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Newsletter: October 1998 o Welcome to the New Newsletter o Today, we're five years old! o Celebrate with us! o New Support Hours o Support Special - Password Security o The Agony... o ...and the Ecstacy o iiNet's Modem Numbers o Credits Welcome to the New Newsletter Yes, we know it's been a long dry spell between newsletters - in fact, many of our customers may never have seen one of these legendary creatures in the flesh before, having only heard rumours about their existence whispered in a crowded chat room, or mentioned in an urban myth. But despite the long sabbatical, the iiNet Newsletter has returned, and will be considerably more regular henceforth. These newsletters will be emailed to all of our users, and will also be posted to the newsgroup iinet.general, in addition to being available on the web. The pop-up origami edition is yet to be finalised. Please note that we welcome suggestions from anyone reading these newsletters. Your input will help us to improve these newsletters, supplying you with the information you want and need to know. Don't hesitate to email us, at:
We hope you find this newsletters - and the ones to come - informative and helpful. You can find previous editions of the iiNet newsletters at this web address:
Today, we're five years old! Exactly five years ago, iiNet - a partnership between Michael Malone and Michael O'Reilly - was formed and started taking calls for the first time. Based in the northern Perth suburb of Padbury, iiNet was run on technology that today would be considered laughable. Today we have well over a thousand times the capacity than in 1993 - utilising the latest in satellite and fibre optic technology. Five years may be a short time for most businesses, but not so in the fast paced Internet industry. In 1993, The Internet was an archaic system used by eager academics and enthusiasts to communicate. Monochrome computer monitors provided access to a network only accessable with cryptic commands on systems most people had never heard of, like "UNIX" and "VMS". This was a precursor to the Internet as we know it today. However, around this time, some university students in Illinois, USA put together a program called "Mosaic", a program that would let you access the net through a convenient graphic interface. All the parts of the net would be intertwined, joined together with crosslinks. That network was the World Wide Web, and Mosaic was to be the first graphical web browser. Those students moved into the corporate world and founded a company they called 'Netscape'. The original code for Mosaic was sold by the university to another company, Microsoft - and became Internet Explorer 1.0. So, the Internet got an easy to use front end. It meant all the benefits of this huge, widely connected, robust and cheap network could be enjoyed by so many, not just those privileged few who could work out how to use it. And the rest, as they say, is history. Celebrate with us! In November, we're holding a special preview screening of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" to celebrate our fifth birthday. 200 double passes are available to win to the movie, plus other great prizes. If you would like to register your name for a chance to with a double pass, go to this address in your web browser:
Entries are open to all iiNet customers, but there is a maximum of one double pass per customer. Entries close November 1, 1998. New Support Hours iiNet are happy to announce that our support hours have yet again been extended. iiNet's telephone support hours are now 6AM to midnight, seven days a week. There may be some days where this varies slightly, which will be announced well in advance, but in almost all cases, these new hours will apply. This gives our users 126 hours of telephone support availability a week, not including the paging service available outside of those hours, and ensures that iiNet's clients will receive the best possible telephone service. Support Special - Password Security This issue's support special is being devoted to password security. Why the big deal about password security? Well, if someone has your username and password, they can use your account, in your name. That might not sound like much, but it's just like someone knowing your ATM card's Personal Identification Number, and using it in your name. You, the account owner, are held responsible for anything done with your account. You could end up with a visit from the Federal Police, wanting to know why your account was used to send death threats to a politician, or why you were trying to crash other computers. Even if it doesn't escalate to that level, it can still be extremely inconvenient to have to prove your identity in order to get an account unsuspended, after it was suspended due to network abuse. Also, whilst most of our accounts are flat rate, some of you have timed usage accounts. You don't want to be paying by the hour, so someone else can use your account. It makes sense to protect your password. So how can you protect your password? The first way is to make sure it's a secure password. Not a word or name, or a word with a number tagged on. Tips on choosing a secure password are available, courtesy of the West Australian Internet Association, from:
Once you have a secure password, how do you keep it secure? First of all, don't tell anyone who doesn't need to know it, and make sure those who do know it, are aware they need to keep it secret. Also, don't give anyone access to your computer, or files from your computer which contain your password. Certain programs keep a copy of your password, so they don't have to ask you each time. These files include eudora.ini which Eudora uses, and tree.dat which CuteFTP uses. There are likely others, for different email or ftp programs. Don't give these files away to anyone. It's a common ploy for someone to go around on IRC or ICQ, saying that their email doesn't work, and can you send them this file or that file to fix it. Don't fall for it. Please make sure that everyone who uses your account is aware of this, and knows not to disclose the password, or give away key files which contain it. There's also a new way for people to get hold of your password. Someone emails or DCC sends a file which you think is a neat graphic, or utility. Instead, it installs a program on your machine, which lets others view your files, control your computer, and even format your hard drive, deleting all your data. If in doubt, do not accept any files from anyone you don't know, and be extremely careful when running anything you receive. If you think you have a trojan on your computer, or want to scan it to make sure you don't, you can find a program to detect and remove it from:
If you do come across any iiNet user asking for these files on IRC, or sending out trojans, do a /whois and send the full information to abuse@iinet.net.au If after reading this, you think it might be worthwhile changing your password, please go to:
The Agony... Saturday October 3rd was a special day. Not only was it the last day of the Perth Royal Show, and not only was it the day that voters were asked to choose the government that would most likely see in the new millennium, but it was also the day when iiNet's main email and web server, opera, crashed, causing headaches for users and support staff alike. However, this server was specifically designed to recover from such a crash automatically, and was back online in around an hour. This minimised the effect it had on our clients. Further investigations are underway to determine the cause of the crash. There is a mailing list and newsgroup devoted entirely to reporting any technical difficulties iiNet may be experiencing. The newsgroup is:
And the mailing list is available from this web address:
...And the Ecstacy
Bunbury has received additional modems, and the link increased to 512Kbit. We've also moved our Networks Operation Centre to a new premises. The new Bunbury dial in number is 9721-0700. If you're dialling the old number (9780 6000), you should probably change to the new one. This will prevent any loss of services, when the diverter is switched off.
Introducing Rockingham
iiNet's Dialup Numbers This is probably a good opportunity to provide you with an up-to-date list of iiNet's main modem numbers, so that you can choose the best number to dial.
Number Physical Location Description Current Lines
------ ----------------- ----------- -------------
08 9213-1000 Perth Dig, Exp 720
08 9278-0999 Perth Dig 960
08 9461-4000 Perth Alg 416
08 9322-5432 Perth Alg 30
08 9322-4449 Perth Alg, Sht 16
08 9307-5220 Wanneroo Div, Dig, D2
08 9293-0348 Mt Helena Div, Dig, D2
08 9528-0200 Rockingham Dig, Exp 90
08 9780-6000 Bunbury FDiv, D3
08 9721-0700 Bunbury Dig, Exp 120
08 9727-2929 Capel Div, Dig, D3
Key:
Dig Digital Modems - up to 56k.
Alg Analogue Modems - up to 33.6k
Exp Expanding - More modems will be added to the number, as demand
increases.
Div The number is a diverter. Clients will be billed 25c per call from
Telstra, and 25c per call from iiNet.
FDiv The number is a free diverter. Clients will not be billed by
iiNet for dialling this number. The number is being phased out,
clients should change to the correct number.
Sht The number is a short login number.
D2 The number diverts to 9213-1000.
D3 The number diverts to 9721-0700.
Please note:
Credits
This newsletter produced by Martin Livings, with contributions by Chris
Brown, Kim Davies, Paul Raj Khangure, and Don Thomas. Brought to you
by Ben B, Chris B, Clayton B, Colette B, David B, Adrian C, Eu Hin C,
Carl D, John D, Kim D, Wayne D, Catherine E, Darren G, Beata H, Brian H,
David H, Sam H, Dennis K, Jason K, Paul K, Trish K, Glen L, Justin L,
Martin L, Paul L, Stuart N, Caoilfhionn M, Leon M, Michael M, Paul M,
Trish M, Michael O, John P, Ben R, Craig S, Duncan S, Glenn S, Lucy S,
Marc S, Sarah S, Simon S, Don T, Galen T, Nathan T, Nick T, Carl W,
Debbie W and Niall Y.
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