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Most frequently asked questions

1. How to configure Plesk mail in Android

   Here is a step-by-step guide to help you configure Plesk mail in Android.

   
   

   Step 1

   
   

   Open the Gmail app, go to ‘Settings’ and tap ‘Add account’.

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 2

   
   

   Select ‘Personal (IMAP/POP)’.

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 3

   
   

   Insert email address and select ‘Manual setup’.

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 4

   
   

   Select Personal (IMAP) or Personal (POP3) according to your preference. 

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 5

   
   

   Enter your password.

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 6

   
   

   On the incoming settings screen select authentication ‘SSL/TLS (Accept all certificates)’.

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 7

   
   

   The incoming server settings will be validated.

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 8

   
   

   On the outgoing server settings screen select authentication ‘SSL/TLS (Accept all certificates)’.

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 9

   
   

   Select the prefered synchronization options.

   
   

   

   
   

   

   
   

   Step 10

   
   

   Tap your ‘Inbox’ to start reading and writing emails.

   
   

   

2. How to install the php-mcrypt module on a Plesk server

   Question

   
   

   How to install the php-mcrypt module on a Plesk server?

   
   

   Answer

   
   

   Notes: The solution in this article is applicable to system PHP versions (Up to 7.1) supplied by OS vendor.
   
   Plesk PHP handlers up to 7.1 are shipped with the mcrypt module by default. PHP handlers provided by Plesk can be installed via Plesk Installer and selected at Domains > example.com > PHP settings.
   
   The mcrypt module is deprecated since PHP 7.1 and is moved out from core into PECL:
           PHP RFC: Deprecate (then Remove) Mcrypt
           PHP: Deprecated features in PHP 7.1.x

   
   

   
   
   1. 
      

      Connect to a Plesk server via SSH.

      
      
   
   
   2. 
      

      Install the module:

      
      
      
      
      • 
        

        on CentOS/RHEL-based distributions:

        
        

        The php-mcrypt package is available in RPMforge and EPEL repositories. Add the repository to the server and install the package using the yum utility. In this example, we are using the EPEL repo:

        
        

        # yum install epel-release
        # yum install php-mcrypt

        
        
      
      
      • 
        

        on Debian/Ubuntu-based distributions:

        
        

        Find the system PHP version:

        
        

        # php -v

        
        

        Run the command:

        
        
        
        
        • 
          

          if PHP 5.x version is installed:

          
          

          # apt-get install php5-mcrypt

          
          
        
        
        • 
          

          if PHP 7.x version is installed:

          
          

          # apt-get install php-mcrypt

          
          
        
        
        
        
      
      
      
      
   
   
   3. 
      

      To make the mcrypt extension available for existing websites, update PHP settings for all domains with the command:

      
      

      # /usr/local/psa/bin/php_settings -u

      
      

      This extension will also appear in Plesk at Tools & Settings > PHP Settings > [php] by OS vendor.

      
      
   
   

3. Windows: Accessing Your Server with Remote Desktop

   This article explains how to use Remote Desktop to access your Windows server’s desktop from anywhere in the world.
   
   
   

   Remote Desktop from a Windows Computer

   
   

   
   
   1. Click the Start button.
   
   
   2. Click Run…
   
   
   3. Type “mstsc” and press the Enter key.
   
   
   4. Next to Computer: type in the IP address of your server
   
   
   5. Click Connect.
   
   
   6. If all goes well, you will see the Windows login prompt.
   
   

   
   

   Remote Desktop from a Linux Computer with RDesktop

   
   

   
   
   1. Open a command shell using xterm
   
   
   2. Type ‘rdesktop’ at the command prompt to see if you have rdesktop installed
   
   
   3. If rdesktop is installed, then proceed.  Otherwise, you will need to install the rdesktop package for your flavor of Linux.
   
   
   4. Type ‘rdesktop’ followed by your server’s IP address.  Then press Enter.
      
      
      
      • Example:
        $ rdesktop 72.52.246.40
      
      
      
      
   
   
   5. If all goes well, you will see the Windows login prompt.
   
   

   
   

   Remote Desktop from Mac OS X

   
   

   
   
   1. Using Microsoft Remote Desktop (Mac OS X versions 10.9 and later):
      
      
      
      • Install Microsoft Remote Desktop from the Mac App Store.
      
      
      • Click the New button or use the shortcut Command + N to set up a connection to your server with the following settings:
        

        

        
        
        
        
        • PC name: You can use your server’s IP address or its hostname (if the hostname has an appropriate DNS record and resolves).
        
        
        • User name: To access the admin account, use "root" or “Administrator”.
        
        
        • Password: Enter the Administrator password.
        
        
        • Configure full-screen and multi-monitor settings to your preference.
        
        
        
        
      
      
      • Once you’ve filled in the appropriate settings, close the Edit Remote Desktops window.
      
      
      • Select your connection under My Desktops and press the Start button in the menu to connect (or simply press the return key on your keyboard).
        

        

        
        
      
      
      • If your server uses a self-signed SSL certificate, a message will be displayed as Remote Desktop is negotiating credentials. You can either press Continue to proceed with the connection or, to permanently store the certificate and connect directly in the future, click Show Certificate and then check the box next to Always trust … before clicking Continue to proceed.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   2. Using CoRD (Mac OS X versions 10.5 through 10.8 only):
      
      
      
      • Download and install the CoRD application here.
      
      
      • Open the application and click on the File menu, then New Server
      
      
      • You will be presented with a window where you can specify information about the server you are connecting to.
      
      
      • Enter the server’s hostname or IP address in the Address field.
      
      
      • You can alter the other settings in this window if you wish but all you need to start the connection is the address.
      
      
      • When you are finished making changes, press the enter/return key on your keyboard or simply close the new server window.
      
      
      • Your new server profile will appear in the list to the left side of the application. Double click on it and you will start the connection to your server.
      
      
      
      
   
   
   3. Using the Microsoft RDP Tool (Mac OS X versions prior to 10.7 only):
      
      
      
      • Download and install the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection Client for Mac here.
      
      
      • When you open the application, you will be prompted for the “Computer:” you would like to connect to. You can enter the server’s hostname or IP address.
      
      
      • After you click Connect the client will ask for your user name and password. If it fails to connect, you can try again inside the remote connection window.
      
      
      
      
   
   

4. What is Reverse DNS?

   Reverse DNS (rDNS) is name resolution that looks up an IP addresses to obtain a domain name, performing the opposite function of the DNS server, which turns domain names into IP addresses.

   
   

   Reverse DNS can be used as a spam filter. Typically, spammers use invalid IP addresses, that is, ones that do not match domain names. A reverse DNS program looks up the IP address of an incoming message and, if no valid domain name is found, the server blocks the message. Although reverse DNS is fairly effective for filtering spam, it also often blocks valid emails.

   
   

   Our administrators configure reverse DNS on all of our email servers. If you administrate your own server, you can contact your IP address's provider to configure reverse DNS.

5. How to disable directory browsing globally on whole WHM/cPanel server

   o disable directory browsing/listing on whole server, follow these simple instructions:

   
   

   1. Log into WHM
   2. Service Configuration –> Apache Configuration
   3. Global Configuration
   4. Scroll down to Directory ‘/’ Options
   5. Un-tick Indexes option (see picture)
   6. Then press Save button below
   7. Finally, rebuild by clicking rebuild apache conf button and that’s it…
   
   

6. Setting up Nameserver DNS Using cPanel/WebHost Manager

   cPanel's WebHost Manager® (WHM) lets you use your own domain name as a nameserver for websites your server hosts. To use your domain name, you have to set up a WHM Account for it first.
   
   
   

   To Set up Nameserver DNS Using cPanel/WHM

   
   

   
   
   1. Log in to WebHost Manager using root for your username and your server's password at https://yourserverip:2087, where yourserverip is your server's IP address.
   
   
   2. Click DNS Functions.
   
   
   3. Click Edit DNS Zone.
   
   
   4. Select the domain name you want to use, and then click Edit.
   
   
   5. For the two rows with the menu displaying NS, edit the right-most columns to ns1.your domain name. and ns2.your domain name., respectively.
      

       Note: You have to enter a "." after your nameserver in this section for the DNS to work properly.

      
      
   
   
   6. In the Add New Entries Below this Line section, do the following in the first row:
      
      
      
      • First field: Type ns1
      
      
      • Second field: Type 14400
      
      
      • Third field: Select A
      
      
      • Fourth field: Enter your server's IP address
      
      
      
      

      Then, in the second row, do the following:

      
      
      
      
      • First field: Type ns2
      
      
      • Second field: Type 14400
      
      
      • Third field: Select A
      
      
      • Fourth field: Enter your server's IP address
      
      
      
      

       Note: Do not enter a "." after your ns1 and ns2 entries in this section.

      
      
   
   
   7. Click Save.
      

       Note: DNS can take 24-48 hours to propagate once these changes have been made.

      
      
   
   

7. How to Install MySQL on CentOS 7

   MySQL is a popular database management system used for web and server applications. However, MySQL is no longer in CentOS’s repositories and MariaDB has become the default database system offered. MariaDB is considered a drop-in replacement for MySQL and would be sufficient if you just need a database system in general.
   
   
   

   Before You Begin
   

   
   

   
   
   1. 
      

      Ensure that you have followed the Getting Started and Securing Your Server guides, and the Linode’s hostname is set.

      
      

      To check your hostname run:

      
      

      hostname
      
      hostname -f
      
      

      
      

      The first command should show your short hostname, and the second should show your fully qualified domain name (FQDN).

      
      
   
   
   2. 
      

      Update your system:

      
      

      sudo yum update
      
      

      
      
   
   
   3. 
      

      You will need wget to complete this guide. It can be installed as follows:

      
      

      yum install wget
      

      
      
   
   

   
   

   Install MySQL
   

   
   

   MySQL must be installed from the community repository.

   
   

   
   
   1. 
      

      Download and add the repository, then update.

      
      

      wget http://repo.mysql.com/mysql-community-release-el7-5.noarch.rpm
      
      sudo rpm -ivh mysql-community-release-el7-5.noarch.rpm
      
      yum update
      
      

      
      
   
   
   2. 
      

      Install MySQL as usual and start the service. During installation, you will be asked if you want to accept the results from the .rpm file’s GPG verification. If no error or mismatch occurs, enter y.

      
      

      sudo yum install mysql-server
      
      sudo systemctl start mysqld
      
      

      
      
   
   

   
   

   MySQL will bind to localhost (127.0.0.1) by default. 
   
   

   
   

   Harden MySQL Server
   

   
   

   
   
   1. 
      

      Run the mysql_secure_installation script to address several security concerns in a default MySQL installation.

      
      

      sudo mysql_secure_installation
      
      

      
      
   
   

   
   

   You will be given the choice to change the MySQL root password, remove anonymous user accounts, disable root logins outside of localhost, and remove test databases. It is recommended that you answer yes to these options. You can read more about the script in the MySQL Reference Manual.

   
   

   
   
   
   

8. How to change the location for Plesk backup files on a Linux server?

   By default, all backup data is stored in the directory /var/lib/psa/dumps.

   
   

   To change the default backup location, follow these steps:

   
   

   
   
   1. 
      

      Connect to a Plesk server via SSH.

      
      
   
   
   2. 
      

      Create a new directory for backups. In these example, we will use /plesk_backups:

      
      

      # mkdir /plesk_backups

      
      
   
   
   3. 
      

      Set necessary ownership for the created directory:

      
      

      # chown psaadm:psaadm /plesk_backups

      
      
   
   
   4. 
      

      Modify the backup location in the Plesk configuration file /etc/psa/psa.conf:

      
      

      4.1. Open the file /etc/psa/psa.conf in a text editor (for example, "vi" editor).

      
      

      4.2. Change the value of DUMP_D to the created directory from step 2:

      
      

      # Backups directory
      DUMP_D /plesk_backups

      
      

      4.3. Save the changes and close the file.

      
      

      4.4. Verify that the directory has been changed:

      
      

      # cat /etc/psa/psa.conf | grep -w DUMP_D
      DUMP_D /plesk_backups

      
      
   
   
   5. 
      

      Move all backup data and the hidden .discovered directory from the old location to new:

      
      

      # mv /var/lib/psa/dumps/* /plesk_backups/
      # mv /var/lib/psa/dumps/.discovered/ /plesk_backups/

      
      
   
   
   6. 
      

      Restart the "sw-cp-server" service:

      
      

      # service sw-cp-server restart

      
      From now all backup files will be stored in the directory /plesk_backups.
   
   

9. Configuring FTP Passive Mode to Plesk

   By default, Plesk allows only active FTP connections. This may result in customers being unable to connect to the server via FTP. To avoid this, we recommend enabling passive FTP. This topic explains how to enable passive FTP mode in Plesk for Linux.

   
   

   To enable passive FTP mode in Plesk for Linux:

   
   

   
   
   1. Log in to your server via SSH as the root user.
   
   
   2. Create the /etc/proftpd.d/55-passive-ports.conf file, add the following lines to it, and then save the changes:
      

      <Global>

      
      

      PassivePorts 49152 65535

      
      

      </Global>

      
      
   
   
   3. Run the following command:
      

      systemctl restart xinetd

      
      
   
   

   
   

   Now your Plesk server accepts passive FTP connections. If you have installed the Plesk Firewall and switched on its default configuration, you need to add a firewall rule allowing passive FTP:

   
   

   
   
   • Direction: Incoming
   
   
   • Action: Allow
   
   
   • Ports: TCP 49152-65535
   
   
   • Sources: (any host)
     

     

     
     
   
   

10. How to format a Linux Disk as Ext4 from the Command Line

    For the code, I’m just going to assume the drive is /dev/sdb. If you’re following this, make sure you’re using the correct drive name.

    
    

    Unmount The Drive

    
    

    Only needed if it’s been mounted already.

    
    

    sync
    umount /dev/sdb1

    
    

    Prepare the Drive

    
    

    Fire up fdisk

    
    

    fdisk /dev/sdb

    
    

    If you already have a filesystem on the disk, wipe it.

    
    

    Press d

    
    

    Now create a new primary partition.

    
    

    Press p

    
    

    Enter the partition number.

    
    

    Press 1

    
    

    It’ll now ask you to set the start and end cylinders on the disk. Just hit return for each to accept the defaults.

    
    

    Change the system type to Linux.

    
    

    Press t
    Enter 83

    
    

    Write the changes to disk (this can’t be undone).

    
    

    Press w

    
    

    Create the Filesystem

    
    

    Format the new partition using Ext4.

    
    

    mkfs.ext4 /dev/sdb1

    
    

    It’ll now go off and start writing the filesystem. This can take a bit of time, but it should give you an update on what’s being written.

    
    

    Mount Your Drive

    
    

    Now your partition has been created, you need to mount it somewhere to use it. Here I’m using /mnt/user/ext/.

    
    

    mount /dev/sdb1 /mnt/user/ext/

11. How to log in to MySQL using the Plesk MySQL "admin" password in plain text?

    Question

    
    

    It is not possible to log in to MySQL using a Plesk MySQL "admin" password in plain text:

    
    

    # mysql -uadmin -p"mysql_admin_password_in_plain" psa
    ERROR 1045 (28000): Access denied for user 'admin'@'localhost' (using password: YES)

    
    

    while login with cat works fine:

    
    

    # MYSQL_PWD=`cat /etc/psa/.psa.shadow` mysql -uadmin psa

    
    

    How to log in to MySQL using a Plesk MySQL "admin" password in plain text?

    
    

    Answer

    
    

    For security reasons, the Plesk MySQL "admin" password is encrypted and stored in the file /etc/psa/.psa.shadow.

    
    

    To log in to MySQL using the Plesk MySQL "admin" password without cat, use the encrypted string from the file /etc/psa/.psa.shadow:

    
    

    Note: Put the backslash symbol "\" before the sign "$":

    
    

    # mysql -uadmin -p"\$AES-128-CBC\$NP15ZIjr/iNnfjQ72gR8yA==\$uil2bGcV83uxvFihBxkSvA==" psa

    
    

    To connect from the MySQL Workbench use the plain text from the /etc/psa/.psa.shadow.

12. How to change virtual hosts location in Plesk for Linux?

     

    
    

    In Plesk for Linux, transvhosts.pl utility can be used to change the location for all virtual hosts:

    
    

    Warning: Plesk Onyx with SELinux enabled does not support custom vhosts directory, that would break your sites. This bug PPPM-6521 will be fixed in future Plesk updates.

    
    

    In Plesk for Linux, transvhosts.pl utility can be used to change the location for all virtual hosts:

    
    

    # /usr/local/psa/bin/transvhosts.pl --help

    
    

    In the following example, the location is changed to /home directory:

    
    

    # /usr/local/psa/bin/transvhosts.pl --dest-dir /home --correct-scripts

    
    

    Note: All the vhosts' content will be automatically moved into the new location.

13. How to configure Plesk mail in Outlook

    Here is a step-by-step guide to help you configure Plesk mail in Outlook.

    
    

    Step 1

    
    

    Open outlook and go to ‘File’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 2

    
    

    Click ‘Add Account’

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 3

    
    

    Select ‘Manual setup or additional server types’ and click ‘Next’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 4

    
    

    Select ‘POP or IMAP’ and click ‘Next’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 5

    
    

    Enter your User and Server information and click on ‘More Settings’ if you need to configure other Ports for incoming and outgoing mail server than the defaults.

    
    

    If using the default ports is okay, click next and skip to Step 7.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 6

    
    

    Configure custom ports for Incoming and Outgoing mail servers in the ‘Advanced’ tab.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 7

    
    

    Wait for the account settings test to complete and click ‘Close’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 8

    
    

    Click ‘Finish’ to exit the wizard and start using your email account.

    
    

    

14. How to configure Plesk mail in iOS

    Here is a step-by-step guide to help you configure Plesk mail in iOS.

    
    

    Step 1

    
    

    Go to Settings and tap ‘Mail, Contact, Calendars’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 2

    
    

    Select ‘Add account’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 3

    
    

    Select ‘Other’ from the list of email providers.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 4

    
    

    Then tap ‘Add Mail Account’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 5

    
    

    Enter your Name, Email, Password and a short description and tap ‘Next’.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 6

    
    

    Select IMAP or POP and enter your incoming and outgoing mail server details.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 7

    
    

    Accept the SSL certificate. Tap Continue. This will appear twice, once for your incoming mail server and once for the outgoing one.

    
    

    

    
    

    Step 8

    
    

    Tap ‘Save’ to finish setting up your email.

    
    

    

15. Connecting using PuTTY on Windows workstations

    Configuring PuTTY
    
    

    
    

    
    
    1. In PuTTY, under Session, enter your Host Name
       
       
       
       
       
    
    
    2. Under Connection choose Data
    
    
    3. Enter your username as the Auto-login username
       
       
       
       
    
    
    4. Under SSH, choose 2 from Preferred SSH Protocol Version
    
    
    5. Under SSH -> Auth, you will need to specify where your private key can be found. Remember this is where you saved the private key on your local computer. Click Browse to locate the file on your computer.
       
       
       
       
    
    
    6. Under Sessions, type a name (such as "my site") in the Saved Sessions box and click Save.
    
    

16. Connecting using SSH on Linux or OSX workstations

    Use the ssh command to connect to your instance. Specify your username and the external IP address for the instance that you want to connect to.

    
    

    Download Prive Key from client area and save it to your workstation
    
    For this example, the private key is at ~/.ssh/my-ssh-key.
    
    ssh -i ~/.ssh/my-ssh-key USERNAME@IP_ADDRESS

    
    

    where:

    
    

    
    
    • USERNAME is your username
    
    
    • IP_ADDRESS is the IP for your Cloud Server.
    
    

    
    

    If the connection is successful, you can use the terminal to run commands on your instance.

    
    

    When you are done, use the exit command to disconnect from the instance.

17. How to create a .ppk from private key on Windows

    Using a Public/Private key to authenticate when logging into SSH can provide added convenience or added security. The Public/Private key can be used in place of a password so that no username/password is required to connect to the server via SSH. Instead the unique public and private key provide the secure authentication. The keys may also be generated with a different password from your cpanel password if desired.
    
    

    
    

    Generate a ppk file
    
    

    
    

    
    
    1. Download and open PuTTYgen here.
    
    
    2. Click Load
       
       
       
       
       
    
    
    3. Locate the private SSH key that you have downloaded. Note: You will need choose to display All Files* from the menu to the right of the File Name field. 
    
    
    4. Click the Save private key button to create the ppk file.
       
       
    
    

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