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Title: Hang Up The Phone
And Fix Your Problem Yourself
Author: By Mary V. Stasiewicz
Information technology (IT) problems can be
one of
the most frustrating problems facing both homeowners and small business
owners. For many, the source of this frustration is problems with the
Internet connection. Both homeowners and small business owners rely on
their Internet for their daily activities and when there is a problem
with their connection it can delay business. They usually do not have a
dedicated, onsite IT staff and often have nowhere to turn except the
customer service department of their Internet service provider (ISP).
Although the customer service department may be knowledgeable and
helpful, they are also usually small in number compared to the
customers with questions or problems. This can mean minutes or even
hours spent on hold waiting to ask a question. Fortunately there is a
better solution. With a little bit of education, these same homeowners
and small business owners can learn to fix some of the simpler problems
so they won’t be put in the position of being reliant on
customer
service. This article will illustrate some of the common Internet
problems and offer suggested solutions for these common problems.
Homeowners and small business owners who depend on email for imperative
communications may be troubled by difficulties when email functions
aren’t working properly. Before picking up the phone and
dialing
customer service there are a few things the individual can try for
themselves. Not being able to open attachments, receive or send emails
are just a few of the common problems.
If an attachment is not opening properly it may mean the user is trying
to open the application in an incorrect program. Try opening the
document in a text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad. If this
doesn’t work contact the individual who sent the email and
ask
them the application used to create the attachment. If the correct
application is available, try saving the attachment and attempting to
open it with the, "Open with," option. This is available by right
clicking on the file name. An alternative solution would be to set the
correct application for the default for the particular file extension.
This can be changed through the "File Types" tab of the folder options
dialogue box.
Difficulty sending or receiving emails may involve more complex
analysis. There are, however, still a few simple things to check before
contacting customer service. If both sending and receiving emails are
problematic, one of the most common errors is not actually being
connected to the Internet. Verify the connection was made and if it is
found to not be valid, attempt to reconnect. If sending is not an issue
but receiving is, there may be an email with a large attachment
attempting to come through. This can be difficult and may create delays
in receiving emails. If this problem is suspected, accessing email
through a web application may be helpful. The attachment can often be
saved to the hard drive through the web application. There may also be
problems with sending emails while there are no issues with receiving.
If this is the case, it is often useful to verify the user name and
password for SMTP authentication is correct. Both the user name and
password can be case sensitive.
Viruses are another problem faced by homeowners and small business
owners. If a virus is suspected or an email recipient had a virus
transmitted from your account, it is possible the computer has been
affected by a virus. This may be the result of non-existent virus
detection software, virus detection software which has not been updated
or a virus which was not recognized by the virus detection software was
acquired. If the virus detection software is non-existent or not
properly updated, it is time to install a program or update it. This
may correct the problem. However, if it is not corrected by the
installation or update of a virus detection program, contacting
customer service may be required to ensure no further damage is done by
the virus.
Not being able to access a particular website is another common
problem. If this occurs and other websites are functioning correctly,
verify the address is correct. If the correct address is being used,
there may be problems with the host server. Wait an hour or so and
attempt to access the website again. If no websites are accessible,
there may be other problems. Try rebooting the computer and
re-establishing the Internet connection. If this does not fix the
problem, contact your ISP, they may be having problems which are
affecting service for their customers. ISPs often update their voice
message to indicate they are aware of the problem so it may not take
long to find out if there is an existing problem.
Another common problem accessing websites may be the parental control
settings. These settings may deny access to websites with adult or
otherwise offensive content. The user can customize these settings to
filter or allow access to any type of content they desire. If the user
suspects this as the cause of the problem adjustments can be made to
this setting in the "Content" tab of the Internet options dialogue box.
Although this list of common Internet problems is by no means
conclusive, it does provide the reader with a few of the most common
problems and possible fixes for these problems. This can give the
homeowner or business owner a few tools for fixing their own problems
before spending hours waiting for customer service.
Article Source: http://www.articledashboard.com
By Mary V. Stasiewicz sponsored by www.it-shop-online.co.uk. IT Shop
Online provides ADSL router's, wireless
network and Information technology solutions. Article
reproductions must include a link to www.it-shop-online.co.uk
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"I thank you with EXTREME
thanks. My
computer works perfectly once
again."
Pearl Hartman
"Thanks guys, that did the
trick. Man, it is sure nice and quiet on
the net now!"
Joe Samson
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