[Iinet-newsletter] September 2003 Newsletter for iinet.com

Wed Sep 3 16:51:42 PDT 2003

Welcome to the September 2003 Newsletter for Infinity Internet.

We hope that you find our articles interesting and helpful.

Features
     New T1 Installs First Month Free!
     New CD!
     EasyPay - A Great New Way to Pay Plus A Bonus For Signing Up!
     Receipt Notification - Now Available!
     Spam Filtering!
     Updated "Links" Pages on the www.iinet.com Web Site!

In Every Issue
     Save More Dough
	-  Spread The Word With Our Referral Program
     What To Do Prior To Calling Client Services For Technical Support
     Tech Tip of the Month
	-  Inoculate Your PC Today
     Help Pages
	-  Take A Look & Let Us Know What You Think!
     Internet Smarts
	-  Shutdown
	-  Update Your Modem Driver

The Basics
     Dialup List
     Contact Us
     Cancel Subscription

New T1 Installs First Month Free!

For the month of September new T1 customers on approved contracts will receive free Internet access for their first month of service.  That is a savings of up to $500.00!  Telephone company circuit charges will still apply.  To inquire about T1 service in California please call 800-706-3896 in Washington or Oregon call 800-469-1424.

We Have A New CD!

Recently Infinity Internet released a new CD to our customers and it's a hit!  The CD contains a simple setup utility so that your system can be configured to access the Internet without calling into our tech support department.  It also includes a small library of Internet related shareware and freeware applications for easier use.  You can access a number of links that lead to useful online resources such as our live chat and search sections.  Last, but definitely not least, we have our help site included on the CD in an easy to use format.  If this sounds useful to you please contact us at cd at iinet.com so we can mail one out to you for free.  Or, go to http://www.iinet.com/services/cdrequest.php and send us your mailing information.  Your CD will be mailed promptly.

Introducing EasyPay!

We have a new way to accept payments known as EasyPay.  This payment method deducts your service charges directly from your checking account.  EasyPay has a lot of advantages. It's convenient - your bill will be paid automatically without having to fuss with checks, stamps, and envelopes. It's very secure - you no longer need to worry about lost checks.   Not only is signing up easy, but when you sign up now, we'll even deduct $5 from your next invoice!  Just visit http://www.iinet.com/account/eft.php to fill out the enrollment form, and then send it in to us with a voided check.  Look on our website for more details!

Receipt Notification Now Available!

You'll be happy to know that as of July 1st we have been automatically sending an email message when we process your payment.  You won't have to wait for next month's invoice to see whether we received your payment.  This is one of the benefits of the billing software we're now using.  In the near future we'll be implementing several other features that clients have requested.  Several of these features are listed below.

As of July 1st, we have also been sending you a copy of your monthly invoice via email.  Invoices will come from "Infinity Internet".  This does not represent a change in ownership.  We've been the same company since May 1st 2002 but operating under several of our original names including Pacifier, Northwest Link, TST Onramp, and ProAxis Communications.  Using multiple names has caused confusion and we are doing our best to reduce confusion.

Your email address is not changing and will NOT change (unless you specifically request it be changed).

If you call Client Services, they will ask for your email address.  Please give them your entire email address, including the "@" sign and the domain (iinet.com, pacifier.com, nwlink.com, proaxis.com, tstonramp.com, etc.).

On 8/1/2003 we added an enhanced billing feature that provided more detail on your invoice.  In addition to the description of the service rate, we included more account details.  Please note, your monthly total will not change.  

To see a sample invoice, please go to:

http://www.iinet.com/demo/

Thank you for your attention and business,

Infinity Internet Client Services
feedback at iinet.com

Spam Filtering

We are pleased to announce that we have recently installed two new spam (junk mail) filters. The first filter is called Spam Assassin, which scans the e-mail just before it is sent to you. It maintains a scoring system for various content in the messages that it is scanning. If the software records too many points or hits the message will be discarded and not delivered to your mailbox.  For more information on Spam Assassin, please go to: http://www.spamassassin.org

The second filter allows you to setup different criteria such as certain types of message attachments. Viruses for example typically are specific file types, which the filter will detect and try to prevent from getting to your mail box. We have installed several different filtering rules as examples for you to use.

Both of these filters are off by default for all of our accounts. If you would like to enable mail filtering you can activate it at https://console.iinet.com

Updated "Links" Pages on the www.iinet.com Web Site!

We've updated our "Links" section on the web site.  The new pages have an updated look.  We hope to add a few more links to the pages.  To see the new look, please go to: http://www.iinet.com/links/

Save More Dough 

Spread The Word With Our Referral Plan!

And reap the benefits with our Friends and Family referral plan! Most of us already tell others who our Internet provider is, so why not get some credit for it?  With our Friends and Family Referral Program you can get credit on your account for referring people that sign up for our services.   So tell the people you know and see the savings!

Take at a look at http://www.iinet.com/services/referral for more details! 

For more information, please contact one of our Client Services Specialists at: 

·	1-800-211-2772
·	billing at iinet.com 

What To Do Prior to Calling Client Services For Technical Support

In order for us to be able to better help you with our Technical Support, please be sure to do a couple of things that will help us get your issue resolved.  These are:

1.	Please be in front of your computer with it turned on.  If you have more than one phone line in the house, please be sure you are calling in on the one NOT in use by your computer.

2.	Also, if you have your account number with us handy, that would be very helpful.  This number is located in the upper right hand corner of your invoice.

3.	If you are getting an error message, please have it either up on your screen or written down when you call so you can read it to the technician.  Many error messages are very similar and having the exact message is often times important.

These steps will help us trouble shoot any difficulties you're having to a large extent.

Tech Tip of the Month  - Inoculate Your PC Today

Are you concerned about all the viruses floating around the Internet? Have you already been the victim of one, spending hours and sometimes hard cash, to retrieve important information and/or rebuild your entire system? Worried that an unscrupulous hacker is using your pc as a base for spamming hundreds of your fellow computer users? Give your pc a fighting chance to survive by using one or more of the methods outlined in this article.

How do viruses travel from pc to pc, ending up on yours? Many arrive in your Inbox as email messages with attachments. How can you tell the difference between an attachment containing pictures of your grandkids and one containing a virus? And who has the time to sit around figuring that out? Here are three simple ways to avoid this method of virus transfer that you can put into practice right away:

1.	Check your email application options and turn on scanning and virus protection. Many current email applications allow users to select options that scan email attachments as they arrive in your Inbox or as you attempt to open the file. 
2.	Check your email settings to be sure that the option to automatically open attachments is turned off.
3.	Delete email with unfamiliar addresses or attached files that you have not requested.

The Internet is filled with sites that encourage you to download their version of solitaire, add buttons to your toolbars or add a flashy bowling game selling their product to your pc's hard drive. Many of these are harmless and fun. Some are not. A virus can be downloaded as part of a program from the Internet, transferred from a floppy disk or CD ROM, or sent in through a break in your operating systems security checks. To guard against these methods of infection, first, practice discretion in your selection of files or programs to download or copy onto your pc. Second, purchase and install anti-virus software. This enables you to easily scan files for viruses before downloading or copying them. Anti-virus software companies provide automatic updates to keep your pc ahead of the latest marauding virus. 

The most robust protection for your pc is to combine the suggestions given above along with a hardware firewall or a router that can function as a firewall. The firewall is a barrier between your pc and viruses and hackers - quashing many hacker attacks and viruses from ever reaching your pc. Software firewalls are also available but are much less effective. The barrier between your pc and the outside world is more flexible and easier to break through since the information must reach your pc before it can be filtered and stopped.

In conclusion, a review of the methods available to "inoculate" your pc:

·	Monitor incoming email attachments, turn off auto opening, and delete unfamiliar addresses or unexpected attachments.
·	Use anti-virus software and scan all files before installing or opening.
·	Use a hardware or software firewall.

Remember that if you have any questions you can chat, or email our technical support staff here at Infinity Internet. 

Email: support at iinet.com
Chat: Go to www.iinet.com and click on the Technical Support Live Chat link.
Help Pages: Go to www.help.iinet.com

Help Pages - Take A Look & Let Us Know What You Think!

We are happy to announce that our new Help Site is ready.

The new site can be viewed at: http://help.iinet.com. 

The new help site is set up in a manner that is intended to provide you with quick access to any question you might have.  If you are unable to find the information you are searching for we would like to hear from you.  If you feel that you have information to contribute to the site, that is also something we would enjoy hearing about.  Questions, comments and suggestions are all welcome.  

We look forward to your feedback on the site.  To help us gather feedback, feel free to fill out a survey at the bottom of the first page of the site.  Alternatively, you can email your ideas to us at: support at iinet.com. 

Internet Smarts 

Shutdown

If you are having any difficulties getting a connection to us, we would suggest doing a full shutdown and restart of your system. This usually solves a lot of the issues that can give you connection difficulties. On Windows systems, this can be done by going to the start menu and selecting the shutdown option. Then, select shutdown from the list of available options and click the "OK" button. On a Macintosh, you will want to go to the special menu at the top of your screen and then select the shutdown option. This simple step can help your connection ability a lot more then you may think. 

Update Your Modem Driver

One other thing that we can suggest that can have large effect on your ability to successfully connect to us is your modem driver. We cannot recommend enough making sure you have the most up-to-date drivers for your modem. You can usually find what modem drivers are the latest for your system by going to one of the following sites that provide links to many different modem manufacturer's sites.

	http://www.drivershq.com/Main.asp 
	http://www.download.com 
	http://www.driverguide.com

Another place you check for information about your modem drivers is either the modem manufacturer or in some circumstances, your computer manufacturer. Even if your computer is brand new occasionally new drivers are available for the modem. It's usually a good idea to check just to be sure. 

If you have any questions regarding these suggestions, please feel free to give us a call at 1-800-689-4303. Our technical support team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Dialup List

All of our dialup numbers are listed at: http://www.iinet.com/dialup/

Contact Us

We are available to assist you with your needs at any time of the day or night. 

Voice: 

·	Sales - (800) 469-1424

·	Billing Support - (800) 211-2772

·	Technical Support  - (800) 689-4303

·	Business Support  - (800) 291-0682

Via e-mail: 

	For Technical Support: support at iinet.com 

	For Billing Support: billing at iinet.com

	To Signup for a new account:  sales at iinet.com

Via Mail:

	Infinity Internet
	PO Box 872890
	Vancouver, WA
	98687-2890

Via Fax:

	Client Services:  360-816-9017
	Administrative:  360-254-3898

Cancel Subscription

While we hope you like hearing what we are doing we completely understand if you do not want to hear from us each month. You can change this yourself by going to the following URL. 

http://console.pacifier.com/mailman/listinfo/iinet-newsletter 

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