Legacy Faq
From Mediawiki.easydns.com
easyDNS Legacy F.A.Q.
This FAQ relates to our older Legacy system, and the answers to these questions do not relate to the new Caprica interface. While we have tried to update the answers as of 2011, there will be only minimal updating of this FAQ. For information on how to port your domains to Caprica, please see our walkthrough on migrating to the Caprica interface
What is easyDNS?
easyDNS is the domain name registration and DNS management service that takes all of the confusion and hassle out of administering a domain name.
Our quick, user-friendly registration process takes only a few minutes to complete, and each step is explained in plain English. Once you have registered your domain name, our easy-to-understand management pages make controlling your domain a snap.
How is easyDNS different from other registration services?
easyDNS is not just one of the easiest, most inexpensive domain name registration services, it is the first step toward total independence on the internet.
When you register your domain name through easyDNS, you can choose a level of DNS service. DNS (domain name service) is what makes your domain name "work" on the internet, so you are in complete control of your domain name from the start.
easyDNS allows you to: <p>
- create new hosts and aliases for your domain, making adding an FTP site, for example, easier than ever
- modify DNS expire times for your domain, keeping your website up and running even during changes
- create and update your own email forwarding accounts, so your can redirect email at your domain to any other email address
- create and update your own web forwarding address, so you can host your site at any URL and (optionally) hide that URL from people browsing your site (these services come with DNS-Plus Service)
Does easyDNS provide tutorials or other material to help clients understand their services?
Yes, easyDNS has a set of tutorials to explain what our services do, how they work, and how you need to use and configure them through our system. This is an ongoing project so while not every aspect of our business is currently represented there, we do hope in the end to have a complete set of tutorials to walk clients through all aspects of our services and system.
You can also find a great deal of information about our services and system through our Support Pages.
What is a domain name?
A domain name represents an address on the internet. For example, easyDNS.com is a domain name.
What is DNS?
The Domain Name System (DNS) translates domain names into the numerical Internet Protocol (IP) addresses used by computers on the internet. It's like translating "Joe and Mary's House" (the "domain name") to "123 Main Street" (the "IP address").
What can I use a domain name for?
A domain name is the best way for people to find and communicate with you and/or your company on the internet. The main uses for a domain name are web forwarding and email forwarding.
Many people and companies would rather have a short, easy to remember website address like www.test-domain.com, rather than a long URL like www.somehostingcompany.com/clients/joe-and-mary/mainpage.html or an IP number like 205.210.42.98. When you register a domain name and set up web forwarding, any web requests to your new domain (www.test-domain.com) will be forwarded to the URL
or IP of your choice.
When you register a domain name and set up email forwarding, you still keep your current email account (through your ISP or webmail provider).
All email sent to your domain will be forwarded to your current email address. Your business cards, for example, can have joe@test-domain.com or sales@test-domain.com,
instead of jm001@mail.some-isp-company.com.
Your member pages on easyDNS allow you to set up and modify email and web forwarding for your domain
...at your convenience.
I don't have a website, can I still register and use a domain name?
Absolutely. You don't need a website or any special internet access to register a domain name. In fact, you may wish to register a domain name now to reserve it for future use or just to use it for email forwarding.
Do I need to know any special technical terms to register a domain name?
Absolutely not.
easyDNS takes care of all the technical stuff. All you need to do is pick a domain name, supply us with some basic information about yourself, your company (if applicable), and you'll be off.
Which type of domain names can I register with easyDNS?
Clients are urged to use the new Caprica interface to register new domains, as it supports a wider range of domain types and allows access to the newer services.
What is the Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP)?
You have probably heard of instances where people or companies have had to "give up" their domain name because it infringed on some other company's copyright. In order to deal with this issue, ICANN (the organization that currently oversees the .com, .org and .net domain extensions) has prepared "Uniform Dispute Resolution Policy" which provides guidelines for dealing with conflicting claims regarding the rights to register an
internet domain name.
When you register a domain name through easyDNS, you agree to be bound by this policy. You can read the full text of the policy at http://www.icann.org/en/udrp/udrp.html
How can I let my domain name run out to expiration and not receive any further invoices or renewal reminders?
Please contact support@easydns.com and we can initiate the process to set your domain name to (let expire without further notification). Please note: even after a domain has been set to the "let expire" status, the registry will still send a final renewal notice to the administrative contact.
I'm transferring my registration to another provider, what do I need to do?
We're sorry to see you go. If you're transferring your registration to another provider, there are a few steps to take before the process can begin. In all cases, you'll want to make sure that the administrative contact in the Whois records is correct, as the transfer e-mails that your new registrar sends to you will be sent to that address. You will also need need to login to your members page to have the authorization code sent out, via the authorization code retrieval link in the utilities. Once you have done this, log into your easyDNS members page and make sure the registrar lock is disabled for the domain, to allow the transfer away (except for .ca domains, which don't use the lock).
You're now ready to contact your new registrar, and request that they initiate the transfer.
It is also strongly suggested that, if you are to transfer your domain to another registrar, that you begin the process at least 30 days in advance of the domains expiration date to avoid any downtime caused by any transfer concerns that may arise.
You may also want to look at the ICANN policy for registrar-to-registrar domain transfers for details of the confirmation process used to ensure transfers are intended.
What happens to a domain name once it expires?
This depends on the domain type, as different registries handle this differently:
- .net, .org, .com, .mobi, .biz & .info
Once a domain expires, it will stay in a 40 day grace period where it can be renewed at the normal fee. Once the 40 day grace period has passed, the domain will be put into a redemption period for 30 days and there is a premium fee levied for the domains renewal by the registries. Once the 30 redemption period has lapsed, for 5 days the domain cannot be renewed and can only be registered as a new domain name.
- .ca
.ca domains are placed in a 'renew grace' period after expiry, which lasts for 45 days. After 5 days on this status, the domain will be placed on hold and cease functioning. After this period, the domain will go into 30 days 'redemption', but can still be renewed for the regular payment with no additional surcharge. Once this is over the domain will be placed in a To Be Released queue where only registrars have access to try and register the domain as new. Once a domain is in TBR, easyDNS can attempt to grab it for you. There is a 50$ fee for this. 24 hours after the registrars only period has lapsed, the domain will be publicly available.
- .eu
It is very important that invoices for .eu domains be paid well before the expiration date. Unlike most other registries, the .eu registry does not allow a grace period where a domain is put on hold but can be easily renewed. As soon as a domain expires, it is removed from the registrar (easyDNS) and placed in 'Quarantine' for 30 days, pending deletion, similar to the redemption state for many other domain types.
Once a domain is in Quarantine, the .eu registry charges a premium for the registrar to take it back and renew it for the client, so an additional invoice must be generated. This process is manual, and very time sensitive.
If your .eu domain is listed as being in Quarantine, and you wish to have it renewed, please contact easyDNS' support staff at support@easydns.com to begin the process. To ensure that your domain does not get released, swift action is recommended.
How can I determine whether the domain name I want is available?
Enter the name you want to register in the form on our home page and click the next button. easyDNS will then check to see if the name is available. If it is, you can begin the registration process. If it isn't available, you can see who has already registered it. You may check as many domain names as you like. You can also try using our free whois lookup service at http://www.easywhois.com
Can I register more than one domain name?
Absolutely!
We recommend, however, that you do so through the new easyDNS Caprica system, rather than the Legacy system, as the new interface includes many bonuses and services unavailable on the old. .Some domain types can only be registered through the new system as well.
How long can my domain name be?
Your domain name can be up to 67 characters long (including the four characters that denote .com, .org, etc..). In other words, you can choose up to 62 or 63 characters for your domain name.
What characters can be used in a domain name?
You can use letters, numbers and the hyphen "-" in a domain name. Unfortunately, special characters like, "_!@#$%^&*," are not allowed, but easyDNS will alert you if you have included any invalid characters in your Domain name before you register.
Domain names cannot contain spaces or begin or end with a hyphen. They are also case-insensitive. The domain name test-domain.com is treated the same as Test-Domain.Com.
How long does it take to register a Domain Name?
The easyDNS registration process takes only a few minutes to complete, but it takes, on average, about 3-4 for the root registry to confirm the domain, depending on the domain type. It can take up to 24 hours, but this is very rare.
How will I know when my domain name is ready for use?
easyDNS will notify you via email you when your domain name is ready for use. You can check your domain status from time to time by logging into your easyDNS member page and checking the status of your domains there.
What happens after I complete the registration process?
If you have already paid our invoice for your domain, you can just sit back and wait. We'll let you know via email when the domain has been registered.
In the meantime, you may want to log into your members page and configure your DNS settings for your domain (host records, web forwarding, email forwarding, etc.).
This way, your domain is ready to go when the registration is complete. We set up a parked web page for you to start off with, and a default email map, but you may want to change those if you already know what you want to do with your domain name.
When we confirm with the registry that your registration is complete, and we see that it is visible in the whois database, we will send you a confirmation email.
Does easyDNS provide website hosting/ftp/shell services?
easyDNS hosts your name service so that you can use any hosting, ftp or shell provider you wish, and move your website from one provider to another without hassle.
What are the easyDNS Terms of Service?
The easyDNS Terms of Service describe the terms and conditions that apply to individuals and companies registering and maintaining domain names through easyDNS. Accepting these terms and conditions is part of the easyDNS registration process. You must indicate acceptance of these Terms of Service before we can register your domain name.<p> You can read the Terms of Service at http://web.easydns.com/terms/terms.html.
==How come some of my domains with you are listed in whois as with Tucows or OpenSRS while newer ones are listed as with easyDNS?
As of March 02,2000 easyDNS became an authorized reseller for openSRS/Tucows.com, an ICANN accredited registrar. <p> In early 2003 we became directly accredited with ICANN and began using our registrar tag for new registrations as of June 03, 2003. <p>
Why might a registrar transfer fail to complete properly?
Registrar transfers most often fail because the whois information is incorrect or outdated. Most transfers must be confirmed through the admin contact email address and if it is not currently valid you need to contact the current registrar to update it before getting us to submit the transfer request.
Many registries also require the usage of a domain authorization code to fully authorize the transfer of domains between registrars.
Also, the registrar lock may be enabled for your domain, which is a safety measure used to prevent accidental transfers. You would need to contact your current registrar to find out whether that feature is enabled, and disable it to allow for transfer.
One other possible issue is that if your domain is within 60 days of its renewal date and you have received an invoice from some registrars, you may not be able to transfer the domain. You would need to contact them and have the "unpaid status" removed from your domain before you can successfully transfer the registry.
You may also want to look at the ICANN policy for registrar-to-registrar domain transfers for details of the confirmation process used to ensure transfers are intended.
What are the Canadian Presence Requirements for .ca domains?
The Legacy system no longer supports .ca registrations. Please see our new FAQ one page back for these details FAQ
Can easyDNS register and provide DNS service for .US domains?
Unfortunately we cannot be the registrar for .US domains, but can provide them with DNS service. There is one potential problem relating to the .US registry policy stating that .US domains can only be delegated to nameservers that are physically located within the continental United States. Only some of the easyDNS nameservers are located in the United States, and we cannot necessarily say how the .US registry will react to domains with foreign nameservers. easyDNS cannot be responsible for any actions taken by the .US registry against .US domains that are delegated to our nameservers.
Are there any specific requirements regulating domain applications for new .com, .net, .info, .biz and .org domains?
Yes, the following rules apply to .com, .net, .biz, .info and .org applications:
- The address and organization fields are both required and can ONLY contain up to 30 characters.
- applications containing non ASCII characters will not be accepted.
- All telephone numbers must be in the form of +1.1234567890 or +1.1234567890x125 where 125 is the extension number. (please note that +1. denotes the country code where "1" is the country code for North America)
- If a fax number is not included leave the field blank. An entry of N/A will not be accepted
Do I need to have my phone number visible on my .ca whois record?
CIRA now allow domains registered to an individual to be completely private, only displaying dates and registrar information. Company-owned domains must list the company.
-Are there any presence requirements for registering a .eu domain name?
The criteria for who can register a domain name are defined in the EC Regulation 733/2002 article 4 which states:
The Registry shall register domain names in the .eu TLD through any accredited .eu
Registrar requested by any:
(i) undertaking having its registered office, central administration or principal place of business within the Community, or (ii) organisation established within the Community without prejudice to the application of national law, or (iii) natural person resident within the Community;
For more information, please see the .eu registry site at http://www.eurid.eu
==What's the difference between DNS-Only Service and DNS-Plus Service?
These service levels only apply on the Legacy system, and we strongly recommend selecting a DNS service on the Caprica system instead. Pricing and services included in the different levels are significantly better. Please see https://web.easydns.com/Pricing/ for details
==What do all those features mean on my members page?
Each module on your members pages has its own help file. Just click on the purple question mark for more information on that specific section.
I am changing web hosting companies. What do I do?
Changing hosting companies is easy and painless with easyDNS. Once your new hosting company has assigned you a new IP number or URL for your website, just log in to your easyDNS member page, and select the "DNS" option for your domain. All you need to do now is change the old IP number or URL of your website to the new number. Within moments, our name servers will start sending out the new IP number or forwarding to the new URL.* Remember, that other name servers may still have your old DNS information cached, and may still direct requests for your domain to your old hosting company for several days.
In order to prevent this, Pro Service users should take some steps before switching their DNS. A few days before the switch, reduce the "Refresh" time for your domain (to 3 hours, for example) and your "Minimum" time down as well (let's say 12 hours). This way, the easyDNS secondary nameservers will check for new information on your domain every 3 hours and other nameservers won't hold on to the DNS information for more than 12 hours after the switch. After you make the switch to the new IP or URL and the new information has propagated throughout the Internet (give this a couple days just to be on the safe side), you should turn the "Refresh" and "Minimum" times back up (12 hours and 1 day respectively are common values). This will speed up access to your new site (since requests can be cached by nameservers closer to the people accessing your site) and help ensure that you maintain a lower level of DNS queries.
Please note - Forwarding to a URL is only possible with DNS-Plus service.
I have changed my ISP so I have a new email address. What do I do?
Easy: update your mail mappings.
Log in to your easyDNS member page, and select the "mail" option for your domain. From here, you can edit or delete any of your existing mappings or add new ones. You can also edit your "default" mapping and "mail-to-all" mapping. The default mapping is where mail goes if it gets sent to an address at your domain that you haven't set up (e.g. if you don't have an explicit mapping for ooga-booga@test-domain.com, mail for that address will be send to the default mail map address. The mail-to-all mapping is an email address that "explodes" out to every other address at your domain ... a quick way to get the message to everyone in your company, for example!
I want to add an FTP site to my domain. What do I do?
Again, this is easy with easyDNS. Log in to your Member Services page and select the "DNS" option. If your FTP site has the same IP as your domain, then you'll want to "Add an Alias". Just set up an alias called "ftp" and set it to point to the host test-domain.com (or whatever your domain is). If your FTP site has a different IP from your domain, then you'll want to "Add a Host". Just set up a host called ftp and point to the new IP address.
I am a returning customer and wish to register another domain name. Do I have to enter all of my information again?
No. Current easyDNS members can click on the "add a domain" button from within their members page. our system remembers the information you have used for previous domain name registrations, saving you time. Do not worry if the information is different from one domain to the next. You always have the option of modifying as little or as much of the information as you wish.
==Can just anybody change information in my domain name record?
No, the only people who can change the whois information are those you give access to on your account, or in the event of loss of access, someone who can legally prove they are the owner of the domain.
What is Stealth Redirection, and what shows up in my browser's location bar when using web forwarding?
Web forwarding is a mechanism by which you can direct web requests for your domain (i.e. http://www.test-domain.com/) to another URL, rather than an IP address. This enables you to point your domain's web address at another web page, such as a personal account at your ISP, or a free website provider. Normally with this feature enabled, when someone enters http://www.test-domain.com the request passes through our proxy server which redirects the request to the "real URL" where your website is actually located. If Stealth Redirection is not turned on, the browser's location bar will display the URL of the actual website (i.e. http://www.someisp.com/users/you/).
By enabling Stealth Redirection, the location bar retains your domain name, even if the website is loading from some other location. For complete documentation and a tutorial on how it works, please see http://www.easytest.com. This site is located on a free webspace provider and explains the ins and outs of using Stealth Redirection with easyDNS. We suggest that all easyDNS members have a look at this site prior to enabling Stealth Redirection for any addresses within their domains.
If we are using your URL forwarding/Stealth redirection, does it make a difference if we get thousands or more people going through your service a day? Are there any limits or other considerations we should be aware of?
There are no hard limits, but you should be advised that if you intend to run a high traffic/business/production level site, you should be using an actual host, or IP address or virtual host and not use the URL forwarding/Stealth Redirection*. This service is suggested for hobbyist, personal, non-professional or starter sites.
This is because the URL forwarding introduces an extra point-of-failure to the equation, and while we endeavour to maintain the best uptimes we can, and fix any problems as fast as possible, if the web forwarding goes down, your website is offline. Contrast with using conventional IP based DNS, which because of the scheme inherent to DNS itself, if one of the nameservers goes down for any period of time, everything will keep working.
URL forwarding, including Stealth Redirection, is available with the DNS-Plus service.
Do you support Round Robin DNS?
Yes. To enable Round Robin DNS for a given host, follow these steps:
- Log into the member's section of the site, and go into your DNS settings.
- Add a second host with the same name as the first (i.e. www.test-domain.com)
- Enter the second IP address in your round robin order.
- Submit this form. You will be given a warning that you have two different IP addresses for the same host. Submit the form again to confirm.
Next time you load your DNS settings this host will be listed as a Round Robin host, with additional fields to add more Round Robin addresses.
I have registered my domain with another registrar (or registry) already and I need your nameserver info.
Users on the retail system can use the ns1.easydns.com and ns2.easydns.com strands. All the old servernames simply point to individual servers within those clusters.
Do you support dynamic DNS updates?
Yes.
For instructions on how to enable dynamic DNS updates for your domains and links to supported client software, see our Dynamic DNS tutorial in the Tutorials section.
How do I delete a domain from my account?
Please login to the members page and click the "delete" link in the utilities module. Select the domain you want deleted and click "next" until it changes to done, and then click done to confirm the changes. If you do not have the utilities module select personalize " from the left side margin of your easyDNS members page. Add "utilities" to your modules then go back to your members home page. The deletion will of course result in the domain no longer being resolved through our nameservers, so all web page and email associated with the domain will cease to function unless you have made provisions elsewhere.
How do I change the nameservers for a domain registered through easyDNS?
Please login to your members page and click the "whois" link to the right of the domain name. Click "next" underneath he current nameservers to get 4 blanks to add nameservers, and a link beneath them to delegate to our nameservers. Either enter the host names for the nameservers in the top most blanks on the form and click "next" until it changes to done, or use that link if you are delegating to our nameservers.
Why do I keep getting "Page cannot be displayed" when I try to manage through the members page?
This is due to a bug in Internet Explorer v6, relating to corrupt cache files and/or corrupted cookies and occurs mainly over SSL. We do not at this time have a definitive solution, but using the utility at https://members.easydns.com/utils/delete_cookies.php to clear the easyDNS cookies usually does it. Otherwise the best solution at this time is to use a different browser.
How do I change the ownership details of my .ca domain?
Due to a massive overhaul of the CIRA system, the Legacy interface can no longer effect changes in the whois or nameserver delegation records for .ca domains. You will need to port the domain over to Caprica, where the interface gives you complete control over those matters.
What should I do once I delegate to your nameservers?
Once easyDNS nameservers have been delegated to your domain, and the change has fully propagated, it is never a bad idea to contact the previous DNS provider and have them delete the old zone file for the domain name.
This is especially true if your old DNS provider is also an ISP hat might have their subscribers connecting to the internet through the same nameservers that served your domain name.
What is domain cloning?
Domain cloning lets you maintain several domains, all with the same settings, by only making changes to one of the domains. Cloning a domain will not change the nameservers currently delegated to the domain. Please use the Whois link next to your domain on your easyDNS members page or contact the domains current registrar for that sort of change.
Only domains using the same service level can be clones of one another.
Do you support port forwarding to non-standard ports?
Yes, if your domain is on DNS-plus service you can forward to an alternate port through our service. Details available at http://support.easydns.com/tutorials/Portforwarding/
Does easyDNS support TXT records and the SPF email protocol?
Yes, we support TXT records to allow clients to make use of the SPF protocol for spam prevention. Further information on this is available in our support pages at http://support.easydns.com/srvrec.php/ .
How can I create nameservers based on my domain name?
Please contact support@easydns.com with this concern. In your message, include the names of the nameservers you want created and their corresponding IP addresses and we will create them at the registry level for you. As your authorization, please do not forget to include in your message the answers to your secret questions found in the "view or edit member information" area of your easyDNS members page.
If you prefer, you can send us your information via our secure messaging system at https://www.easydns.com/sslmessage.php3 . If you have an ongoing support ticket, please add the ticket ID that appears in the subject line of your secure message.
Does easyDNS support SRV records?
Yes, the easyDNS member interface now supports SRV records. Please see our SRV records page at http://support.easydns.com/srvrec.phpfor details and instructions on how to create these records.
How do I change the whois information for my domain and can you do it for me?
Once you have logged into your easyDNS members page, click the whois link to the right of the domain name. The page you find there allows you to update owner, administrative, technical and billing contact information. If the domain name is a .ca then you will only be allowed to update the administrative and technical. To update ownership information foe a .ca please see http://www.easydns.com/faq.php3#10.3. easyDNS cannot change any whois information on your behalf. All changes must be made by the member/domain owner, after accessing the easyDNS members page that holds the domain with the appropriate user ID and password.
How do I activate TXT or SRV records for my account?
Some types of DNS records, such as TXT and SRV records, are not visable in the members page by default, so to make use of them you will first have to enable them in your account.
To do this you first click the "view or edit domain and dns display options" link in the account management module for your account. On the page you are brought to look to the bottom of the list for "Show SRV Records:" or the equivalent for whatever type of record you're looking for. You need to change this field from "no" to "yes" and then click the "done" link below the list to commit the changes.
What kind of SOA does easyDNS use in the zone files?
easyDNS uses an epoch timestamp as the SOA serial number for zone files. Please ensure that if you have a zone file on your nameserver for the domain you wish to transfer from easyDNS, that it's SOA serial number is less than the one that is currently on our nameservers. You can check this by performing the following command:
on Windows:
nslookup -querytype=soa [domain] ns1.easydns.com
on *NIX:
dig soa @ns1.easydns.com [domain]
I modified the nameserver record for my .eu domain several hours ago and I have yet to see the changes go live. What would cause the delay?
The .eu root servers will reload 5 times a day at 6:00,10:00,13:30,17:00, and 23:00 CEST. (Central European Summer Time) When in the cycle you modified the nameservers for the domain will dictate when the modified record will be live.
Where can I find information in your outbound SMTP service?
DNS-plus accounts include an outbound mail service, enabling members to use an outbound SMTP server or relay.
For more information see http://support.easydns.com/outbound_smtp.php
Where can I find my IP address as required for dynamic DNS Updates?
Please visit http://support.easydns.com/utils/get_ip.php for your current IP information
How do I use my domain name with blogspot/blogger?
There are basically three steps involved in using your own domain name with your Blogger or Blogspot account:
1) Register or Transfer a domain of your choice.
For an existing domain you can either keep your existing registrar and just delegate your nameservers here, or move your domain's DNS and Registrar over to easyDNS. New domains are activated instantly, so you can go straight to Step 2 after add your domain.
2) Setup Your Blogger Account to recgonize your domain name.
Log into your blogger account and go into Settings -> Publishing and switch to "Custom Domain" and enter your own domain name. Don't forget to click on "Save Settings".
3) Enter your DNS settings here in your members' panel
When you log into your members' panel, click on the DNS link to the right of your domain name.
At this time, you can choose whether to point just a subdomain (such as blog.yourdomain.com or www.yourdomain.com) to the blog, or the root domain as well ( yourdomain.com ).
- First, go to the "Aliases Cnames" section, and point your subdomain "www", "blog", etc.. at this host: ghs.google.com. (Remember to put that trailing dot "." on there, it's important).
- If you want to point the root domain as well, under the "A" link (hostnames), enter the host "yourdomain.com" with the following IPs (you'll have to do them one by one)
216.239.32.21 216.239.34.21 216.239.36.21 216.239.38.21
And that's it. Your blogger / blogspot blog should now be accessible via your own domain name.
If it doesn't work right away, your local DNS resolvers may have old DNS info cached, just wait a bit and try again later. Always feel free to call or email support if a problem persists.
Please note
These settings are based on Google/Blogspot's published configurations at http://www.google.com/support/blogger/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=55373
If I am using mailout.easydns.com to send email, what should my SPF record be?
If you are using our easySMTP service to relay email for your domain, and do not currently have an SPF record but would like to utilize the SPF protocol, you may want to make use of one of the following:
For soft compliance:
"v=spf1 a:smtp.easydns.com a:mailout.easydns.com ip4:205.210.42.0/24
ip4:64.68.200.0/24 ~all"
For Hard compliance:
"v=spf1 a:smtp.easydns.com a:mailout.easydns.com ip4:205.210.42.0/24
ip4:64.68.200.0/24 -all"
For more information regarding the SPF protocol and the records involved, please see our SPF tutorial at http://support.easydns.com/tutorials/SPF/.
Can I hide the phone number from my .ca domain?
The new Caprica interface allows privacy to be enabled for privately owned .ca domain names.
How do I change the ownership or whois details of my .ca domain?
Due to a massive CIRA overhaul, to effect any changes in in ownership or whois data for .ca domains, they must first be ported over to the new Caprica interface.
I have just received a renewal invoice for my .CA domain name. The renewal invoice is for one year but I would rather renew my domain for several years at one time. Is there a way to do this ?
Multi-year renewals are easily available under the new interface, in the 'renewals' section.
To have your domain renewed for multiple years without porting, you will need to send an email to support@easydns.com , including the domain name, the number of years you wish to renew for, and the answers to the three secret questions in your account as verification. We can then manually generate an invoice and when you advise ut is paid, renew the domain manually.
We recommend porting the domain, it's much faster for you.
How do I register a TBR domain name?
If your domain name was not renewed in time or you would like to try and register a .ca domain that has gone T.B.R. ( To be Released), please contact support@easydns.com and we can make the registration arrangements for you.
There is a $50.00 CAD administration fee along with the regular registration fees plus DNS service fees if required. Please email helpme@easydns.com to have this process begun, and please note that the process is a manual one, and thus extremely time sensitive
Can I change my easyDNS password?
Yes, you can.
Just log in to your easyDNS member page with your current username and password and click "edit member information" in the account management section of your members page.
I lost or forgot my username and/or password. What do I do?
You will need to go to the
You will need to remember either your username or one of your domain names, plus be able to answer your Secret Questions in order to recover your easyDNS password.
Keep in mind that we can not actually tell you what your old password was, because it is always encrypted.
However, we can issue you a new random password, and you can then change it to something else ...
and please keep your username and password in a safe place!
==How secure are my username and password?
We maintain tight security over all easyDNS passwords, but you should also take steps to make sure that your password remains secure by keeping it in a safe place, and by not picking something that's easy to guess.
Can I access my member settings via SSL?
Yes. To access the members' section via SSL use the URL ttps://members.easydns.com.
The http page will also force a secure connection if the browser supports it.
Can I limit access to my account with an Access Control List (ACL)?
Yes, you can limit access to your easyDNS account with an Access Control List (ACL) specifying which hostnames, hostname masks or IP blocks are granted login access to your account. Make sure your "security" module is enabled for your account (click on the "personalize" menu on the left hand side menu).
Please note that the Caprica interface allows geo-location protection, where access can be limited by country.
Where do I find the Secret Questions and Answers in my account?
When we make changes to your account or domain name for you we often require the the secret question and answer for your account as authorization. These can be found in the member information section of your account, just click "edit member information" in he account management section of your members page.
Our account is managed by a former employee, how do we get control of the domain?
Are you still in touch with the former employee? If so, the easiest thing to do would be to contact them and get the username and password. As the domain is company property they should comply. If this is not possible for any reason then we need to move the domain from its current account into your own company account.
Please visit http://web.easyDNS.com and at the top of the page you will find the 'Open a Free Account' link. Please click that and proceed to create a free easyDNS member's account. Once that is done, please send us a fax on company letterhead, signed by an officer of the company stating that the domain in question is property of said company. You must also include incorporation documents if the domain is registered to a company and photo ID of the signing officer. Once we receive and review the fax we can then move the domain into your new company account. On the signed fax please include a contact email address and the user ID of your easyDNS account. Our fax number is 416-535-0237.
I have faxed information to easyDNS that should prove my identity and allow me access to mydomain. How long should I expect to wait before I can access my domain and make modifications?
Please allow 24 - 48 hours for the processing of any faxed documentation.
How much does it cost to register and maintain a domain through easyDNS?
The price to register and maintain a domain through easyDNS depends on the level of service you want. We now recommend that new domains be set up on the Caprica interface to take advantage of better pricing and upgraded services.
https://web.easydns.com/Pricing/
What methods of payment do you accept?
We currently accept MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover and Paypal for online payment.
We also accept cheques/checks and money orders, but we cannot process applications for new domain names until your cheque/check has cleared.
I submitted my credit card information but never got my confirmation notice. What should I do?
This could have happened for a number of reasons. Most likely, the email address you supplied was typed incorrectly. Please email our support team with a description of the problem (including your name, your username and the domain name), and we will investigate the problem.
I just received what looks like a renewal invoice from someone else who says I must renew through them. Do I?
No. If we are your registrar, you renew those domains through us, and we notify you via email only when your domains are up for renewal. All correspondence from us is clearly marked as from easyDNS.
This may be an attempt to trick you into transferring your domain over to a competitor using misleading or deceptive advertisements and you should read our tutorial on Domain Slamming and What it Means o You, which should answer most of your questions and shows examples of the latest tactics being employed.
http://support.easydns.com/domain.slammers/
I have renewed my domain name for two years but I only need it for one year. Can I get a refund on the year that I do not need?
Unfortunately no. All renewal requests, once submitted to the registry, cannot be revoked by the registry or refunded by the registrar.
I registered my domain with a spelling mistake. Can I get a refund for the domain and start again with the domain correctly spelled?
If you contact us within the first 2-3 days of the registration period, we may be able to do so by canceling the new domain registration, but this is dependent on the registry in question, and is extremely time dependent. Please email us immediately if this happens at support@easydns.com
I have noticed that the amount billed to my credit card for your services is a little higher than what was printed on the invoice. Why was the amount charged to my credit card higher than what was printed on the invoice?
Effective April 2, 2005, International Visa Card Issuers may be applying an optional issuer surcharge/fee to transactions where the merchant is located outside the country where the customer's credit card was issued. For a full explanation of this change and how it may affect your Visa payments please see https://www.internetsecure.com/merchants/showPage.asp?page=SAF1
Can I use easyDNS for secondary DNS on my existing domain?
Absolutely. Many people use this for adding extra nameserver redundancy on existing domains. There are also numerous people using us on cable modem or DSL who sign up for secondary DNS service with us, but list our nameservers as primary and secondary with their registry because they can't list their own server for whatever reason.
Do you have a bind8/bind9 acl I can use that will allow easyDNS nameservers to do named-xfers?
Sure.
Here you go:
acl "easydns" {
/* * easyDNS acl v2.2 as of September 24 2010 * * this acl allows access for easyDNS.com nameservers * this list may be subject to change * for most recent acl, see http://support.easydns.com/acl.easydns. * */ { 205.210.42.0/24; 216.220.40.240/28; 209.200.131.0/24; 209.200.151.0/24; 209.200.177.0/24; 209.200.141.0/24; 209.200.187.0/24; 66.252.1.10/32; 205.234.220.154/32; 205.234.220.146/32; 216.246.59.66/32; 216.246.59.82/32; 205.234.160.98/32; 64.202.104.250/32; 206.223.184.240/28; }; };
You can also grab this file directly from http://support.easydns.com/acl.easydns.
Can I slave external nameservers to yours?
Absolutely!
In the DNSsection for your domain, at the top (usually) you'll see a box called 'Allow Zone File Transfesr'.
You can enter the IP addresses of any third-party nameservers you wish to also slave this zone from our primary. In that box, enter each relevant nameserver IP address, separated by whitespaces or semi-colons. Only enter individual IP addresses. Do not enter netblocks.
Allow up to six hours for this to take effect, then have your third party nameservers slave from 209.200.177.10
easyDNS uses an epoch timestamp as the SOA serial number for zone files. Please ensure that if you have a zone file on your nameserver for the domain you wish to transfer from easyDNS, that it's SOA serial number is less than the one that is currently on our nameservers.
What mail exchangers can I user for a backup spool? or What do I need to do to enable backup mail spooling for my domain?
The following mail exchanger is available to queue mail for easyDNS members:
smtp.easydns.com
You simply need to create an MX (mail exchanger) record that has smtp.easydns.com listed with a higher numerical preference than your main mail hub.
For example, say your main mail exchanger is mail.example.com and has a preference of 5.Then you would create another mail exchanger record for smtp.easydns.com with
a preference of 10.
How does the backup mail spool work?
To use our backup mailspool, you would login to your members page and click the "dns" link beside your domain name.
In the "add MX record" section put your domain name in the
zone section and smtp.easydns.com as handled by host. Set the pref to a number
higher han your primary mailserver.
After that, should your mail server go down, the sending server trying to deliver will deliver the mail to the next server in line, which is our own. our mailspool holds the mail
for up to 5 days, attempting to deliver the mail to the primary mailserver regularly until it is successful.
How long will it take for your nameservers to pull the zone file from my primary nameserver when it is initially added to my easyDNS account?
Depending on when in our nameserver reload schedule that you add the domain, it can takeup to 6 hours before our nameservers have picked up the zone information from your primary IP.
Domains added to our new Caprica system are active immediately.
I just changed the IP for my primary nameserver for a domain that is employing your secondary DNS service. How long will it take before your nameservers pull the zone information from my new primary IP?
It can take up to 6 hours before our nameservers start loading the zone from the new IP.
==My primary nameserver will not allow me to add your BIND ACL, what IP addresses
do I need to allow zone transfers to?==
If your primary will not allow the BIND ACL we have provided, and requires individual IP addresses, please allow connections from:
205.234.220.154 205.234.160.98 64.202.104.250 216.246.59.66 209.200.151.10 209.200.131.4 209.200.131.10 205.210.42.20 209.200.141.4 209.200.177.10 205.234.220.146 216.246.59.82 206.223.184.242 209.200.187.4
Please note, these IP addresses may change at any time, and since you are not using our provided BIND ACL, your primary may not contain the most recent IP addresses required for secondary service.
What's the easiest and fastest way to get my account terminated with no warning and no refund?
Easy. All you have to do is register a domain through us and start sending spam promoting your website.
When the complaints start rolling in we put your domain in the doghouse and if you catch us in a particularly good mood we'll also ferret out every other domain on the system that belongs to you (don't worry, we can tell) and we'll terminate them too. See the "Guilt by Association" clause in our Terms of Service.
The spam policy here is zero tolerance.
Can I do a bulk mail-out and use your backup mail spool?
No.
Back-up mail-spooling is intended for use as short term backup of legitimate mail. It is not intended to be a dumping ground for your bulk email bounces or spam complaints.
If our mail queues fill up with a lot of bulk garbage for or from your domain, we'll solve the problem by jettisoning all email for your domain that we have here.
Optionally, we may terminate your service outright. See the above question for details.
Can I use URL forwarding for my adult site?
No.
It chews up far more resources than is reasonable. Get an IP address and use a regular host (A) record. If we notice abnormal activity in the forwarding and find an adult site behind it we will turn off URL forwarding for this record.
Do you have any kind of spam filtering or blacklists in place on your email forwarders?
Yes, we have found it necessary to add various blacklists over the years to combat an ever escalating volume of inbound spam to our users. The following filters and spam prevention measures are used on our SMTP servers:
sbl.spamhaus.org list.dsbl.org opm.blitzed.org socks.dnsbl.sorbs.net http.dnsbl.sorbs.net misc.dnsbl.sorbs.net smtp.dnsbl.sorbs.net web.dnsbl.sorbs.net zombie.dnsbl.sorbs.net
Where can I find Information on Spam and what can be done about it?
You can find helpful information on Spam ( what you can do, what we can do and some excellent third party links) at http://support.easydns.com/antispam
Can I use the easyDNS nameservers for local DNS resolution?
Our nameservers do not allow for local resolution, but we do provide a free local resolution service.
You can point to the following DNS servers if you need dns resolution clean of any sort of ads or monetizing.
cache1.dnsresolvers.com -> 205.210.42.205 cache2.dnsresolvers.com -> 64.68.200.200
Are you guys going to be around in 6 months?
We get this question a lot, and given the current climate and "the .COM shakeout" going on around us all the time, its a perfectly valid question. Briefly, we are in uncommonly good shape for an internet company. This is the direct result of ignoring what was called "conventional wisdom" from about 1998-2000. When we started the company, various industry "experts" advised us to do all kinds of things, be a one stop shop, give away DNS for free and make it up in volume, take on venture capital, go public, sell our source code, bundle domains with e-cards, the list goes on.
We did none of these things.
Consequently we are still here. After launching in 1998 we find ourselves with no debt, no outside investors and no outside controlling interests. We are profitable, cash-flow positive and our growth is in the triple digits. In short, we broke most of the "10 Rules of the New Economy" and in retrospect our customers and us are the happier for it.
At the end of the day an internet business is like any other business. Stick to your core competencies and try not to sell dollar bills for 75 cents. Be the best at what you do and compete on service and reliability.
Do that well, and everything else looks after itself. We'll be around for a long time. We're the DNS "pure play" everyone said wouldn't work in The New Economy and we're happy to be here serving you and your domains.
I have a question or concern that is not covered by this FAQ. What should I do?
If you have a specific question or just need us to clarify something for you, please feel free to contact our support team, and we will provide you with all the help we can.
We provide responsive customer support to assist you with your domain account.
You can email our support staff anytime, day or night at support@easydns.com , or call our toll-free support line (1-855-321-EASY(3279)) during regular business hours.