Midcoast Internet Newsletter - IMPORTANT!

0. Technical Updates
1. Phony mail from MIS containing attachments
2. New DSL coverage in Verizon areas!
3. Getting rid of pop-ups
4. New domain name email only service
5. Now more web-space
6. Referral contest
7. New TV commercial
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0. Technical Updates

If you use a Linksys firewall device for your high speed Internet 
connection, it may be due for a security update. If MIS provided the 
Linksys, send a note to help@midcoast.com and we'll update it as part 
of our service to our customers. If someone else installed the Linksys, 
they (or you) will have to update it. Information about the security 
problem and update is here:   http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=16416

MIS quietly celebrates nine years of service to Mid Coast Maine this
month. No special events are planned. We will just keep working hard
for you.

During the next week, lincoln.midcoast.com, kona.midcoast.com
and free.midcoast.com email addresses will be receiving upgrades for 
better spam and virus protection. This will permit those email boxes 
to have the sames features as midcoast.com boxes. We now check every incoming 
midcoast.com email for almost 22,000 viruses!


1. Phony mail from MIS containing attachments
Recently, some emails have been circulating claiming to be from 
"staff@midcoast.com" or "administrator@midcoast.com," or some other 
general sounding email address. The bodies of the email usually claim 
that your machine is sending spam email, or that your email address is 
going to be shut down for maintenance. Included in the email is an 
attachment which you are supposed to run to correct the problem. The 
attachment even comes with a "password," making it seem legit. IT IS 
NOT! This is a virus, and it randomly selects domain names from the 
Internet, and then fills in a general address in the front--like staff@, 
administrator@, abuse@, etc. If you were to get an email from 
staff@generalmotors.com saying your email was going to stop working, and 
to run the enclosed attachment, you probably wouldn't. But when it comes 
from an @midcoast.com address, it seems so much more plausible. And 
that's what makes it so dangerous. Midcoast Internet will not send you 
email with an attachment.  And while we do have some catch-all type 
addresses (like help@midcoast.com), we always put a three digit 
extension to a real human's phone in the closing. So if you don't see a 
closing signature tag, and a three digit phone extension on the end, 
then you can be sure it didn't originate from us.

2. New Residential DSL coverage in Verizon areas 
Midcoast Internet is pleased to announce the availability of DSL in the 
Verizon calling area in certain locations. To qualify for this service, 
you must have 1) a residential line, and 2) have Verizon as your local 
phone service carrier. Service is also limited by location. We are now 
offering DSL to most major locations in Maine: Rockland/Camden, Belfast, 
Augusta, Portland, Bangor, Bath/Brunswick, Lewiston, etc. But true to our 
Maine roots, we're also providing DSL to smaller areas too. The cost is 
$34.95 per month. You'll easily get speeds 10 times faster than dial-up. 
Some of our employees are reporting speeds almost 40 times faster in testing! 
(Speed will vary with line conditions, distance from phone company
switch, and general Internet traffic.) We'll also give you 4 email
boxes, 20 megs worth of web-server space, and, unlike most DSL
providers, a back-up dial-up account in case something goes wrong.

Some of you may realize that we already offer DSL in the Tidewater 
Telecom area. There are differences between the two services. Price is 
probably the first thing most people will notice. Why is DSL in Verizon 
areas $34.95, but in Tidewater areas $59.95? Part of the costs involved 
in providing DSL service is the cost of a DSL capable line. In rural 
areas, those lines are more expensive, there are fewer economies of scale,
and bringing bandwidth to rural areas is more expensive. So, providing 
DSL in those areas is naturally more expensive. Second, the two DSL systems 
in question are technically very different. DSL in the Tidewater area is 
XDSL. It uploads just as fast as it downloads and provides service at 
longer distances. In the Verizon area, you'll get ADSL, or asymmetric 
DSL. ADSL downloads faster than it uploads. The Tidewater area also doesn't 
differentiate between businesses and residences. Verizon does. DSL to a 
business line in Verizon areas is more expensive than the residential rate
and more expensive than wireless. We're planning on adding business class 
DSL in the Verizon area, but that's down the road a bit. For businesses 
in the Verizon areas and for rural use, high speed wireless continues to 
be an economical and reliable choice.

Have more questions? We're here to answer them for you. Just give either 
of our offices a call.

3. Getting rid of pop-ups 
One of the more annoying things on the Internet are those dag-burned 
pop-up windows. How can you stop them? Pop up windows are usually caused 
by software we call "spyware." Spyware is software that you unknowingly 
install on your computer. It keeps track of websites you visit, and then 
reports back to the "mother ship." So if you visit a lot of real estate 
sites, this "mother ship" company knows about it, and so you'll get 
pop-up ads related to mortgages. Spyware is getting to be as big a problem
as viruses.

How do you unknowingly install this garbage? A lot of free programs on 
the Internet pay for their products by including spyware in the software 
bundle. You click the "I Agree" button without reading the terms (it's 
ok, we all do it!), and those terms say "in order to make this software 
free, we're including this other software as well." Software like Bonzai 
Buddy, or some temperature gizmo that runs in your taskbar. How about 
the smiley toolbar for Outlook Express, or the skin-able toolbar for 
Internet Explorer? They contain pop-up causing spyware too. 

Spyware also slows down your internet connection just like viruses
will do! 

So how do you get rid of it? First, consider not using software that 
isn't really necessary. The little flag that waves down by your 
clock--patriotic yes, useful, no. And it probably came bundled with 
spyware. Weather Buddy: probably that information is easily available 
from a number of weather web sites. Why use spyware infested software? 
Also consider running an anti-spyware program. Ad Aware is free, and 
will scan your computer for spyware, much like an antivirus program 
looks for viruses. It will then help you safely delete spyware programs. 
If you are not comfortable installing software for cleaning up your
computer, most computer repair shops are very familiar with this task
and report spyware and virus cleansing as some of their most common services.
Some web browsers like Mozilla and newer versions of Netscape have 
pop-up blocking features built in. Also, the Google search-bar for 
Internet Explorer has pop-up blocking features too.

4. New domain name email only service
Midcoast Internet now offers a domain-name email only plan. Some 
business would like to have email address with their business name, but 
don't want a full website. Some individuals might also like an email 
address that would follow them regardless of their Internet provider 
(like john@smithfamily.com). Midcoast now offers a service where you can 
have your own domain name email. For $10 per month, you can have five 
email addresses with your own domain name at the end. Domain name 
registration, which MIS will handle for your convenience, is required 
($20/year) as is a one-time set-up fee ($20). 
Call Domain Manager Jim Thompson at extension 102 for more info.

5. Now more web space
More, more, more. How do you like it? We just keep adding to the 
services we provide you with, and yet we haven't had a price increase 
since we started in 1995. Now, basic services (dial-up, DSL, and 
wireless) get 20 megs of server space instead of 10. That means more web 
pages for you to build, if you want. It means your mailbox will hold 
more. And since we increased that, we also increased the amount of 
storage in our Domain Basic web hosting package. That now gets 40 megs 
of space instead of 30. All at no extra charge. Now that's something to 
like!

6. Referral contest
Congratulations to Ken Perley of New Harbor. Ken won our referral 
contest for April, and has won a $20 gift certificate to Second Read 
Books and Coffee. Congrats Ken! May's winner was Mary Farrell. We gave 
Mary an unclaimed prize from several months ago. This month, we've got 
something a little unusual. Ben Cameron from Abacus Computers 
(http://www.abacustek.com/) is giving away two hours in his Internet 
cafe. Use the time to check email. Or, using their broadband connection, 
download some of those large files you've been waiting for. Or try this 
super-hip idea: take your camcorder in with you, and some photos and 
stuff, and use their video production machine to make and burn your own 
DVD! Cool, huh?

7. New TV commercial
As reported in our last newsletter, we were working on a new "Minority 
Report" themed TV commercial. It's now on the air in the Rockland area, 
and will be running soon in Damariscotta, Wiscassett, Bath, Brunswick, 
and Boothbay Harbor. Be sure to watch as Tom Cruise look-alike Barry 
pulls Midcoast Internet info from mid-air! We're very happy with the 
results producer Bill Harpin gave us.