FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) What FTP program should I use to upload my web site? FTP is the process by which you transfer files across the internet, from computer to computer. This is the traditional way people publish web pages, by copying the files from their computer to a web server. The best PC FTP program is probably WS_FTP by Ipswitch Inc. You can download it from http://www.ipswitch.com/. You can also find other FTP programs for Windows at www.shareware.com. The best Macintosh FTP programs are: Fetch or Anarchie. Anarchie takes a little more effort to get working properly, but provides the most features and the nicest interface. Find the nearest place to download them at www.shareware.com. Where can I get an SSH-Telnet program. Putty is a free SSH-Telnet client for PC's. You can get it from http://www.chiark.greenend.org.uk/~sgtatham/putty/ MacSSH is free SSH-Telnet client for Mac's. You can get it from http://www.pure-mac.com/telnet.html#macssh. How long will it take to set up my web site? We can usually have your web site up and ready for you to upload your web pages within one day depending on the speed with which the InterNIC updates your domain name in their database. Can I create my own web pages? Yes. There are numerous good books and software programs such as, Microsoft Frontpage , Symantec Visual Page and Adobe Pagemill, that will help you design attractive and informative web pages on your own computer. These programs are available in both Windows PC and Macintosh versions. If you have Internet access most of these programs also allow you can load your files directly to our servers by FTP. You can also make changes to your pages by using Telnet. (FTP is an Internet service that allows files to be uploaded and downloaded from one computer to another. Telnet is an Internet service that allows you to log on to another computer and use it as if you were sitting in front of it. FTP and Telnet are programs that are available for PC's and Mac's.) How do I upload my web pages to Intersessions? If you have Internet Access you can upload your web pages to your web site at Intersessions in a variety of ways. First, most of the web page development programs mentioned above also include upload functions in their menus. By pushing an 'upload' or 'publish' button and entering the domain name of your site, your login name and password these programs can automatically upload the entire site you have designed. Second, there are numerous programs available for free on the internet or provided with your computer that will allow you to use the FTP protocol to upload your pages. (FTP is a standard Internet service that allows files to be uploaded and downloaded from one computer to another.) Fetch is a popular FTP program for the Macintosh and WS-FTP is a similar program for Windows PC. These programs are not difficult to use and the tech support staff at Intersessions stands ready to answer any questions you have about transferring your files. Why would I want my own domain name? Many businesses like the simplicity of an easy to remember name such as eds-bakery.com or want the appearance of being big enough to afford their own internet server. In that case we will help you find a suitable available domain name and register it for you. Once registered we can set the domain up on our servers and your web pages will be available over the internet under the URL http://www.eds-bakery. My domain name and/or web site are with another ISP. How can I transfer to Intersessions? Transferring your domain name so you can host your web site at Intersessions is easier than you think. We file a transfer request with the InterNIC and they send the domain's owner (administrative contact) an email asking for approval to move the domain to our servers. With the owner's approval the InterNIC can make the transfer within 24 hours.If you are not listed as the administrative contact we may require the cooperation of your present provider or you may have to write to the InterNIC and request the change Transferring your web site is easy. You can use an FTP program to transfer your web pages to your new site, you can upload new web pages from your PC or you can simply provide us access to your account and we'll copy the files over. What is an email alias? Some companies find it convienent to receive email under two or more different names. For example, you may want to be addressed as ed@eds-bakery.com or sales@eds-bakery.com and have email for both go to the same account. With our web hosting service we'll provide you with unlimited aliases. What is email forwarding? At no extra charge we can arrange to have the email addressed to you and your aliases automatically forwarded to an email account that you have with another provider. If I don't want a web site why would I want to register a domain name now? Only one organization can have the name coca-cola.com or eds-bakery.com. Domain name are being registered by the thousands and many good names have already been used. Although you may not be ready to get your business on the internet now you know you may want to later. However, by that time your business name may be taken by someone else. You can use our instant online domain registration to register your name now. This will insure that you have the name you want whe nyou are ready for a web site. Why would I want a real virtual domain with my own IP address? An IP address is similar to your own unique telephone number. When this address is matched by our DNS servers to your domain name your web site can be reached by any web browser in use, you can access your site by FTP or telnet, email can be sent or received without problems. In fact you will have a real virtual host (computer) that will appear as any other computer on the internet. Some web hosting services have attempted to conserve IP addresses by inventing complicated programs that allow multiple web sites to share IP addresses. Don't be fooled! IP address sharing is not supported by many browsers and cannot give you the full access to your site that Intersessions provides. Our access to unused IP blocks means address sharing when never be an issue when you host with Intersessions. What does FTP and Telnet access mean? FTP is the easiest and most reliable method of transferring files over the internet to another computer. It is most often used for transferring (uploading) web pages that your have created on your personal computer to your web site on the ISP's computers. There FTP programs available for practically all PC's. Telnet is method of logging in directly to the computer hosting your web site. A command window opens on your local computer providing you with direct access to the files on your web site. Using Unix commands you can edit, copy, rename, delete, etc web site files directly, as well as run programs and check mail right on the server. We use a form of Telnet called SSH-Telnet. This is an encrypted version that protects your login and password and the Telnet session from being intercepted over the internet. Freely downloadable SSH-Telnet client programs for Windows and Mac PC's are available on the internet. Where are Perl, Sendmail and Date located? For the purpose of writing your own cgi scripts here are some important locations: perl - /usr/bin/perl sendmail - /usr/sbin/sendmail date - /bin/date Email us if you need any other information. What are the names and IP addresses of your nameservers? When registering or transferring domains to Intersessions please use the following nameservers: ns.intersessions.com 64.68.144.50 ns2.intersessions.com 216.235.79.235