CST.net Misc Questions

Miscellaneous Questions

How can I protect my computer from viruses?
A computer virus is a set of unwanted instructions that are executed on your computer resulting in a variety of effects. Viruses can be rather docile, such as simply annoying the user with a sound. Viruses can also be extremely destructive, such as erasing an entire hard drive! You can only get a virus by executing (running or opening) an infected program or by booting from an infected disk.
You can't get the virus by just being online for by calling another computer or reading your e-mail. You have to download a file and then open/execute/run it.

Why Do People Create Computer Viruses?
Viruses are made for a variety of reasons. Some viruses have been created by disgruntled employees that want revenge on a company's product. Others are created to destructively celebrate certain holidays and raise the voice of certain religious and governmental fanatics. Some programmers create what is called a "signature," where special effects take place when certain key sequences or commands are issued. And many of the viruses are created by hackers that "just wanted to see if they could do it." Sadly, those that create viruses for the challenge are misdirected individuals making poor use of their skills.
A lot of "viruses" are actually bugs in a program. When a programmer creates a new program they sometimes overlook problems, or bugs, in the script(s). These scripts often result in undesired instructions and effects. Good programmers do a thorough check of their work prior to releasing it to the public. Most of the "bug" viruses are not destructive and are usually accurately referred to as "bugs" rather than viruses.
You should already be practicing safe computering by not inserting program disks into your floppy drive if you do not know where they came from. And, do not execute any programs that you did not install yourself.
There are numerous anti-virus programs on the market that you should be using to help protect your computer from most known computer virii. Here are some links to the largest virus protection companies on the web:
Norton AntiVirus
McAffee
Dr. Solomon
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How can I use the Internet as a telephone?
Internet telephony has come a long way from the early days of the Internet. Now two very good, reliable choices that are both totally free and can make local and long distance calls to regular telephones are Dialpad and Phonefree.
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My Netscape keeps locking up on my computer. What should I do?
Netscape has a known problem with certain video boards. See Netscape for more info. Also you may benefit from tweaking your packet size setting. Look at the FAQ on MTU and its setting for more info. Also, always look in the file netscape.ini, contained in your Netscape directory. It has some settings to help you solve this problem. If nothing else works, download internet explorer free from Microsoft and try it. It seems less crash prone at this time than Netscape.
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My connection keeps getting dropped. Is there a way to fix this?
If you are getting dropped connections here are a couple of things you might try...

Call the telephone company and asked that line conditioning be put on your line. Tell them you are having trouble with modem and fax connections.
Look up a good modem initialization string for your modem.
Check all of your Cyberstation Settings
If using Win9x Check your Win9x Settings If you still have this problem, please email to help@cyberstation.net

How can I access my AOL account through Cyberstation?
It is possible, and actually quite easy, to connect to America Online from Cyberstation. Since AOL is on the Internet you can use your internet access to connect to them and not use their dialup connection. You will still want to install and use their software as it is designed for use with their services, but do not install the modem software. Just follow these steps:

Establish a PPP connection to Cyberstation.
Minimize the Cyberstation Home Page.
Start AOL.
Click on SETUP on the AOL Sign on screen.
Click on Edit Location.
Select TCP/IP in the network drop-down box.
Click on OK to save this information.
Click OK to return to Sign on screen.
Sign in to AOL using TCP/IP.
Have a nice time, but don't forget where you live! :)

Where can I find a safe place for my children to surf the Internet?
Cyberstation is proud to offer Kid station as a safe haven for the little ones. Parents can rest assured that when their children are using Kid station they will be participating in good wholesome entertainment geared toward fun and education. In addition Parents may want to take a look at Surf watch. This fine product gives parents the tools to monitor and limit the type if information their children can access on the Internet.
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What is PointCast and how can I get it?
PointCast is the Internet News Network that runs like a screen saver on your computer. It is customizable so you can keep track of the news that is of interest to you. PointCast broadcasts national and international news, stock information, industry updates, weather from around the globe, sports scores and more from sources like Time, People and Money Magazines, Reuters, PR Newswire, Business Wire, Sports ticker, Accuweather and coming soon CNN! Even your local newspaper will be on PointCast--LA Times, New York Times, Boston Globe, San Jose Mercury News and more. PointCast is Advertiser supported, the PointCast Network is completely FREE. No subscriptions. No purchase price.
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How do I access the newsgroups?
There are many clients that offer access to newsgroups. Two of the most popular are Free Agent and Netscape News (released with Netscape 2.x and above). Cyberstation's ftp site has several newsgroup clients available for download.
To access the newsgroups through Free Agent, you'll just need to plug in the correct settings upon startup (if it's the first time you've run the program). The three settings you'll need are the NNTP Server, 'news.cyberstation.net', the SMTP Server, 'mail.cyberstation.net', and finally, your e-mail address, 'yourname@cyberstation.net'. After you press 'OK', Free Agent should prompt you to download the list of newsgroups. If you need to confirm your settings, you can click on 'Options' and 'Preferences'. Check the 'System Profile' tab to make sure that the NNTP server (News Server) is set to 'news.cyberstation.net'.
To access the newsgroups with Netscape, you'll first have to check to make sure the settings are correct. Under 'Options', click on 'Mail and News Preferences'. Click on the third (3rd) tab at the top (labeled 'Servers'). Close to the bottom there should be a field labeled 'News Server (NNTP)' -- make sure that 'news.cyberstation.net' is entered there. Now, click 'OK' to leave the configuration. Once you're back to Netscape, click on 'Window' and 'Netscape News'. You'll be presented with a window similar to Netscape Mail. Click the appropriate button in the top right corner to maximize the window. If you're using Netscape News for the first time, you'll need to download the latest list of newsgroups. To do this, click the right mouse button on the news host folder (it should say 'news.cyberstation.net' beside it). A menu should pop up -- in it, click on 'Show all newsgroups'. It will query you to download. Click on 'Yes' and you'll be set to go! From here, just click on the newsgroup (in the left window) you're interested in, click on the messages (in the right window), and read the text (bottom window). Back to top

Where can I get Internet software for Windows?
Here are several Resources for this:
Cyberstation has local ftp archives available to the public with a variety of Windows applications. Go to ftp.cyberstation.net
Winternet.com keeps a handy mirror of the ftp.cica.indiana.edu Winsite - a large set of winsock apps. Go to ftp.winternet.com
The Consummate Winsock Apps list is Considered the premier site for Windows TCP/IP applications. Windows95 users will find the latest internet utilities at Windows95 Info & Shareware
Another excellent site with a very fast connection and extremely reliable downloads, not to mention a huge file archive is C|Net's Download.com Go to www.download.com
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CST.net Misc Questions

Miscellaneous Questions

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