Unit 1 / No.83 George Street Parramatta NSW 2150 Phone: (02) 9635 5155

Support - Frequently Asked Questions

• I cannot connect to the internet using Dial Up - what is the problem?
• What is a virus? and what can I do about it?
• What is SPAM and Junk Mail?
• Networking Computers

There are 4 components in the dial up connection, and they are ....

1. Your computer
2. The modem connecting to the outside lines
3. The connecting lines (Telstra PSTN service)
4. Presto Internet Servers

Presto Server
In order to determine where the problem connecting is we need to determine where the fault may be. Our servers are very reliable - we have had total power failure and line disconnection only once in 4 years, so uptime is very good. But if you cannot find any other problem it may be that we are indeed off the air. If that is the case we may also be very busy resolving that problem, so give it a few hours and try again.

Your Computer
We get a lot of problems with software attacks on client's workstations. A common one is a dialler - a program that tries to hijack your internet connection. It does this just by going to some internet websites. Some websites use background scripts that can load up software on your workstation. Never accept software updates if you haven't asked for it. A common one is one that purports to be an acccelerator (that supposedly speeds up your connection). These programs do nasty things like changing your dial up number sending it to an overseas connection, or by blanking your password or changing your username. To check this problem go into your dial up settings and see if they are as they should be. Always make sure you keep your virus checker up to date, and your spyware checker up to date as these can stop these trojans or worms from infecting your system. If you have a network at home and multiple connections running from a single connection you may need to consider setting up a firewall to rotect your home / business computers from these types of attacks.

Another issue here is if your account has been closed. You would normally see a message saying authentication failed when trying to connect, as the connection server rejects suspended accounts. We set the expiry date on an internet account to the expiry date of your credit card (if paying by credit card), or to the end of the payment period if paying by account (6 or 12 months). We normally send out email reminders two weeks before the account closes. If you don't contact us before the due date the account is automatically suspended and dial up will not proceed until you contact us to fix up the account.

We don't get notified if you get a replacement credit card, so please let us know if there is to be a change so we can update our records and extend the expiry date on your account.

The modem connecting your computer to the outside lines
Modems convert a digital signal generated by your computer into an analogue signal to be sent over the telephone wires. During storms these wires can be struck by lightning and the wires act as conducters to earth the lightning to the nearest ground point, which may be your computer. Never use a computer or your phone for that matter, during lightning storms. This can severly damage your modem rendering it unusable or worse damaging your computer. You can protect against this especailly if you are in a lightning prone area by using a surge protector that protects against lightning strikes.

You can check the operation of your modem by going into the control panel and runing a diagnostic routine that talks to the modem. You get to this in "Phone and Modem Options", "Modem", "Properties".

The connecting lines (Telstra PSTN service)
If there is a problem connecting to our servers it may be congestion in the Tesltra network. They are normally very reliable, but check if the phone is working to ensure there is not a problem with the connecting lines.

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What is a virus? and what can I do about it?

A Virus is a small program that can cause changes to your computer - some hijack your browser sending it to specific websites other changes can be background programs that monitor your keystrokes, sending them off to a remote internet address, sometimes they can slow your workstation right down to a crawl.

There are safe practices that can provide adequate protection against virsus attacks, but you must be diligent and not leave it to someone else to care for your needs. You must be careful to not let them onto your computer. Unsolicited emails can contain dangerous attachments that can affect your workstation. Never open a document with one of the following extensions until you have scanned your workstation for viruses.

• .exe - Executable files
• .com - Command files
• .src - Screen saver
• .doc - Word Processing Document (can contain macros - programs within documents)
• .xls, .ppt and .pps - Excel spreadsheets and Power Point presentations
• .vbs - Visual Basic Scripts
• .bat - Batch commands

You can protect your computer with programs designed to search out and destroy the attacking programs before they can inflict harm to your computer. There are 3 basic types of protection you can apply. The first two are essential if you are accessing the Internet. The Firewall is not necessary unless you need to protect more than the one computer from possible attacks as a firewall hides the internal workstations from the Internet.

• AntiVirus Protection Products like Norton Antivirus are effective in protecting your PC from attacks by viruses, but it must be kept up up to date using Live Update otherwise new viruses or modified ones come out that can do damage to your computer. There are other virus protection packages such as AVG (www.grisoft.com) and MacAfee (www.macafee.com).
• Spyware Protection Spyware removes cookies and monitoring tools on your workstation (such as data mining components and trojans). Some viruses install miniature programs that track your keyboard entries looking for passwords or credit card details. Spyware programs provide protection from these programs as well as aggressive advertising, parasites, trojans, dialers, malware, browser hijackers, and tracking components. Products include Spybot (http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html) and Lavasoft's Ad-Aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com/software/adaware/).
• Firewall A firewall is designed to stop attackers from taking over your computer. If a virus gets inside your computer the Antivirus program will probably stop it before it causes real damage, but the virus may allow an external person access to your computer. A firewall stops unauthorised access to the Internet from rogue programs. Firewalls need a level of expertise to operate correctly. You need to know which applications have a legitimate right to access the Internet and which do not.
  
  Activating a Firewall can stop a local network from operating, as it restricts any access to shared resources on the workstation with a firewall. Many programs will not work with a firewall and some ISP's will not allow connections if a firewall is active on the dialling workstation. Some good products are ZoneAlarm (http://www.zonelabs.com/), BlackIce (http://blackice.iss.net/), and Norton's Personal Firewall (http://www.symantec.com/sabu/nis/nis_pe/).

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Spam and Junk Mail
Anyone who uses email knows exactly what the term "spam" refers to. Spam is junk correspondence in the form of unwanted commercial solicitations representing more than two thirds of all e-mail transmitted over the Internet, accounting for billions of messages every day.

This unwanted unsolicited email has a way of finding its way into your email boxes. Not only is it annoying, but it can also be dangerous. Often times, spam contains viruses, illegal get-rich-quick schemes, pornography, and other undesireable product offers. In many cases, there is so much spam that comes into your mailbox, that real email is hard to find. Spam or junk mail is hard to stop and identify as the people who use this process of messaging are constantly moving around using new techniques and identities.

There are a number of simple steps to take to reduce or remove spam or junk mail, you can read up on some them here - http://www.how-do-i-stop-spam.net/index.php. Presto has an active filtering process that automatically removes recognised spam and junk mail messages from its incoming queues. But it doesn't pick up everything.

For a third of all e-mail users, about 80 percent of the messages received are spam. Recently spam has become more threatening with the proliferation of so-called phishing attacks - fake e-mails that look like they are from people or institutions you trust but that are actually sent by crooks to steal your credit-card numbers or other personal information. Phishing attacks cost approximately $1.2 billion a year, according to a 2004 Gartner Research study.

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Networking Computers
Networking at home or in a small business environment can allow more than one person to share resources such as an internet connection, a printer, or common files all at the same time. There are a number of components of a network.

• Cabling (Ethernet - UTP and STP, Wireless and Coaxial)
• Network Languages (TCP/IP, NetBIOS and IPX / SPX)
• Connections (RJ-45, Coax and Wireless)
• Network Devices (Hubs, Switches, Gateways, Routers, Firewall)
• Network Management (File Servers, Samba Servers and Print Servers)

This is a big subject and cannot be easily summarised. Needless to say it can be done and is quite straight forward as long as the components are properly setup and installation steps are followed.

Wireless networks are becoming very popular in locations where physical cabling is impractical or awkward. Networks are very popular at home where two or three kids can play network multiplayer games in teams. Home Businesses can make use of shared internet access and shared printer(s) over a network. The network components are very inexpensive and the cabling is readily available. For more information about networking please contact us.

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