Frequently Asked Support Questions and Tech Tips

Why do I keep getting disconnected from the Internet?
How do I access my mail from somewhere other than my home computer?
I've forgotten my password and can't login. How do I get my password?
What are viruses, and how can I avoid getting them?

Why do I keep getting disconnected from the Internet?

Problems with frequent disconnects and slow connection speeds are usually caused by one of these things:

1. Problems with the phone line between the customer's house and the local telephone company switching station, or problems with the telephone wiring inside the house. If your phone line is the slightest bit "noisy" (static, humming, crosstalk with a neighboring phone line, etc) it can drive a modem crazy. High-quality modems are generally much better at overcoming this than the cheap modems packaged with most PCs these days, but a really bad line will affect even the best modem.

   Is one phone line shared by your telephone (or telephones) and your modem? If so, when you use the phone do you hear any humming, crackling, or other noise? If so, that is a sure sign that you have a "noisy" line. However even noise that your ear can't detect can disrupt a modem connection.

   If you have line noise, you will need to deal with the local phone company to get it completely tested and (if necessary) repaired.

2. Problems with your modem. The majority of PCs sold these days come with built-in (internal) modems, usually of a type known as a Host Signal Processor or HSP modem. This means the majority of the processing required by the modem is handled by the PC's processor rather than by a processor in the modem itself, and the majority of the software that controls the modem is on the PC's hard disk rather than embedded as firmware in the modem itself. The first HSP modems performed so poorly that they gave all ISP's headaches. Due to intense competition among PC manufacturers, some continue to use very poor-quality modems in order to keep prices down.

   The worst examples recently have been the PC-TEL modems used by a lot of manufacturers, including several high-profile manufacturers like Hewlett-Packard. PC-TEL modems have been giving all ISP's (not just Visionet) major headaches. The only way to make a PC-TEL modem connect more reliably is to make sure you have the latest version of modem driver provided by the PC manufacturer. Most PC manufacturers have the driver available for download. In some cases it is also necessary to "throttle back" the maximum allowable connection speed in order to improve connection reliability.

   The same principle applies to any modem. If you have connection problems, one of the first things you should do is to make sure you have the latest version of the drivers for your modem.

Line noise problems and modem driver problems will affect your connections no matter who your ISP is, so you would be wise to eliminate them as possibilities before going to the trouble of switching to another ISP. It isn't unusual to hear of someone who jumps from one ISP to another over and over again trying to find a better connection, only to find out eventually that the problem is really in their own phone line or modem.

How do I access my mail from somewhere other than my home computer?

I've forgotten my password and can't login. How do I get my password?

What are viruses, and how can I avoid getting them?