FAQ'S - Frequently Asked Questions
This document contains FAQ's about our service. What are your Policy's concerning use of your system? We ask that all new users read and understand our Terms and Conditions statement when they first log in. Our policy's are fair and very easy to comply with. How much do you charge. Please click HERE for our rate schedule I am moving out of the area, but I still have several months left on my subscription. Can I get a refund? Due to the nature of Internet access, payments for service are not refundable, however, under certain conditions, it is possible that we may make an exception and refund you the unused portion of your subscription. You will need to call the office to make those arrangements. I am sending mail, but I can't receive. Are you clicking on "send and receive" in the Internet Explorer Mail Program? Are you clicking on "get mail" in the Netscape Explorer Mail Program? If you are, check your mail settings. Click HERE to view the troubleshooting guide for E-mail problems. How fast does my mail get to its destination? Within seconds, providing the mail service at the destination and the relays on the Internet are up and running. How do I know I have mail? You need to first establish an internet connection and use the mail feature in your browser ("send and receive" in Internet Explorer, "get mail" in Netscape). I am using your Webmail feature on the home page, and it won't let me log in using my Email account..what is the problem? You are probably entering your FULL email address: someone@yourdomain.net The system only needs the account portion of your address. Everything before the @ sign. I.E. someone I got an error when attempting to download my mail. Your mailbox may be full, most likely because someone sent you a large attachment with their message. You can call the office and ask the administrator to purge your mailbox. Or simply go to the Webmail feature on our Homepage and purge the box yourself. DO NOT REPORT AN EMAIL PROBLEM BY EMAIL. You will not be able to receive the reply, because your mailbox is full. Some people claim they can't read my mail. It looks like garble and code and sometimes arrives as an attachment. You are sending mail in HTML code, it makes it look like a WebPages. In Internet Explorer, click on "Mail", select "Read Mail", in the Mail Program, click on "Mail", select "Options", at the bottom of the tab that first appears, uncheck the box "HTML" so that the button next to "ASCII" or "Plain Text" is checked. Click on "OK". That's it. How do I know my message got to its destination? Internet E-mail works on a store-and-forward basis. We do not receive acknowledgements that the mail has arrived on the other side. (Imagine, how many acknowledgements we would have if that was the case!) We do however occasionally receive an error message, particularly if you made a typo or used incorrect host name conventions. (For example, you may have typed "johnsomewhere.com" instead of "john@somewhere.com".) We then forward the error message to you so you can correct the problem at your end. I just downloaded my mail and now I can't find it! ALL new mail is sent to your inbox. While you are in the Internet mail program (you get there by clicking the "Mail" icon, then selecting "Read Mail") look for the word "Folder" in the upper left-hand corner, underneath the button "New Message." It shows the name of the folder that is currently open, displaying the mail contained inside. If it doesn't say "Inbox" next to the word "Folder", go to the end of that line and click on the down-arrow to display all available folders, then select "Inbox" on the left. I just sent a message and I get an error "503-invalid recipient/host format" and I can't get rid of it! You sent a message and used incorrect hostname conventions. (For example, you typed "johnsomewhere.com" instead of "[email protected]".) You need to go to your outbox and correct that problem or delete the message in your outbox, then, send your message again. Where is your outbox? This speed is not possible except under lab conditions. In fact, 53k
is not possible because of phone co voltage restrictions. Modems automatically negotiate
the most reliable speed subject to your local lines quality.. Most degradations of maximum
modem speed are the fault of your house or office wiring. An access speed of 42k to 44K
may be the most you can get with a 56K modem if you are trying to log on from an older
home or office or if your are very far from the TELCO's central office.. By all means, do it. I see a mistake on my bill. Who can I call? We try very hard to be as accurate as possible when it comes to monthly statements, but mistakes are sometimes made. Please call the office to report mistakes. I have heard that other ISP's have busy signals during peak times. Will I get that with you? Very rarely, probably only during maintenance on our end, which doesn't take long. We have designed our system with extra capacity to handle peak use situations. The vast majority of our subscribers have never heard a busy signal. However, situations beyond our control, such as problems with the TELCO's lines, or very unusual net activity, may cause a busy signal to occur. If this is encountered, a quick re-dial after a few minutes, will go smoothly. If you get a busy signal more than once, there is probably another problem. Please contact tech support if that happens. NOTE: Make sure the dial up number to us does not contain the area code when calling locally. This will cause a recording to be heard and a connection will not be established. How fast is your Internet connection? 45 megabytes per second. on a DS3 & All of our modems are 56K Flex & V90 mounted in state of the art, Cisco and Ascend digital access routers. We are a true point of presence and not tied into the net through anyone else. We also have 2 DEDICATED T1 line's connected directly to the Internet backbone through only 2 hops..+ other redundant capacity. Our lines have the capacity of accommodating 1000's + simultaneous users (incoming or outgoing) with no degradation of performance. Our Incoming lines are multiple PRI 24 channel digital lines that hook directly to our access routers for speed, reliability and to properly balance incoming callers to available modems. All of our servers are Sun Spark Quad or dual Pentium II 450mz processors with dual 512k cache, 348 MB 100mz ram and ultra wide SCSI 3 hard drives with redundant replicating Backup. Do you support WebTV? We sure do. Remember though that you will have to pay WebTV in addition to your monthly subscription fee to us. We have no control over that. I click on the "Search" button, but I get an error message. Why doesn't it work? If you click on the "Search" button in Internet Explorer, you will end up at the search page of the Microsoft site with millions of other people. The same applies to Netscape, except this time, it is attempting to connect you to the busy Netscape homepage. Instead of waiting in line, you may want to use our search pages instead. I called up the other night and tried to log on , and got an error message "Server busy." Your default homepage may be set to the Netscape homepage or the
even busier Microsoft homepage. Microsoft's servers have been known to be continuously
overloaded. Instead, you should set your default homepage to our more user friendly
homepage. I have heard about ISDN. Can you help me get it installed and do you support it? We sure do. We have trained technicians and sales staff that specialize in all aspects of ISDN applications. I just signed up, but I don't know much about the Internet. Can you show me? There are several options available to learn about the Internet. Start Surfing and learn as you go or sign up for one of our FREE Internet classes.You can also check out our New User Help and go through the exercises provided. But the very best way for you to learn is to experiment and practice online. We also offer online courses by DPEC for a minimal monthly charge. Can I send messages to hundreds/thousands of email addresses contained in a mailing list I bought to promote my company's services?. NO. That would be considered SPAM or Unsolicited Bulk Email. Unless your list of mail addresses is composed of people who ASKED to receive bulk mail from you, it is not allowed. You CAN send bulk mail to people who asked to receive it, but only 25 at a time. (for security reasons) Last night your service got really slow all of a sudden. Is there anything wrong ? Usually Nothing, we have plenty of bandwidth and our Network is one of the fastest in the area. If you dial up and the pages load very slow, there could be several other reasons. First of all, please check to see if: - Somebody has messed with the modem settings. NOTE: You probably don't know that your computer saves a copy in a cache of everything you have seen while surfing the net. To purge your temporary cache:. In Internet Explorer, click on "View," select "Options, " select the tab "Navigation" and click the button "Clear temporary internet files. To purge the Netscape cache: Click on "Options," select "Network Preferences," and click the button "Clear Disk Cache now." If you want to view visited pages before you kill them all, you may view them in the directory that appears underneath this button in the box "Disk Cache Directory." Last but not least: Check to see if someone has installed new software ( that may have changed settings) or updated a virus program, that may have engaged a proxy.......Then Call Tech Support if you are still having a problem. How can I remove the page that comes up when I log in? In Internet Explorer, select "View," "Options," select the tab "Navigation" and change the address for the Start Page from http://www.whateveritis.net to whatever page you would like to have appear when you first log on. Don't forget to bookmark our homepage as we keep it updated with help and features that you may enjoy. In Netscape, select "Options," "General Preferences," and change the URL that appears in "Start With" to whatever page you would like to have appear when you first log on. Why do you keep cutting me off after XX minutes? We don't cut anyone off on purpose, but we do have an idle time-out just as other ISPs do. The time-out period is 20 minutes and it's there to prevent people from forgetting to log off after their session is completed. That's not fair to our other users. Please note that composing a letter on your computer while on line is counted as idle time. OTHER REASONS MAY BE: Analog phone line quality can vary tremendously while you are online. If it dips too much during a connection your modem may not be able to compensate and it will break the connection. This is a problem that the phone company may have to help you with because it originates between your phone and the telco's central office. We have no control over that portion of the connection. There are also many other things that can cause the same problem...call support for help and a complete list. Can I change my password? If you feel that someone else has been using your account, or if you feel that your kids (or your spouse!) are going overboard on the Internet and their usage needs to be curtailed, you may call the office and request that your password be changed for security reasons. You will need to spell out your "Secret Word" agreed to when you signed up, for your security. (No one can change your account information without knowing the secret word" If you have forgotten your secret word you may have to visit our office personally with a Drivers license ID to change your account information. Please Call first. How much diskspace for a Website do I get with my account? You receive 2-5 Megabyte of diskspace (depending on your affiliate). That is plenty for most websites with graphics. Remember, it also includes your mailbox. Therefore, you should pick up your mail frequently and make sure that your browser is set to "delete mail from server," otherwise your old mail that you have already downloaded to your PC, accumulates in your mail box taking up space. I would like to put up a Website homepage. Can you show me how to do it? Yes we can! You may sign up for one of our FREE classes or you can learn all about how to write a homepage by visiting Beginner's Guide to HTML, courtesy of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne. For the more advanced HTML wizards, there is a good resource at www.killersites.com You can also use our new online Sitebuilder program available from Caprok's home page. It is designed to be easy to use by almost anyone. My wife and I are getting a divorce and I have the computer. I want to change my password. If the account is in your name, that's no problem. If it is in your wife's name, we need to have her permission in writing. Sorry! When does my account expire? You will receive an invoice approximately the first of the month by Email. If you need to know how much time you have left, you may call the office and ask for accounting..915-570-3400 (or your local number) I have a computer at work and my own computer at home. Can I use my account from both locations? You sure can. In fact you can use your account in any number of computers as long as aren't using the same account at the same time. Dual or multilink accounts are available at special rates for people who need to access the net with 2 computers at the same time.. I am using a $6.95 a month 50 hour per month access account. If I use additional time what is the cost. This type of account if for people who need less access than most users. Some Customers just need to check their Email and do a limited amount of research every day and do not need to pay for unlimited use. We charge less because you use less. If you ever have a need to use more time than that allotted, you may, but, your account will automatically be billed at $1.00 per hour for each additional hour used. We do this to be fair to our full account users and to preserve our systems modem ratio. Can Customer support help me learn how to use my new computer? Not effectively, but, our FREE classe can. We have the highest rated customer service in the Area. We do whatever it takes to help you get on-line or to resolve an email or FTP problem. However, in this case, we would recommend that you make some time to attend one of our FREE onsite classes or to take our FREE online DPEC demo courses. Unfortunately, training over the phone is simply not practical. We are willing to try to answer quick questions for you anytime about anything, but we cannot tie up our support lines too long. Please remember that there is no way that we can intimately know every one of the many thousands of software applications that are in use. |