
• The URL of the referer (the last place visited) if there is one
• The browser type used

This data will be used for the following purposes:

• Completion and support of the current activity.
• Web site and system administration.
• Research and development.

This data will be used by ourselves and our agents.

The following explanation is provided for why this data is collected:

Our Web server collects access logs containing this information for summarized client reports.

Cookies

Cookies are a technology which can be used to provide you with tailored information from a Web site. A cookie is an element of data that a Web site can send to your browser, which may then store it on your system. You can set your browser to notify you when you receive a cookie, giving you the chance to decide whether to accept it.

We do not make use of HTTP cookies.

Policy Evaluation

Web browsers may evaluate this policy's compact policy whenever it is used with a cookie. The actions the browser will take depends on what privacy level the user has selected in their browser (Low, Medium, Medium High, or High); the default in IE is Medium. In addition, a browser will examine whether the cookie's policy is considered satisfactory or unsatisfactory, whether the cookie is a session cookie or a persistent cookie, and whether the cookie is used in a first-party or third-party context. This section will attempt to evaluate this policy's compact policy against Microsoft's stated behavior for IE6.

Note: this evaluation is currently experimental and should not be considered a substitute for testing with a real web browser.

Satisfactory policy: this compact policy is considered satisfactory according to the rules defined by Internet Explorer 6. IE6 will accept cookies accompanied by this policy under the High, Medium High, Medium, Low, and Accept All Cookies settings.

Last updated 4/11/03
© 2003, ICG Link, Inc.

SALES: Use our contact form to request information on web design, hosting, spam filtering or co-location or send mail to sales@icglink.com.

PAYMENTS: Use our secure form to pay your bill on-line with a credit card.

UPDATES & SITE MAINTENANCE: Use our contact form to send regular maintenance and update requests or send mail to updates@icglink.com.

BILLING QUESTIONS: Use our contact form for billing questions or send mail to billing@icglink.com.

SUPPORT - STEP 1: Give the knowledgebase a try to answer questions or solve problems.

SUPPORT - STEP 2: If you don't find what you need in the knowledgebase or for help on scripts, e-commerce or other issues or ask us any other questions, please open a trouble ticket.

SUPPORT HOURS: (Central Time)

  Office Hours: 8:30am - 5:00pm, M-F
  On Call:* 5:00am - 10:00pm, 7 days
  Emergency:** 10:00pm to 5:00am

*On Call Service is provided by one of our customer service team members for time sensitive issues that can't wait for normal business hours. Email OnCall@icglink.com or call the office.

**Emergency Service is available for the reporting of outages only. Our internal monitoring systems will generally alert us of an outage before you are aware of it, but the email address outages@icglink.com will deliver a message to the personal phones of our systems staff. Please use it with discretion.

MAILING ADDRESS AND PHONE CONTACT:

ICG Link, Inc.
7003 Chadwick Drive
Suite 111
Brentwood, TN 37027
Tel: (615) 370-1530

• Choose your passwords wisely - don't use one that can be easily guessed and don't use only one or two passwords at many sites just because they are easy to remember. Stay away from real words, use a combination of letters and numbers, and keep passwords at least six characters long. Don't use birth dates, names of children or pets, or simple sequences like XYZ123. Keep a record of your IDs and passwords, but not on your PC. Don't store your password at a site or on your browser to avoid entering it the next time you log on. And periodically change your passwords. You can use our password generator for ideas.
• Don't give out personal information - like password or credit card information through email, chat rooms, etc. Give out the least amount of information necessary to complete any registration. Don't fill in options. Don't store credit card numbers for future convenience. Don't save password for future visits. The rule of thumb: When in doubt, leave it out and see our Tips for Revealing Personal Information.
• E-mail is insecure - Don't send information through e-mail that you wouldn't want on the front page of the newspaper. Anyone intent on gaining access to it can read your e-mail. For confidential correspondence, there are plenty of easy-to-use encryption programs available.
• Don't talk to strangers - and recognize that you are not safe when you communicate with people you don't know. Spammers and others use harvesting software to grab e-mail addresses even when you think you haven't supplied one. Turn it off instant-messaging software when you aren't using it, and configure it to hide your presence.
• Make Cookies Work for You - Don't accept cookies that follow your surfing habits and report on what you view. Useful cookies let Web sites recognize you as you use the site or on a return visit, so rather than disable them completely, consider a cookie-management program. You can delete cookies from your browser by visiting your settings.
• Watch for Java or .exe files - Be cautious of sites that want to install java applets or other executables on your computer.Disable auto-running of Visual Basic Scripts - Open them in Notepad instead: Open Windows Explorer, View, Folder Options, File Types, Scroll down to "VBScript Script File" in the "Registered file types" list,Edit Actions, Set Default.
• Use Anti-Virus Software - Be sure to install an anti-virus program in real-time mode and update the virus definitions regularly.
• Stay Current - Apply security updates of your software, especially Microsoft software.
• Never open attachments from an unknown source - and virus scan ones from people you do know before you run them (friends sometimes pass on viruses without meaning too).
• Protect you E-mail - Make sure that the program is set to ask for permission before it runs any macros - most modern mail clients help with this by setting it as default.
• See complete file names - so you know what they are: Open Windows Explorer, View, Folder Options, View tab, Advanced, Click "Show all files". Uncheck "Hide file extensions for known file types."
• Turn off printer and file sharing -It's an open door for any knowledgeable hacker to enter through in order to snoop around and perhaps do some mischief.If you must share your files, be sure to password protect your PC with a sound password.
• Use a Firewall - If you use cable, DSL or other broadband connection, you should consider a personal firewall - an anti-intrusion program that acts as your PC's Internet gatekeeper - especially if you leave your computer on. DSL and cable users can ask if dynamic addressing is available to avoid static IPs.

Stop
Don't share Social Security number, bank-account personal identification number (PIN), mother's maiden name, medical information, legal history, specific financial information (tax history, savings, mortgage, and so on), travel plans, employment history, and information about friends and relatives, including their home and e-mail addresses and telephone numbers.

Caution
Think twice before sharing telephone number, street address, date of birth, marital status, employer, education, e-mail address, shopping preferences (music, books, favorite brand names, and the like), credit card number, hobbies and interests, affiliations (club memberships, political associations), and Web sites you've visited.

Go
You can typically share zip code, age, salary range, opinion surveys, and occupation. (Note: This information is safe to provide only when not transmitted along with other, more specific personal information.)

Tips for Protecting your Identity

• Burn or shred, with a cross shredder, any mail or financial papers with your personal information on it. Never recycle them.
• Call 1-888-5optout and ask to stop credit card companies from sending pre-approved credit card applications to your house. They are ticking identity theft time bombs.
• Ask your credit card firm to cease delivery of "convenience checks." They, too, are ticking time bombs.
• You're entitled to one free credit report each year. Get it as soon as possible and review it carefully.
• Order a credit report a month or more before you make a big purchase or apply for credit, to be sure there are no surprises in your history.
• Hassle companies that ask for personal information, such as your phone number at a checkout line. The harder we make it on companies, the less they will be inclined to continue the practice.
• It's impossible to tell what's real and what's fake online. Just delete any e-mail that asks for personal information.
• Just hang up on telemarketers, particularly ones who seem to be fishing for personal information, like your birthday.
• Limit the number of credit cards you hold, and religiously inspect your financial statements each month. Consumer rights quickly fade over time; the sooner you discover an identity theft incident, the better.
• Most of the time, you can't prevent an ID theft incident from occuring, because two-thirds of the time, some company that leaked the data is to blame. So be prepared, and be organized. Save paper bank records for a year, at least. You'll need them to prove your account balance in the event of a ID theft incident.

For more information on Internet privacy, visit the following sites:

• Privacy Foundation,
• Electronic Privacy Information Center,
• Privacy.Org.

Credit cards must be unique, so a standard was developed to assign numbers to credit cards. Here's how you can tell something about any credit card number by looking at the various digits of the number.

The first digit is the credit card system:

• 3 - Travel and Entertainment Cards
  • 37 - American Express
  • 38 - Diners Club
• 4 - Visa
• 5 - Master Card
• 6 - Discover Card

For the rest of the digits, the following applies:

• American Express
  • 3 - 4: type and currency
  • 5 - 11: account number
  • 12 - 14: card number in account
  • 15: check digit
• Visa
  • 2 - 6: bank number
  • 7 - 12 or 15: account number
  • 13 or 16: check digit
• MasterCard
  • 2 - 3, 4, 5 or 6: bank number
  • rest up to 15: account number
  • 16: check digit

Once you sign up for our update and maintenance service, you can use our contact form or send mail to updates@icglink.com.

Maintenance and Update Discount: You can pay in advance for updates and maintenance in addition to your regular hosting fee. This puts you on a schedule for a certain number of hours of maintenance and update time per year at a reduced rate; in other words, you pay less for our time than if you do your maintenance and updates at our regular rates.

How is it Applied? When we bill at the end of every month, we first apply any work done to the maintenance time you have remaining. Once that is used up, we bill at our normal rate for any additional work. If you don't use any time in a given month, then 0 hours are recorded in your history. If you do use time, that time is recorded and applies against the total. For example, if you had 2 hours remaining from your 12 in some month and you needed 3 hours of work, 2 hours would be charged to maintenance and recorded in your history and 1 hour would be billed at our normal rate.

How is it Calculated? It's much like rollover minutes that expire after 12 months. To see how much maintenance time you have remaining, we review the past 12 months of maintenance history. For example, at the end of June, we will add up all the time used from July of last year through May of this year. Any time left from your 12 hours is available to you during June.

Why Do It? The advantages of this method are that it allows you to have work done at reduced rates and to spread out the cost over time. You can use 2 hours in a month and nothing the next month and still receive a discounted development rate.

We provide web hosting, co-location, web design, digital marketing and site maintenance for clients all over the world.

For information on our hosting packages and prices, please visit our features page. We offer ColdFusion, PHP, SQL databases, custom Perl scripts, email with a webmail interface, virus checking, spam filtering and more. Because of reasonable cost, high value, ease of use and robustness of our systems, we serve many web design companies and individual web designers.

For information on our web design services, please visit our portfolio page or our web design home page. We offer professional web design by trained artists, cool Flash sites, back office interactivity, e-commerce and ongoing update and maintenance plans so you can keep your site fresh. For web design pricing, please contact us with details about your needs.

For information on co-location in the Nashville, TN area please visit our rackspace information page.

RSS, or Really Simple Syndication is a way for you to collect and organize Web-based content such as blogs or news or other information easily and efficiently. Technically, it is XML content that is produced in one place and can be read in another. This might be in an RSS reader or on another web site. To read any RSS content, all you need is an RSS news aggregator or reader which is available at no cost from many sources. Once you have a reader, you can subscribe to various RSS feeds, free and commercial, from all over the world and the reader automatically updates when new news becomes available. For example, the articles we write for ICG Link News are now available as an RSS feed. In addition to reading information published by others, you can easily make your web content available to others for use in their RSS readers as we have done here.

Readers: RSS/News Aggregators (also called RSS News Readers) will download and display RSS feeds for you automatically. Many free and commercial aggregators are available on-line. Some are stand-alone programs that you download and run on your PC; others are services that let you add your selected RSS feeds to a Web page. People also use RSS feeds to make their weblogs, or "blogs" available for others to read. Blogs are web pages typically comprised of short, regularly updated information and links. Blogging is used as a publishing tool for everything from traditional journalism to personal journals and group discussions. A reliable free news reader is RSSOwl.

Adding a Feed: To add a news feed like ICG Link News to your news reader, just right click the RSS icon wherever you find it (on ICGLink.net in this example) and select "Copy Shortcut" from the menu. Then paste the shortcut into your news reader and you're ready to go.

A wiki is an on-line system of documents that can be edited by anyone with permission and allows a user to easily link from one topic to another.

History

Ward Cunningham, a programmer, started development in 1994 and installed his WikiWikiWeb on-line in 1995. It was called a wiki after the Hawiian word for fast and entered the Oxford English Online Dictionary in March of 2007.

How it Works

A single wiki page typically holds one topic with hyperlinks to other pages for other topics. Editors can range from the general public to registered editors or just individuals depending on how the wiki is set up. Some wikis even require registration just to view them. When an editor changes something it is normally posted without review. A record of the change & past versions are recorded and an edit summary may be added to explain the reason for the change. Editing uses wikitext rather than html because it's simpler and faster, although less flexible and powerful.

Security

Critics of completely open wiki systems argue that they can be easily ruined by vandals. Proponents, however, argue that the community of users will catch malicious content and correct it quickly. In fact, while there have been instances of errors going undetected for a short time, for the most part, this has been true. Wikis take a "soft security" approach by making it easy to fix vandalizm rather than try to prevent it. Most wikis today allow minor "IP identified" editing but registered users receive extra priveleges. Registration tends to be a process with levels of access based on historical reliability of the editor rather than a simple sign-up procedure.

Examples:

Some examples of wikis are as follows:

• Wikipedia (2001) - anyone with a computer and internet access can edit and view it. Because of its open architecture, Wikipedia has millions of articles in hundreds of languages.
• Citizendium - requires the users' real name and bio, slowing growth but making it "vandalism-free".
• ICG Link Knowledgebase - The knowledgebase you are reading now has a single editor who receives article suggestions from various sources. The public can view all parts of it.
• ICG Link Internal Employee Procedures Manual - ICG Link also employs an internal wiki where company procedures and shared information is stored. It is modified only by approved editors and only employees have permission to view it.

In order to maintain our consistent high level of performance, redundancy and reliability, we make regular upgrades and improvements to our base systems after thoroughly testing for any potential effects these changes may have on our services.

We also monitor all our systems and report any potential or existing problems to our system engineers so they can make repairs, improvements or upgrades to prevent outages.

Check our Twitter Feed for information on planned outages, unplanned outages or pending and recent changes and upgrades that may have the potential to effect our hosting services. You can also sign up for our Outages and Updates mailing list if you would like to be notified of these events via email. While we will have performed significant testing prior to implementing any upgrades, you may be using some unique feature of our service offering that we have not fully reviewed. As a result, if you are signed up for the list and receive an announcement, please feel free to make a brief audit of your web site to be sure nothing has been adversely effected.

If you would like to report an emergency outage, please submit a trouble ticket marked "urgent" or as a last resort, send an email of less than 200 characters to outages@icglink.com.

We are happy to provide Virtual Machines (VMs) for clients, but if you want your own hardware, we offer colocation and rackspace for clients in our cabinets in our Atlanta, Phoenix or Nashville data centers where you will appreciate the highest security and most reliable network connectivity available. We can install your boxes in our rack or purchase machines and set them up for you. We offer expert technical support for our rackspace clients with Linux/Unix operating environments and robust firewalling services for clients with Windows servers.

There is no setup fee as long as installation takes less than two hours. If it's more, our rate is $110/hour for additional time. We do not require a minimum contract, however, invoicing is thirty days in advance.

Server Monitoring

Our server monitoring and notification system offers email or pager notifications for various events that may occur on your colocated servers. We can check ping and HTTP to make sure your servers are up and running or we can do more. For instance, if you provide us with a test URL that pulls from a database, we can check to see if your entire system is working. We can also install software on your servers, at your request, that will allow us to monitor disk usage, cpu, memory, etc.

For notifications, you can choose an array of emails, pager numbers and time periods for receiving alerts. For example, you could receive emails for all alerts 24x7 and also receive pager alerts from 5pm to 9am. You can login to the system through a web interface to enable and disable notifications: useful for planned maintenance or downtime. You can also provide us with a list of emergency contacts, as a reference for our administrators so we know who to contact in an emergency.

Customized Service

We specialize in custom, personally tailored service, so if you have special needs or would rather have us own the machines, please let us know and we will develop pricing alternatives for you.

In today's security conscious world, we are seeing "https everywhere" more and more. The https protocol encrypts the communications between your browser and the website you are visiting.  While search engines now favor https protected websites, you don't absolutely need an SSL certificate unless you support one of the following instances:

• accept or process credit cards online
• have a login where sensitive information is stored
• processing sensitive, personal data (laws such as HIPPA)
• complying with privacy or security requirements
• secure email, VPN, FTP, webmail, etc.
• wish to prove trust to your visitors

The SSL certificate types currently available from a variety of providers are explained as follows:

• DV - Domain validation SSL Certificates: where the Certification Authority checks that the applicant is the registrant of the domain name. Only the domain name, not the business name is included in the certificate details.
• OV - Organization validation SSL Certificates: where the Certification Authority checks the right of the applicant to use a specific domain name PLUS it conducts some vetting of the organization and typically has a higher insurance level than DV certificates. Generally, they validate that the organization is legally registered and active and that the address and phone number are correct, but each registrar has its own specific validation procedures and they may do more than that.
• EV - Extended Validation SSL Certificates (green URL bar): where the Certification Authority checks the right of the applicant to use a specific domain name PLUS it generally conducts a more thorough vetting of the organization that meet established standards. It also typically has a higher insurance level than OV certificates. Like the OV certificate, it is specifically designed to prevent phishing attacks, but does so according to industry agreed standards. Specifically, they validate that the organization is legally registered and active, the address and phone number are correct, the organization has exclusive rights to use the domain, the person ordering the certificate has authorization to do so, the organization is not on any government blacklists. Here are the standards: http://cabforum.org/documents.html
• Free Certificates: These certificates don't verify who you are in any of the above ways, but they do provide encrypted communication between your browser and the website you are visiting.

ICG Link customers who use our secure server feature have the benefit of using their own certificate that we can help purchase or our shared EV certificate. If you have any questions about the options, please give contact us for more information.

In order to manage your account, you may have up to four different passwords. How you get these depends on whether you are using our traditional hosting or our cPanel hosting.

• FTP: Your web site will be assigned a username and password for ftp. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is the way you will send (put) and retrieve (get) your web site files. If you use our traditional hosting, please contact support if you need this password changed.
• Admin: If you use our traditional hosting, this password will access your on-line administration functions. You can make this password the same as your other passwords or it can be different. You can reset it yourself using the password protection system. Use the password protection instructions if you have any problems using the system.
• Mail: This password will access the e-mail management system if you have mail with us. This can be the same as your other passwords or it can be different. You can change this password by changing the password assigned to your Postmaster account.
• SQL: This password will access your SQL database if you have one. This can be the same as your other passwords or it can be different. If you use our traditional hosting, please contact support if you need this password changed.

Whether you use our traditional or cPanel hosting, in order to get to your files, you will need an ftp client. If you don't have one, you can find several free ones online such as FileZilla.

If you use our cPanel hosting, please refer to our information for cPanel customers.

If you use our traditional hosting, this page is for you. Once you have an FTP client you will need the following,

hostname: ftp.yourdomain.com
username: yourdomain
password: as you requested

Note: If you are moving from another service, before DNS switches, you can still get to your ftp space by using ftp2.icglink.com instead of ftp.yourdomain.com.

Once you have logged on to the system, you will find a www folder. Put your html files there. Don't delete any files or folders we created for you or you may lose some advanced functionality that you may need. Your www/data folder is a special folder to be used with our custom scripts (only available to traditional hosting clients).

If you signed up for our secure server option, you will also find a folder called sweb at the same level as www.

If you signed up for our streaming media option, you will also find a folder called media at the same level as www.

Each traditional hosting package comes with a pre-defined amount of disk space available. If you would like to know how much disk space you have used, you can use our disk usage tool to see your current status. If you go over your alotted amount of free space, your overage will be charged at the current rate for disk space. See the features page for pricing.

There are several articles on the subject of purchasing, moving and managing your domain name. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Purchasing a Domain Name
• All About DNS (this article)
• Changing DNS for a Domain Name
• Details for Changing DNS Yourself

What is DNS?

DNS stands for "Domain Name System" and is a hierarchical lookup system. It is used before any actual Internet transaction such as a web request or email message takes place. Every web server or mail server on the Internet has a unique IP address, a number, that identifies it from all the other machines on the net. Once you know that number, you can find that machine from anywhere in the world using DNS. You can think of DNS as being like phone book. When someone requests your web address or sends you an email message, DNS servers around the world are used to look up your domain name in order to find the IP address of the web servers or email servers that you use. Once the right servers are found, the request is routed to the correct machine and your web site is delivered to the requester or the email is delivered to you.

When you move from one home to another, you must tell the phone company of your new address so people can find you in the phone book. Similarly, when you move from one hosting service to another, the DNS entry must change so requests are directed to the new server (IP) instead of the old one.

How does DNS work?

This is a somewhat complex subject, but here are the basics: When someone makes a request regarding your domain name, the information is delivered based on DNS records kept in several places:

• Your Domain Registrar: When you purchase and register your domain name with a registrar such as Network Solutions, they keep a record of the DNS server that is designated as the single "Source of Authority" (or the one official phone book in keeping with our example) for that domain name.
• The SOA: The DNS server that is designated as "Source of Authority" is looked to for the right IP address to fulfill all requests regarding your domain name whether they be web, mail, ftp or other requests. When you host with us, we will normally be SOA for your domain name.
• The International Root Name Servers: These 13 root servers around the world are like a master listing of all DNS records. They look up names at registrars and get their information from the SOA. Once they have a name listed they will typically refresh the record several times a day. If they receive a request for a name for which they don't have a record, they will look it up immediately.
• The Domain Name Servers of Local ISPs: These servers all over the Internet will typically query the Root Name Servers once every 24-hours to update their DNS tables, but some may only do it every two to three days. Any time there is a request for information regarding your domain, these servers are the ones that deliver the information to fulfill your request. If they don't have the information about a particular domain, they will look it up on a Root Server. "Caching" allows DNS servers to remember answers, and avoid contacting the root servers whenever possible, thus the number of lookups is comparatively small.
• Other Locations: Additionally, there are many intermediate "points of access" around the Internet that also cache DNS records. These might be "Internet Routers" or "Internet Caching Engines."

When you move from one host to another, your SOA will change and have new information for fulfilling requests. Because all the DNS servers around the world must update their records and because they do it on their own schedule, it could take as much as two to three days before everyone around the world gets the new information.

Potential Problems with DNS

• DNS Cache and your ISP: When you make a request, your ISP caches the DNS information. If their network is set up correctly, these DNS records "Expire" every 24-hours or sooner. If not, when you make a request such as http://www.somedomain.com, it will keep taking you back to the old host.
• Other problems: During the propagation period, some odd things may happen. Some people may see one version of a web site and some may see another. You may receive mail at your old ISP from some people and at your new ISP from others. If these problems still occur after four days, let us know and we'll investigate the problem for you.
• Getting All Your Mail: It may be helpful to use the webmail interface at both hosts until DNS clears up. Alternatively, you can set up two profiles in your mail client so you are checking your email at both mail servers. If you do the latter, be sure to refer to the IP of the host's mail server or a generic domain name rather than your own domain name when entering your POP server.

Reverse DNS

Mail servers and some other special applications need to have reverse DNS so that the receiving end can verify that the IP and the name of the server match. If we manage your IP address, we can set up reverse DNS for you. If you have your own mail server or other special application, you should contact the ISP that provides the IP address for that server if you need reverse DNS set up.

There are several articles on the subject of purchasing, moving and managing your domain name. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Purchasing a Domain Name (this article)
• All About DNS
• Changing DNS for a Domain Name
• Details for Changing DNS Yourself

Once you have established the need for a web presence, the first step is to purchase a domain name. You can choose a name for yourself by visiting Network Solutions and performing a search or we can help you find the right name. Once you have chosen the name, let us purchase it for you since we get a discount and will pass those savings to you as part of our service. If you are unsure of exactly what name might be right for you, we can help with this process.

• We can walk you through how to select a relevant and memorable domain name and give you various choices you might select from.
• If we buy a domain name for you, we will put it in your name or your company's name.
• We will take care of entering the proper technical information so the name is correctly pointed to our DNS servers.

Please contact us for more information or assistance.

Domain Name Registrar

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is the non-profit corporation responsible for oversight of domain name registrations and for accrediting domain name service providers. Network Solutions is an ICANN-accredited registrar.

Whois Information

All domain name service providers are required to list the information you provide when you register a domain name in a public database known as WHOIS. WHOIS information is used in several ways:

• Registrars (domain name providers) use it to validate requests to transfer a domain name registration to another domain name holder (registrant) or registrar.
• Many individuals and businesses use it to find out when a domain name registration they want is due to expire.
• Law enforcement agencies use it for investigations into illegal activities on the Internet.
• Intellectual property rights holders use it to contact individuals or companies that may be violating their intellectual property rights.

The public WHOIS database is accessible by anyone, 24 hours a day, and includes the following information:

• Domain name holder's name and address
• Address, phone number, and e-mail address of the domain name WHOIS Administrative and Technical contacts
• Date of the domain name registration Date of the most recent update to the domain name record
• Date that the domain name registration will expire
• Host name and IP addresses for the domain name servers

Important Note: Customers are responsible for ensuring this information is current, and ICANN mandates that outdated contact information can be grounds for domain name cancellation.

Privacy Considerations

When you register a domain name, your account information is accessible to anyone via the online WHOIS search tool that is available on the Web sites of all accredited registrars. While these sites typically allow searches to be performed one domain name at a time, some sites are susceptible to automated "mining" of the information by high-speed computer queries.

Additionally, ICANN requires all accredited domain name registrars to make a complete copy of their WHOIS data - domain name contact data for all of their domain name customers - available to third parties that sign a contract known as a bulk access agreement. Once the agreement is signed, individual third parties become licensed to access all of the registrar's WHOIS data for an annual fee. There is currently an effort underway to improve privacy. More information is available at Network Solutions' Internet Privacy Advocate site.

There are several articles on the subject of purchasing, moving and managing your domain name. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Purchasing a Domain Name
• All About DNS
• Changing DNS for a Domain Name (this article)
• Details for Changing DNS Yourself

Once you have a domain name you will need to have your registrar point DNS for the domain name to our name servers. This can be accomplished in one of two ways.

1. We can request a transfer of the name from the current registrar to Network Solutions where we will manage DNS for the name. The transfer request must then be approved by the domain owner via email. This is the preferred method since renewals will be lower cost and management of the name will be easier for you. Just contact us to get started. We will be happy to initiate these changes for you at no cost.
2. You can point DNS for the name to our servers (or we can do it for you with your username and password) by contacting the registrar where you purchased the name. This transfer request must then be approved by the domain owner. If you wish to manage the change yourself, we have detailed instructions for several registrars.

Generally, here is what you need to know:

• If your registrar is Network Solutions (Verisign):
  • Make the administrative contact JM878
  • Make the technical contact IL802-ORG
• Regardless of registrar:
  • Primary Server Hostname.........: NS1.ICGLINK.COM
  • Secondary Server Hostname.......: NS2.ICGLINK.COM

For IT Professionals Only: We recommend that you allow us to do DNS for you. Any changes you may need will be quickly accommodated and because we do this for so many domains, we are quite capable at handling this easily corrupted process. This has the added benefit of providing flexibility on our end for changes we may initiate and provides you with mail bagging in the event your primary mail server goes out of service. If you still plan to manage DNS on your own DNS servers, here's the information you will need. Making entries such as these is not recommended unless you have a good command of what goes on behind DNS.

• A record:
• 199.192.13.128 (traditional hosting)
  
• 199.192.12.243 (cPanel hosting)
• www 199.192.12.243 (cPanel hosting)
• CNAMEs:
• ftp ftp.icglink.com. (for ftp with traditional hosting)
• www vhost.icglink.com. (for web with traditional hosting)
• mail mail.icglink.com. (if we are doing your mail)
• webmail vhost.icglink.com. (if we are doing your mail)
• MX Records:
• MX mx01.icglink.com. 10 (if we are doing your mail)
• MX mx02.icglink.com. 20 (if we are doing your mail)

There are several articles on the subject of purchasing, moving and managing your domain name. Please refer to the one that fits your needs best:

• Purchasing a Domain Name
• All About DNS
• Changing DNS for a Domain Name
• Details for Changing DNS Yourself (this article)

Once you have a domain name you will need to have your registrar point DNS for the domain name to our name servers. We can do this for you or you can do it yourself using the instructions below. Please contact us if you have any problems. We will be happy to initiate these changes for you at no cost. Detailed instructions for the most popular domain registrars are available from the registrar. A few of the more popular ones are.

• Network Solutions
• Register.com
• Bulk Register
• Dotster
• Go Daddy
• Tucows
• International

If your domain registrar is not listed here, or you are not sure who your registrar is, you will want to visit the "WhoIs" database. Enter the domain name and information about the name including the registrar will be displayed. Contact your registrar directly for instructions on DNS information modification procedures. (If you don't have a name, you can easily purchase one.)

Network Solutions

• A. Make sure that your contact information is current:
  1. Go to the WhoIs database and enter your domain name.
  2. For security authentication, Network Solutions requires an email handshake with the email address of the domain owner which, unfortunately, isn't displayed. However, you should check the Administrative Contact email address because this address is usually the same as the address of the domain owner. Make sure that this email address is current and that you can access the email account.
  3. Do you have a password? Network Solutions has password access to a web-based method of updating your Domain Name records. If you do not have a password, do not be concerned.
• B. If you can still retrieve email at the domain owner's email address, skip to step C. If you cannot retrieve email from that address:
  1. If you have a password, then you can use the steps below but use the CRYPT-PWD as your authorization method.
  2. If you do not have a password, you will have to perform a fax authorization to change your contact information. An officer of the company that is the domain owner should send the NetSol fax form. via fax to 571-434-4623 with copy of a signature verification such as a driver's license or official ID.
• C. To change the DNS for your Domain Name, follow the steps below.
  1. Go to: Network Solutions.
  2. Select the Manage Your Account tab from any page within the site.
  3. Enter your domain name in the text box, then click Go!
  4. Select Transfer my domain name to another ISP, then click Go!
  5. Enter your current, working email address, confirm the domain name, then click Go! The email address needs to match the domain owner's email address from (A) above.
  6. Under the Authentication Information heading, choose your Guardian method from the drop down list. MAIL-FROM should be used, unless you have a password. If you have a password, use CRYPT-PW.
  7. Under the Name Server Information heading, enter our DNS information.
  8. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and hit the Submit this Form for Processing button.
  9. Check your Administrative email account, and forward your Service Agreement modification request to hostmaster@networksolutions.com.

Attention AOL users: AOL software prevents you from simply replying to Network Solution's message. Highlight the message you received, copy it into the body of a new email message, type hostmaster@networksolutions.com in the To: field, then hit the Send button.

Register.com

1. Go to: Register.com.
2. On left side of page: Click on ManageMyAccount
3. At Domain Manager: Login enter User Name, Password and Domain you wish to transfer. If you do not remember your username/password, there is password retrieval link on this page.
4. Click on Domain Name Servers (DNS)
5. At Modify DNS: Click on delete for the current name servers and enter our DNS information.
6. Would you like to make these changes? Click on Yes
7. Are you sure you want to make these changes? Click Yes
8. A confirmation email will be sent to your email address. Click on URL in the email to confirm changes.

Bulkregister

1. Go to: Bulkregister.
2. Login to your BulkRegister account using the "Secure Log In" If you do not remember your username and password, you can email support@bulkregister.com.
3. Click on "list domains"
4. Click on the domain name you wish to modify
5. Select "to modify name servers use this form."
6. Enter our DNS information.
7. Check the boxes marked "click if modify"
8. Click on "submit" and "apply"

The system will automatically add the name server's IP addresses. Please note that it will take 24 - 48 hours before the modification will completely take effect.

Dotster

1. Go to: Dotster.
2. Log into your Dotster account by entering your username and password in the login box in the left side navigation. If you do not remember your username/password, just click on the "login" button. The following error page will contain a password retrieval link at the bottom of the page.
3. Click "Manage your domains"
4. In the drop down box, choose the domain name that you are transferring.
5. Click the button "Manage..."
6. On the left side of the screen you will see some links, click the one that says "Name Servers."
7. At the bottom of the page it will list your current name servers. "Remove" them.
8. "Add" our DNS information using only the name server names NOT the IP address.
9. Click update.
10. Now wait up to 72 hours for the change to take place.

Go Daddy

1. Go to: Go Daddy.
2. Click on: Domain Names under Products and Services
3. Click on: Manage Your Account
4. Login using your username and password. If you have forgotten your username/password, use the password retrieval link on this page.
5. Select the domain name you are transferring from the drop down menu.
6. Click on: Modify DNS Information
7. Select: I'm hosting with another ISP (radio button)
8. Enter our DNS information using only the name server names NOT the IP address.
9. Click: Submit
10. You will be redirected to the main page and there should be a, "Name server modifications are pending," notice under the name server information for your domain name.

Tucows

1. Go to: Tucows.
2. Click on End User on the left-hand navigation
3. Select Manage Your Domain. Use your domain name, username and password to log in.
4. Scroll down and click on Manage Name Servers.
5. Edit the Primary and Secondary Server Hostname by entering our DNS information.
6. Click on Save/Submit and when the screen refreshes you will see the numerical server IP addresses.
7. In addition, using the menu at the top of the screen, you can select any of the domain name registration information that you wish to update, such as the Administrative Contact.

International Domain Names

For International domains, please visit allwhois.com to find your domain registrar. They can provide the procedure for updating DNS Information. When prompted, provide our DNS information.

Don't hesitate to contact us if you have any problems or questions.

Normal information transfer accross the Internet such as browser-server communications, ftp and e-mail are not secure because the information is not encrypted when it is transmitted across the Internet. Thus, an interested party could conceivably read such information on it's way from the server to you if they were watching for it. In order to accept credit cards or transmit other sensitive data, you should use our secure server option. There are three components to secure on-line transactions, the third of which is optional. They are as follows:

1) Secure Server
In order to keep eavesdroppers from seeing a credit card number as it is typed into a form on a web site, the transaction must be encrypted. This is accomplished by using a method called Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol when transferring data between the browser and the server. To enable SSL on our systems, you must sign up for our secure server option. This adds a component to your web space called SWEB where you will place any files that you want to be encrypted when seen by a browser. Our NetMerchant shopping cart uses secure server for all operations except the shopping basket which doesn't need to be secure. Please see the NetMerchant instructions on line if you want more information on this topic.

2) Merchant Account
A merchant account provides a merchant with the ability to accept credit cards on-line or off line. It is issued by a bank or banking related institution specializing in this service. Once you have an account, you will process credit card payments using either a traditional "swipe" box, a software program or an on-line card processor if you are involved in ecommerce (the third component described below). In order to get a merchant account, we recommend that clients speak with their bank as well as a supplier we have used many times. Many of our clients use this company with no problems and unlike many banks, they understand e-commerce clearly and can provide on-line processing services for those clients who need them. Contact us for more information.

3) On-Line Processing
If most of a merchant's credit cards are accepted off-line, a merchant may wish to use a swipe box or software program to process the cards. However, if any volume is done on-line, the convenience of an on-line processor will be well worth the small additional cost. Instead of manually processing the cards, verification is done by the on-line processor and the money is automatically transferred to the merchant's bank account after 1-2 days. We use authorize.net in conjunction with our NetMerchant shopping cart. If you plan to use an on-line processor to process your cards, be sure your merchant account provider can set up authorize.net in order to avoid any special setup costs. Before you can set up an authorize.net enabled merchant account, you must have the following items available for review on your web site:

• Refund Policy
• Privacy Statement
• Product Pricing
• Method of Delivery and Time Frame

4) Using SWEB
Any file you put in the sweb folder will be encrypted when it is accessed via a web browser using "https" protocol as noted below. In order to receive sensitive information, you should write it to a data file in your password protected sweb/data folder and view it using a browser or our decryption tool as discussed below. You can use our Form or NetMerchant scripts to write information to a secure data file and send an e-mail message with everything but the card number or other sensitive information in it. Be sure to use a browser or the decryption tool to view or file-save the data. Once you have the information written to an on-line file, resist the temptation to ftp the file to yourself for processing because that, like email, would be an insecure transmission of unencrypted information. IMPORTANT NOTE: You are encouraged not to keep large amounts of credit card or other sensitive data on line. Your sensitive data should be regularly purged from our servers for an added measure of security.

Files in your sweb folder will have the address https://secure.icglink.com/yourdomain. For example, that address would be the address of a file called index.html in the sweb folder where you might ask for credit card information securely. You should store your credit card numbers in a password protected folder such as sweb/data. The data folder is password protected with your username and a password of your choosing. You may edit this password from the password management section of icglink.net.

5) Card Number Encryption
Our NetMerchant shopping cart automatically writes credit card numbers to log files in your www/data folder using an encryption algorithm. This means you can not view credit card numbers by accessing and reading the log file directly from your browser. Instead, we have built a decryption tool to access the log file and display it for you. You will need your ICG Link Admin password to use the tool. If you have never set up an Admin password, please call Customer Service and we will set it up for you.

Decryption Tool: https://secure.icglink.com/cgi-bin/secure_logview.pl

You will also need the name of your NetMerchant log file to use the tool.

6) Web Site Requirements for a Merchant Account
A website must contain the following to be approved for a merchant account:

• Merchant DBA must appear prominently on the site. There should be a correlation between the DBA and the product.
• Customer service phone number must be clearly posted.
• Return/refund policy must be clearly posted.
• Delivery methods and timing must be clearly described.
• Privacy statement must be outlined.
• U.S. dollars currency.
• Product offered is clearly described.
• Page where credit card information is entered must be secure.
• Pharmaceuticals must be restricted to those who have a VIPPS certificaion stamp on their website.
• DBA site must be the same as the domain name.

If a website is being developed and the merchant needs a merchant number in order to complete the site, the following information can be included in the application package:

• A test site with all requirements listed above and the real URL; or
• Print copies of all the pages verifying that requirements will be met for conditional approval. Once the site is up the application will be approved if all conditions are met.

We offer limited Real and MP3 streaming as part of our traditional virtual host web hosting service, and also built into our Build111 content management system (CMS) hosting. If you site requires high bandwidth usage or a high volume of simultaneous streams, we can provide that service at additional cost.

In order to use the Real or MP3 streaming media options with our traditional hosting products, you must first contact support to have it set up and follow the instructions below.To use it with Build111, see the streaming page for that service and follow the instructions inside your Build111 administration portal.

MP3 Streaming
There are two steps required to use our MP3 streaming system.

• Create compressed mp3 files and place the compressed files in your /media folder.
• Make a link in your html that points to the mp3 file using a "play list". The link will have the format: http://mp3.icglink.com:8002/content/username/fileprefix.pls where username is your ICG Link user name and fileprefix is the mp3 file name without the .mp3. For example, if you had a file named song.mp3 in the icglink user's /media folder, the link would look like this:
  <a href="http://mp3.icglink.com:8002/content/icglink/song.pls"> Play </a>
• If you have more than one song that you would like to play in series, you can point to a play list text file and the system will play them all.

Real Streaming
There are three steps required to use our Real streaming system.
Create compressed .rm files using Real Producer (see below for details) and place the compressed files in your /media folder.
Create a .ram text file that points to your .rm and place it anywere in your www tree.
Make a link in your html that points to the .ram text file
Here are the details of how it is done...

Creating Real Media Files for Audio and Video

• Import wav, mp3, au, pcm, snd, live feed, avi, or quick time into Real Producer. If you don't have Real Producer, you can get it at RealNetworks.com or contact us. We can compress your files for you.
• Fill in the desired information in the Recording Wizard fields
• Select single rate or multi rate. (Multi works best if your users will have various Internet connections, whereas a single rate file takes less disk space)
• Select the desired target audience settings
• Select audio format (probably you will use .rm)
• Select desired saving location
• Click on FINISH in the Real Producer interface
• Click on START - Your .rm file will be created.
• Creating your .ram file

The .ram file points to your compressed .rm file. Place a text file with a .ram extension anywhere in your /www tree with the following line in it:
pnm://ra.icglink.com/yourdomain/mediafile.rm
where mediafile.rm is the name of the media file you just created and put into your /media folder.

Creating the link to your .ram file
Call the text (.ram) file in a URL from your html page and the media file will play. For example:
<a href="filename.ram"> Play </a>
Note: .ram files can be placed in any directory in the /www folders. The .rm files must be in the /media directory.

We offer a suite of powerful custom scripts that you can configure to make your web site useful, interactive and sticky to keep those visitors coming back. Please review these instructions thoroughly and give the scripts a try. If you need additional assistance, contact our support staff. If you need a script you don't see here, please let us know. We are interested in serving all our clients special needs.

• NetMerchant - Shopping cart.
• Form Script - Send mail, write to files, create online databases, perform calculations, upload files.
• Search Script - Search online databases, report results in your format.
• Replace Script - Edit or delete records from online databases.
• Refer-A-Friend - Add this handy feature to any page on your site.
• Discussion Board - Create an online discussion board.
• Site Search - A complete web crawler and site search engine.
• Poll Script - Create an opinion poll so visitors can vote on the latest hot topic.
• Chat/Guestbook - Create an online chat or guestbook.
• Random URL - Place a link to a random URL on your page.
• Random Image Generator - Place a random image on your page.
• Counter Script - Add a simple counter to your pages.
• FAQ Script - Create a searchable FAQ with highlited results.
• Date Based Image or URL - Place an image or link based on the date.
• Ad Server - Put banner ads on your page.

This error signifies that you aren't authenticating when sending emails.

Cause:
Your email client attempts to send the email to our server without providing a password, hence the server replies that you are not allowed to relay without proper authentication.

Resolution:
To resolve this issue check the checkbox next to “My Server Requires Authentication”

Instructions:

Outlook Express: 
Open Outlook Express > Click Tools > Accounts > Click the 'Mail' Tab > Click Properties > Click The 'Server' Tab
check the checkbox next to "My Server Requires Authentication"
Click Ok > Click Close

Outlook 2003 and up:
Open Outlook 2003 > Click Tools > E-Mail Accounts > View or change existing e-mail accounts
Select the email account > Click Change > Click 'More Settings' > Click the 'Outgoing Server' Tab
Check the checkbox "My outgoing server (SMTP) requires authentication"
Click OK > Next > Finish