World Lynx Technical Support offers a number of different ways to
receive help with your account. We have web-based, and
phone-based support.
WEB
BASED
- A
good place to start is the Technical
Support Area of the World Lynx website.. Here you will find
information on nearly all technically-related topics that apply
to your World Lynx Internet account.
- If
you have a question that you cannot find an answer to on our homepage,
you can e-mail Technical Support via our web
based form.
- You
may also email questions to info@cei.net
PHONE
BASED
- If
you would prefer to speak with a technical support representative,
you can call us during regular hours at 888.775.9090
(or 954-9090 locally in the Greater Little Rock Area).
World
Lynx Tech Support can be reached between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM Monday
through Friday, and 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM on Saturday.
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Q:
Where can I find up-to-date information regarding the status of
World Lynx servers and dialups as well as planned upgrades, maintenance,
etc.?
A:
The Network
Status section of our website. Current status reports of the
World Lynx Network are made available here.Advanced announcements
of any planned maintenance or upgrades that may disrupt service
to our customers may be found on the Network
Updates page
.If
you cannot connect to the Internet to receive this information,
you can always call Tech Support. We provide up-to-date, emergency
messages on our phone system, whereby customers can obtain information
on immediate system problems simply by calling the main Technical
Support phone number.
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Q:
Is there a way for me to make changes to my account online?
A:
Not at this time, but we are working to get a site up for our members
to make password changes, change credit card information, as well
as sign up online.
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Q:
What should I do if I forget my password?
A:
If you forget your password, contact our Tech Support Department
(954-9090 in the Little Rock Area or tollfree 888-775-9090) and
they can issue you a new one.
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Q:
What's the best way to keep my password secure?
A:
The best way to be secure is to not use anything obvious,
like your name, as your password.The ideal is to have a combination
of both letters and numbers. Also, get in the habit of changing
it as much as you feel comfortable. And never, ever, give it out
to anyone. Our Technical Support reps may have to ask you for your
password to troubleshoot a particular problem; if you are uncomfortable
doing so, you may change your password after the problem has been
resolved
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Q:
Anything else I should know about my password or username?
A:
Yes.Usernames and passwords are CASE-SENSITIVE. This means that
if your password is "mypass1", it will not work if you enter it
as "MyPass1", "MYPASS1" or any other variation. If you are trying
to connect to World Lynx and you get an Authentication error, or
it keeps asking you for the password, or it will not accept the
username, the first thing to do is:
-
Try clearing out the username and password fields of your connection
window and re-entering them. Before you re-enter them, verify
that your CAPS LOCK key is not active and that you are properly
entering your username and password. Remember: For the connection
window, you need to enter the capital 'P'.
- Enter
the password carefully. Most connection windows do not let you
see what you are typing, so you will have to insure that you are
entering everything correctly yourself. If this still doesn't
work, call Technical Support at 888.775.9090 and they can check
if your username and password are valid.
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Q:
What
is the Internet?
A:
Simply put, the Internet is the largest, most diverse, and the most
exciting computer network in the world.
In
the same way that most of the people in the world are connected
by telephones, many of the world's computers, from PC's to supercomputers,
are joined by the vast web-like network that is the Internet.The
Internet is a tremendous communications medium, providing users
with a fast, reliable, and inexpensive means to communicate with
other people all around the world.It is also a nearly all-encompassing
resource for information on every subject imaginable. The Internet
is regularly used for a vast amount of purposes, including business,
research, education, and recreation.With the Internet's size doubling
every year, it won't be long before not having an Internet connection
will seem as outrageous as not having a telephone number. World
Lynx is here to see that you too can be part of the Internet, to
help you prosper in the Information and Communications Age.
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Q:
What is a browser?
A:
A web browser, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft
Internet Explorer, is a program that allows you to access and navigate
the various sites that exist on the Web.
Browsers
can generally display formatted graphics, images, play audio files
if a site has them, and allow you to download any files that may
be available on a particular site.You will often see a "This site
looks best when viewed using Netscape" message posted on a site.
What this means is that the creators of a site have optimized their
site to look best when viewed using a Netscape browser. This does
not mean that you cannot view the site if you don't have a Netscape
browser. There just may be certain features, such as animated icons
or images for example, that you may not be able to see if you are
using a non-Netscape browser.Different browsers, even different
versions of the same browser, have different abilities when it comes
to viewing web pages. You can usually download different or newer
versions of a browser for free from the browser maker's home page.
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Q:
What is a URL (Universal Resource Locator)?
A:URL's
are the "addresses" of sites or pages that exist on the Internet.
They usually take the following form:
http://www.example.com/test.html
You
enter a URL in the "location" or "address" field of a browser, and
the browser will then try to pull up any data, such as web page
or file list, that exists at that URL. Most browsers allow you to
save the URL's of your favorite sites.Be aware, however, that URL's
tend to change quite often. If you go to a link or a favorite URL
of yours and you can no longer pull up that web site, there is a
chance that the particular URL has changed or no longer exists.
If it is a well-maintained site, there will usually at least be
a page at the old URL you are trying to use that will point you
to the new one (which you should save as a bookmark or favorite),
or it will at least let you know that the site no longer exists.However,
not all webmasters are that polite, so you may just receive an error
message saying "the site or URL you have entered cannot be found".
URL's are generally accessible through links, discussed below.
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Q:
What
are links?
A:
Hyperlinks, or "links" for short, are the main method of navigating
through the Internet. A link is simply a phrase or graphic that
contains the actual URL that the link points to.
For
example, a link that says simply "Microsoft" actually points to
the URL "www.microsoft.com" and will send you to that URL. Alternately,
a link may just be a company logo, a picture, or something else
entirely.The easiest way to find out if something is a link is if
the mouse cursor will turn into a little picture of a hand with
a pointing finger if the cursor is over it. Also, when the cursor
is over a link, the URL will appear at the very bottom of the screen
in most browsers. Most browsers color-code links to show their status.A
link may be:
-
Not visited yet
-
Being activated at the moment
-
Already visited
Each
different status will usually be shown by a different color or graphical
representation. Of course, if a link is coded within a picture or
some other graphical form other than text the coding system may
not work, but for the majority of links on the Web it will.Please
keep in mind that clicking on a link in one page will not always
automatically bring up the new page. Many pages are somewhat graphic
intensive and may take some time to download. Also, your modem speed,
the time of day, and the popularity of a particular site can all
affect the speed with which a page loads in to your browser.If you're
unsure of whether or not a page is actually loading or not, check
the graphic icon or logo in the upper right-hand corner of the browser
window (a large capital 'N' for Netscape, a globe that morphs into
an 'e' for Explorer). If this icon is animated, then your browser
is downloading something, either a new page or a file. Let it go
for a little while, and if something new doesn't appear you can
either wait some more or hit the STOP button and try again or try
a different link.
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Q:
What are search engines and how do I use them?
A:
Search engines are essentially programs that run out of a web page
that will search the Internet based on a search word or phrase that
you give it.
There
are over a dozen major search engines available, and each of them
operates in a slightly different manner. In the sections below,
we will discuss some of the major search engines and some search
tips to help you find that perfect page that has exactly what you
are looking for.Regarding search techniques, each site offers a
couple of different ways to perform a search in terms of what you
can specify. The most common method of specifying search parameters
is through "Boolean Operators". This technical-sounding phrase simple
refers to inserting a phrase, such as AND, OR, or AND and OR between
the separate words of a search phrase.For example, if you enter
Macintosh AND software as the search text, it will only return
web sites that have both words in the site text.Most sites (but
not all) support Boolean Operators.As for an individual site's other
search options, please see that engine's particular site for specific
information as to what advanced search options it supports.
Yahoo
(www.yahoo.com)
Yahoo
is a subject-orientated search engine that consists of three separate
databases, one for the World Wide Web, one for the Usenet, and one
for e-mail addresses.It will give you links to sites based on the
search words you enter, as well as a brief descriptive text of those
links. When you enter a search, it will ask you if you wish to search
for that phrase on the Web, the Usenet, or the e-mail database.
You can also specify a time frame for the search, i.e. search only
for listings added to the database in the last year, last week,
or yesterday (or whichever time frame you like).Because it is a
subject-based database (much like the Usenet in that it searches
hierarchically based on a subject and the sub-topics for that subject),
it does not normally return as many links as some other engines
do. If a page is not subject-specific (Larry Q. Public's Page of
Links That I Like, for example), odds are that that particular page
is not even in Yahoo's database. What Yahoo will do if it cannot
find links for a particular search phrase is pass the search on
to the Alta Vista search engine, which has a much more general database.
It will then return anything it finds to you through the Yahoo screen.Yahoo
is generally better at finding links for business/commercial sites
than it is at finding personal web pages or pages that aren't specific
to one topic.
Excite
(www.excite.com)
Excite
is a fairly straightforward search engine that offers the very basic
search features as well as some advanced search options. Excite
has a very large database that is updated constantly. Search results
give you the title of the page the search returns, a percentage
rank of how well the site conforms to your search phrase, and an
auto-generated summary of the page's contents. Also, you can click
on the More Like This option for any of the links it returns, which
will then search for more pages based on that site's description.
Alta
Vista (www.altavista.com)
Alta
Vista has what is probably the largest database of web pages (over
50 million) and Usenet newsgroups (the full text of over 14,000
newsgroups, constantly updated in real-time) of all of the search
engines. It offers both a simple search (just enter a phrase and
search for it) and an Advanced Query mode (where you get to enter
a variety of modifications to your search to make it more specific).
It will return your searches with either just the URL and last update
date for that file, or you can have it return a brief description
of the site as well. It is a good search engine if you take advantage
of its advanced search options.
Hotbot
(www.hotbot.com)
Hotbot
offers the standard search options as well as an Expert search option.
Its database includes over 54 million web pages, and, like most
engines, that database is updated constantly. Results are given
with the document title, percentage for relevancy, site abstract,
URL, and the size of the document.
Lycos
(www.lycos.com)
Lycos
has separate databases for web pages, pictures, sounds, and sites-by-subject.
You can search by Simple or Custom search. It gives results in the
standard format, except that instead of a generated abstract it
gives you an excerpt from the site. URL: http://www.lycos.com Infoseek
Infoseek is much like Excite and Hotbot. It has a large database,
gives the standard results for a search (file size, URL, description,
relevancy), and offers some advanced search options.
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Q:
How do I configure my browser(s)?
A:
Please refer to the appropriate system FAQ for information
on how to configure your browser for that system.
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Q:
What
is Electronic Mail (e-mail)?
A:
E-mail is an extremely popular Internet application that allows
for quick and inexpensive communications with people all over the
world.
You
receive an e-mail account when you sign up with World Lynx, and
can communicate with anyone else who has an account through any
Internet Provider. There are two major types of E-mail: Most IBM-PC
and Mac mail programs use PPP (point-to-point) protocols to do e-mail
and most UNIX-based machines use terminal programs to do e-mail.
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Q:
What
are some e-mail programs that I can use?
A:
There are a large number of programs you may use.For
PPP connections, the most popular are:
- The
Eudora programs
- Netscape
Mail
- Microsoft
Outlook Express
- Microsoft
Internet Mail
- Pegasus
Mail
For
UNIX users, Pine and Elm are the major programs.The differences
between the various programs are not very large, and it generally
comes down to personal preference as to which program a given person
will use. For example, if you have more than one e-mail account,
then you would probably use Pegasus Mail or Eudora Pro, which allow
easy maintenance of multiple accounts.For more information about
specific mail programs as they relate to a particular Operating
System, please see the FAQ for that OS.
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Q:
How
do I set up my e-mail program to use with my World Lynx account?
A:
Eudora Light
Eudora
Light is one of the most popular e-mail programs for Windows and
Mac users. It combines ease of use and setup with a generally clean
interface and most of the options an average user would look for.
If you do not have Eudora Light but think that you would like to
try it out, you can download a copy for free for most platforms
from Eudora's homepage at www.eudora.com.If
you have a recent version of Eudora Light and need to know how to
set it up to read your World Lynx e-mail, here's how:
NOTE:
The names of the windows and menus may be slightly different if
you have an older version of Eudora Light, but the fields you need
to enter will be the same
-
Click on TOOLS on the menubar, then OPTIONS.
-
Enter your personal information as you like.
-
Your POP account is "username@mail.cei.net" where username is
your World Lynx account name.
-
Your "reply-to" address is "username@cei.net" This is your actual
e-mail address.
-
Your Outgoing Mail (SMTP) server is "mail.cei.net"
Eudora
is now configured to send and receive your e-mail through World
Lynx.
Netscape
Mail
Netscape
Mail is the e-mail program that comes with any version of Netscape's
web-browser software. You access this program by clicking on WINDOW
in the Netscape browser window, then clicking on NETSCAPE MAIL.
From there you will need to do the following:
-
Open up Netscape then click on OPTIONS then MAIL AND NEWS PREFERENCES.
-
Click on the SERVERS tab.
-
Your Outgoing Mail Server is "mail.cei.net"
-
Your Incoming Mail Server is "pop3.cei.net"
-
Your POP3 Account username is your World Lynx account username.
Netscape
Mail is now ready to send and receive e-mail.
Microsoft
Outlook Express
Like
Netscape Mail, MS Outlook Express is the e-mail program that comes
with any version of Microsoft's web-browser, Internet Explorer.
To set up Outlook Express to work with your World Lynx e-mail account, you will need
to do the following:
- Open
up Outlook Express.
- On
the Tools menubar, click on ACCOUNTS.
-
Click on the ADD button, and then select MAIL.
-
Enter your real name and organization as you like, then
your e-mail address, which is "username@cei.net" with username
being your World Lynx account username.
-
Incoming Mail Server is "pop3.cei.net"
-
Outgoing Mail Server is "mail.cei.net"
-
POP3 account name is your World Lynx username
-
Your account password is your World Lynx account password.
Enter this only if you are the only person to use that particular
computer.
Outlook
Express is now set up and ready to go.
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Q:
What is Internet Relay Chat (IRC)?
A:
Internet Relay Chat (IRC) is a method of real-time communication
that allows multiple people to participate in a text-based conversation.
Chat
takes place on a channel that tends to have a specific topic. The
conversation takes place in a scrolling window that shows the nickname/screen
name of the speaker and their comments. You can join in the almost
any channel you find, unless it is an "invite-only" channel, or
if you have done something to get yourself banned from that channel.
Visit
www.irc.com for more information
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Q:
What do I need to do IRC?
A:
Not much.The actual channel itself will run on a remote
server.What you need on your end is an IRC client. A client will
allow you to connect to the server and join a channel and chat.
Our Plug'n'Play software comes with an IRC client that you can install
off of the "extras" folder.
You
can also search the web for more IRC clients if you do not wish
to use this one.
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Q:
Is an IRC channel the same thing as a chat room?
A:
No.
Except
for some "invite-only" channels, and provided you have not gotten
yourself banned from a particular channel, all IRC channels are
open to anyone who finds them. Chat rooms, on the other hand, are
usually hosted by an online service like America Online or Prodigy,
and are limited to members of that service.
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Q:
What is Gopher?
A:
Gopher is the predecessor to the World Wide Web.
Before
the explosion of multimedia and graphical browsers, most of the
information on the 'net was text-based and was accessed through
the gopher protocol. Many organizations still maintain gopher sites,
especially education and government agencies. Most web browsers
now allow gopher viewing, and there are a few stand-alone products,
like Archie for Windows machines, that also allow you to view gopher
files. The primary use of gopher today is to make text documents
available in mass quantities. For example, the Federal Government
makes the budgets for various departments available for viewing
and download through its gopher site.Gopher sites are arranged hierarchically.
The top-level directory will usually contain sub-directories that
will get more specific topic-wise as you follow the tree down.
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Q:
What is FTP?
A:
FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol". This
is a method of transferring files from computer to computer or computer
to server in an easy manner.
FTP
programs, such as CuteFTP, Fetch, or ws_ftp provide a graphical
interface to perform this function. All one does essentially is
specify a directory on your computer, specify a directory on a different
computer or a server, and then send the files you select in either
direction."Uploading" is when you transfer your files from your
computer to a server or other computer. For example, if you created
a homepage on your computer and wanted to post it to the Web, you
would FTP your html pages to "www.cei.net" and they would now be
available on our web servers for the rest of the world to view.
Alternatively, say you lost your homepage html files on your computer
and wished to get another copy of them for editing. You could FTP
to the same site and download the files you previously uploaded.You
could also FTP into many sites that allow you to download by what
is called "anonymous login" This is simply a way to enter into public
sites without having to acquire a username and password for each
public site you wish to enter. You simply type in "anonymous" as
your username and "guest" or your e-mail address for your password
depending on what the site asks for.If a site will not take this
as a valid login, it probably is a restricted-access site that wants
you to register and acquire a specific username and password. You
may occasionally not be able to get in to an FTP site due to it's
being full. Most FTP sites have a cap on the number of users that
can be logged in at the same time to preserve transfer times. If
you are being kept out of a public site often, try logging in at
a different time of day when there may be less users.
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Q:
What
are Usenet and Newsgroups?
A:
The Usenet is a collection of topics (called newsgroups)
that is available worldwide.
The
Usenet and newsgroups are arranged hierarchically by subject. The
highest level of the hierarchy is the classification category, some
of which are listed below: alt - This is a generic heading that
is usually applied to groups that are not sponsored or moderated
by any specific organization. comp - Anything under this heading
will refer to computers or the computer industry. rec - Recreational
groups biz - Business related groups A typical heading may be: comp.macintosh.software
This particular group will most likely contain information about
(you guessed it) software for the Macintosh computer. The more headings
there are in a newsgroup name from left to right (separated by periods),
the more specific that newsgroup will tend to be. The Usenet is
accessible to anyone who has an Internet-connected computer. More
about newsgroups Newsgroups consist of posted articles usually arranged
by thread. This works as follows:
-
Someone posts an original article to a particular newsgroup.
-
Someone else replies to that article with another post.
-
Yet another person posts a reply to the reply.
-
The original author posts a reply to the reply to the reply
-
Repeat ad nauseum or until the thread dies.
This
entire collection of the original posted message and all of the
replies to it is called a "thread". The thread organization allows
anyone who joins in mid-thread to trace the conversation back to
the original message and to read all of the replies.Some newsgroups
are maintained by a moderator who reviews all articles before they
are allowed to be posted.
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Q:
What
do I need in order to use the Usenet?
A:
You receive access to the Usenet and a newsreader with
your World Lynx account.There are a variety of newsreaders and you
may use whichever one you like so long as it works with our hardware
(and most do). Examples of popular newsreaders are Netscape News
and Microsoft Internet News for Windows or Mac machines, and Tin
for UNIX shells.The only info you should need to configure a newsreader
to work with your World Lynx account is the name of the World Lynx
news server, which is: news.cei.net.
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