[Iinet-newsletter] Infinity Internet - January 2004 Newsletter

Wed Jan 7 11:51:27 PST 2004

Best wishes to you and your families for the new year.

Features
     New T1 Installs First Month Free - Promo Code NL0104!
     Popup Blocker!
     UserConsole's New Tool - Overage Notification!
     Anti-Spam Program - Excerpt from December 17, 2003 KOIN 6 TV News Interview!
     Spam Filtering - Custom Rules!

In Every Issue
     Save More Dough
        -  Spread The Word With Our Referral Program
     Tech Tip of the Month
        -  Using Infinity Internet's Help Pages

The Basics
     Dialup List
     Contact Us
     Cancel Subscription

New T1 Installs First Month Free!

For the month of January 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 enjoy this savings, please quote the promo code NL0104.  To inquire about T1 service in California please call 800-706-3896 in Washington or Oregon call 800-469-1424.

Popup Blocker!

At Infinity Internet, we are always searching for new ways to make our client's online experience more enjoyable.  Infinity Internet is thrilled to offer a FREE popup blocker to our valued customers.  The IINet Popup Blocker is now available on line.

How To Install the Free Popup Blocker:

The download of the IINet Popup Blocker can be found at:

http://help.iinet.com/popup-blocker.php

We also have some FAQ's for you on the Popup Blocker.  Our FAQ's on this new product can be found at:

http://help.iinet.com/faq.php click on the text link "IINet Popup Blocker" in the "Browsing the Web FAQ" section.

Mac and Netscape Users:

Our introduction of popup blocking software has been received very well. We realize that not everyone uses a windows PC and runs Internet Explorer, so for our customers using Macs, or those using Netscape, we would suggest giving Mozilla ( http://www.mozilla.org) a try. It contains popup-blocking software, and is fast, reliable, and flexible.

UserConsole's New Tool - Overage Notification!

The UserConsole account manager has been updated with an easier to use menu and now, a new feature. We now offer an Overage Notification tool (on the drop down list under "Billing Tools").  You can select various notification thresholds on your account.  For example, you can choose to be emailed when you reach 40 hours on your account or if you are a DSL user, you can choose to be emailed when you have transferred 1GB on your account.  As always, the UserConsole allows you to view/change your billing information, make a payment online, change your password, configure e-mail filtering and much, much more! You can access our UserConsole by going to https://console.iinet.com/, or by clicking the "My Account" button at the top of every www.iinet.com page!

Anti-Spam Program - Excerpt from December 17, 2003 KOIN 6 TV News Interview!

On December 17, 2003 KOIN 6 TV of Portland Oregon aired a program on how to combat Spam.  Gene Greer of KOIN 6 TV, interviewed Infinity Internet's very own Doug Palin.  What follows are a few excerpts from that program, and some interesting advice on how to combat Spam!

The Spam epidemic isn't just affecting E-mail users.  The people who provide those services are being hit on the bottom line.

Infinity Internet - one of the biggest Northwest Internet service providers is also registered on the Washington state Anti-spam Registry.  This is a system very similar to the one planned under the new Federal Anti-spam Law, and it hasn't proven particularly effective.

The registry relies upon spammers to stop sending to the people on it (the registry).  But, it (registry) doesn't automatically block them (spammers).

It doesn't mean you are helpless.  In fact, there are several layers of defense service providers use.  The first one, is filtering 90% of the mail before you ever see it.  The trouble is, the remaining 10% can be overwhelming.  So, the second line of defense comes from online anti-spam tools.  You can find links to them on your service provider's home page.  (For Infinity Internet customers, this would be SpamAssassin - go to https://console.iinet.com and after logging in click on Manage Email Filters).

SpamAssassin is pretty effective.  It resides on your provider's server, so there is nothing to download.  You pick keywords that you do not want to get.  Then you decide whether to mark the mail as Spam and it will be deleted before you ever see it.

There is also free anti-spam software out there to download on to your computer.  Mailwasher ( http://www.mailwasher.net) is one of them.

So to summarize, your Spam Defense is:

1.  Behind the Scenes - Infinity Internet filters out 90% of the spam before you ever see it.

2.  Infinity Internet Online Tools - SpamAssassin.  You can set your own filter levels (the next article - Spam Filtering - Custom Rules - describes how to use SpamAssassin).

3.  Downloadable Tools - Mailwasher ( http://www.mailwasher.net)!

4.  Extra E-mail Account - Have an account for online shopping etc. and a personal account.  If you use the first account for anything you submit online, then a majority of your Spam should end up there.  Doing that will free up your personal account.

5.  Treat your e-mail account as your own mailing address.  Hand it out only to those you know.

Spam Filtering - Custom Rules!

We have installed two Spam (junk mail) filters - SpamAssassin and Spam Filtering.  These should not be confused with Bess, a product that we also offer should you wish to ensure your computer has Adult filtering for Web access.

The first filter - called SpamAssassin, scans the e-mail just before it is deposited in your e-mail account. 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.  

To configure SpamAssassin: 

Go to https://console.iinet.com and after logging in click on Manage Email Filters. 

   . First you have to enable SpamAssassin  
   . Then click on the link to set options ("Click Here to set SpamAssassin Options") 
   . SpamAssassin has different filtering levels

low (20.0)
medium (10.0)
aggressive (5.0)
custom 

Note: the custom level is the only one you can change for specific types of filtering. But if you want to create filters it is best to use Spam Filtering.

For more information on Spam Assassin, please go to: http://www.spamassassin.org 

Spam Filtering allows you to set up 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 mailbox. We have installed several different filtering rules as examples for you to use.

To set up custom rules for Spam Filtering: 

Log into UserConsole at https://console.iinet.com, and click on "Manage Email Filters". The Email filter needs to be enabled. 

1. Click on "Click Here to Edit Filtering Rules". 
2. Click on "Add a Custom Rule".
3. Name: This is the name for the custom filter. 
4. Description: This is a short description, can be the same as your name for the filter. 
5. Condition field: this is the field that the filter will check.

Sender 
Subject 
Body 
Recipient 

6. Condition Value: This is any text that you want to find in the field just selected. 
7. Action: This is what you want done with the email that has the value selected. 
8. Forward to: This is an optional, but if you want to forward the Spam to some other email address you can. 

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

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

Tech Tip of the Month  - Using Infinity's Help Pages

When you are having difficulties with the Internet may we suggest that you try using our help pages. They can be very useful for walking you through system configurations and basic troubleshooting.  You can find the help pages by going to http://help.iinet.com.  This website should have most of the information you would need to resolve an issue. 

In order to make the best use of this site, we recommend that you select the operating system your computer is using from the list.  We have information for a wide variety of systems including console systems (Playstation 2 and Xbox).  Once you have found your operating system, select the link that best describes the issue you are experiencing. The pages that load should have a combination of pictures and/or text that can help you find a solution to the issue you are having.  The help site pages can also serve as a useful tool while speaking with a technician via our online chat or telephone.  

The help site also contain links to software you can download.  We offer links to web browsers, email programs, anti-virus software and chat utilities. These downloads can help improve your Internet experience.  The links also go to a few download directories that have a very large selection of software.

Our help site also has a large number of general FAQ's.  Anything from suggestions on creating your website, fighting Spam, or making your connection more secure. The FAQ's also include how to submit your web site to search engines and how to add scripts.

If you have questions about using any of the features of our help site please feel free to contact us in one of the following ways:

Email: support at iinet.com
Chat: http://www.iinet.com click the link for tech chat in the left hand column
Phone: 1-800-689-4303

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

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http://mailman.pacifier.net/mailman/listinfo/iinet-newsletter

Possibly you want the newsletter to go to a different address? Please only subscribe yourself not your friends.

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