Spam/Email FAQ
Q: Why do I get junk mail (SPAM)?
There are some steps you can take to help reduce the amount of junk mail reaching your inbox. You can configure your email program to filter your email as you receive it. We recommend using Mozilla Thunderbird for this feature. Email filters will place unwanted email into your Trash folder. In order to do this, you need to identify key words within the unwanted email and then have your email program filter all messages containing these criteria to the Trash. The next time you check your email, your email program will search each message looking for the words that you have specified and move the offending message to the Trash. Although this feature can be extremely useful, you need to be very careful in selecting specific words for your filters, as you may unknowingly filter out mail from your family, friends or business contacts.
One of the most important ways is to NOT reply to spam messages. Spam programs are intelligent. They are programmed with standard dictionary languages and even understand last names. Therefore, if you use your last name in your email address these programs can easily find you. What these programs don't know is whether the address to which they are sending is valid. Once you reply to a spam, you have confirmed to the spammer that your email address is real and is actively in use.
Use discretion when giving out your email address while visiting other sites or registering for on-line contest prizes and other promotions. You should use the same judgment that you use when providing your home address and consider how it may be used. Finally, you need to watch out for the opt-in check boxes. These boxes are usually placed next to questions that ask if you would like to receive information from the Web page owners or their partners. By leaving the box checked, you are agreeing to receive promotional emails from the promoter and possibly other parties.
For more information on junk mail and how to stop it, visit http://spam.abuse.net
Q: How can I prevent getting viruses?
Computer viruses are an unfortunate fact of life when using the Internet. They can vary from annoying to highly destructive and new ones are created everyday. The following steps may not completely protect you from viruses, but they can significantly reduce your chances of being harmed by them:
- Install anti-virus software on your computer.
- Ensure you update your anti-virus software regularly, at least once a week.
- Be very wary of email attachments. Scan attachments before opening them.
- Do not open or preview messages which may appear suspicious.
- Back up your essential data to a safe place separate from your main computer.
- Use your updated anti-virus software to fully scan your computer on a regular basis.
Helpful Links:
AVG - Home of the Free Antivirus: http://free.grisoft.com/
McAfee Anti-Virus Information Site: http://www.mcafee.com/anti-virus/
Symantec Security Response (Norton): http://securityresponse.symantec.com/
Q: I am using Outlook Express and cannot open attachments.
Click Tools -> Options. Click the security tab. Uncheck the box that says "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus."
Why do I keep getting emails that say I have exceeded my mail quota?
Most likely, if you are getting this message, you are using our web-based email. You probably have a lot of emails sitting in your Deleted Items folder. To empty these, please click folders at the top of the screen, put a check next to Deleted Items and then click empty selected.
Another possible problem is if you have selected the option in your email to leave a copy of messages on the server. This will keep your email building up on the server at Fiber.Net and will eventually reach your quota. If you uncheck this option the problem will go away.
Common Settings Information
SMTP Server: smtp.fiber.net
POP3 Server: mail.fiber.net
DNS Server1: ns1.fiber.net - 216.83.130.2
DNS Server2: ns2.fiber.net - 216.83.130.7