FAQ & Support
top
What is Virtual Web Hosting?
We specialize in giving people the space, features, and security to put up an online site that allows them to get themselves and their product across without having to worry about exorbitant costs or unstable systems. Rather than a "real" web (ie, purchasing your own MS Windows servers, connections, routers, etc.), we give you the ability to "rent" space on our reliable, feature-packed systems for a minimal fee and get off to a quick start on building your site. Just let us worry about the technical stuff. We can even help you register your own domain name (www.yourdomain.com) which will become your unique address on the World Wide Web.
top
How quickly can my site be setup?
If ordered before 5pm on a business day, your site will be setup that very same day. We pride ourselves on giving our customers the quickest turnaround time possible. By the end of the day you will receive your IP address and you will be able to start uploading files right away to your site using the IP address, while your domain name is being processed or transferred.
top
Will I be able to access my domain name with or without the WWW?
Yes, you will be able to access the domain name with or without the WWW in front of your domain name. For example, you could access the domain name "yourdomain.com" by going to "www.yourdomain.com" as well as "yourdomain.com".
top
Can I check domain name availability?
Yes, you can check domain availability directly from our web site.
top
Do you offer dedicate server service?
Yes, our dedicate server gives your the most flexiblities for your enterprise. For details, please visit Dedicate Server Services
top
Do you offer dial-up internet access?
No, you will need local Internet access in order to maintain your web site and retrieve email addressed to your site. Providing a specialized service means that we do not have hundreds of modems to maintain enabling us to devote more time to our customers and to the addition of enhancements to our specialized web hosting services. However, we do resell business broadband (1.5M to 6M) from different local providers, contact us for detail.
top
Do you offer web page design services?
No, but our group company Chi Tao Studio offers extensive web design and application development that will meet your everyday standards. For more information, visit Chi Tao Studio, you can also contact us via e-mail.
top
How do I upgrade from one plan to another?
You can upgrade or downgrade hosting plans by sending your request to support@hostingasia.com
top
Do you handle domain registration?
Yes, we will contact the Register.com once your account is activated to request either a new domain name registration or transfer. You do NOT need to submit a registration or modification template to the Register.com as this will only delay your request.
top
Can I transfer an existing domain name to ?
Yes, whether you place an order via our standard online order form, be sure to specify that you are requesting a transfer and NOT a new domain. You should keep the service at the present site while waiting for Register.com to complete the transfer. We will provide you with a temporary IP address so you can mirror the site on our server. All email and web pages will still be accessed from the current site.
When Register.com announces the completion of the transfer there is a 72 hour propagation period where visitors could go to either site. At the end of the 72 hours you should contact the previous host to have them delete the old domain from their records and update their DNS record. If you use this same provider for your Internet access you will not be able to access your site at until they update their DNS.
top
How long does it take before my domain name is active?
Once the Register.com announces that your domain name has been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually takes about 72-hours before it is active. All internet providers must update their records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations. This is called propagation.
top
What is the fee for domain registration?
The Domain Registra charges $30 to register a new domain name (.com/.net/.org). This fee covers the first two years. They currently bill at a rate of $15 per year. For details on registering other domain names, please refer to Hosting Options.
top
Is 30,000 MB/month of data transfer going to be enough to support my web site?
Our experience has shown that 30,000 MB/month will be more than enough bandwidth for the average web site. Depending on the quantity and sizes of your files, this could support many thousands of hits per month. Note that only 1%-2% of our customers have exceeded the 30,000 MB of data transfer threshold. Our Plans accommodates minimum 30,000 MB of data transfer.
top
Will I have unlimited access to update my pages?
You have unlimited access via Microsoft FrontPage, Visual Interdev, or FTP 24-hours a day. As such, you can create and maintain your web pages on your own computer and upload files to your web site at your leisure.
top
Can I use my account for commercial purposes?
Yes, you can use your account for commercial purposes. The World Wide Web has become a most efficient and cost-effective means of making information available to the users of the internet community. Most of our customers, in fact, are corporations and businesses expanding into the online arena. If desired, secure processing is available under our Plan 2, 3, and 4 which provides an environment whereby payment information (such as a credit card number) can be transmitted from web browser to web server in an encrypted mode.
top
Can I resell space within my own account?
No, you can not resell space within your account. However, we have a very effective reseller program that has several different options regarding how you may become a reseller. Of course, you will be responsible for your clients' content and data transfer. Please contact us for the hosting reseller program.
top
Do you accept international orders?
Yes. We are pleased to have customers around the world and we're as close as your computer. If desired, we can host international domain name extensions.
top
Do you offer technical support to customers?
Yes, we encourage our customers to send email to support@hostingasia.com with questions or concerns about their web site. Please include your domain name, username, IP address, and password with each request. We are relatively quick to respond to support email 24 hours and 7 days a week.
top
How long does it take to set up a new account?
Orders are processed within 24 hours of being received (excluding weekends). Your account will not be set up until we receive payment for the order. Once an account is set up, an activation notice will be sent you via email including an IP address, userid, password, and other important information. You can begin publishing to your new web site immediately.
top
Unlimited mail forwarding to a default address Once your domain name is active worldwide, you can receive all email addressed to your domain such as webmaster@yourname.com, sales@yourname.com, etc. By default, all email addressed to your domain will forward to your default POP3 mailbox. For convenience, mail forwarding options are available if you need specific addresses to be forwarded to different addresses on the internet. For example, email addressed to webmaster@yourname.com could forward to an account at AOL, but sales@yourname.com could forward to a Prodigy account.
top
Multiple POP3 Accounts In addition to mail forwarding, users have the option to retrieve email directly from POP3 mailboxes on the mail server using Programs like Microsoft Internet Mail or Eudora. Higher level domain accounts provide even more POP addresses for your use. You can also purchase additional POPs as needed. The additional POPs can be assigned unique ID's and passwords to ensure privacy. A PPP internet connection is needed
top
Auto email responders
"Auto responders" reply to incoming e-mail automatically. An auto responder could be used to send a standard text file to persons addressing, say, orders@yourname.com. If you've ever received a response to an email which suggests that the recipient is away from the office, you may have received such an automated response.
top
Custom CGI script support via your own cgi-bin directory All customers have access to a personal cgi-bin directory which is reserved for custom CGI scripts. CGI scripts are often used to accomplish tasks which are not supported by basic HTML such as a "hit" counter or guest book.
top
Microsoft FrontPage extensions supported Hosting Asia is pleased to offer support for Microsoft FrontPage extensions. You may request that FrontPage extensions be installed within your web site when placing an order for domain web hosting services or contact our support department directly. does not charge a fee for this installation. Microsoft provides direct support for all FrontPage users, so any questions regarding its functions should be directed towards Microsoft.
top
How do I place an order?
You can place an order for an account directly from our web site 24 hours a day.
top
How do I get my page to load automatically?
You must name your main loading file default.htm, default.asp, index.htm, or index.html. Also, this file must to located in your home directory, which is the first directory you see when accessing the web server via FTP or FrontPage.
top
How do I create sub-directories?
We recommend using the File -> New -> Folder command in FrontPage. If you are using FTP you can use the "make directory" feature in your FTP client software. To access a file within the new directory, a link would need to read:
<a href="http://www.yourdomain.com/newdirectory/file.htm">
top
How can I simulate sub-websites within my account?
To simulate a sub-web site, you have to create a new folder and then upload the main loading page (default.htm). You can setup as many sub-web sites as you wish. only charges additional fees if you go over the allotted disk and data transfer limits that are established in your pricing plan. The address of the new sub-web site would be:
http://www.yourdomain.com/newdirectory
Typing in this address would automatically direct your browser to the default.htm or index.htm page of the sub-web.
top
When will my domain be active?
Once the Register.com announces that your domain name has been registered (or transferred, if applicable), it usually takes about 72-hours before it is active. This allows for the fact that all internet providers must update their records (DNS tables) to reflect new site locations. The update process is called propagation.
top
What should I do if denied access to my web site when using a browser?
If you receive the message "There is no DNS entry for http://www.yourdomain.com", there are several possible explanations:
1) Try to reach the site using the IP address. If you are successful, the domain name is either not active or not yet propagated.
For a NEW domain, it may take up to a week for the name to be released by Register.com and propagated to DNS's (Domain Name Servers) throughout the Internet. (Foreign domains and transfers take longer).
If it is an older domain that has previously been reachable, the name may be on hold with Register.com. Contact Register.com directly to determine the reason the name is on hold.
You can check the status of your domain name by doing a "whois" at:
here
2) If you can reach the site with the IP address and you know it has been more than 72 hours since the name was released by Register.com:
- Clear your browser cache and try again.
If you are using Netscape Navigator, first select Options | Network Preferences, then choose the Cache tab. Click on the buttons "Clear Memory Cache Now" and "Clear Disk Cache Now" and OK, then click Reload.
For Internet Explorer Select View | Options, then the Navigation tab and click "Clear History" and OK, then click Refresh. Note: Netscape may require manually clearing the cache. With Windows Explorer find the Netscape folder (e.g. C:\Program Files\Netscape\Navigator\Cache - then highlight and delete the files in the Cache folder - then click on Reload)
If you know that others are able to reach the site with the domain name but you can't (even after clearing the Cache), contact your local ISP. They may not have updated their DNS records.
- If you are still unable to reach it after all of these steps, email support@hostingasia.com for assistance. Be sure to describe all the steps you have already taken.
3) If you are unable to reach the site with either the domain name OR the IP address you may be experiencing connectivity problems. One good site to get an idea as to the state of the internet is http://www.internetweather.com. If you are unable to reach this site, either wait until connectivity is restored and try again, or contact your local ISP for information on possible network problems.
top
How do I register with search engines?
We recommend that you register your web site with the major search engines beginning with Yahoo, WebCrawler, Lycos, and AltaVista. Look for an "add URL" option at each of these sites as well as links to other search engines. Currently, there is no charge to register with the mentioned search engines. If desire, you can register with a site called, Submit-it!. This site allows you to enter your information one time and then submit to the many of the major search engines; however, a fee may be required. There is another, similar site called Register-it! that does very much the same thing.
top
How Do I Update My Web Site's Listing on the Search Engines?
You should update your listings in the major Search Engines and Directories (Yahoo, Lycos, Altavista, HotBot, Excite, etc.) if you have made any significant changes to your web site such as: changing your domain name, changing file or directory names, moving pages to different directories, adding or deleting files, or making significant changes to the text on a page for which you want your listing updated quickly.
To update your listings with the Search Engines, you can re-submit the URL of your index page and let their spiders 'crawl' through the rest of your site or you can re-submit the URL of each of the pages that has changed.
You can delete an old listing for an outdated URL by submitting the URL of the old page once that page has been removed from the web server. When the Search Engine tries to index the non-existent page, it will get a "File Not Found" error and will delete any entries it has for that URL.
If you simply move your entire web site (including your domain name) from one web hosting provider to another, you will not need to update your listings with the search engines.
top
How do I set permissions in FrontPage 98?
Frontpage allows users to determine what kind of access outsiders have in their web. To set to permissions, right click the specific folder in the "All Folders" window (left side of the screen) and then click on properties. The properties box will have three check boxes on the bottom. They each perform the following functions:
Allow programs to be run- This permits .exe and .dll files to be run within the directory.
Allow scripts to be run- This permits scripts written in ASP and PerlScript to be run. Otherwise your ASP pages will be non-functional.
Allow files to be browsed- If this is not checked off, then web browsers do not have access to view the contents of that directory. For example, if your "Database" directory contains your company's main database, it would be wise to leave this unchecked. Otherwise someone may be able to download your company's entire database right from the web- not a very enticing idea.
top
What FTP host name do I use to access my web site(s)?
To update your web pages, FTP into ftp.yourdomain.com using your the USERID and PASSWORD provided on your account order form. Prior to domain registration (or transfer) you will need to use the IP address as the FTP hostname. (i.e. 207.xxx.xxx.xxx vs. ftp.yourdomain.com) The IP address associated with your domain is also included in the activation notice, so you may start uploading the second your site is ready, even before the domain name is.
Once your domain has been processed, make sure that all links use the domain rather than the IP address. Using relative paths rather than absolute eliminate any need to modify your links.
Absolute link forces a search through entire Web:
<a href="http://www.youdomain.com/default.htm">
Relative link keeps the search inside your own site:
<a href="default.htm">
top
Can restore my file(s) from backup?
If your account is active and you need a file or multiple files restored from backup, please send email to support@hostingasia.com with the following information:
- domain name
- date to base file restoration (our tapes go back a week or more- specify "CURRENT" if the most recent copies are needed)
- specify directory, file name(s) or "ALL"
top
How do I implement secure transactions?
Plans 2 and above support SSL (Secure socket layer) secure transactions using our certificate. This method allows for secure, encrypted communication between the user's web browser and your web site. SSL requires that a secure host have a "certificate" signed by a company called a Certificate Authority. If you do not get your own certificate, some browsers will complain about the certificate not belonging to the website. If you will be requesting your own certificate at http://www.verisign.com or http://www.thawte.com , you will need at least a Plan 2 account. Make sure you contact us before you order your certificate as certificates are server dependent and we will need to give you some information in order for you to complete the order.
To use SSL just call your page with https:// instead of http://
top
What type of SSL encryption is used?
Hosting Asia provides domains that it hosts with a 40, 128 and 512-bit RSA encrypted key and a secure socket layer (SSL) certificate signed by Verisign. The SSL is RSA-encryption based. Our secure server software is Internet Information Server.
top
Can I password protect directories?
Yes, there are a few ways of doing this. A common way is obtaining and installing a copy of WebQuota at http://www.flicks.com . Also, FrontPage allows you to set permissions for subwebs; unless the username and password are already in our system (as a POP3 account, separate site account), you will need to notify us so we may create the new user. Otherwise, you will need to use a custom ASP script. We would recommend getting ASPLogin (it's free and brings documentation) http://www.oceantek.com/asplogin/. If you need some type of custom request, please contact us at support@hostingasia.com .
top
How do I set up Real Audio on my site?
All sites should work with Real Audio. See more information at http://service.real.com/help/content/httpstream.html
top
How do I configure my mail program to send and receive e-mail?
All POP3's are virtual domain mailboxes. In other words, each site has its own unique area where boxes registered under it are maintained, rather than having all our POP3 accounts clumped in one common area. In order for you to access your e-mail you must enter the following in the corresponding fields:
| Incoming mail server: | mail.yourdomain.com |
| Outgoing mail server: | mail.yourdomain.com |
| *Username: | username@yourdomain.com |
| Password: | ********** |
*If you have problems place a " %" instead of an "@" symbol in the username box. By entering the "@yourdomain.com", your e-mail program is logged in to the correct domain.
top
How do I set up and access POP mailboxes?
The username/password combination you provided when you signed up is your default POP3 mailbox. The POP3 or IMAP mail server should be set to: mail.hostingasia.com or MAIL.YOURDOMAIN.COM.
All POP3 mailboxes on hostingasia.com must be further configured through the following procedure in Microsoft Outlook:
- Tools Menu > "Accounts" > "Servers" tab
- On the "Servers" tab, go to the section labeled Incoming Mail Server and set the account name to "username%domain.com" and then enter your password. Do not forget the percent sign (%).
The SMTP mail server should be mail.hostingasia.com or MAIL.YOURDOMAIN.COM.
We provide you with unlimited E-mail aliases. All mail received that is anything@yourdomain.com will be sent to your site's default mailbox.
Additional POP/IMAP accounts, mail forwarding, autoresponders, and aliases can all be configured via the web mail interface at http://mail.yourdomain.com. Be careful not to delete your default account or you will lock yourself out.
Your mailbox name should be entered in the following format:
username@yourdomain.com
top
How do I set mail forwarding options?
By default, all mail for your domain will be sent to your default mailbox. If you would like to forward your mail to your mailbox at your dialup ISP or anywhere else then use the control panel at http://mail.yourdomain.com.
Additional POP/IMAP accounts, mail forwarding, autoresponders, and aliases can all be configured via the web mail interface. Be careful not to delete your default account or you will lock yourself out
Your mailbox name should be entered in the following format:
username@yourdomain.com
top
What are aliases?
Aliases are different names for the same mailbox. provides its customers with free unlimited e-mail aliasing.
Example: You run a one-person business, but you would want your website to make you look as if your company is much larger, with several departments. You can use e-mail addresses like sales@yourbusiness.com, info@yourbusiness.com, and tech@yourbusiness.com which will all point to your default mailbox.
In this way, it makes your company look as if there are several people behind it, running different areas, when in actuality each alias simply points to your original mailbox.
top
How can I set up an autoresponder for our account?
An autoresponder is a message that your mailbox mails to the sender of an incoming message to acknowledge that their email has been received. The auto-response is usually in the vein of "Thank for you for your interest in our company" or something along those lines.
Use the email control panel at http://mail.yourdomain.com to set up this function. Each mailbox can have it's own autoresponder. It is called a vacation message in the web interface.
top
What about spamming?
Spam is mass e-mail sent out to many people at once in order to advertise something. You've seen them, undoubtedly- "Make a million overnight!" and that sort of thing. Similar to a person who goes around a parking lot putting flyers under the windshield-wipers of cars, spam can be very annoying because it takes away download time and bandwidth, and may even contain computer viruses.
As a result of this phenomenon, many service providers have developed defensive measures. If a server receives what is proven to be spam, the server's owners may decide to block out the sender's provider. In other words, none of 's clients will be able to send mail to anyone on that server. The problems simply increase from there.
Because we realize the inconvenience it may cause to our customers, and to the recipients of the messages outside our severs, we will not permit our customers to dispatch bulk e-mail or advertise their websites via bulk e-mail.
If a customer is caught using our services for spamming, then the associated account will be suspended immediately without waring. Please note there are no exceptions.
top
How do I prevent being spammed?
Spammers usually get their addresses from mailing lists that they buy from other companies. These mailing lists are compiled from customers who submit their personal info via online forms. Their info is compiled into a database and then sold off.
Often, when you are filling out a personal information form on-line, there is a check-box that may have a caption similar to this: "If you would like this information to be made available to other clients, check off this box." If you leave the box marked, your e-mail will almost undoubtedly be placed on one of the aforementioned mailing lists. You will most probably soon start receiving unwanted messages in your box.
As common sense suggests, we advise you to never unnecessarily submit any information to any unidentified party in order to save yourself any possible problems.
