Popular internet tips
Tips to keep you safe
If you ever worry about your PC crashing or your hard disk failing and consequently losing your valuable data, personal emails or family photos, then why not look into online storage? Online storage sites allow you to save important files to your own private space on the web, so, if disaster strikes, you always have a back-up! Online data storage also has other benefits, like letting you access your files from anywhere in the world. Here are some of the best online data storage sites courtesy of webuser magazine;
Webmail
‘Webmail’ is a common term for email that can be accessed over the internet, hence the use of ‘web’ and ‘mail’. Access to Webmail means you can get your email through a browser (like Internet Explorer) from anywhere in the world. So, even when you are soaking up the sun in Spain or travelling cross-country in Oz, your Karoo email is just a few clicks away.
To access this service simply get online and go to www.karoo.co.uk
- Locate Karoo webmail on the right hand side of the Karoo website (opposite Karoo today).
- Enter your email address and password and click 'login'
Hey presto! Karoo email at anytime of the day, anywhere in the world!
Please note: We only recommend this feature as a ‘back-up’ service for collecting your unread emails when not at your regular PC or broadband access point. Emails that have been opened before entering Webmail cannot be downloaded, and contact address books and copies of sent items are not currently available via Webmail.
Did you know that your Karoo account gives you up to five separate email addresses to allow everyone in your household to have their own email address?
The format of your default email address is username@username.karoo.co.uk, but you can use additional email accounts to allow different members of the family to have their own personal email addresses: for example, dad@username.karoo.co.uk, mum@username.karoo.co.uk etc.
Not sure if you need an additional Karoo email address? Read the article called 'Do I need an additional email account/address?' on the right hand side of this article.
Happy to procede? Follow the instructions provided in 'How do I create a new email address with Karoo?' found on the right hand side of this page. Here you’ll find step-by-step instructions for setting up your extra email addresses.
Broadband Speeds
One of the factors that affects the speed of your broadband connection is your line speed – the maximum broadband speed your telephone line will physically support.
Your line speed is determined by a number of factors, including how far you live from the exchange, the quality and length of any telephone extension cables/sockets in your home and radio interference or random noise interruption.
Broadband services that operate at up to 8Mbps are much more sensitive to line conditions than slower broadband services, so if you use one of the Karoo Broadband Max services, it’s worth doing everything you can to improve the performance of your phone line by reducing interference.
The tips below will help you to ensure you get the best line speed possible.
Ensure that your ADSL hardware/telephone cable are not within a direct vicinity of the following items as this can cause line/electrical interference and make your connection speed slower:
- Sky receiver
- Fax machine
- Digital Cordless Telephone/Base Unit
- Alarm system
- Electric fan/heater
- Thermostats
- CB radio aerials
Pylons and thunderstorms have also been known to cause slow line speeds but unfortunately these are unavoidable!
Top tips!
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Try connecting your ADSL hardware directly into the master telephone socket in your home rather than using an extension cable or extension socket. While still plugged into the master socket, unplug all other telephone devices, (additional telephones, cordless phones, fax, Sky box, etc.) Swap the microfilter that the ADSL device plugs into for another one (with telephony equipment still unplugged) and see if your speed improves. |
In addition to the speed of your line, the connection speed you receive is also affected by the following:
- The speed of the Internet and websites you are visiting.
- How busy the Karoo network is.
- Whether you are sharing your broadband connection with others in your home.
- Automated background updates.
- Firewall and/or anti-virus software activity.
- Web proxy.
- Spyware or Adware slowing down your computer speed.
If you have any questions about your connection speed please call the Karoo technical support desk or email them at help@kcom.com
Buying your first computer? Or upgrading your old one?
As you begin to look around for the best deal you will be struck by the vast array of promising offers and promotions online. We have trawled the web to find you the best links and advice to help you make the right choice:
Buying online from a high street retailer
Buying from an online only retailer
Help Choosing
If the choice is just too much there are some websites dedicated to helping you make the right choice.
Social networking
MySpace.com is one of the fastest-growing 'social networking' sites on the Web. It lets you build your own homepage, listing your favourite bands, books, movies and general interests so that you can make contact with people who like the same things you do. It's also a forum for you to make your own content - art, photography, music and film -available for others to see.
Getting started on MySpace is easy and doesn't cost anything. Here's our simple guide to joining the MySpace revolution.
Step 1: Create your own profile
Go to www.myspace.comand click on Sign Up. You'll need to register by entering brief details about yourself. MySpace guarantees that it will keep your personal information private and confidential and only show online what you choose to share.
Step 2: Add your photo
This is optional and you don't need to do it when you first sign up - you can come back and upload a photo later.
Step 3: Invite your friends along
At this stage of the sign up process you can invite friends and acquaintances to join MySpace by entering their email addresses. Again, MySpace gives a guarantee that their addresses won't be used for any purpose other than to invite them to join MySpace. You can invite friends to join MySpace at any time.
Step 4: Personalise your space
This is where it gets interesting. You now have your own homepage on MySpace, where you can:
- Choose your MySpace name and URL (homepage address) - once you've done this you can't change it, so it's worth giving it some thought
- Write your profile - information about you, such as your background, interests, favourite films, books and music
- Post your first blog and subscribe to other people's MySpace blogs
- Upload videos and photos
- Add MySpace friends to your page
What you do on MySpace from here is up to you and depends on your interests and reasons for joining the site, whether you want to meet new people, use MySpace to keep in contact with existing friends, or use the site as a showcase for your creative talents!
Online auctions - eBay
eBay is one of the most-visited sites on the Web. It was launched in September 1995 by a Californian-based software engineer, Pierre Omidyar, under the less-catchy name of ‘Auction Web’.
Within months of its launch, several thousand auctions had taken place. Ten years on, the site, which changed its name to eBay in 1997, has over 150 million users in dozens of countries.
If you’re not one of the millions of eBay users already out there and want to know how to sell (or buy) on the world’s best-know auction site, read on...
Before you can become a seller on eBay, you need to go through a simple registration process. Because eBay charges you a fee for anything you sell online, you need to provide debit or credit card information and bank details as part of the registration process.
Once you’re registered as a seller, you can list as many items as you like for sale, either by auction, where people will make bids, or for a fixed price which you set. Other things you need to think about when listing an item for sale are:
- Which category to list it under - the best way to do this is to think about how buyers would search for it
- The starting price – many sellers find that by starting at a lower price, 99p for example, they actually experience higher sales.
- The duration of your listing. Although you can list items for as little as a day, many sellers choose to list them for seven days. Including a weekend, when people often have more leisure time in which to shop, is a good idea.
- How to describe your item. You can pick up tips on how to attract bids by reading descriptions of items that have received a lot of interest.
If you’re selling by auction you’ll receive an email from eBay to tell you if your item has been sold or not when the duration of the auction is up. If your item has sold, the successful bidder will also receive an email advising them to make payment. You should only send goods to a bidder once you’ve received payment.
An important feature of eBay is the ability for buyers and sellers to provide feedback about each other – comments like whether payment has been received promptly and whether or not items bought were as described or packaged carefully. It’s good manners to provide positive feedback if a sale or purchase has gone well, but negative feedback- where it’s justified - is just as useful to fellow buyers and sellers.
Want to know more? Go to www.ebay.co.ukto have a look at what’s for sale right now or to www.ebay.co.uk/explained for more information about buying and selling.
