- I don't get asked for a password when I
logon to my control panel, or when I attempt to
access a protected page. I just get a "401 Unauthorized" error.
- Has FastVirtual received my payment?
- Sometimes my site appears to be slow,
but others can load my site normally. Why is this happening?
- What is a traceroute? How do I obtain a traceroute?
- How frequently do you backup my web site? Can I get a
copy of my web site on CD?
- Do you offer mailing lists services, such as Majordomo
or Listserv?
- Can you provide a client or referral list?
- Do you provide support for databases?
- Do you provide telephone support?
- What is a subdomain? Can subdomains have their
own email mailboxes? What features work on subdomains?
- Why are there "hits" and "page hits" in
my stats? What's the difference?
- When are my daily site stats available?
- Why does my site load as a blank page?
- What is the IP address of my domain?
- How do I add subdomains (subwebs) or web aliases to
my domain?
- I can't log in to one of my FTP accounts.
I get a "500 Illegal Port Range Rejected" error message. What
does this mean?
- I am receiving spam. What should I do?
- What do I need to do to copyright content on my site?
- My access logs include 408 errors. What
are 408 errors?
- What are common security vulnerabilities? What
can I do to maximize my domain security? How does FastVirtual
provide high security levels for customers?
 I
don't get asked for a password when I logon to my control panel, or
when I attempt to access a protected page. I just get a "401
Unauthorized" error.
This is usually the result of using an old web browser, such as
Internet Explorer 3.1, or Netscape 3.0. These outdated browsers
cache usernames and passwords, which is why this problem occurs. To
resolve this issue, please take one of the following steps:
- Upgrade your browser to at least IE 4.x or Netscape 4.x (recommended)
- Delete the .PWL files from your "windows" directory (not recommended)
Has
FastVirtual received my payment?
Account balances can be checked from the "Account" area of your
control panel. Payments are usually credited within 24 hours of
being received.
For further information, please see our
Billing Policies.
Sometimes
my site appears to be slow, but others can load my site normally. Why
is this happening?
To understand the why this is happening, you should know a
little about Internet topology. There are several major Internet transit
providers, including Sprint, MCI, Time Warner, AT&T, UUNet, ANS (AOL),
PSI, BBN and Agis. Your access provider peers with one or more
of these, just as FastVirtual does, so your situation could be as follows:
Your computer <-> your provider <-> MCI <-> AT&T <-> FastVirtual
Packet loss can occur at any of these exchange points. If you experience
problems accessing your web site, follow the instructions in the following
FAQ to obtain and send us a traceroute. This shows the path data travels
between you and FastVirtual, and will help us determine where packet
loss is occurring.
What
is a traceroute? How do I obtain a traceroute?
To help you in determining the location and cause of a connection
problem, FastVirtual support staff need to examine a traceroute.
A traceroute shows the path data packets take as they travel
between your computer
to our servers. As there are likely to be multiple routers between
you and us, there are numerous points at which packet loss and instability
could occur.
A normal traceroute to FastVirtual may look like this:
- 32ms 32ms 31ms tas2-hfc1.san.rr.com [204.210.32.8]
- 12ms 13ms 16ms tas1-fddi.san.rr.com [204.230.6.22]
- 41ms 27ms 25ms 7521-atm.san.rr.com [204.210.1.253]
- 74ms 36ms 57ms c2-hssi5.mci.net [166.48.174.12]
- 67ms 52ms 57ms core2.SanFrancisco.mci.net [204.71.4.15]
- 41ms 43ms 47ms sl-ana-4-F0/0.sprintlink.net [144.228.71.3]
- 61ms 35ms 52ms sl-atmn-3-h0-T3.sprintlink.net [144.228.79.22]
- 36ms 82ms 51ms sd-gw-1-OC3c.atmnet.net [207.67.242.3]
- 85ms 51ms 31ms sd-ph-1.atmnet.net [207.67.241.122]
- 52ms 71ms 44ms fastvirtual.com [209.240.147.63]
As you would expect, with normal traceroute, where 1 is your computer,
and 10 is FastVirtual, the times (in milliseconds) gradually
increase, but they all remain relatively low. No stars ("*")
appear in the millisecond column . If you are connecting through a
dial-up connection, the times you see may be
significantly higher, but you should still see a gradual increase
with no large differences.
A traceroute that shows instability and packet loss
may look like this:
- 33ms 31ms 31ms tas2-hfc1.san.rr.com [204.210.32.8]
- 11ms 19ms 13ms tas1-fddi.san.rr.com [204.230.6.22]
- 61ms 29ms 29ms 7521-atm.san.rr.com [204.210.1.253]
- 409ms 452ms 399ms c2-hssi5.mci.net [166.48.174.12]
- 402ms 391ms 441ms core2.SanFrancisco.mci.net [204.71.4.15]
- 394ms 479ms 419ms pb-nap.geo.net [198.32.141.26]
- 632ms * 404ms MaeWest-rt1-h0.geo.net [166.90.5.39]
- 451ms 419ms 422ms mae-west.atmnet.net [198.32.132.81]
- 422ms 578ms * ms sd-gw-1-OC3c.atmnet.net [207.67.242.3]
- 421ms * ms 443 ms sd-ph-1.atmnet.net [207.67.241.122]
- 443ms 424ms * ms fastvirtual.com [209.240.147.63]
In this case, there is probably a significant delay between 3 and 4, with substantial packet loss between
6 and 7. Numbers are affected by the previous
route. In the above example, the FastVirtual network is probably stable,
but it appears unstable due to the problems between 3 and
4, and again between 6 and 7.
Below are instructions for obtaining a traceroute. You should follow these
steps during the time you experience the issue:
Windows 9x/ME/NT/2000/XP/2003
- Click the "Start" button and select "Programs", "Accessories", then "Command Prompt" (or "MS-DOS
Prompt")
- Type "tracert 209.240.147.63"
- Copy the result of the traceroute, then paste this into the space provided on the
Support Form
Note: To copy from a DOS window, use the "Mark"
and "Copy"
tools, available from the right-click menu.
Macintosh
- You should obtain a traceroute program. Free traceroute utilities
may be available on the
Tucows Macintosh web site
- Traceroute to "209.240.147.63"
- Copy the result of the traceroute, then paste this into the
space provided on the Support Form
UNIX
- Type "traceroute 209.240.147.63" at the login prompt
- Copy the result of the traceroute, then paste this into the space provided on the
Support Form
If you don't have access to the "traceroute" program, please contact
your system administrator.
How frequently
do you backup my web site? Can I get a copy of my web site
on CD?
All FastVirtual servers, including customer web site content and data
files, are backed up daily to both RAID systems and tape backup. Both
backup sets are stored at separate locations. As an added precaution,
backup tapes are stored securely off-site each week.
Backups are intended to safeguard against data loss in the event
of disk or server failure. There is a $50.00 fee to recover
user-deleted files.
To safeguard against data loss, customers may request either a one-time, or recurring CD backup of
their web site. Recurring CD backups can be sent either monthly or quarterly.
To request this service, please visit the "My Account" area of your
account control panel, and select "Account preferences".
For further information about FastVirtual's security and reliability
provisions, please see the
Data Center Overview.
Do
you provide mailing list services, such as Majordomo or Listserv?
Yes. All FastVirtual web and email hosting plans support Majordomo. For
further information, please see the
Mailing List Overview.
Can
you provide a client or referral list?
While we
do not hand out URLs to customer sites, if you provide details of your
service requirements, we will be pleased to ask customers using similar
services to contact you directly.
Do
you provide support for databases?
MySQL, a powerful, standards-compliant SQL database system, is included
with our Platinum and Platinum Plus hosting plans, and is optionally
available for our Gold hosting plan. For further information, please
see the MySQL Overview.
Support for Miva Empresa, an XBase-compliant database, is
included with all FastVirtual hosting plans. For further information,
please see the Miva Overview.
Do
you provide telephone support?
Yes. FastVirtual provides 24/7 toll-free telephone support. For details of all
FastVirtual support options, please visit
Customer Care.
What
is a subdomain? Can
subdomains have their own email mailboxes?
What features work on
subdomains?
Subdomains (subwebs) are directories on your domain that have
been allocated their own unique IP address. As such, you can point
different domain names to subdomains, and they will appear to be
completely separate from the domain on which they reside. However,
subdomains have limited functionality, and are only suitable for
basic hosting requirements.
Subdomains may have their own email mailboxes. Some of FastVirtual's
web tools will work, but some will not, or don't work as expected.
Databases and CGI are not supported on subdomains.
Why
are there both "hits" and "page hits" in my stats? What's
the difference?
A page hit counts files that end in either .htm, .html, or .shtml.
A hit counts all files, including HTML pages, multimedia files,
images, text, etc.
When
are my daily site stats available?
Site statistics are usually made available by 4 a.m. (PST) the following
day, although this occasionally varies.
Why
does my site load as a blank page?
Your account has probably been suspended. Please
contact us immediately.
What
is the IP address of my domain?
Your IP address is displayed in your account control panel. It
was also included in your welcome email. You can
also perform a traceroute using your domain name to
determine your IP address.
How
do I add subdomains (subwebs) or web aliases to my domain?
You can easily add subdomains and web aliases from the "Manage
DNS" area of your account control panel. Subdomains are subject to fees. For further information, please
see the pricing schedule.
I
can't log in to one of my FTP accounts. I get a "500 Illegal Port Range Rejected"
error message. What
does this mean?
Source ports should be within a specified range, but your computer is
attempting to use a port outside of this range. This issue mostly
affects older FTP software, and is most common on on Windows
NT 4). Check to see whether you can connect to other FTP sites. If
not, make sure you have a current version of your FTP program.
I
am receiving spam. What should I do?
All FastVirtual hosting plans include advanced spam-filtering tools,
easily configured from your account control panel. Simply enable your
spam filters.
For third party email accounts, you need to install a spam filter
on your computer or mail server. Spam filters enable you to specify
certain domains and email addresses which should be ignored. Once configured,
messages from the offending domain/email address are deleted before
your email client downloads them. For further information, please see
the Spam Filtering Overview.
For more information about spam, and steps you can take to ensure
your email address is not vulnerable, please see
this FAQ.
What
do I need to do to copyright content on my site?
Content that can be copyrighted is legally protected as soon as
you create it. Although you are not required to take any further
steps, you can strengthen your position by including a copyright
notice on your web pages. If you wish to proceed further, you can
register your copyright with the Library of Congress. For
further information, please visit the US Copyright office, available
on the
Library of Congress web site.
My
access logs include 408 errors. What are 408 errors?
A 408 error is a connection timeout. This usually happens on
large pages with lots of images, where visitors are clicking a link,
closing their browser, or clicking the back or stop button before
the page has finished loading.
If you notice that certain pages are frequently generating 408
errors, you may wish to confirm that your images and other content
is of an acceptable size.
What
are common security vulnerabilities? What can I do to maximize my
domain
security? How does FastVirtual provide high security levels for
customers?
The majority of security problems are a result of passwords being
guessed, or obtained by hackers. A small percentage result from
non-secure, or badly written scripts.
FastVirtual recommends that customers change their account passwords
on a regular basis. Passwords should contain alphanumeric characters (numbers
and letters); not just words that can be found in a dictionary, or name
list.
Brief summary of security measures implemented by FastVirtual:
- All ports and servers are protected by firewalls
- Telnet access is not permitted
- External database access is blocked
- FastVirtual monitors, certifies, and applies patches to
operating systems and server software as necessary
- Excessive login failures are blocked
- Servers are backed up daily to both RAID and tape
- Tape backups are removed weekly, and stored securely offsite
- FastVirtual's system level security prevents
users on the same system from accessing each other's data
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