If your website runs on PHP and you need it to send email, order confirmations, password resets, contact-form notifications, or account alerts — PHPMailer is the most popular and dependable library for the job. Instead of relying on PHP’s built-in mail() function, which is unauthenticated and frequently lands in spam folders, PHPMailer lets you send mail through a proper authenticated SMTP connection.

In this guide, we’ll walk through installing PHPMailer, pointing it at the SMTP server on your ChemiCloud hosting account, and sending everything from a simple plain-text message to HTML emails with attachments and embedded images. We’ll also cover how to troubleshoot the connection when something doesn’t work.

The examples below use PHPMailer 6.x, which works with PHP 7.x and newer. We recommend running a currently supported PHP version, which you can select from PHP Selector in cPanel.

Table of Contents

• What is PHPMailer?
• Before you begin: create an email account
• Your ChemiCloud SMTP settings
• Installing PHPMailer
• Sending a plain-text email
• Sending an HTML email
• Sending to multiple recipients (To, CC, BCC)
• Sending emails with attachments
• Embedding images in the email body
• Looping through a list of recipients
• Debugging connection problems
• A note on sending limits and deliverability
• Wrapping up

What is PHPMailer?

PHPMailer is a free, open-source PHP class that handles the heavy lifting of composing and transmitting email. It has been around for years, ships inside platforms like WordPress, and integrates cleanly with frameworks such as Laravel and Symfony.

A few of the reasons it’s the go-to choice:

• It connects to SMTP servers with full authentication, so your mail is far more likely to be accepted and delivered than mail sent through mail().
• It supports SSL and TLS encryption, keeping your credentials and message contents private in transit.
• It builds proper HTML emails with a plain-text fallback, handles file attachments and inline images, and validates recipient addresses automatically.
• It guards against email header injection, a common attack vector on web forms.

For a website hosted with us, the most reliable approach is to send through one of your own email accounts using your ChemiCloud mail server. That’s exactly what we’ll set up.

Before you begin: create an email account

PHPMailer authenticates to the mail server using a real email account, so you’ll want a dedicated address for your application to send from — something like noreply@yourdomain.com or notifications@yourdomain.com.

To create one:

1. Log in to your cPanel.
2. Under the Email section, open Email Accounts.
3. Click Create, choose the domain, enter the username and a strong password, and save.

Keep the full email address and password handy — those are the SMTP credentials your script will use.

Your ChemiCloud SMTP settings

When you send through an email account hosted on your ChemiCloud account, use the following outgoing (SMTP) settings:

A few things worth knowing:

• The username must be the complete email address, not just the part before the @. Sending with only the mailbox name is the single most common cause of authentication failures.
• Our servers require authenticated, encrypted submission. Plain unencrypted connections will be rejected, so always set an encryption type.
• If you’re unsure of the exact hostname, you can confirm it in cPanel under Email Accounts → Connect Devices (the “Set Up Mail Client” page), which lists the manual settings for your account.

If mail.yourdomain.com doesn’t resolve yet — for example because your domain isn’t fully pointed to us — you can substitute your server’s hostname, which is also shown on the same Connect Devices page.

Installing PHPMailer

The recommended way to add PHPMailer to a project is with Composer, the PHP dependency manager. From the directory of your project, run:

composer require phpmailer/phpmailer

This downloads PHPMailer into a vendor/ folder and generates vendor/autoload.php, which you’ll include in your scripts.

You have SSH access to your hosting account so you can run this command directly on the server. Composer is available on our servers, so in many cases you can install dependencies without uploading anything by hand.

Prefer not to use Composer? You can download the library from its GitHub repository, upload the src folder to your account, and include the class files manually:

<?php
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\SMTP;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

require 'path/to/PHPMailer/src/Exception.php';
require 'path/to/PHPMailer/src/PHPMailer.php';
require 'path/to/PHPMailer/src/SMTP.php';

Including the Exception class is worthwhile even though it’s optional — without it, errors surface as vague messages, whereas with it you get readable details that make problems much easier to diagnose.

Sending a plain-text email

Here’s a complete, minimal script that connects to your ChemiCloud SMTP server and sends a plain-text message. Replace the placeholder credentials and addresses with your own.

<?php
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$mail = new PHPMailer(true); // "true" turns on exceptions for easier debugging

try {
    // --- SMTP configuration ---
    $mail->isSMTP();
    $mail->Host       = 'mail.yourdomain.com'; // your ChemiCloud mail server
    $mail->SMTPAuth   = true;
    $mail->Username   = 'noreply@yourdomain.com'; // full email address
    $mail->Password   = 'your-email-password';
    $mail->SMTPSecure = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS; // SSL
    $mail->Port       = 465;

    // --- Addresses ---
    $mail->setFrom('noreply@yourdomain.com', 'Your Website');
    $mail->addAddress('customer@example.com', 'Customer Name');

    // --- Content ---
    $mail->isHTML(false); // plain text
    $mail->Subject = 'Thanks for getting in touch';
    $mail->Body    = "Hi there,\n\nWe received your message and will reply soon.\n\nBest regards,\nYour Website Team";

    $mail->send();
    echo 'Message sent successfully.';
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "Message could not be sent. Error: {$mail->ErrorInfo}";
}

When the script runs without errors, you’ll see “Message sent successfully” and the email will arrive in the recipient’s inbox within a few seconds.

Sending an HTML email

For richer messages, switch the format to HTML with isHTML(true) and provide both an HTML body and a plain-text alternative. The alternative is shown by mail clients that can’t (or won’t) render HTML, and including it also helps with deliverability.

<?php
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$mail = new PHPMailer(true);

try {
    $mail->isSMTP();
    $mail->Host       = 'mail.yourdomain.com';
    $mail->SMTPAuth   = true;
    $mail->Username   = 'noreply@yourdomain.com';
    $mail->Password   = 'your-email-password';
    $mail->SMTPSecure = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS;
    $mail->Port       = 465;

    $mail->setFrom('noreply@yourdomain.com', 'Your Website');
    $mail->addAddress('customer@example.com', 'Customer Name');
    $mail->addReplyTo('support@yourdomain.com', 'Support Team');

    $mail->isHTML(true);
    $mail->Subject = 'Welcome aboard!';
    $mail->Body    = '<h1>Welcome!</h1><p>Your account is ready. We\'re glad to have you.</p>';
    $mail->AltBody = 'Welcome! Your account is ready. We\'re glad to have you.';

    $mail->send();
    echo 'HTML message sent.';
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "Message could not be sent. Error: {$mail->ErrorInfo}";
}

Sending to multiple recipients (To, CC, and BCC)

PHPMailer lets you add as many recipients as you need across the To, CC, and BCC fields. Simply call the relevant method once per address:

$mail->addAddress('first@example.com', 'First Recipient');
$mail->addAddress('second@example.com', 'Second Recipient');

$mail->addCC('manager@example.com', 'A Manager');

$mail->addBCC('archive@yourdomain.com');
$mail->addBCC('records@yourdomain.com');

Everyone in the To and CC fields can see each other’s addresses; anyone in BCC stays hidden from the rest. If you’re emailing a list of people who don’t know one another, put them in BCC — or, better, send individual messages (see the loop example further down).

Sending emails with attachments

To attach a file that already exists on your server, point PHPMailer at its path. The optional second argument sets the filename the recipient sees:

$mail->addAttachment('/home/username/invoices/invoice-1042.pdf', 'invoice.pdf');

You can attach more than one file by calling the method again:

$mail->addAttachment('/home/username/reports/summary.xlsx', 'summary.xlsx');

If the data you want to attach isn’t a file on disk — say it’s stored in a database or generated on the fly — use a string attachment instead. This avoids having to write a temporary file:

// Attach data pulled from a database (e.g. a stored PDF)
$mail->addStringAttachment($pdfData, 'document.pdf');

You can also attach the contents of a remote URL:

$mail->addStringAttachment(file_get_contents('https://example.com/report.pdf'), 'report.pdf');

Embedding images in the email body

Sometimes you want an image to appear inside the message rather than as a downloadable attachment — a logo in a header, for instance. PHPMailer handles this with embedded (inline) images referenced by a content ID, or “CID.”

$mail->addEmbeddedImage('/home/username/assets/logo.png', 'logo_cid');
$mail->isHTML(true);
$mail->Body = '<img src="cid:logo_cid" alt="Logo"><p>Welcome to our store.</p>';

Here’s how that fits into a full script:

<?php
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$mail = new PHPMailer(true);

try {
    $mail->isSMTP();
    $mail->Host       = 'mail.yourdomain.com';
    $mail->SMTPAuth   = true;
    $mail->Username   = 'noreply@yourdomain.com';
    $mail->Password   = 'your-email-password';
    $mail->SMTPSecure = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS;
    $mail->Port       = 465;

    $mail->setFrom('noreply@yourdomain.com', 'Your Website');
    $mail->addAddress('customer@example.com', 'Customer Name');

    $mail->isHTML(true);
    $mail->Subject = 'Our latest newsletter';
    $mail->addEmbeddedImage('/home/username/assets/logo.png', 'logo_cid');
    $mail->Body    = '<img src="cid:logo_cid" alt="Logo"><h2>This month\'s updates</h2><p>Here is what is new.</p>';
    $mail->AltBody = 'This month\'s updates - here is what is new.';

    $mail->send();
    echo 'Newsletter sent.';
} catch (Exception $e) {
    echo "Message could not be sent. Error: {$mail->ErrorInfo}";
}

Looping through a list of recipients

When you need to send a personalized message to several people, reuse a single PHPMailer instance and clear the recipient list between sends. Turning on SMTPKeepAlive keeps the connection open so you’re not reconnecting for every message, which is noticeably faster.

<?php
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\PHPMailer;
use PHPMailer\PHPMailer\Exception;

require 'vendor/autoload.php';

$mail = new PHPMailer(true);

$mail->isSMTP();
$mail->Host         = 'mail.yourdomain.com';
$mail->SMTPAuth     = true;
$mail->Username     = 'noreply@yourdomain.com';
$mail->Password     = 'your-email-password';
$mail->SMTPSecure   = PHPMailer::ENCRYPTION_SMTPS;
$mail->Port         = 465;
$mail->SMTPKeepAlive = true; // keep the connection open between messages

$mail->setFrom('noreply@yourdomain.com', 'Your Website');
$mail->isHTML(true);

$recipients = [
    ['email' => 'alice@example.com', 'name' => 'Alice'],
    ['email' => 'bob@example.com',   'name' => 'Bob'],
];

foreach ($recipients as $person) {
    try {
        $mail->addAddress($person['email'], $person['name']);
        $mail->Subject = 'A quick update, ' . $person['name'];
        $mail->Body    = "<p>Hi {$person['name']}, here is your update.</p>";
        $mail->AltBody = "Hi {$person['name']}, here is your update.";

        $mail->send();
        echo "Sent to {$person['email']}\n";
    } catch (Exception $e) {
        echo "Failed for {$person['email']}: {$mail->ErrorInfo}\n";
    }

    $mail->clearAddresses(); // reset for the next recipient
}

$mail->smtpClose();

If you anticipate sending a high volume of mail, do the actual sending in the background through a queue rather than during a page load, and pace your sends so you stay within your account’s hourly limits (more on that below).

Debugging connection problems

When mail won’t send, PHPMailer’s built-in SMTP debugging is the fastest way to see what’s happening. Add this line to your configuration:

$mail->SMTPDebug = 2;

The debug levels are:

• 1 – shows messages your script sends to the server.
• 2 – adds the server’s replies (this is usually the most useful setting).
• 3 – adds connection-level details, helpful for diagnosing TLS/STARTTLS issues.
• 4 – very low-level, verbose output.

Two of the most common errors and what they mean:

“SMTP connect() failed” / connection timed out. Usually the host or port is wrong, or the connection is being blocked. Double-check that the host is your real mail hostname and that the port matches your encryption type (465 with SSL, 587 with STARTTLS). Note that some office networks and public Wi-Fi hotspots block outbound SMTP ports — if you’re testing from such a network, try from the server itself instead.

“535 Authentication failed” / “Could not authenticate.” The username or password is wrong. Confirm that the username is the full email address and that the password matches the one set in cPanel. If you’re not certain, reset the mailbox password under Email Accounts and try again.

If you’re still stuck after checking these, our support team is available 24/7 via live chat and can help confirm the correct settings for your account.

A note on sending limits and deliverability

To protect every customer on the server and keep our IPs in good standing, our mail servers enforce hourly sending limits. For routine transactional email — confirmations, resets, contact forms — these limits are generous and you won’t notice them. If your application sends large newsletters or bulk campaigns, however, a dedicated bulk/transactional email service is the better tool, and you can route PHPMailer through it by simply swapping in that provider’s SMTP host, port, and credentials.

A few quick wins for staying out of spam folders:

• Publish SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records for your domain. DKIM and SPF are configured for you on our platform; you can review them in cPanel under Email Deliverability.
• Send from a real address on your own domain, not from a free webmail address like Gmail or Yahoo.
• Always include a plain-text alternative alongside your HTML.

Wrapping up

PHPMailer plus your ChemiCloud SMTP server is a solid, secure foundation for any PHP application that needs to send email. Once you’ve created a sending account, plugged in your mail host and credentials, and confirmed a test message arrives, you can extend the same setup to HTML emails, attachments, inline images, and personalized batches.

If you run into trouble, enable SMTP debugging to see exactly where the conversation with the server breaks down — and remember that our support team is one chat away whenever you need a hand.

By adding help@chemicloud.com as a collaborator, our team can review your setup and assist you faster while keeping your account secure.

How to Grant Access in Hostinger

Follow the steps below to share access with ChemiCloud:

1. Log in to your Hostinger account

Go to your Hostinger dashboard and sign in.

2. Access the “Account Sharing” section

• Click on your profile icon in the top-right corner
• Select Account Sharing

3. Click “Grant Access”

Click the Grant Access button to add a new collaborator.

4. Enter ChemiCloud’s email address

Add the following email address: help@chemicloud.com

5. Configure access permissions

When granting access, make sure to:

• Select the appropriate access level
• Choose the hosting service or website you want us to access
• Allow access to website management, files, databases, and hosting settings

6. Send the invitation

• Click Grant Access to send the invite
• Our team will receive an email and accept the request

What Happens Next?

Once access is granted, our team can securely review your hosting environment, troubleshoot issues, and assist with setup while your account ownership and billing remain fully under your control.

Managing or Removing Access

You can revoke access at any time:

• Go back to Account Sharing
• Locate help@chemicloud.com
• Click Remove Access

Need Help?

If you are unsure about any step, feel free to open a support ticket and our team will be happy to guide you through the process.

Below, we’ll walk you through the process step-by-step.

Understanding User Roles

HostGator supports three types of roles:

• Primary Contact (One per account): Full control, including account holder info and billing.

• Administrative Contact: Can manage services, make purchases, and add/edit users.

• Technical Contact: Limited to product maintenance and technical tasks.

Action	Primary	Admin	Technical
Edit account holder info
Edit billing info
Add/edit/delete users
Purchase new products
Manage & renew services
Update domain WHOIS (Admin/Tech)

How to Add a New User to Your HostGator Account

To delegate access, follow these steps:

1. Log in to your HostGator Customer Portal.

2. Click your profile icon in the top-right corner and select “Users & Roles.”

3. On the “Account & Users” page, find your account and click “Manage.”

4. Scroll down to the “User Roles & Permissions” section and click “+ Add User.”

   Adding ChemiCloud Support?

   If you’re adding ChemiCloud Support to assist with your HostGator website migration, use the following details:

   

   Recommended Role: Admin or Tech – this will allow our team to manage your hosting services and settings to ensure a smooth and seamless migration experience.

5. Enter the name and email address of the person you’d like to invite.

6. Choose the appropriate user role (Administrative or Technical).

7. Click “Invite.”

The invited user will receive an email with instructions to set up their own credentials and access PIN.

Managing Existing Users for Your HostGator Account

To update or remove an existing user:

1. Go to the “Users & Roles” section of your Customer Portal.

2. Click “Edit” next to the user you want to update.

3. To change their role, select a new one and click “Save.”

4. To remove a user, click “Delete” and confirm the action.

Whether you’re working with a developer, a hosting provider like ChemiCloud, or someone helping manage your site, this feature keeps your account secure while giving them the access they need.

Looking for a Hostgator alternative? Join the growing club of happy customers who made the switch to better, faster web hosting!

This guide walks you through the exact steps to delegate access securely using Bluehost’s User Roles & Permissions feature.

Why Delegate Access to Your Bluehost Account?

Bluehost allows you to invite other users to your account without sharing your password. By assigning roles such as Admin or Tech, you control what level of access they get—great for website migrations, support, or development work.

Bluehost User Roles Explained

How to Add a User to Your Bluehost Account

1. Log into your Bluehost Account Manager
   https://www.bluehost.com/my-account/login

2. Click the profile icon (top-right corner) and select Accounts & Users from the dropdown menu.

3. Locate your account and click the MANAGE button.

4. Scroll to the User Roles & Permissions section and click + ADD USER.

   Adding ChemiCloud Support?

   If you’re adding ChemiCloud Support to your Bluehost website for migration, be sure to use the email address below:

   

   We recommend assigning the Admin role so our team can manage services and settings necessary for a smooth migration.

5. Fill out the invitation form:

   • Name: Enter the name of the person or team.

   • Email: The email of the person you’re granting access to.

   • Role: Choose either Admin or Tech, depending on what you want them to manage.

6. Click INVITE. The user will receive an email with instructions to set up their own login.

How to Revoke Access to Your Bluehost Account?

You can remove a user anytime:

• Go back to Accounts & Users

• Click EDIT next to the user

• Choose DELETE, then confirm

Summary

Adding a user to your Bluehost account is:

• Secure – No password sharing

• Flexible – Choose exactly what the user can do

• Reversible – Remove access anytime

Whether you’re working with a developer, a hosting provider like ChemiCloud, or someone helping manage your site, this feature keeps your account secure while giving them the access they need.

Looking for a Bluehost alternative? Join the growing club of happy customers who made the switch to better, faster web hosting!

It’s a simple, efficient way to keep track of your important discussions with our team!

1. Click on the hamburger menu in the top right side of the chat window and select Email Transcript;

2. Enter your email address and click Send.

That’s all; you should receive the chat transcript in your email address shortly.

1) Log into cPanel.

2) Click the “Website Preview” button in the Domains section.

3) Click the “Preview” button next to your domain to generate the unique temporary URL.

4) Click the any of the generated preview URLs to load them in a new browser tab.

5) Every preview URL you generate will automatically expire after 30 days. You can also delete a preview URL at any time using the Action menu. For added convenience, the Action menu includes an option to instantly copy the generated preview URL to your clipboard.

Once the page opens, you’ll see the temporary URL in your browser tab similar to yourdomain.predns.link, which you can copy and use later or share with others.

Using the Website Preview tool in cPanel is a straightforward and effective way to ensure your website migration is smooth and error-free. Always double-check your site’s functionality before making the final switch with NS record updates.

In this Knowledge Base article, we will cover how you can easily add collaborators to your SiteGround account.

How to Add Collaborators to Your SiteGround Account

Step 1) Click here to open the SiteGround login page. After it opens in your browser, go ahead and log in.

Step 2) After logging in, hover over the Websites tab in the main menu then click on the Collaborations sub-tab:

Step 3) Once you are on the Collaboration Websites page, there’s an option at the bottom of the page to click here and add a new collaborator.  Or you can access this page directly in your web browser.

Step 4) Once you are on the Users and Roles page, please click on the Add New User button

Step 5) You will be presented with two options. Please choose Collaborator

Step 6) Choose the website in question, fill in the details of the collaborator and click Add User

An invitation will be sent out to the collaborator’s email address and you will see their user in the List of Users with Pending Activation status.

And that’s it. Now you’ve learned how to add collaborators to your SiteGround account.

This Knowledgebase article will cover how to use Telnet.

How to use Telnet

Telnet is integrated into Windows 10 system, however, it is disabled by default. To install Telnet, follow the instructions below.

How to enable Telnet on Windows 10 from the Control Panel

Open the Control Panel in Windows 10. You can press Windows key + R, type control panel, and press return, to quickly open the control panel.

Next, click Programs.

After this, click Turn Windows features on or off beneath Programs and Features.

In the dialog window which opens, scroll down and look for Telnet Client. Check the box to the left of the option, then click the Ok button.

Windows will install the Telnet Client and you will see a window open while that takes place.

Click Okay when it’s finished.

How to Enable Telnet on Windows 10 via CMD or PowerShell

You can also install Telnet via the PowerShell or Command Prompt.

Step 1: Open an Elevated Command prompt. To do this, right-click the Start Menu and select Command Prompt (Admin) or PowerShell (Admin).

Step 2: Next, type this command into the Command Prompt or PowerShell:

dsim /online /Enable-Feature/FeatureName:TelnetClient

and press Enter to enable Windows 10.

Telnet will be installed.

How to Enable Telnet on MacOS or Linux

Good news! Telnet is included with MacOS by default. Most Linux installations also include a Telnet client.

How to Use Telnet on Windows 10

Step 1: Right-click the Start menu and choose Command Prompt or Windows Powershell, depending on your configuration.

Step 2: When the command prompt, or PowerShell loads, type the following command:

telnet domain.tld port-number

For example, if you are going to use Telnet to connect to an SMTP server on port 25, you would use the following syntax:

telnet cchostingdemos.com 25

How to Use Telnet on MacOS

Step 1: Use the Spotlight feature to search for Terminal and open it.

Step 2: When Terminal is open, type the following command:

telnet domain.tld port-number

For example, if you are going to use Telnet to connect to an SMTP server on port 25, you would use the following syntax:

telnet cchostingdemos.com 25

How to Use Telnet on Linux

Step 1: Open your Terminal app.

Step 2: After Terminal opens, type the following command:

telnet domain.tld port-number

For example, if you are going to use Telnet to connect to an SMTP server on port 25, you would use the following syntax:

telnet cchostingdemos.com 25

Common Telnet Ports

587 – Alternative SMTP Port

110 – POP Mail

22 – SSH

143 – IMAP

You can find a list of other ports here.

Keep reading and we’ll explain!

What is a DDoS Attack?

What is a Denial of Service?

Denial of Service is a very specific issue. To explain it simply, a website experiences DoS issues when it is no longer able to service its regular users. Most of the time, these issues happen without malicious intent. For example, a large website links to a small website, which isn’t built for the same level of traffic (the Reddit effect). The small site can’t handle the influx of traffic and therefore becomes unresponsive.

Due to this, by adding the word “attack”, a Denial of Service Attack indicates malicious intent. The attacker is making a conscious effort using a DoS to create issues. The methods of doing this can vary greatly and a “DoS attack” is only referring to the expected result of the attack, not the way it is being executed. By consuming the server’s resources, it can cause the server to become unavailable to its regular users, and in extreme cases, even crashing the server and taking it down entirely.

Struggling with downtime issues? ChemiCloud is the hosting solution designed with reliability and security in mind! Check out our web hosting plans!

What is a Distributed Denial of Service Attack?

The difference between Distributed Denial of Service attacks and regular Denial of Service attacks is the keyword, “Distributed”. A DoS attack is carried out by a single attacker using a single system, whereas a Distributed attack is carried out across multiple systems that are executing the attack.

A Distributed Denial of Service attack requires multiple systems to carry out the attack, not multiple attackers. Commonly, large DDoS attacks are not executed through the attacker’s own computer, but through a number of infected systems. Attackers can abuse a number of vulnerabilities to gain control over a large number of systems. The attacker then uses these compromised computers/servers to mount an attack against its target.

The website targeted by the DDoS attack is usually the only victim. But this isn’t entirely accurate. Users with infected systems that are part of the attacking systems are similarly affected. Not only are their computers being used in illicit attacks, but their computer’s and Internet connection’s resources are also consumed by the attack that is being launched.

There are a wide variety of methods that can be used to execute these attacks but, in the end, DDoS attacks have a singular purpose, keeping authentic users from using the target system.

Does ChemiCloud offer DDOS protection?

Yes, absolutely!

Our network automatically detects and mitigates distributed denial-of-service attacks from large-volume intended to make your websites unavailable to legitimate users.

We utilize real-time network protection, which detects, analyzes, and blocks attacks in real time. Attackers are blocked inline, then redistributed across the backbone of our network.

Rules are automatically created using machine learning from traffic across our global network to intelligently reroute malicious traffic during this event.

Our DDoS protection doesn’t impact the latency of your site, it’s happening inline, we’re not routing your traffic to a third-party for protection.

Additionally, we can protect your site from a range of DDoS attack methodologies including, UDP, SYN, HTTP floods, and more.

This feature is always on, always running in the background to protect our customers.

The most typical use of the dig command is to simply query a single host.

In this KB article, we’ll explain how to read the output of the dig command and how to use the command.

How to use the DIG command

What can I learn using the dig command?

dig will let you perform any valid DNS query, the most common of which are:

• A (the IP address)
• TXT (text annotations)
• MX (mail exchanges)
• NS (nameservers)

Run the Command

1. First, open your SSH client and open a connection to your hosting account or any system where you have a console/command line in which you can input commands. If you aren’t familiar with connecting to your hosting account with SSH, click here to review our Knowledgebase Article on the subject.
2. Once you have your connection open, enter the command as:

dig domain.tld where domain.tld is the domain and extension you’re querying.

Struggling with DNS issues? ChemiCloud is the hosting solution designed to save you time! Check out our web hosting plans!

Examine the Output

[yourcpusercc@rs2-dal ~]$ dig cchostingdemos.com

; <<>> DiG 9.11.4-P2-RedHat-9.11.4-26.P2.el7_9.4 <<>> cchostingdemos.com
;; global options: +cmd
;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 52628
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

;; OPT PSEUDOSECTION:
; EDNS: version: 0, flags:; udp: 4096
;; QUESTION SECTION:
;cchostingdemos.com. IN A

;; ANSWER SECTION:
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 104.21.69.5
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 172.67.202.37

;; Query time: 7 msec
;; SERVER: 198.58.107.5#53(198.58.107.5)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 06 22:21:26 EDT 2021
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 79

The opening section of the output tells us a little bit about itself:

; <<>> DiG 9.11.4-P2-RedHat-9.11.4-26.P2.el7_9.4 <<>> cchostingdemos.com

The Got answer section tells us some technical details about the answer received from the DNS Server.

;; Got answer:
;; ->>HEADER<<- opcode: QUERY, status: NOERROR, id: 52628
;; flags: qr rd ra; QUERY: 1, ANSWER: 2, AUTHORITY: 0, ADDITIONAL: 1

The Question section serves to remind us of our query. The default query is for an Internet address (A).

;; QUESTION SECTION:
;cchostingdemos.com. IN A

The answer section is where the answer to our query is given.

;; ANSWER SECTION:
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 104.21.69.5
cchostingdemos.com. 300 IN A 172.67.202.37

The final section of the default output contains statistics about the query.

;; Query time: 7 msec
;; SERVER: 198.58.107.5#53(198.58.107.5)
;; WHEN: Tue Apr 06 22:21:26 EDT 2021
;; MSG SIZE rcvd: 79

Quick dig commands you should know

• A quick way to get just the answer and not the fluff around it is to run:

dig domain.tld +short

• Use this command to get the addresses for a domain:

dig domain.tld A +noall +answer

• Use this command to get a list of all of the mail servers for a domain:

dig domain.tld MX +noall +answer

• Use this command to get a list of authoritative DNS servers for a domain:

dig domain.tld NS +noall +answer

• Use this command to get a list of all of the above in one convenient set of results:

dig domain.tld ANY +noall +answer

• Use this command to query A record of a domain using a specific nameserver:

dig A domain.tld @ns1.chemicloud.com +short

• Use the following to trace the path taken:

dig domain.tld +trace

That’s a wrap! Now you know how to master the DIG command using your terminal.