Atlantic Broadband Product FAQ

Digital Cable | HSD | Phone

What hardware and software do I need for High-Speed Internet service?
Can I access my e-mail from anywhere?
Can I manage my e-mail accounts?
How do I set up my newsgroup?
How do I build my personal Web page?
How can I protect my computer when I am online?
How can I get rid of spam or unwanted commercial e-mails?
How can I get rid of pop-up ads?
What is a cable modem?
Is a telephone line still needed to access the Internet?
Will my IP address change when I start using this service?
Can I watch TV and be online at the same time?
What browsers can I use?
How many e-mail accounts can I have with my cable modem service?
Can I fax through a cable modem?

What hardware and software do I need for High-Speed Internet service?

For a PC:

Windows 98 SE, Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Windows XP

125 megabytes of hard disk space

64 megabytes of RAM (we recommend at least 128)

Pentium processor of 233mhz or higher

Universal Serial Bus (USB) port or

Network Interface Card (NIC), Ethernet capable

To determine your computer's capabilities pull up the Systems Tasks window and click View System Information.

For a Macintosh

OS 9.2.2 or higher

50 megabytes of hard disk space

64 megabytes of RAM (we recommend at least 128)

Universal Serial Bus (USB) port or

Network Interface Card (NIC), Ethernet capable

To determine your computer's capabilities, click on the Apple icon on your tool bar and choose Apple System Profiler.

Can I access my e-mail from anywhere?
You can send and receive e-mail anywhere, anytime from any computer that has Internet access through our web-based e-mail interface. Just click on our homepage at http://www.atlanticbb.net and the e-mail interface you need is available.

Can I manage my e-mail accounts?

You can access our Self Help site at any time to make changes to your primary or secondary e-mail accounts. Visit http://emailtools.atlanticbb.net and login using your e-mail address and password.

With this website you will be able to :

Create your own secondary e-mail accounts and manage them from your primary account login.
Change the Name of your accounts.
Change your passwords for your primary and secondary e-mails.
Create e-mail aliases.(Secondary names for the same e-mail address)
Control Mail Forward and Auto Reply options.

How do I set up my newsgroup?
Windows

Creating a news account in Outlook Express

To use your newsgroups account, select Tools, Accounts from the menu.
When the Internet Accounts window opens, click Add and select News.
Enter the name you want to be shown when you post a message.
Enter your full e-mail address. Click Next.
In the Internet News Server Name field enter news.atlanticbb.net. Don't check the box to log on. Click Next.
Enter your username and password. Click Next.
Click Finish.

Macintosh

Creating a news account in Outlook Express

In Outlook Express, on the Tools menu, click Accounts.
In the Accounts window, click the News tab. If Microsoft News Server is listed, you are ready to connect to a newsgroup. If Microsoft News Server is not listed, continue to the next step.
Click New.
On the first page of the Account Setup Assistant, enter the appropriate information on the Mail account pop-up menu (pop.atlanticbb.net) and in the Organization box, and then click the right arrow.
Enter news.atlanticbb.net in the News (NNTP) Server box, clear the My news server requires me to log on check box, and then click the right arrow.
Enter news.atlanticbb.com in the Account name box, and then click Finish.
Close the Accounts window.
In the Folders list, click news.atlanticbb.com. When you are prompted to receive a list of newsgroups, Click OK.

How do I build my personal Web page?

Creating your Web page

If you subscribe to our Preferred or Max services, you can create and host a personalized Web page on our servers. You'll be able to include photos, sound and animation, scanned or clip art and just about anything in the Web space we've reserved for you.

First, you need to create your Web content and then transfer it to our servers using file transfer protocol (FTP). You can create your Web page using any hypertext mark-up (HTML) editing program. Most browsers come with simple HTML editors and many programs for both Windows and Macintosh are available free over the Internet. Use your new lightning-fast broadband connection to find and download a program in minutes.

Uploading your Web page

When you're finished creating your Web page, you need an FTP program to connect to our servers and upload your content. Like HTML editors, there are many good, free FTP programs available on the Internet. In your FTP program you need to enter the following information:

Host Name: webpages.atlanticbb.net

User Name: The username of your primary Atlantic Broadband email account (all of the characters to the left of the "@" sign in the first email address created with your account)

Password: The Atlantic Broadband High-Speed Internet password associated with the primary email account. Now you're ready to connect to the FTP server and upload your Web page by transferring the files from your computer to the FTP folder. Your main Web page file must by named index.html. Your main Web page address will then be http://webpages.atlanticbb.net/~yourusername.

How can I protect my computer when I am online?
There are a number of steps you can take to protect your computer when you're online.

Install "Firewall" Protection

A firewall is a barrier that protects your computer hard drive from unauthorized access. More recent versions of Windows have some firewall capability built into the system. You can also purchase software or hardware firewalls from a local retail computer store.

Install Anti-virus Software

Atlantic Broadband's e-mail servers are configured to scan all incoming and outgoing e-mail for viruses; however, you should also have virus protection on your home computer. Most computer retail stores sell affordable anti-virus software that will scan your hard drive and e-mails for viruses before you open them. This software can also identify, stop and sometimes repair data that is infected with a virus.

How can I get rid of spam or unwanted commercial e-mails?
Our e-mail servers use the latest technology to identify and minimize unwanted commercial e-mail also known as 'spam'. Our spam control system works in two ways:

We deny messages from known spammers by using a common third party Internet 'blacklist'.
We filter all messages in an attempt to identify spam based on a number of factors. These messages are not deleted, but are marked as suspected spam and moved to a designated folder. This way, we insure that a message you may want to see is never deleted.
If you download mail using the POP protocol, you need to create a rule in your e-mail program to automatically move spam e-mails from your inbox to a designated folder (see next question).
If you use the IMAP protocol or check your e-mail using our web interface, suspected spam is automatically placed in a separate folder. In either case, you will want to occasionally scan your designated spam folder to be sure that normal e-mail hasn't been improperly categorized as spam.

How can I get rid of pop-up ads?
Some Internet advertising technologies will display ads on your computer screen in new browser windows known as 'pop-ups'. These ads are neither created nor controlled by Atlantic Broadband. While harmless, many people find pop-ups annoying. If that is the case, we suggest you install a pop-up blocker. A pop-up blocker is a small piece of software that you install into your browser to prevent these ads. There are many free blocker programs, and you can use your favorite search engine to find one.

What is a cable modem?
A cable modem provides an always-on connection to the Internet. It is a small box with two connections, one that leads to the cable lines outside your home and one that provides an Ethernet connection to your computer.

Is a telephone line still needed to access the Internet?
No, you don't need a telephone line to access the Internet.

Will my IP address change when I start using this service?
IP addresses are assigned automatically and may change occasionally.

Can I watch TV and be online at the same time?
Yes, your TV and cable modem run on different channels over our broadband cable network.

What browsers can I use?

We support Microsoft Internet Explorer, version 5.6 or higher or Netscape Navigator 6.2 or higher.

How many e-mail accounts can I have with my cable modem service?
The number of e-mail accounts will vary depending on the service package you have chosen.

Can I fax through a cable modem?
It's not possible to fax through a cable modem because a fax requires an analog fax/modem to operate. There is software that makes it possible to fax from your computer through an Internet connection.