Email FAQs

How do I set up my email?

If you are hosting with GKG, simply follow the steps on our Video Tutorials.

Back to top How do I set up my mail alias? (Email Forwarding)

First, log in to your GKG account here. Once logged in, if you have more than one domain, select the domain that is having the problem. If you only have one domain it will pull up your Domain Information. Down at the bottom of the screen you will see "Addon Services"; click the link that says "Edit" in that section. On the next page, click the tab that says "Mail Aliases". Click "add" in the lower right corner of the Mail Aliases box. The 'username:' equals the prefix of your email, 'deliver to:' equals the address to forward to.

Example: username: myname; deliver to: me&gmail.com
- This will forward all mail sent to "myname@yourdomain.tld" to "me@gmail.com

Back to top How does your spam filtering work?

All email going through our servers is filtered for spam and scanned for viruses. Our filters work on a scoring system, which makes them very effective, but unfortunately not always 100% accurate.

Each message is scanned for certain keywords and identifying markers and if those keywords or markers are found, a corresponding value will be added to the message.

It works like this: a message starts with a score of 0. If the score value gets to 5, but less than 8, then we alter the subject line to include *****SPAM***** but we still deliver the message. This means you can configure your email client to filter messages by using "*****SPAM*****" as a keyword to filter. You can configure your mail client to filter out emails including "*****SPAM*****" in the subject.

If the score is greater than or equal to 8, but less than 15, then we bounce (return to sender) the message back without delivering it to the recipient. The message will state that what was sent was believed to be spam and not delivered. We also include a table showing which rules were triggered and how many points each rule added to the total score.

It is unlikely, but still *possible*, that a message that scores over 8 points is not spam.

In summary:
• A score of less than 5 points, we will deliver the message unaltered.
• A score of greater than or equal to 5 but less than 8 points, we deliver the message, but we alter the subject line to include the word *****SPAM*****.
• A score of greater than or equal to 8 but less than 15 points bounces the message (back to the sender) with an explanation of why we bounced the message back.
• A score of greater than 15 points gets discarded completely with no bounce back message.

Almost all spam emails have forged headers and even if not, the chance that the spammer actually processes the bounce message is slim to none. Plus, the chance that an email with a score of 15 points is not spam is basically zero.

GKG can not guarantee that all spam going through our servers will be detected. However, our spam filters are self learning, so even if you receive a particular spam message the chances of receiving the same one again will be slim to none.

Back to top What are my email settings for outlook and other mail clients?

For most of GKG's newer hosting customers with Cpanel or Plesk accounts your email settings are below:

We'll use ted@tedsdomain.com as our "test" email

Account Type: POP3

• Incoming Mail Server (POP3): mail.tedsdomain.com
• Outgoing Mail Server (SMTP): mail.tedsdomain.com

• Username/Account Name: ted@tedsdomain.com
• Password: created by you in either Cpanel or Plesk

NOTE: Make sure you authenticate your outgoing mail server with the same username and password as your incoming mail server

Haven't created your email account yet?

Cpanel video tutorial for creating an email account click here

Plesk video tutorial for creating an email account Click here

Back to top What if my email address is no longer valid?

If the email address that is associated with your domain(s) is no longer valid or you can't access it, but you remember the answer to your security question, then please contact our support staff at support@gkg.net. We will ask you your security question and if you can answer it correctly, we can change the email address for you at no charge.

If however you do not remember the answer to your security question, then an administrative changes letter must be filled out and faxed or emailed to us. For these cases, there is a $15.00 administrative fee.

Back to top What is a POP/IMAP email account?

POP stands for Post Office Protocol and IMAP stands for Internet Message Access Protocol. These are the email protocols provided for you to receive email through one of the following services: Web Hosting, Deluxe Parking or Internet dial-up (dial-up is POP only).

Please note that this account does not allow you to send email unless you are using GKG's web hosting or dial-up service. Your Internet service provider should provide the outgoing mail server.

Back to top What is greylisting?

Greylisting (sometimes referred to as graylisting) is a method of defending electronic mail users against spam. A mail transfer agent (MTA) which uses greylisting will "temporarily reject" any email from a sender it does not recognize. If the mail is legitimate, the originating server will try again to send it later, at which time the destination will accept it.

If the mail is from a spammer, it will probably not be retried, because spammers work on volume of email sent successfully. Spammers will not retry messages as it takes up too many of their resources. If the message is legitimate, then the sender is white listed and future emails should not be delayed.

Back to top Why is my email address in whois listed as somenumber@whois.gkg.net?

This is known as a hidden email address. This feature allows you to prevent your real email address from being displayed in whois searches.

This helps reduce the amount of junk email sent to your account. If you use email hiding, then an email address in the format of somenumber@whois.gkg.net will appear in your whois record. Messages sent to this address will be forwarded to your real email address on file, providing that the message passes through GKG's junk email filter and anti-virus scanner.

SPECIAL NOTE for HOTMAIL/YAHOO MAIL Users: Both Hotmail and Yahoo mail services like to place messages in their BULK/JUNK mail folders, so please check those folders when messages are forwarded to you.

To activate or deactivate this feature, (deactivating is sometimes required to transfer a domain away from GKG as well as purchasing SSL certificates), log into your account and un-check the "Whois Email" option.

Back to top