I am prompted to confirm the host key when I connect using SSH/SFTP. What should I do?

It is normal for this message to appear the first time you connect to a host. This is because your SSH/SFTP client checks to see if the server you are connecting to appears to be the same one as before. Generally, you can say yes or OK to this message. If you are concerned that the server you are connecting to might be fraudulent, e-mail webmaster@ptd.net to obtain the host key. Once you have the host key, you can verify that it matches the prompt you received from your SSH/SFTP Client.

What is SFTP?

SFTP is a secure replacement for FTP. SFTP is an extension of SSH, and as such is dependant on SSH, and does not use the FTP protocol to transfer files. You may wish to use SFTP to ensure that their password is not transmitted in plain text, or to be sure that content is not being read while it is being transferred to or from their web server.

What is SSH?

SSH is a secure replacement for telnet. Customers who currently use telnet to manage some aspects of their site and databases should consider using SSH to ensure that their passwords are not intercepted by a third party while being transmitted.

Does PenTeleData have mod_perl enabled?

Yes. PenTeleData does have the mod_perl module enabled on all our commercial webservers. For more information about mod_perl please check out: http://perl.apache.org/guide/.

How can I add MIME types to my website?

In your config directory on the webserver you will find a file called mime.type, you can add any mime type to this file. Please remember to add the entries in the same format as the current entries. Download the mime.type config file using an FTP program like WSFTP using the ASCII option to transfer. In wordpad, notepad or any other basic text editor, add to the bottom of that document the mime-types you would like to add. For example: type=application/x-director exts=dir,dcr,dxr,fgd type=application/futuresplash exts=spl type=audio/x-midi exts=mid type=audio/midi exts=mid Save the file as a text document and then open WSFTP, or another FTP program, and upload the file back into your config directory. Be sure to upload the file in ASCII format. After you have made the changes to the file, you must email webmaster@ptd.net so that the changes can take affect.

How can I create my own password protected directory?

Telnet to ftp.ptd.net and login with your assigned username and password. Then, At the $ prompt type: "cd userdb" At the new $ prompt type: htaccess -c {filename} {user} Example: htpasswd -c customers.txt customer1 Add the rest of the users by typing: htpasswd {filename} {user} NOTE: The -c option is only used when adding the first user. If you use the -c option when adding the second user the first user will be erased. When all the users are added type: pwd You will need to remember this infomation when telling the the webserver where to look for the users to allow access. At the $ prompt type: "cd ../docs". Now at the $ prompt type: "mkdir dirname" Replace dirname with the name of your directory. Next, in the folder you just created, you need to create a file called .htaccess. This file needs to contain the following lines: AuthName "dirname" AuthType basic AuthUserFile {Output from the pwd command}/{file that contains the usernames and passwords} require valid-user Example: AuthName "XYZ Company" AuthType basic AuthUserFile /home/webfarm/web40/xyzcompany.com/userdb/users.txt require valid-user Once the .htaccess is created any pages inside the folder you created will require a username and password to access.

Can I protect my Unix website or a sub-directory with a username and password?

By default the docs/secure directory is password protected. To give a user access to this directory, telnet to ftp.ptd.net and login with your assigned username and password. Then At the $ prompt type: cd userdb. Now at the new $ prompt type: "htpasswd .htpasswd username" Replace username with the name of the user you wish to grant access. The user is now allowed access to the directory.

Can I use a database on my website?

You can create a mySQL database on your UNIX site. For more information on adding this service to your account, please contact our sales department at 1-800-281-3564 x7715

My CGI scripts aren't working. What might be wrong?

In order for CGI scripts to run, they must be made executable. To do this, you must telnet to ftp.ptd.net, then log in using your webmaster username and password. After this, you should see a prompt with a $ at the end. Type "cd cgi-bin" without the quotes, and then press enter. Then type "chmod 755 filename" (where filename is the cgi which you are trying to make executable), and press enter. You can then type exit to log out.

How do I upload content to my website?

You can use an FTP client such as WS_FTP or CuteFTP to upload your content. If you use an FTP client, you will need the following: - Hostname/Server: ftp.ptd.net - Username: The username for your web account - Password: The password for your web account All files are placed in a folder called docs in order for visitors of your site to be able to view them. If you have any cgi files, these should be placed in the cgi-bin folder.