Knowledge base
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This guide explains how to connect via SSH to a Web Hosting or a Cloud Server.
Connecting via SSH
via a web browser
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser such as Brave or Edge
- Click on the icon in the top right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
- Choose Hosting (Web & Domain universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on FTP / SSH in the left side menu
- Click on the Web SSH button
via terminal or an application
To connect via SSH, install or activate a software according to the operating system:
- Terminal (application already integrated into macOS and Linux)
- PuTTY (Windows)
- Windows 10 SSH Client (help in French / in English)
Then execute the following command:
ssh username@server
Username
being the FTP account usernameServer
being the host server (e.g., xxxx.ftp.infomaniak.com)
To find out which command is available and to know the path to use, type the "whereis" command:
$ whereis mysql
mysql: /opt/mysql/bin/mysql
This guide explains how to use the FTP Manager, which allows you to easily and quickly manage the content of your Web Hosting.
What is FTP Manager?
This online application allows you to:
- Create files
- Navigate through directories
- Transfer files under 48 MB* between your computer and the server
- Manipulate existing files (copy, rename, move, delete, ...)
- Edit and view text, PHP, and HTML files under 1 MB
- Compress and decompress ZIP files
It does not require any special access as long as you have management rights for hosting in the Infomaniak Manager.
* To exceed this limit and for background work capabilities, resuming transfers after interruption, bandwidth limitation, etc., use an FTP software like Filezilla or CyberDuck!
Access the server via Web FTP
In order to access Web Hosting and add a new site:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) using a web browser like Brave or Firefox
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate using the left sidebar, for example)
- Select Hosting (Web & Domain universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on FTP / SSH in the left sidebar
- Click on the available buttons
Uploading Multiple Files
It is not possible to send and upload folders due to the method used which does not allow it.
However, multiple file selection is possible, allowing you to send a large number of files at once to a previously created folder.
You can also upload a zipped folder (.zip) and extract it once on the server, using the same Web FTP tool.
This guide offers solutions to errors of the type:
"Malicious site! The website has been reported as a malicious site and has been blocked based on your security preferences"
Who put this message?
This error message or warning:
- IS NOT added by Infomaniak
- is generated based on Google's criteria, including the use of https://www.stopbadware.org/
- may appear in English ("STOP! This Website Can Harm Your Computer!")
- may not appear directly anymore because
- you are no longer indexed by Google
- you are using a browser that does not rely on Google's controls
What to do?
If this does not concern the site you are dealing with, consult Google's help on this topic.
If the site is yours, please read the advice below:
- Check the source code of the published page: there is probably additional code compared to previously healthy pages; it could be a malicious iframe or any inclusion
- On the page in question, click on the "Why has this site been blocked" button and follow the instructions
- Read the documentation https://developers.google.com/search/docs/monitor-debug/security/malware
- Monitor Patchman which could resolve the issue in the meantime
⚠️ For additional assistance contact a partner or submit a bid — also read about the role of the host
This guide explains how to change the PHP version available for the websites on your Infomaniak Web Hosting.
It is possible to switch from an old and potentially vulnerable PHP version to a newer one, but reverting back to this vulnerable version will no longer be possible for security reasons.
Change the PHP version used for a website
You can easily change the PHP version used on an entire website:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Edge
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
- Choose Website (Web & Domain universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Edit in the PHP version section
- Choose the desired PHP version
- Click Save to save the change
The change takes effect immediately and permanently.
To configure the PHP version used in SSH, read this guide.
This guide explains how to add a MySQL/MariaDB database, create or modify users, and find all the necessary parameters to configure your scripts and CMS on a Web Hosting.
Database Management
To access the database management page of your hosting:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com) from a web browser like Brave or Firefox
- Click on the icon at the top right of the interface (or navigate through the left side menu, for example)
- Choose Hosting (under Web & Domain)
- Click directly on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on Databases or MariaDB in the left side menu, for example:
or
Databases
Under the Databases tab, you can:
- Create a MySQL/MariaDB database by clicking on the Add a database button
- Import, export, or restore a MySQL database using the arrow on the right side of the Add button
Users
Under the Users tab, you can:
- Create a MySQL/MariaDB database user by clicking on the Add a user button
Configuration Information
This is also where you will find the required information to configure CMS or web applications:
- The name of a database (e.g., XXXX_dbname)
- The username of a database (e.g., XXXX_username)
- The password of the database username (the one you chose when creating the MySQL/MariaDB user reset it if forgotten)
- The MySQL/MariaDB server for databases / hostname (e.g., XXXX.myd.infomaniak.com) with its version (5.7, for example)
User Rights
- With read rights: the user can only view the structure and content of a table and perform SELECT-type queries
- With write rights: the user can modify the structure and content of the database
- With administration rights: the user can delete the database
- Without any rights: the user will not see the database in phpMyAdmin
Web Application Databases
This guide explains how to view information about visitors to your website. The result is presented in a simple format supplemented with graphics, which makes them easy to analyze. Annual, monthly, daily and hourly statistics are shown by site, by http address, by reference site and by country.
Accessing your website traffic statistics
- Open your Manager (manager.infomaniak.com)
- Go to Web Hosting
- If necessary, click the hosting/domain name concerned
- Click My sites and then Statistics in the left side menu
- At the top, select the site concerned and then the type of statistics required, as well as the period
Terminology
- Hits
Each request sent to the server is saved. This is a hit.
These requests may be html pages, graphics files, audio files, etc.
This figure corresponds to all server requests.
- Files
Some requests to the server force it to send data in return, like a graphics or an html file.
When this happens, this request is recorded in the files category.
The difference between the hits and the files can be interpreted as incoming requests and outgoing data.
- Pages
Counts the number of pages displayed on your site; the default extensions are .html, .html, .cgi.
This count does not include counts of the display of graphics or sound files.
This counter may be called: pages viewed.
- Visits
When a request is made to the server from an IP address, the tool calculates the length of time since the last visit from this same IP.
If this time is less than 30 minutes, the request is just counted as a hit, and if it is more than 30 minutes, the request is counted as a hit and a visit.
- Sites
Each request coming from a computer with a fixed IP address is classed in this category. So, you will have an estimate of visitors from fixed IP addresses.
Important! This category does not count dynamic IP addresses, i.e. people connected by modem or RNIS.
- kB
kB (kilobyte) gives the amount of data in kB that have been sent by the server.
This calculation is made from the log files themselves, which may result in some calculation errors.
- Total hits
A hit is an HTML request. If a page contains 3 images and one text, it will result in 5 hits for each display, one for the page itself, one for the text and 3 for the images.
- Total files
Total files gives the number of files called. In the previous example, this number would be 4, 3 images and the HTML file (text blocks are not files).
- Total pages
Total pages gives the number of pages displayed; each time the Internet user changes pages within the site, an additional page is counted.
- Total visits
Total visits gives the number of "unique" visits. A visit consists of several requests in close succession from the same Internet user. A person who views ten pages counts as one visit. The interval is currently 30 minutes, i.e. if the same person returns to the site 50 minutes after their previous visit, the tool will count one additional visit. The first page read is the entry page, the last page is the exit page.
- Total kB
Number of kilobytes of information during the time interval. Each file is different in size, depending on the amount of information it contains. For example, a page that is 30 kB and contains 3 images of 50 kB each will increase this total by 180 kB each time it is displayed.
- Total of unique sites
Total of unique sites gives the number of different origins for Internet users visiting the site. These are in fact the number of different IP connection addresses. Sometimes, several Internet users have the same IP address, e.g., if they are connected to the Internet from within a company's IT network.
- Total unique URLs
Total of unique URLs gives the number of different "paths"; used when visiting your site. In fact, this number tracks each "hit" and so the paths to each file on the site are included.
- Total unique referrers
Total of unique referrers gives the overall number of unique referrers for the period. A referrer is a site that brought a visitor to your site via a link. For example, if website www.site1.com has a link to website www.site2.com, and an Internet user uses this link, www.site1.com will then be counted as a referrer for www.site2.com. This information is of great interest to indicate where the Internet users who visit your site come from, or to help you check your presence on different search engines.
Precise statistics (excluding the overall view) can also be exported in CSV format to be interpreted by a third-party tool.
Meaning of "Commercial (com)" in the countries list
When you view statistics under "Geographic zones", you may notice that "Commercial" represents a large proportion of the traffic compared to other countries. This represents people connected to the Internet via an Internet Access Provider (IAP) with .com in their domain address.
It is thus not easy to establish which country(ies) are represented by a .com, because it is an extension that exists for several IAPs in several countries. Just like the "unresolved", who are impossible to identify.
This guide details the technical and administrative aspects of hosting multiple websites on the same platform.
Technically speaking
A single hosting package can encompass various websites. Therefore, it's possible to add multiple websites to one hosting account (multi-site / multi-domain management). In this scenario, the resources of the hosting (disk space, databases, script execution time, and memory, etc.) are shared among the various websites on the hosting account.
The basic Cloud Server plan includes a certain number of hostings (e.g., 5) and a higher number of websites (e.g., 20). In this example, that means you could create 20 websites (with 20 different domains/subdomains) that you can freely organize across your 5 hosting accounts.
Administratively speaking
Regarding the organization within the Infomaniak Manager, management and access rights cannot be assigned to a specific website on a hosting account. A user that you add to the organization cannot have rights limited to just one site; they will always have access to the entire hosting account.
However, at the server data level, it is possible to create an FTP user restricted to a specific folder (this should be limited to the folder where the site is located).
Managing a single site among others on the same hosting can also be considered directly within the tool used for the site (e.g., WordPress user management).
Also read: https://news.infomaniak.com/quel-hebergement-web-choisir/
This guide concerns you if you encounter a 500 error, which can have various origins generally related to the development of your website on a Web Hosting, especially with the rewrites in your .htaccess files.
Under What Circumstances Do These Errors Occur?
Apache2, in use on our servers, no longer supports certain modules like mod_auth_anon, mod_auth_dbm, mod_authz_dbm, mod_cern_meta, mod_imap, mod_imagemap, mod_mime_magic.
Furthermore, Apache2 is strict with syntax errors, and when it encounters syntax errors in an .htaccess file, it can result in 500 Internal Server Error or unexpected URL rewriting errors.
Examples of Incorrect Syntax in .htaccess and Correction
In this first example, the syntax error is that the rewrite rule does not specify the HTTP redirection response code to return. The correction adds the R=301 directive to specify that the redirection should return a 301 (permanent) status code:
RewriteRule ^articles/([0-9]+)/$ /article.php?id=$1 [L]
Correction:
RewriteRule ^articles/([0-9]+)/$ /article.php?id=$1 [L,R=301]
In this second example, the syntax error is that the Options directive does not properly specify the options to enable or disable. The correction adds the "+" sign to specify that FollowSymLinks should be enabled rather than disabled:
Options -Indexes FollowSymLinks
Correction:
Options -Indexes +FollowSymLinks
How to Resolve These Errors?
- If the first page or another page displays a 500 error, rename the .htaccess file or comment out all lines with # and uncomment line by line until you find the problematic section.
- If the error occurs after making changes to one of your pages, the easiest way is to restore the previous version of the file.
This guide explains how to add an additional website to an existing hosting.
The hosting can be on a shared Web Hosting plan or on an Infomaniak Managed Cloud Server.
The additional website can correspond either to a second domain name (domain2.xyz for example) or to a subdomain (abc.domain.xyz for example) of a domain name you already own.
If the 20 sites offered by Web Hosting are already used, you can order additional sites.
During this multisite/multidomain management (virtual host), the disk space and total resources of your hosting are shared among your sites/subdomains.
Access the site management
To access a Web Hosting to add a site:
- Log in to the Infomaniak Manager (manager.infomaniak.com)
- Click on the icon with squares in the upper right corner of the interface (or navigate through the left sidebar menu, for example)
- Choose Hosting (under the Web and Domain universe)
- Click on the name of the relevant object in the displayed table
- Click on the blue Add button (in the Sites section)
- Choose potential content for the new site (A) or no particular installation (B)
- Press Continue
- Choose the type of domain that should correspond to this new site:
- an already acquired domain name
- a subdomain created from an already acquired domain name
- an available domain name that needs to be ordered
- Enter the name of the Domain (domain2.xyz for example) or the Subdomain
- Choose any Advanced Options, including:
- by default, the new site is added in the /sites/domain2.xyz directory on your FTP server
- to manually define another directory, check the Set location manually option and indicate the location and its name
- Click Continue
If it is a subdomain or if the domain name or its DNS zone is managed by Infomaniak, it is possible to automatically update the existing DNS entries. Otherwise, make the necessary changes with your registrar or transfer domain name management to Infomaniak.
This guide explains how to disable or set HSTS for a website. When HSTS is enabled for a website, the server tells site visitors (if their web browser is compatible) to replace all non-secure links with secure links. For example, http://www.example.com/a/page/ is automatically replaced by https://www.example.com/a/page/
After a SSL certificate has been enabled on a website, HSTS is configured as follows:
max-age=16000000
Disabling HSTS
1. with a CMS (WordPress, Joomla, etc.)
The following line must be included in all the pages generated by the CMS:
header( 'Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=0;' );
For WordPress, this command can, for example, be added in the functions.php file of your theme:
add_action ('send_headers', 'add_header_xua' );
function add_header_xua() {
header( 'Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=0;' );
}
For more details on WordPress: https://codex.wordpress.org/Plugin_API/Action_Reference/send_headers
2. with a PHP site
The following line must be included on all php pages:
header( 'Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=0;' );
To do this without having to change every php page on a site, the command auto_prepend_file can be used in the .user.ini file of the site concerned:
auto_prepend_file=/home/clients/xxxx/web/hsts_disable.php
... with the following hsts_disable.php file:
header( 'Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=0;' );
3. with a site with static content (non PHP)
It is necessary to include this header in the .htaccess file:
# BEGIN DISABLE HSTS
Header always set Strict-Transport-Security "max-age=0; includeSubDomains;"
# END DISABLE HSTS
Customizing the HSTS
The default value can be modified in the php files of your website using the following command:
header( 'Strict-Transport-Security: max-age=X; includeSubdomains; preload' );
(X being the number of seconds required)
Enabling HSTS for all the sub-domains hosted
includeSubDomains; is enabled by default and, as its name suggests, will include the subdomains in the "Strict Transport Security".
When visitors go to a non-secure subdomain, the browser will automatically redirect to the HTTPS and trigger a security error.
If this behaviour is not wanted, this header must be removed.
Deleting the HSTS cache from your browser
- In Chrome, type chrome://net-internals/#hsts
- Enter the domain name in the text field in the "Delete domain security policies" section
- Click on Delete
- Enter the domain name in the text field for the "Query HSTS" section
- Click on Query
- The response must be "Not found"
- With Safari, start by closing the browser
- Delete the ~/Library/Cookies/HSTS.plist file
- Reopen Safari
- With Firefox, close all tabs
- Open the Firefox menu and click on History / Show history.
- Look for the page for which you want to delete the HSTS options
- Right-click on one of the corresponding entries
- Choose Forget this site