Hartelco - Hartington Telecommunications Hartel Hartington, Nebraska, Telephone, Internet, Television

Internet Tips

Tips to Keep Your Computer Running Smoothly!!
Spyware and Pop-Up Ad Problems?
Email Account Size Limit
Help Desk Information

Tips To Keep Your Computer Running Smoothly!!

Keep your data safe and your computer system running smoothly with the following tips and advice!

#1 suggestion would be to get SecureIT Plus. However if you want to spend your own time and provide prevention manually, just follow the suggestions below.

* Make sure you have an Anti-Virus program with up-to-date virus definitions. A virus can cause untold damage to your data and system files. We see a lot of infected computers with anti-virus software installed, but the definitions were never updated! Update your definitions at least weekly.

* Be sure your computer is plugged into a surge protector -- not just a power strip! A nearby lightning strike or a regular power surge can destroy your system.

* Take the time to make backups of all your important data. You'd be surprised at how many failed hard drives we see... and the data is lost.

* Consider purchasing a system "tune-up" utility such as Norton's Systemworks.

* And of course, don't open any email attachments that you are not expecting or you are not 100% sure that the attachment came from a legitimate source (friend, relative, or business associate). Email viruses many times may come from an acquaintance, and were actually sent from the infected computer without the person's knowledge. Hartel offers Postini, a highly-rated virus and spam (unwanted email solicitations) filter. Postini is many customers' first line of defense against viruses and spam. Contact us for more information about Postini.

EVERY WEEK:

(Many of the tips below can be done automatically by subscribing to SecureIT Plus. Click here for more info.)
1. Keep Your Windows Operating System Updated. Open Internet Explorer, go to Tools, and Windows Update. Scan for and download any critical updates to your Windows operating system. These will help keep your system tuned, and also help prevent attacks from hackers on your computer.

2. Update Virus Definitions. To update, you must be connected to the Internet. If you are using Norton Anti-Virus, open the program and click "Live Update". Other anti-virus programs have a similar update feature.

3. Run a Full System Virus Scan. Be sure you've updated your virus definitions before you complete this step. If you are using Norton Anti-Virus, open the program and click "Full System Scan". Then click the "Scan Now" button. Other anti-virus programs have a similar scanning feature.

4. Back Up Your Important Data. In order to do this, you must have some kind of backup device, such as a CD burner, Zip drive, second hard drive, or a network connection to another computer. Floppy disks do not have enough capacity to backup large files. In Windows, use the Backup program. Select Start> Programs> Accessories> System Tools> Backup.

5. Run Scandisk Standard. Scan disk will check your hard drive for errors in your directory structure. In Windows, open My Computer> Right Click on your hard drive (usually the C: drive) > Select Properties from the drop down menu > Select the Tools tab > Select Check Now.

6. Install a Firewall If You Have DSL or an "always-on" connection to the Internet. A firewall will protect your computer from being seen by hackers, and may also prevent spyware from using your computer to access the Internet without your knowledge. A free firewall that we recommend is Zone Alarm. Click here to download Zone Alarm. Be sure to read any tutorials for proper use.

7. Use One or More Spyware Detection Programs. See the large section below on spyware, its cause, and the effects of having spyware on your computer.

EVERY MONTH:

1. Run Disk Defragmenter. Disk defragmenter puts all your data on your hard drive in sequential order, and should result in your computer finding the data on your hard drive faster. In Windows, open My Computer> Right Click on your hard drive (usually the C: drive) > Select Properties from the drop down menu > Select the Tools tab > Select Defragment Now.

2. Run Scandisk Thorough. Scan disk thorough will check your hard drive for errors in your directory structure and check for bad sectors and physical damage to the disk itself. In Windows, open My Computer > Right Click on your hard drive (usually the C: drive) > Select Properties from the drop down menu > Select the Tools tab > Select Check Now.

3. Run Disk Cleanup. This program gets rid of all unnecessary files building on your computer. In Windows, select Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Cleanup.

It is Hartel's goal to provide the most reliable and secure Internet service possible. We hope that you will find this information useful, and as always, we thank you for your business.

Spyware and Pop-Up Ad Problems?

Although it is possible for a Web site to download spyware to your system, it is very unusual. The ads probably are coming from spyware that you inadvertently downloaded . These programs report your browsing interests to a computer on the Internet. That computer then downloads ads based on those interests. Supposedly, they are things you will want to see.

Spyware often is downloaded as part of the package accompanying another program. Free programs especially are likely to include spyware. They help pay the bills for the programmer.

You'll often get a message that says something like, "Do you want to download (name of program)." These programs usually offer some kind of Internet search capability, or perhaps changes to your browser. But their main goal is to spy on you or to route you to their advertisers.

When you get one of these messages, stop and think. What does the program do? Can your browser already do this? Is this new functionality worthwhile?

In all likelihood, the program offers you next to nothing. In some cases, there is no explanation. I treat these things as I do door-to- door salesmen and telemarketers: I just say no.

Before you download a program, check it in the database at SpyChecker (http://www.spycheck.com). This database will tell you if spyware is included in the package.

There are many spyware programs on the Internet, and these programs should not hurt your computer. But they are obviously irritating. The best way to eradicate them is through a spyware scanning program, such as Ad-aware (http://www.lavasoftusa.com) and Spybot Search and Destroy (http://security.kolla.de).

There are numerous programs that will prevent spyware from installing on your system. Here are links to information and some programs:
http://www.spywareinfo.com/hijacked.html
http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html
http://www.wilderssecurity.net/bhblaster.html
http://www.wilderssecurity.net/wmpscriptingfix.html

Some websites have all sorts of pop-up ads. Another free program that will prevent you from seeing all these annoying ads is Pop-Up Stopper (http://www.panicware.com/). It's relatively simple and a small file to download.

Also for a free firewall, download and install Zone Alarm (free from Zone Labs). This will help keep hackers from detecting your PC if you have DSL.

Email Size Limit (eff Febr 2010)

Each HARTEL.NET email account is allowed up to 100Mb of disk space on our servers. This is a very generous limit and should easily meet your needs. To check how much space your email account is using click here.

If the 100Mb file space is exceeded, a $5/month fee will be automatically assessed for each additional 50Mb of space used above the initial 100Mb allotted to each customer's email. Again, this is only the amount of space used to store email in each customer's webmail account each month, and NOT the amount of email that is downloaded to your computer. You may download unlimited amounts of email.

Some email software have settings that keep a copy of all emails on our Hartel.net email server AFTER you've already downloaded them to your computer. This is also a way to protect and save emails that contain pictures and save documents with attachments in case of troubles with your home or business computer. Some customers use this file space as storage, which is fine as long as the intent is to use the space in excess of 100Mb as storage and prompt payment is received.

If you’re mailbox is approaching the 100Mb limit, it potentially can cause your email downloading to become very slow or not work at all. In our experience, when mailboxes become this large it typically indicates one of these possible causes:- The mailbox (email account) has been abandoned and is no longer being checked or used.- Your computer’s email program is accidentally set to “leave mail on server”. To check if this is the case, within your Outlook Express Email program choose: