Frequently Asked Questions

I don't see a feature in a hosting plan or in the administrative tool that I need.
Sheerer Internet Services is constantly adding features to our plans and to the administrative tool for existing customers. Most likely, your idea is already on our future development list. Send us a note regarding the feature you need and we will prioritize it on our development list.

Follow-up question: How long will this take--I need it now.

Sheerer Internet Services strives to provide timely service to its customers. Once we receive the request (24-48 hours), if we determine that the feature is (1) general enough to be of value to most of our customers and (2) appropriate for the plan it was requested for, then development will start immediately. Since Sheerer Internet Services does not outsource any service, we are able to integrate new features quickly, seamlessly, and without a fee to the user requesting them. Average development duration: 1-3 days.
How long does it take to set up a site?
Once an order is sent and received, it usually takes around 24-48 hours to have your site live. Once live, you can begin uploading content to it.

If your site is being transfered from another ISP, then we can provide you with an alternative domain name for immediate access to upload content, test, etc. in order to guarantee 0 downtime during the switch.

What forms of payment do you accept?
Sheerer Internet Services accepts checks via snail mail and online credit card payments.
Is there any sort of discount for nonprofit organizations?
Nonprofit organizations receive a 10% discount on Basic and Premium hosting. Many other discounts are offered.
Is there a Terms of Service or other document describing hosting policies?
Sheerer Internet Services TOS can be accessed from http://www.sheerer.net/policy.html or a copy can be requested from .
How much does a secure site (SSL) cost?
SSL is only available with the Premium Plan. Signed certificates are also required. SSL certificates can be bought from SSL Certificate Authorities, such as Verisign and Thawte, for $200 per year. We sell Thawte certificates.
How do I switch over the dns from my old provider?
Several options:
  1. Have your current dns provider point the dns to Sheerer Internet Services.
  2. Modify dns information at your registrar to point to Sheerer Internet Services dns servers so Sheerer Internet Services can host the domain (this service is free with all web hosting plans).
  3. Have your dns registrar transfer to Sheerer Internet Service's registrar so in addition to hosting the domain, future renewals are done by Sheerer Internet Services and appear with your yearly hosting bill.
While using Outlook Express 5.0. I can receive mail, but am unable to send. The messages that pop-up are saying "Server does not recognize recipients" and "Bad authentication".
Double-check your settings. In Outlook Express 5,

Choose Tools -> Accounts -> Properties -> Servers

Set Incoming and Outgoing servers to mail.sheerer.net

Check Outgoing Mail Server My server requires authentication Click Settings Choose Use same settings... Click OK.

Click OK. Click Close.

What are the login parameters for access to MySQL via PHP?
Log on to the customer support section and go to MySQL database configuration to access the login parameters.
How is my account's disk usage calculated?
When trying to send messages, I'm told a connection failure has occured.
It is possible that your ISP prevents sending mail to a provider outside your ISP's network (for instance Sheerer Internet Services). You can check this by seeing if you can telnet to port 25 at mail.sheerer.net. To do this, in the Netscape location box, type "telnet://mail.sheerer.net:25/". If you get a SMTP Sendmail message then the port isn't blocked. However, if no SMTP Sendmail message comes up or it just hangs, then your ISP probably blocks the port.

If your ISP does block this, then maybe try to set the outgoing SMTP port to 8025. This is a perfectly legit way around ISP restrictions.

Known network mail restrictions: Earthlink, some internal company networks

I can't login to the customer support administrator.
First of all, verify your login. It should be the same as your FTP login and password.

Cookies must be enabled in your browser. Also supported browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer 6 and Netscape Navigator and Communicator. Macintosh Internet Explorer 5 is NOT compatible.


Copyright © 1995-2007 Sheerer Internet Services. All rights reserved.