InBox

By DON McALLISTER

Welcome to InBox, where we attempt to answer your internet questions.


Q: It's trick or treat when trying to unbundle Jet internet from Telecom phone charges. Several readers have complained about the changeover from Jetstart accounts provided by Telecom to the unbundled (UBS) version with their own internet provider. After accepting the 256kbps (kilobits a second) carrot to make the change, Ben, Andy, Sharon and others have experienced a 9 to 36 hour internet-dead changeover and none are happy with their providers.

A: Rather than comment without experiencing it first-hand Ben, I applied for Ihug's Bliink product two weeks ago. You'd expect teething issues to be rectified. It seems not. Ihug sent the change request, but for some inexplicable reason the work order that reached the Xtra technicians only terminated the ADSL connection 30 hours ago. As I write it's still not available. So much for a quick changeover.

A lack of a reconnection order means no internet connection. This smells surprisingly similar to other curious system failures and glitches arising for independent internet providers since the advent of Xtra. We have to allow for the landslide of users heading for these faster options.

Be warned: if you are not an Xtra customer and prefer the unbundled service offerings from your independent internet provider, prepare for a lengthy delay at changeover. If you are waiting in queue to change to these new accounts, make sure your old 56k modem is in good order as you may need it for that day or two.

Oh, and when ringing Telecom 123 to complain, enjoy the Xtra advert which suggests the Xtra Jetstream product as option number one to press for services available. Quite ironic, isn't it.

Experiencing delays switching to these new unbundled ADSL accounts?


Q: When I attempt to shut down I get a message, "You must quit this programme before shutting down Windows." The programme is svchostc, writes Peter.

A: You have a variant of the CoolWebSearch hijacker, Peter.

Try: Adaware, Spybot and CWShredder, in that order. Addresses: Adaware, Lavas Of USA; Spybot, beam.to/spybotsd; CWShredder, Merijn



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