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[update 5/17/2013] The migration process is mostly done. The final steps will be completed on Monday (5/20) when the new server and IP address go live. Anyone who controls their own DNS (instead of Widomaker) should contact us to get the new IP address to start using on Monday.

[update 5/15/2013] The migration process has been scheduled to start early Thursday morning (12:00 AM) and last through noon on Friday. It’s possible that it could go though Saturday.

[update 4/30/2013] The migration process has been postponed and is being rescheduled for the week of, May 13th, 2013, It may last for several days. This date may change.

[update 4/19/2013] At this time we are planning to begin the migration on, or around, Monday, April 29th. It may last for several days. This date may change.

There are some upcoming changes that may affect Web Hosting customers who have a domain name hosted with Widomaker. Please pass this message along to your IT staff or Webmaster.

Beginning in the next couple of weeks, we will be migrating all web hosting accounts to a new, upgraded, server. We do not anticipate significant problems with this process. However, when moving from one server to another, sometime issues can arise.

An exact date that this process will begin will be posted on Widomaker’s web site (http://home.widomaker.com/) soon. At this time, we are planning on starting this process toward the end of April or the beginning of May.

Before this process begins, we suggest that you…

- make sure you have an up-to-date backup of your web site data including any databases
- make sure you have an up-to-date backup of any settings, such as a list of your e-mail accounts and/or custom DNS records
- if you had any unusual customizations made to your web hosting or DNS setup that was not done via the normal features of the Plesk Control Panel, please contact us regarding them

Once the migration date has arrived…

- avoid making changes to your web site or e-mail addresses

After the migration process has completed…

- Verify that all aspects of your web site, e-mail, mailing lists, password protected directories, etc., are working properly. If you notice any issues, notify us immediately so our migration team can investigate.

A coalition of Internet advocacy organizations and individuals are launching a week of action to combat the CISPA, the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act.

Please take a moment to learn more about why CISPA is a bad idea, then send a message to your Representatives asking them to oppose this bill. Visit the sites below for more information…

http://www.cispaisback.org/

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/02/cispa-privacy-invading-cybersecurity-spying-bill-back-congress

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2013/03/week-action-opposing-cispa

https://action.eff.org/o/9042/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=9048

For customers that do not use a credit or debit card, but instead receive a paper statement or invoice via US Mail, we are changing when we mail out paper statements. Services have always been paid in advance of the next service period. We had been mailing out paper statements about two weeks before the beginning of the next service period. We will now be mailing out paper statements about a week earlier. This was due, in part, to technical reasons regarding the time it takes to suspend, cancel, or reactivate DSL service and DSL lines of customers that use broadband DSL Internet service.

We ask that any customer who, as a result of this change, or for any other reason, needs a few extra days to pay their bill to please e-mail or call our office so arrangements can be made to accommodate their needs. Also, any customer who would like to adjust the day of the month that statements are sent out or are due may call our office to make that kind of adjustment.

As of 3:30pm our Newport News call-center is without power. Currently we are on backup power but not sure how long that will last.

4:30pm – Power Restored by Dominion – All Systems Normal

If you’re having trouble sending mail but can receive mail OK, and you use a widomaker.com or tni.net e-mail address, follow the steps below to adjust or verify your settings.

Visit the following website for more information. Just click on the mail client that you use, and follow the detailed instructions.

Fix Sending Email!

In observation of the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, our offices and support lines will be closed. Phone support will be available on Friday, November 25th, at our normal 8am to 8pm EST (however the office will be closed Friday as well), then Saturday 10am to 4pm as normal. All systems will remain monitored and any status updates can be found here, as well as by calling our support lines and listening to the automated message system greeting.

We are please to announce a new home/business product. It is called WiLink. This is a wireless connection to anywhere. The connection is delivered via 3G in most areas. WiLink is capable of up to 1.2MBps down. Packages are starting at $25/mo. For more information, visit Wireless Pricing

We are happy to announce that effective immediately, all customers subscribed to the Bronze hosting package will now have 100MB mailbox sizes. Any customers that subscribe to Silver or Gold hosting packages will now have 1000MB mailbox sizes. All hosting customers have been given this free upgrade. For this upgrade to take effect for current hosting customers, customers must call our support line at 757-253-7621 to take advantage of this upgrade.

There is a known outage in the Williamsburg area near Centerville and Longhill Road. This outage is caused by a fiber cut at that location. The fiber repair should be restored before noon on Thurs. We will keep this post and support lines updated.

8/4/11 2:30pm: Repair complete

If your email program keeps prompting you for your username and password, or you get a failure notice. Be sure that your POP3 Username is just the first part of your email address.

EXAMPLE:
Email: johndoe@widomaker.com or johndoe@tni.net
Account Name/Username: johndoe (Be sure to drop the @widomaker.com/@tni.net)

How To Check:
-Outlook Express: Tools/Accounts/Mail Tab/Properties/Servers Tab (Check Account Name)

-Outlook: Tools/E-Mail Accounts/View or Change existing email account/Next/Change (Check User Name)

-Eudora: Tools/Options/Getting Started (Check Login Name)

-Thunderbird: Tools/Account Settings/Server Settings (Check User Name)

If you still need help, please feel free to contact us at 757-253-7621.