This guide explains how to resolve issues that may occur with a Web Hosting if it has undergone changes to its IP address (e.g., a server move) and your computer retains the old position in its DNS cache.

Flush the DNS cache…

When you visit a website, your computer locally stores an association between the domain name and its IP address in the DNS cache. This speeds up the DNS resolution process for future visits to the same site, as the computer can avoid querying the DNS servers again to obtain the IP address.

By clearing the DNS cache, you force your computer to query the DNS servers again to obtain the latest up-to-date information on the IP addresses of the sites you visit.

... on Windows

Run the following command from a Terminal application (command-line interface, CLI /Command Line Interface) on your device. Example:

1. Open the Start menu.
2. Type cmd.
3. In the search results, click on Command Prompt.
4. Run the command ipconfig /flushdns.

… on macOS

Run the following command from a Terminal application (command-line interface, CLI /Command Line Interface) on your device:

• Run the command lookupd -flushcache (if it fails: dscacheutil -flushcache).

… on Linux

Run the following command from a Terminal application (command-line interface, CLI /Command Line Interface) on your device:

• Run the command sudo systemctl restart nscd or sudo /etc/init.d/nscd restart to restart nscd.

This guide explains what to consider doing if you have received a letter, by email, mail, or fax, from an unknown company or impersonating Infomaniak (or a competitor) and mentioning the domain names you own, and asking you to pay fees related to these products.

Introduction

• Several organizations are known for "forcing" a domain name (slamming), with the aim of appropriating it or simply making money at your expense.
  • Among them: Brandon Gray Internet Services, NameJuice.com or Global Netsource. Furthermore, Asian companies are listed here.
  • The company called Domain Registrar of America (DROA) also aims to defraud domain name holders by sending a fax or email to renew one or more domain names 2 to 3 months before their expiration date. This offer seems official and professional and offers quite competitive prices.
• The catch: by signing with these unscrupulous companies, you authorize the transfer of your domain names to these “registrars,” with all the risks of deactivating your websites and email services. Of course, you are encouraged to pay by credit card! Some of these companies have been the subject of legal proceedings in the USA, Great Britain, and Canada but remain very active in Europe.

Some recommendations

To avoid being scammed:

1. Determine who sent you such a message... Is it a company you know, writing to you from Switzerland or France, in French, etc. or, on the contrary, a letter coming from abroad (USA, United Kingdom, Jamaica, Asia, etc.), in English, etc.?
2. Determine the status of your domain name and where it is currently located; to do this, start by performing a WHOIS lookup on infomaniak.com/whois for example.
3. Do not respond to these letters... Destroy them or you will end up paying astronomical amounts for no reason.
4. Consult the AFNIC Guide on slamming and other fraudulent practices.
5. Activate Domain Privacy for more peace of mind.
6. Report these messages.

This guide explains how to force the display of the web hosting name in the browser's address bar to one of the domain names installed as an alias/synonym or how to display the main domain in the address bar instead of the alias.

Limit the "duplicate content" or duplicate content

Suppose you have the hosting votre-domaine.com at Infomaniak and that as an alias domain name you have installed www.domainesyno.xyz.

By default, when you type either of the domain names (votre-domaine.com or domainesyno.xyz) in your browser's address bar, the one you typed will be displayed in the address bar.

You therefore have the possibility to force the display of a different address than the one that was typed. So if someone types domainesyno.xyz, then it is votre-domaine.com that will automatically appear in the address bar.

A code must be entered into a file called .htaccess which must be located at the root of your hosting (in the /web folder of your FTP). If this file does not yet exist, you must create it on the server.

Then insert these directives into the file:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP:X-Forwarded-Proto} !https
RewriteRule (.*) https://votre-domaine.com/$1 [R=301,L]

Adjust the code above according to these instructions:

• Replace votre-domaine.com with your domain name with the appropriate extension (.com, .fr, .ch, etc.) that you want to display in the browser's address bar for the visitor. Add www. before your-domaine.com if necessary.
• Replace the second line of the code above with "RewriteCond %{HTTPS} off‍" if a loop error occurs, this means that HTTP/2 is active for this site

Also, familiarize yourself with the automatic redirections to https.

If your domain is important for your activity then Renewal Warranty is the assurance of never losing it. As a leading registrar, Infomaniak is daily confronted with clients who have not been able to renew their domain on time. Their website and email addresses are no longer accessible, and this often represents a significant damage to their activity.

It is easy and costly to lose a domain

A domain name is registered for a specific period, after which it must be renewed to retain ownership. When a domain is not renewed, it enters a redemption period before becoming publicly available for a new buyer.

The redemption period is a grace period during which it is still possible to act to retain ownership of your domain. However, this last-resort measure has serious consequences and incurs fees. At best, it results in the interruption of your website and email addresses for many hours, while your domain name is urgently removed from redemption.

In the worst-case scenario, if there is no intention to reactivate the domain name, it is lost.

Renewal Warranty, the guarantee of never losing a domain

With this warranty, Infomaniak commits to renewing your domain if necessary (blocked payment method, renewal emails not received, prolonged absence, etc.) and will personally contact you by email, SMS, phone, and mail to ensure you keep it.

Renewal Warranty is a unique solution that protects you from the unintentional expiration of your domains. You remain, of course, the sole owner of your domains and are free to stop Renewal Warranty or terminate your domains whenever you decide.

Enable Renewal Warranty on an existing domain

Refer to this other guide to activate the option in a few clicks.

This guide explains how to set up DNSSEC at Cloudflare with a domain registered at Infomaniak.

Prerequisites

• The domain's DNS zone must be managed by Cloudflare.

Set up DNSSEC at Cloudflare

To do this:

1. Click here to access the Cloudflare console.
2. Go to the DNS tab.
3. Click on Enable DNSSEC.
4. Click here to access the management of your product on the Manager Infomaniak.
5. Click directly on the name assigned to the product in question.
6. Enable DNSSEC from the Information section of the Dashboard.
7. Enter the requested information with the data provided by Cloudflare:
   • Key = Key Tag
   • Algorithm = Algorithm
   • Hash Type = Digest Type
   • Hash = Digest
8. Click on Activate.

Cloudflare data to enter in the Infomaniak Manager

The information to copy is in red:

Please enter the following points into your Infomaniak Manager by activating DNSSEC:

• The information under 1‍ will go under HASH
• The information under 2‍‍ will go under HASH TYPE
• The information under 3‍‍ will go under ALGORITHM
• The information under 4‍‍‍ will go under KEY

In the case of a domain with extension ‍.eu, the‍ indications may be significantly different:

• The indications under FLAGS will go under FLAGS
• The information under PUBLIC KEY will go under PUBLIC KEY

This guide explains how to obtain the authorization code (EPP code) for a domain name managed by Infomaniak. You will need this authorization code to transfer the management of a domain to another registrar.

The terms code EPP, authcode, transfer code and authorization code all refer to alphanumeric sequences specific to the domain, the main goal of which is to verify the owner's authorization before a transfer between registrars.

Getting the authorization code for a domain

To obtain the transfer authorization code:

1. Click here to access your product management on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on the Manage button.
4. Click on Transfer to another registrar:
   
5. Check the box to disable the Domain Privacy option (if necessary) to allow the transfer:
   
6. Click the Unlock this domain button (if necessary) to allow the transfer.
7. Click on the Send code button.

Specifics of certain extensions

• .de domains (trustee)
• Domains .be and .lu
   

And then?

Once you have entered the authorization code with the third-party provider and the outgoing transfer has started, Infomaniak no longer intervenes.

Check with the new registrar to find out the transfer duration during which the domain name will still be visible in your Infomaniak interface. Unfortunately, Infomaniak cannot intervene in any operation that would accelerate the outgoing transfer.

This guide is for users who want to manage Glue records (or "glue records") at Infomaniak.

Introduction

• Glue records are crucial for linking a domain name to its associated name servers, by directly providing the IP addresses of these servers.
  • For example, for the domain domain.xyz, the glue records specify the name servers (ns1.domain.xyz and ns2.domain.xyz) along with their IP addresses (192.0.2.10 and 192.0.2.11).
• This speeds up DNS resolution, allowing browsers and online services to find your site more quickly and efficiently.
• Warning: adding a NS does not automatically add it to the DNS zone: it is necessary to manually update the DNS zone of your domain!

Create Glue records...

… via “A record”

This method involves creating an A record (address) for ns1.domain.xyz pointing to the IP of the NS. This will have the effect of registering the IP with the registry. You will then be able to add ns1.domain.xyz, which will be recognized and redirected to the correct NS.

domain.xyz. 3600 IN NS ns1.domain.xyz.
domain.xyz. 3600 IN NS ns2.domain.xyz.

ns1.domain.xyz. 3600 IN A 192.0.2.10
ns2.domain.xyz. 3600 IN A 192.0.2.11

… via “Glue records” button

This method allows you to create, as well as modify, existing Glue records:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on DNS Servers in the left sidebar.
4. Click on the Manage glue records button:
   
5. Click on the button Add a server:
   
6. Enter the name of the server to add as well as its IP address.
7. Click on the Validate button.

This guide explains how to find and display DNS information for any domain name registered with Infomaniak (or elsewhere).

Domain at Infomaniak

To access your domain names and view the DNS servers listed:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on DNS Servers in the left sidebar:
   
   

WHOIS Search

To display the DNS information for another domain name, use a WHOIS service like https://whois.infomaniak.com/ for example or https://who.is (beware of advertisements on all these third-party services).

You will thus get a clear answer about the DNS situation of a domain name at a given point in time.

DNS records are often displayed in pairs and start with ns... followed by numbers and the name of the registrar or host.

This guide explains how to add or modify one or more SPF records in the DNS zone (of a domain name) managed on the Manager Infomaniak.

Preamble

• If your domain name is registered with Infomaniak, your email is managed by Infomaniak but your website is hosted with another provider (Wix for example) you probably manage the DNS zone (and therefore the SPF) with this other provider: refer to this other guide on the subject.

Understanding SPF records

The SPF (Sender Policy Framework) record type is a standard for verifying the domain name of the sender of an email and aims to reduce spam.

It indicates which server is or is not allowed to send emails for a domain.

If the SPF fails for an email, this means that it was not sent from an authorized server/ IP address by the administrator of the sending domain.

The email is then considered as spam.

Moreover, Infomaniak automatically installs this type of record when creating a Mail Service on your domain (strict SPF):

v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch -all

Thus, the recipient server of the email you send will evaluate that any email not coming from Infomaniak servers will be rejected. This prevents malicious individuals from impersonating email addresses from your domain.

You can also decide to modify the SPF for a more flexible model:

v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch ?all

In this case, the recipient server of the email you send will evaluate, according to its own rules, whether it accepts emails not coming from Infomaniak servers.

In summary:

• ?: the receiving server accepts the message even if the sender is not listed in the SPF
• ~: the receiving server generally accepts the message if the sender is not listed in the SPF but flags it as suspicious
• -: the receiving server rejects the message if it is not listed in the SPF (recommended)

Add a SPF via a TXT record

Refer to this other guide to manage this type of record in a DNS zone.

Add multiple SPF

If you use other mail providers in addition to Infomaniak, you must obtain their SPF and then merge it with Infomaniak's according to a specific syntax.

Example of 3 SPF to merge:

• Infomaniak's: v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch -all
• Those of 2 secondary providers:
  • v=spf1 include:the-second-domain.xyz ?all
  • v=spf1 include:the-other-domain.xyz ~all

... the final SPF to be inserted into your DNS zone must be in the following form:

v=spf1 include:spf.infomaniak.ch include:the-second-domain.xyz include:the-other-domain.xyz -all

Delete any other SPF entry from your domain's DNS zone! Any DNS addition or modification can take up to 48 hours to propagate.

SPF quantity limits

Multiple SPF records are limited to a maximum of 10 inclusions.

The Infomaniak SPF already includes 4 entries:

• include:relay.mail.infomaniak.ch
• include:app.mail.infomaniak.ch
• include:newsletter.infomaniak.com
• include:amazonses.com

Check the SPF record(s)

The global security tool on the Infomaniak Manager allows for easy verification and correction of any problematic records.

In case of a problem, it is recommended to analyze your domain name on MxToolbox to check if your SPF contains syntax errors, too many inclusions, or any other issue that could lead to an error:

… or directly at the address https://mxtoolbox.com/spf.aspx.

This guide explains how to create a custom MX record (mx.domain.xyz assuming that domain.xyz belongs to you) to be used later in the MX configuration of your NAS.

Custom MX record

To access your domain names:

1. Click here to access the management of your product on the Infomaniak Manager (need help?).
2. Click directly on the name assigned to the relevant product.
3. Click on DNS Zone in the left-hand menu.
4. Click on the blue Add a record button:
   
5. Select MX as the record type.
6. Click on Next:
   
7. Enter the desired MX record ("mx.domain.xyz" for example).
8. Point the record to the desired IP address (target).
9. Click on the Save button: