Control Panel Access
Access to an account's control panel is done directly from your
browser, or any other browser (i.e. you do not have to be at your
computer to access it.... you can be at someone else's computer.... as
long as you have access to the internet, you can access your control
panel).
Control Panel Features
To learn more about all the features available in the control panel, click
on the links on the right side of this page, and you'll be given a more detailed
description of the feature.
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Mail
Manager The Mail Manager allows you to manage all aspects of your email, from adding new accounts, managing mailing lists, and setting spam filters. There are quite a number of options available, all of which are listed below:
Note: All email options can be used in conjunction with each other. For example, you could set up an auto-responder on your main account to email an "Out of Office" message, a forwarder to send the email to your uncle's house where you are staying, and a spam filter to reject all email with "credit" in the subject line. This flexibility is what makes email so powerful as a communication medium. |
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Read
Web Mail You can read your online email using NeoMail or Horde. Both of these popular webmail scripts allows you to read your email, save them, keep an address book, and perform all of the other basic email functions that you are used to. The main difference between NeoMail and an offline email applications, such as Eudora or Microsoft Outlook Express, is that all of these functions are performed online, rather than on your own computer, and offline applications generally provide many more features. NeoMail or Horde is optional. You can still use your favorite offline email applications, if you prefer. You can even use a combination of NeoMail or Horde and another tool - you can check your e-mail online, perhaps when you're at work, and download your email to your computer when you get home. You can automatically configure Outlook Express, or manually configure other mail applications. |
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Change Password Your domain password is the password you use to log on to your control panel. The ability to occasionally change your password is useful to maximize your site security. You should always change your password if you think someone else has access to your account. |
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Parked Domains Domain pointers allow you to "point" or "park" additional domain names to your existing hosting account. This will allow users to also reach your website when entering the "parked" or "pointed" domain into their browsers. For Example: Let's say you own the business.com and innovation.com domain names. You already have a web site for business.com, but you do not want to create a new website for innovation.com at the moment. By parking innovation.com on top of business.com, all URLs for innovation.com will automatically go to business.com instead. |
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Addon
Domains Addon Domains work very much like domain pointers, except you setup the new domain names to point to a "sub-directory" of your hosting account. For example: Let's say you have your hosting account set up as yourcompany.com, but you also own the domain name newsite.com. With the Addon Domain feature you can setup newsite.com to "point" to a sub-directory like yourcompany.com/newsite. You can then build a new website in that sub-directory, and anyone who types www.newsite into their browser would be forwarded to the website you created in yourcompany.com/newsite. |
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FTP
Manager The FTP Manager deals with all the tools relating to setting up and managing FTP accounts, as well as managing FTP sessions. FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a method by which you can transfer files between computers, usually using the Internet. There is a huge amount of information stored on FTP servers around the world which can only be accessed by using FTP. When using FTP you use an application (i.e. an FTP program) called a "client" to connect to a machine called a "server". There are a large number of FTP software packages available. Some of them are built in to your browser (such as Internet Explorer), others are dedicated applications (such as such as CuteFTP or WS_FTP), while still others are built into web applications (File Manager in this control panel is one example). Generally speaking, if you are going to spend a lot of time using FTP or have a large amount of files to upload/download, a dedicated FTP client (i.e. CuteFTP or WS_FTP) is a much easier solution. The control panel allows you to set up FTP accounts so that certain external users can access a restricted part of your hosting account. You can also set up an anonymous FTP account so that anyone can access a restricted part of your system. You can also manage these FTP sessions, cutting them off if they go on for too long. Following is a list of the features available to you in the FTP Manager:
Warning: FTP, by its very nature, allows external users to modify your web site (albeit a restricted area of your web site). External users can upload, download, and delete files. Keep this in mind when you set up an FTP account. |
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File
Manager The File Manager allows you to manage your site through HTML, rather than an FTP tool or other third-party application. You can upload, create or delete files, organize files in folders, and change file permissions. While not as sophisticated as most FTP tools, File Manager is free and gives you all the basic functionality necessary to manage your site. The features available to you in the File Manager are as follows:
If you want more functionality and ease of use, you may want to consider using a 3rd party FTP program like WS_FTP. We have put together a series of tutorials designed to help you learn how to use WS_FTP. |
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Backup The Backup area allows you to download the daily backup file of your entire web site, or a particular MySQL, alias, or filter backup file. If your computer crashes, or your personal backups are destroyed, these files allow you to recover your site in a convenient manner (you could also use FTP to download each file - more control, but it would take longer). Important: You should keep your own backup copy of your web site as well. Do not rely solely on the backup provided here. Having multiple backups in different locations provides security against permanently losing information. Note: A complete web site backup file includes everything - from web pages to images to scripts to access logs. A large site will have a large backup file, and will take some time to download. |
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Password Protection You can protect directories within your site from browsers by using a password to protect them. This allows you to restrict material to only authorized users or store sensitive material online. This is also useful if you want to create a special login area for members to be able to login to. Unless they have a password, they will not be able to browse to that location (directory). If you are using FrontPage to build your website, and therefore have the FrontPage server extensions installed in your hosting account, you should not use this Password Protection feature. Instead, FrontPage has it's own unique way of allowing you to password protect directories. To learn more about this, please consult your FrontPage documentation, or visit www.microsoft.com. |
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Custom Error Pages Use this feature to create customized error pages, so when a user types the wrong URL or enters incorrect information on the browser, a nice error page will be displayed instead of the default one. You can setup separate custom error pages for the following general browser errors:
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Sub
Domains Subdomains are a way of creating separate accounts within your master account, which are accessed as separate URLs. For example, you could set up a "timber" subdomain on your master account "hardware.com", which would be accessed as "timber.hardware.com". A lot of larger businesses use subdomains to establish branding and focus on separate product lines, because a subdomain creates a separate URL and web presence. However, you do not create a new control panel when you create a subdomain. You still perform most administration functions for the subdomain through your main control panel. Practically, a subdomain is a sub folder within the public_http level of your account that has it's own cgi-bin directory. The "timber" example above creates a new top-level folder called timber, with a cgi-bin sub-folder. Upload your files for the subdomain to this location, including a separate home file (such as index.htm). You can then access this "new site" in one of two ways:
Additionally, you can setup separate FTP accounts for people so they only have access to the subdomain, and not the rest of your hosting account. |
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MySQL Database SQL stands for Structured Query Language. SQL is a international standard in querying and retrieving information from databases. mySQL is essentially an SQL server - it responds to requests for information that are written in SQL. You can communicate with mySQL using a wide variety of programming languages (PHP being one of the most common). mySQL is Open Source software and generally free for use. Complete instructions/tools on creating and maintaining a MySQL database can be found in the MySQL Database section of the control panel. There you will also find PHPMyAdmin which is a great tool that can be used to administrate your MySQL databases in a web based environment. To learn more about using MySQL, you should visit the following websites:
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SSH/Telnet For security reasons, shell access is not enabled by default on every account. In order to activate shell access on your account, you will need to contact our customer service department at sales@WorldsBestHosting.com and request that it be setup for you. You will be asked to prove your identity with a faxed driver's license, passport, or other photo ID. The reason for the extra security measures is because shell access is commonly used by hackers to gain unlawful access to servers, and may result in attacks to other accounts on the server. Although the technology exists to allow shell access, it is not needed for the vast majority of customers. You have all the access to your account needed via FTP and/or the control panel. |
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Manage Redirects The Redirects area allows you to redirect Internet traffic from one web page to another. This is usually used when a web page has been moved to another location. For example: Let's say your hosting account is setup for your domain name, yourcompany.com. Now let's say you have a file (or webpage) in your account called products.htm (accessed like this: www.yourcompany.com/products.htm). At some point in the future you may decide to rename your products page, or move the information on that page to a new page.... let's say store.htm. However, there may be people who visited your website in the past, and perhaps bookmarked that old products.htm page. To make sure they do not find a dead page or dead link, yo ucan create the following redirect:
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FrontPage Extensions Frontpage Extensions allow you to publish your web site using Microsoft Frontpage. If you do not use FrontPage to build your website, then you do not need the FrontPage extensions. If you DO use FrontPage for your website, and indicated such in your order form, then we will have installed teh FrontPage extensions for you. However, the FrontPage extensions can occasionally become corrupted, and need reinstalling. If that happens, you can use this feature to uninstall and then reinstall Frontpage Extensions whenever required. The FrontPage extensions take up approximately 300 KB (or 0.3 MB) of storage space in your hosting account. This amount is negligible compared to the amount of storage space you have in your account. |
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Raw
Access Log You can download the raw access logs that contain all the recorded hit information that your site has received. These logs are only really useful if you have a preferred reporting tool that you prefer to use, rather than the variety of reporting tools available in the control panel. If you use the reporting tools in the control panel (i.e. Webalizer stats) to track visitors and traffic to your website, then you do not need to download the raw access logs. |
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Web/FTP Stats The Web / FTP Statistics area presents you with a wide variety of information about your web site, from the latest visitors to a detailed monthly summary of hits, as well as providing an error log. Use the Statistics tools to keep track of what pages are being visited most often, and where they are being referred from. The features available to you in this section are as follows:
For more information about exactly what these web site statistics actually mean, refer to the following excellent articles: |
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Sub Domain Stats This is just a direct link to the "Subdomain Stats" as described above, in Web/FTP Stats. It shows statistics for any subdomains you may have created in your hosting account. |
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Error Log The error log contains all HTTP errors that occur when visitors attempt to view your site, such as requested files not found, etc. The Error Log tool is a presentation of the last 300 entries in your error log. A central use of this tool is to locate suspicious server activity, such as attempted virus attacks. If you have concerns about any activity in your error logs, please email us. |
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Search Engine Submit The control panel allows you to submit your web site details to several search engines at one time. Some pointers on this process:
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Chat
Rooms Chat rooms are scripts that allow any number of logged-in users to have a typed, real-time, on-line conversation. There are several pre-installed chat scripts available from within the control panel: CGI Chat: This is a very simple CGI script written in Perl. It is very easy to install. PhpMyChat Room: This is a very nice PHP script. You will need one available MySQL database to install it. It is very customizable! Java Chat: If you would
prefer a java chat, just place the link below in any of your pages: Note: We highly recommend installing only one of these chat scripts, to prevent your account from using excessive server resources and bandwidth. If you do not need/want a chat room, then please do not install one. |
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Forum/BBS From the control panel you can install a pre-made forum called XMB. The XMB Forum is a PHP web-based bulletin board. Unlike an email list or newsgroup, the XMB Forum creates a forum on your web site that allows users to post questions and receive replies, all from their web browser. This allows you to choose from a variety of graphical interfaces and smilies - little faces that communicate the mood of the writer . Once a forum has been created you can modify it extensively, from adding new sub-forums to changing the visual appearance of the board. For more information on how to customize and use your XMB forum, be sure to visit the XMB Forum web site at http://www.xmbforum.com. Note 1: Keep in mind that each separate installation of XMB forum takes up approximately 2.7MB, and will grow in size with the popularity of the forum. Note 2: Also keep in mind that installing an XMB Forum in your account will use 1 MySQL database. You can install the XMB Forum directly from within the control panel. |
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CGI
Center The CGI Center in the control panel lists several CGI scripts that have been pre-installed and ready to use in your account. You are free to install other CGI scripts into your Cgi-Bin directory (within your account) if these pre-installed scripts are not what you are looking for. The scripts we have pre-installed for you are:
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Addon
Scripts This feature is not currently in use. If we were to provide additional scripts for you, and have them pre-installed, this is where they would be featured. If you need a Perl or CGI script, but the ones provided in our CGI Center do not do what you neded, there are many websites you can turn to to look for a script. There are literally thousands of scripts (many of which are free) available for download on the internet. Some websites to visit are: |
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Shopping Carts A Shopping Cart is a set of scripts used to "e-commerce enable" a website. These scripts are integrated into your website to provide your shoppers (visitors to your website) an easy way to select, and pay for products and/or services you want to sell from your website. There are two separate shopping cart scripts (actually, they are sets of numerous scripts) available for you to download from this section of the control panel.
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Cron Jobs Cron jobs allow you to automate repetitive tasks on the server that hosts your web site. This is a powerful tool that allows you to take a hands-free approach to repetitive tasks. For example, you could add a cron job that automatically copies a mySQL database to a separate location on your site as a backup. |
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Network Tools The Network Tools area of the control panel has two available features:
There are a number of free sites that offer similar functions. One of the most popular is http://www.network-tools.com. |
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Mime
Types Mime types tell browsers how to handle specific extensions. Most Mime types are set globally on the server. For example, the text/html Mime type equates to htm, html, and shtml extensions on most servers, and this tells your browser to interpret all files with those extensions as HTML files. You can alter or add new Mime types specifically for your site (note that you can not alter the global Mime type values, only add to them). Mime types are often used to handle new technologies as they appear. When WAP technology first appeared no-one had these extensions set up on their server. With Mime types, however, you could have set it up yourself and begun serving WAP pages immediately. Warning: Make sure you check the list of pre-existing Mime types before adding new ones. Check with our support staff before adding a Mime type, as they can easily alter the correct functioning of your web site. Note: People often get confused as to the difference between Mime types and Apache handlers. Basically, Mime types tell your browser how to handle files, while Apache handlers tell the server how to handle files. |
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Apache Handlers Apache is an open-source HTTP server, and is used to serve your site. Apache handlers tell the server how to deal with web files that need to be processed on the server. For example, Apache is set up to process files with .pl extensions using Perl. However, if for some reason you also wanted to process files with .script extension using Perl, then you would have to set up a custom Apache handler for your site. Note: People often get confused as to the difference between Mime types and Apache handlers. Basically, Mime types tell your browser how to handle files, while Apache handlers tell the server how to handle files. Warning: Check with our support staff before adding an Apache handler, as they can easily alter the correct functioning of your web site. |
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PGP Keys OpenPGP is a tool for secure online communication. CPanel uses GnuPG for its public-key cryptography so that users may communicate securely. Each person gets a pair of keys, called the public key and the private key. Each person's public key is published while the private key is kept secret. Messages are encrypted using the intended recipient's public key and can only be decrypted using their private key. General documentation and comprehensive user guides are available at the GNU Privacy Guard site. |
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Hotlink Protection Hotlinking is when another web site owner links directly to one or more of your images or multimedia files and includes it on their web page. Not only is this theft of your intellectual property, you are paying for the bandwidth used by that site. Refer to this article for more information on hotlinking. The control panel can prevent hotlinking by only allowing named sites (such as your own web site) to access files on your site. |
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Index
Manager The Index Manager enables you to control how directories on your web site are displayed. If there is no index.html in a particular directory, the contents of the directory will be displayed to the browser. This is usually undesirable and can cause security issues. You can set the four different options for any directory through the Index Manager:
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IP
Deny Manager This feature will allow you to block a range of IP addresses to prevent them from accessing your site. |
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Mail
Exchanger This is a direct link to the "Modify MX Entry" feature in "Mail Manager". It allows you to modify your MX (Mail Exchanger) setting. The control panel is automatically setup to manage your email through its own mail server. However, by altering your MX (Mail Exchange Record) Entry you can point your email to another mail server, if this is required. Note: We will not be able to manage your email if you change your MX Entry setting. |