How do I check my Internet usage?

The Account Manager can provide usage information online for all of your accounts. You can view a summary for each internet service or get a detailed view of log out dates, time and session duration for the last 30 days. To check the Account Manager click on the Console login located at the top of the browser. Enter your username and password and press the "Log In" button. The options are:
Services - Display a list of your internet services with Ace.
View Service - Display usage information for each service.
Change Password - Change your Account Manager password.
Log Out - click this to close your Account Manager session.

How can I check my e-mail while I'm travelling or away from my computer?

Coolmail is a fully featured web based e-mail program that enables you to view your e-mail from any internet connected computer anywhere in the world. Coolmail enables you to view and respond to your e-mail directly from the Ace mail server without having to download to Outlook Express or similar. It even has an address book and task manager. To check the your WebMail, click on the Console Login located at the top of the browser. A web page with the Coolmail login fields will slide down. Enter your username and password and press the "Log In" button to access your e-mail.

What is offered with the Ace free technical support?

Ace offers extensive free technical support for issues affecting the smooth running of your Internet connection and related software. For example, we will address problems caused by poor telephone line quality and recommend further action if required. We'll also help you use Coolmail. If you're in doubt on any issue give us a call (02 4861 8888) or e-mail us at support@acenet.com.au. Issues that go beyond technical support for an Ace service and enter technician work may incur a minimal service fee of $38.50 per 15 minutes. These include but are not limited by:
* Reinstallation/Upgrade Internet Explorer/Outlook Express/Windows Mail
* Reinstallation/Upgrade Dial-Up Networking (Win 9x)
* Internet Software customisation (eg creating extra Outlook Express/Windows Mail Identities)
* Backup of e-mail, favourites and bookmarks, address books and contacts

These and other services are offered at a greatly discounted rates to the members of Ace Internet Services at the discretion of the technical support staff.

How do I upload webpages to the Acenet web server?

Acenet provides all standard accounts with 5Mbytes of free space on the web server to upload web pages to. You can create web pages and display them for the whole world to see. The web address to view your webpage is www.acenet.com.au/~username, substitute your username. If you are web hosting a domain name with Acenet you also get space on the web server. If you have FTP software and you know what you are doing then use the following settings:
Host Server: ftp.acenet.com.au
Port: 21 (most FTP software has this set by default)
Other settings: use defaults
Username: Use the short format of your username, not username@acenet.com.au. Hosting customers are usually issued with separate usernames.
Password: same as your dial-up and mail account password.

You need to make sure your front page is called index.htm or index.html and that it is uploaded to the public_html folder on the web server. If you are hosting a domain name with webpages then your username and password will be issued to you. If you do not have FTP software you can download a free copy of Core FTP Lite from the Download.com website. It's just as good as CuteFTP but has the added attraction of being free of charge. You can read about Core FTP at the Core FTP website.

I have received a message from Postmaster with a virus warning - what should I do?

Have close look at the message from the Postmaster. Is it telling you that you actually have a virus or that a virus has been blocked from getting to you? Chances are high that an infected e-mail has been blocked from reaching you so you need do nothing. The Postmaster will have sent an e-mail to the sender letting them know they have a virus. Be aware though that some viruses forge the from address in the e-mail so the actual sender may be someone else!

If the Postmaster has told you that you do have a virus then you will need to scan your computer for viruses and take steps to have them removed. You may need to engage the services of a technician.

Please be aware that even though we scan your e-mail for viruses they can come to you by other means. Also, there is a time lag between the detection of a new virus and the creation of the means to detect it, so it is possible for a virus to come in "under the radar", as it were. For these reasons we strongly suggest that you keep your anti-virus software up to date. If you do not have anti-virus software then you can order one from Ace. We recommend McAfee products. You can find out more about McAfee products by calling us on 02 48618888.

I keep forgetting that I'm logged into the Internet and walk away from my computer.
My Acenet account is getting billed for this. Why am I not being automatically
logged off when my connection is idle for a certain period of time?

Acenet believes that the customer should be in charge of when they choose to log off. We do not automatically cut off your connection for any reason. Your computer has a time-out setting and can be set to drop continuously idle Internet connections after the time-out period. The keyword here is "idle". Idle connections are defined as having no data activity on the network. Some software and some websites will artificially keep your connection alive by continually resetting the time-out period of your connection. This means that even if you walk away from your connection and stop using it, the connection will not drop out because your system cannot tell if your connection is idle or not. For this reason we do not recommend that you rely on your connection timing out as a way of managing your connections. Acenet cannot be held responsible for the mismanagement of your account but we can assist you to manage it well. We can look after our absent minded professors with a "hard time-out" session limit if needed. Setting a hard time-out limit on your account means that your connection will be cut off after a period of your choosing regardless of whether you are using the connection or not. You can contact Acenet (e-mail support@acenet.com.au) to ask for a hard time-out session limit on your account. Specify a time period you would like your limit set to.

Where can I go for Internet and computer tuition?

There is an excellent computer user group in the Southern Highlands called The Southern Highlands Computer Users Group. They offer monthly meetings and tuition is available to their members at a very reasonable cost. Their website (www.shcug.org.au) contains information about their meeting times and locations.

I cannot open e-mail attachments in Outlook Express. When I try I get a message that
OE has blocked access to my attachments.

This is easily fixed. Open Outlook Express and do the following: 1. Open the Tools menu. 2. Click Options. 3. Click the Security tab. 4. Remove the tick "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could be potentially be a virus". 5. Press the Apply button. 6. Press OK.

I am experiencing connection problems. My connections drop without warning
and sometimes I cannot login first go. What's going on?

Connection troubles are commonly caused by poor line quality and other devices such as telephones or faxes sharing the phone line with your modem. Try unplugging any devices sharing your phone line even if they are not being used at the same time or even if they are in another phone socket in another room. If this does not work then you will need to call Acenet.

I'm definitely connected, but I can't access any websites...

There could be a number of factors at work here. Are you sure you're actually connected to the internet? Look for the icon in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen which is two computers talking to each other. Double click that icon to see your connection status. Software issues can affect your browsing. There may be a problem with Windows, or a part of Windows like Internet Explorer. (Unfortunately, Internet Explorer is part of the operating system, so you can't just remove it and reinstall it... thanks Microsoft.) You might have adware or spyware on your computer or a virus. For our recommended anti-virus software click here. You can also download freeware like AdAware and SpyBot to get rid of adware and spyware.