3mail | Chat | Kids | Shop | Help
2:35:19 AM CST -- Monday, September 06, 2010

Internet Issues

My connection seems very slow today.  Is something wrong?

Probably not.  Just like any other "superhighway" today, the Internet experiences traffic jams.  This is not a problem with your connection, or with MLCNet - it is simply a matter of more users attempting to use the backbone (the network of large, cross-country, data lines which form the foundation of the Internet) than it can adequately handle.  Although the backbone providers (MCI, Sprint, AT&T and others) are working at a feverish pace to increase the amount of available throughput (data that can travel through the lines at a given time), for the foreseeable future there will be times when demand will exceed availability.  These "bottlenecks" are most likely to be seen during the evening hours and on weekends.

Another situation you will encounter from time to time is that your connection seems fine, but a certain Web site seems to take forever to load.   This is generally caused by too many users attempting to get into a Web site at one time.  An example of this was Election Night, 1996.  So many users were attempting to get election results and participate in on-line forums that the MSNBC Web site was completely overloaded, and not only ran very slowly, but actually refused connections to many users.  Another potential cause for this situation can be that the Web site to which you are attempting to connect may be connected to the Internet via a slow connection.  Most people think that all Web sites are built of huge servers connected to T-1 (high speed data) lines.  In fact, many Web sites are run over connections at 28.8 Kbps.  These sites can handle no more than one or two users at a time before becoming very slow in serving connections.

Unfortunately, when presented with either of these situations, there is little you can do but wait and try your site again later.

There are places on the Internet with content that I am uncomfortable with. Can I block these sites?

To some extent, you can block Internet sites with potentially objectionable content.  However, there are some caveats:

• At this time, all Internet Content Protection programs and schemes depend on voluntary cooperation between the content provider and the rating service.  As such, they are not foolproof, and do not offer complete protection.
• In the case of shielding children from objectionable material, MLCNet strongly believes that parental supervision is critical.  It is our opinion that children should never be allowed to use the Internet without responsible adult supervision.
• Children should not have their own Email addresses, and should never be allowed to correspond with individuals unknown to their parents.  There are documented cases of adults masquerading as children in order to lure unsuspecting children into dangerous situations.

If you are using Internet Explorer Version 3.0 or higher, you already have some capability to enforce content controls.  To utilize this function, perform the following steps:

• Start Internet Explorer and click "View", then click "Options...".  This will open a dialog box.
• Click the tab marked "Security".  In the first box titled "Content Advisor" click the button named "Enable Ratings".
• You will be prompted to enter and verify a Password.   Do so.  (This prevents others from changing the settings you are about to make.)
• You may now follow the instructions to customize your preferences.  When you are done, click "Apply" to enable Content Advisor.

There are also other "rating" schemes available from various sources throughout the Internet.  You may want to try the following sources, which are considered among the best:

• http://www.vtw.org/ipcfaq (Internet Parental Control Frequently Asked Questions)
• http://www.turnercom.com (Internet Filter)
• http://www.netnanny.com (Net Nanny)
• http://www.surfwatch.com (SurfWatch)

Inclusion in the above list does not constitute any endorsement of any product or service by MLCNet.  If you require further information on this subject, please Email info@mlc.net.

When I am on-line, can others access my computer or my files?

Maybe.  If you are using Microsoft Windows for Workgroups, Windows 9x or Windows NT (actually any operating system that allows you to share files), and you have enabled file sharing, then the answer is theoretically YES.  Anyone with the knowledge of how to attach to shared drives would be able to, at the least, attempt to access your files - and, perhaps actually do so depending upon the security you have in place. While there may be situations where this is actually what you want (as a temporary means to exchange files between businesses or family members, for example), in general this is not a safe practice.  The best practice is to disable file sharing on those operating systems that support it.  If file sharing is not enabled, or if your operating system doesn't support it, others cannot access your computer or your files.

We hope you have found this FAQ helpful.  If you still have questions, please Email support@mlc.net, or call our office.

Contact Us!

MLCNet is best viewed at 800 x 600 resolution with 32K colors, or higher.

If you experience problems with our site, please send Email to: hostmaster@mlc.net.

All contents Copyright (C) 1996-2009 MLCNet. All brands and product names mentioned on this site are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies. Any mention of any brand, product or company, or any link to an external Web site, is intended for informational purposes only, and should not be construed in any way to imply any endorsement of MLCNet by any mentioned entity (and vice versa), or affiliation between any mentioned entity and MLCNet. Any such endorsements or affiliations are explicitly explained where applicable.