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What are my email settings?
What is a domain name?
Can I register any domain name I want?
What if my domain name is taken?
What do .com, .ca, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .ws stand for?
How do domain names work?
What is a nameserver?
Glossary


What are my email settings? Your incoming POP server must be: mail.yourdomain.com
(For all internetalberta.com accounts POP must be mail.internetalberta.com)

Your outgoing SMTP server must be: mail.yourdomain.com
(For all internetalberta.com accounts SMTP must be mail.internetalberta.com)

Your login/username must be: you@yourdomain.com
(For all internetalberta.com accounts if your email is clientserv@inter.ab.ca or clientserv@internetalberta.com , you would use clientserv@internetalberta.com as your username.)

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What is a domain name?
A domain name is your web address. When someone types your domain name into a web browser, your web pages will open. Behind the scenes, the domain name is actually pointing to a physical location- a server- that holds your web page files.
(Ex. www.internetalberta.com)

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You may register any domain name you want, up to a point. Your domain name must be unique because it is an address that can point only to your web site. Additionally, you cannot register a domain name that is trademarked by another company or is so similar to a trademark that it is confusing or easily mistaken for the trademark. Recent disputes with ICANN have made it clear that a domain name registered in bad faith or with no legitimate interests in the domain name will result in a dispute.

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If your domain name is taken, you must register another domain name. Each domain name must be unique. You may want to check for variations of your domain name. For example, if you wanted "www.myweb.com", you may want to see if "myweb.net" or "myweb.org" are available. Variations of the spelling or word order may help you choose a new domain name.

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.com represents companies or for profit organizations, it is also the most common extension for domain names. Most personal web sites also use this extension.

.ca is an excellent choice for Canadian Owned and operated business.

.net
generally represents Internet Service Providers.

.org represents non-profit organizations or groups.

.info is the first of the new top level domains. It is designed for general use and is expected to become as popular as .com.

.biz is also a new top level domain. It is designed for general business use and is expected to become as popular as .com.

.ws means WebSite and is an excellent choice for any business or personal Website, or as a great alternative if your .com is not available.

Though these are general guidelines, you may use any of these extensions when registering a domain name. If you want to be make sure no one else can benefit from your domain name, it's a good idea to register the most common variations of your domain name( .com, .ca, .net, .org).

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A domain name is very similar to an address forwarding service. The domain is the address that people type in their web browser. The domain then points to the "real" address that contains your web site. The "real" address is the address of your location on the server that contains your web site files and is called the IP address. The reason the IP address is not used is because it is a series of numbers. For most, this would be very difficult to remember. Instead, a domain name, made up of letters and words is used.

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A name server is a computer that contains a list of domain names and the associated IP addresses. When a domain name is typed in a web browser, the name server associates that with the IP address and the correct web site opens in the web browser.

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Administrative Contact
The contact responsible for any administrative issues pertaining to the account. Any administrative changes to the domain must be approved by the Administrative Contact. We will use this contact for any non-technical questions regarding the domain name!

Billing Contact
The contact responsible for all billing information relating to the domain name. This person will also receive any invoices, charges or billing questions related to the domain name.

Domain Registrar
Business that sells domain names. Domain names can be bought for up to 10 years at a time.

Domain SSL
Security applied to your domain.

Name Server
The computer that organizes domain names to correspond to their IP addresses.

Parked Domain
A domain that is registered but does not have a website. It has been reserved for future use and to prevent anyone else from buying it.

Pointed Domain
Second or third or fifth... domain attached to a website. Either can be used to access the website. For example this site can be access by both inter.ab.ca or internetalberta.com.

Registrant
The contact that registers a domain name. Once the domain name is registered, the registrant can use the domain name for the period of time the domain was registered.

Renewal of Domain Name
To continue the registration of the domain name after the original expiration date.

Shared SSL
Transactions are encrypted and processed through secure domains. (secure-one.com or secure-one.ca)

Technical Contact
This is the contact responsible for providing technical information, such as the nameserver. MHD Global will contact this person with any questions of a technical nature.

Top-Level Domain
The section of the domain name that appears after the ".", ie the ".com" in mydomain.com.

WHOIS
A function that allows you to look up the contact details of a domain name.

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