Browsing Tips
1: If you cannot browse any website, check to see if you can PING your gateway. A. You should issue a ping command to your Gateway to be sure that you are browsing.

Q2: If you cannot PING can any machine on the network PING? A. If a particular machine on your network is not browsing or pinging, can any other machine browse or ping? If you find out that this is the case, it means that the particular machine that cannot browse or ping has an issue which could be a network cable problem, a virus or a LAN problem. First of all, restart the machine as 90% of problems are resolved when you restart the machine.

Q3: If browser appears slow have you added new machines to network of late?
A. Whenever a clients joins our network, they have a dedicated bandwidth as agreed to on their Service Agreement. This bandwidth will run smoothly for certain number of computers, when you stretch your bandwidth by exceeding the required range of computers, the speed of your Internet connection will decrease in performance.

Q4. Have you tempered with NAS equipments? A. In order to optimize their Internet Connection, some of our clients change the settings of NAS equipments i.e. putting a Linux proxy on their LAN. You should inform NAS of such changes as they affect your connectivity to the Internet. Also, it is impossible for NAS technicians to give you remote technical support when you have tempered with our equipments without informing us.

Q5: I am not able to send email attachment, why? A. There are so many reasons why you cannot send attachment. Depending on your email provider, you are confine to certain range of megabytes for most web based email providers, if you exceed the required limitation, your email attachment will not be able to pass to the Internet. Another reason could be that certain attachment will not be uploaded when the anti-virus of your email provider recognize that the attachment contain a virus. Another reason could be that you didn't configure your mail user agent correctly, such as Outlook, or Outlook Express.

Q6: Have you exceeded your specified Bandwidth? A. For every bandwidth you sign up for, NAS Global specifies the number of Computers that you can use with the said bandwidth in order for your Internet connection to operate at an optimal level. When you exceed the specified number of Computers, you should expect your connection speed to drop in performance... to top


 Essential browsing Information
In order to get you up and running as fast as possible and to give you the best service, NAS Global has developed some helpful tips to optimize your surfing process and speed up your Internet connection.
Q1: If you cannot browse then check to see if any machine on your network can? A. If this is the case, you can be sure that the machine which is not browsing has an issue. Either the cable has been slightly disconnected, frayed or/and there is LAN issue. Restart the machine and try browsing again, this is because 90% of most problems are solved when you restart a machine that has a problem.

Q2: If you cannot browse a web page, i.e www.hotmail.com or www.msn.com can you browse any other web page at all i.e. www.nasglobal.com , www.google.com ? A. When there is a lot of traffic on a particular website, it will take quite sometime before the web page loads. This often happens to big email providers such as Hotmail and Yahoo. Try opening another website like www.nasglobal.com and see if this web page loads, if it does, then you are sure that the website whose page is not displaying has a lot of traffic.

Q3: If browser appears slow …is someone downloading? A. Some contents on the Internet are resource hungry i.e. Java Applets, pages that contain large images, multi-media and streaming contents, etc. We advice that if you decide to do any of the following, do them one at a time.

Q4: Have you installed any new software i.e. Kazza?
A. Some of the software you install on your machine require a lot of memory and processor speed thereby slowing down your machine. It is not advisable to install heavy applications on computers that would be used as clients. Downloading untrusted third party software (freeware or/and shareware) installs a lot spyware on your computer which continuously link to the Internet and give out valuable information about your computer.
Q5: If browser appears slow how many browser windows do you have open? A. To optimize the speed of the Internet connection on your computer, you should confine yourself to a few web pages. For each web page you open, you are connected to a server miles away; connecting to several web pages demand the attention of your computer; thus putting a lot of load on your system. As much as possible, open a few pages i.e. two to three at most.

Q6: Is someone on the network doing Stream? A. Music and Video websites require a lot of bandwidth before they can work properly. So, do not be surprise a single computer on your network is consuming most of your bandwidth thereby slowing down your Internet connection. NAS recommends that you keep streaming music and videos to a minimal. As much as possible, endeavor to keep heavy downloads to a minimal.

Q7.Viruses can slow down your Browsing speed. A. When you notice that computers on your network is passing out a lot of traffic then it's receiving, this is as a result of a virus. Mass mailers viruses can infect your network and choke your network speed thereby slowing down your browsing speed. Refer to our "Practical Steps to prevent computer viruses" article for steps to prevent virus attacks. We also have a download section that includes a lot of useful utilities.

Network Configuration
This article is relevant to NAS Global customers that are implementing Microsoft Operating Systems i.e Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows ME, Windows XP, Windows 2003 etc.
To our Customers that are deploying other Operating Systems i.e Linux, Novell, Unix etc on their network, we recommend they refer to the particular Operating System manual to implement this step.

When connecting to NAS Global service you may need to configure your PC. Your LAN administrator will have been supplied with the necessary information which may include:
1. IP addresses.
2. Subnet Masks.
3. Gateway IP address.
4. DNS Addresses.

To enter this data on any of your computers, choose the Operating System that you deploy from below and follow the instructions:

Windows '95, Windows '98
1. Click the 'Start' button (lower left corner of the screen)

2. Click 'Settings' then 'Control Panel'

3. In the control Panel Window find and double click the Network Icon

4. When the Network window loads it displays the Configuration' tab find the entry which starts '  
   TCP/IP  ...'click it once then select 'Properties'

5. Depending on your local configuration (consult your system administrator) you should either
- Click 'Obtain an IP address from a DHCP server' and then the OK button. That's all you have to do.
- Click 'Specify an IP address' in which case you should proceed as follows:
- Enter the IP address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway values supplied by your systems
  administrator in the relevant lines (each entry should be a group of four numbers - 1 to 3 digits long
  separated by a 'dot')
- Click the 'DNS' tab and enter the following values:
- Under 'Host Name' enter the value supplied by your system administrator if none is supplied enter
  any 1 to 10 character vale (e.g. your first name or your mailbox account name)
- Under 'Domain Name' enter your domain name (the part of your e-mail address AFTER the @ sign)
- In the 'DNS Service Search Order' section remove any current entries (by click each line once and
  then the 'Remove' button)
- Then click the 'Add' button and enter the Primary NAS Global DNS IP address, click OK
- Click 'Add' again and enter the Secondary NAS Global DNS IP Address, click OK
- Go to the bottom of this window and click OK, then OK again.

6. You will normally be prompted to restart your PC (you can delay this process but remember you 
    will not be able to access the Internet until you have restarted your PC).

Windows NT 4.0/5.0/Windows 2000
1. Click the 'Start' button (lower left corner of the screen)
2. Click 'Settings' then 'Control Panel'
3. In the control Panel Window find and double click the Network Icon
4. When the Network window loads click the Protocols tab then find the entry which starts 'TCP/IP
    ...' click it once then select 'Properties'

5. Depending on your local configuration (consult your system administrator) you should either:
-  Click 'Obtain an IP address from a DHCP server' and then the OK button. That's all you have to do.
-   Click 'Specify an IP address' in which case you should proceed as follows:
-  Enter the IP address, Subnet Mask and Default Gateway values supplied by your systems
   administrator in the relevant lines (each entry should be a group of four numbers - 1 to 3 digits
   long - separated by a 'dot')
-  Click the 'DNS' radio button and enter the following values:
-  Enter the preferred DNS address supplied to you by NAS Global
-  Enter the Alternate DNS address supplied to you by NAS Global
-  Go to the bottom of this window and click OK, then OK again.
6. You will normally be prompted to restart your PC (you can delay this process but remember you
    will not be able to access the Internet until you have restarted your PC)

- NAS DNS Servers Addresses
The following are NAS Global DNS addresses:
PRIMARY DNS = 196.201.160.161
SECONDARY DNS = 196.201.160.164
SECONDARY DNS = 196.201.160.230
NOTE: Changing the settings of the DNS may affect your system getting on to our network. You may also want to read our glossary page which explains some of the mysteries of DNS, domain names and other interesting things!
Kindly refer to our article "Configuring Your Computer" to understand how you can configure your computer to use our DNS Servers..

- NAS Telephone Support
At NAS Global, we run a 24 hours, 7 days a week, 365 days a year Customer Support Center. You can call any of our lines below and you will have a customer representative or a technical support personnel to answer your questions. So, why not go ahead and give us a call, we would be more than happy to talk with you.
We grow everyday and we want our customers to grow with us.
 +233-21-7012800
 +233-21-7012801
 +233-21-7012802

 - NAS Technical Support
Our technical and support team is made up of experienced and dedicated Engineers and technicians ranging from Radio Frequency Engineers to Wide Area Network Specialists. NAS Global technical team is a one stop department for all your technical questions, issues and problems.
We also have a dedicated Support team that will respond to any of our clients problems within 48 hours. We strongly believe that our clients should be satisfied to the fullest and we do all we can to make that belief a reality.
Email = tech@nasglobal.com
Telephone = +233-21-7012800/2
Fax = +233-21-7012803

 - Common Types of Viruses
Viruses are classified into two categories, based on how they propagate themselves. The first type, called a "boot sector virus," resides in the first sector of a floppy-disk or hard-disk drive. When the computer is booted, the virus executes. This is the common method of transmitting viruses from one floppy disk to another. Each time a new disk is inserted and accessed, the virus replicates itself onto the new drive. The second type of virus is known as a "file infector." Such a virus attaches itself to a file or program and activates anytime the file is used. Many subcategories of file infectors exist. The following list describes a few of the more common file infectors:

Companion Virus = A companion virus is so named because it uses the name of the real program-its companion. A companion virus activates by using a different file extension from its companion. For example, suppose we decide to start a program called "wordprocessor.exe." When the command is given to execute the application, a virus named "wordprocessor.com" will execute in it's place. It is able to do so because a .com files takes priority over an .exe file.
Macro Virus = A macro virus is difficult to detect and is becoming more common. It is so named because it is written as a macro for a specific application. Popular applications, such as Microsoft Word, are targets for these viruses. When the user opens a file that contains the virus, the virus attaches itself to the application and then infects any other files accessed by that application.
Polymorphic Virus = A polymorphic virus is so named because it changes its appearance every time it is replicated. This renders it more difficult to detect because no two are exactly the same.
Stealth Virus = A stealth virus is so named because it attempts to hide from detection. When an antivirus program attempts to find it, the stealth virus tries to intercept the probe and return false information indicating that it does not exist.
 Practical Steps to prevent viruses
If you have gone through other sub categories carefully, you would have understood some of the symptoms of a Computer virus. Viruses don't only mess up the hard-disk-drive, they are also deadly when they spread across a network, thus consuming a lot of bandwidth. When you notice any unusual behavior on your system, you can be sure that you are infected with a virus. There are several measures you can implore to prevent and/or recognize computer viruses.
This procedure is quite restraining and time consuming but it's worth a great deal if you don't intend to spend hours formatting all your workstations and re-installing numerous OS and programs over and over again.

Step 1: Try and scan all floppy disks that you intend to use on your systems. You should do this to prevent "Boot Sector Viruses". If you think your floppy-disk contain a virus, FORMAT it to be certain

Step 2: Write protect all your floppy disks when you insert them in any computer

Step 3: Scan all attachments you receive through email even if they are from an authentic source.

Step 4: DO NOT visit websites you don't trust as most of these websites have malicious scripts and codes that are harmful to your system. You can do this by specifying the content and security settings in your web browser. For Internet Explorer, open a webpage, click Tools/Internet Options, select the Security or/and Content tab and make your changes., see the help section of Internet Explorer (Any version)

Step 5: Use an Internet Firewall = Before you connect your computer to the Internet, you should install a firewall. This is a piece of software or hardware that helps prevent hackers, and many types of viruses and worms, from accessing your computer. Firewalls are the most important first line of defense for computer security. You should also use Windows® Update and antivirus software to help protect your PC.
If you have a computer with Windows 2000 Professional, Windows Millennium Edition (Me), Windows 98, Windows 95, or Windows NT, you should get and install either a hardware or software firewall. The following resources provide more information about some firewall options.
Hardware Firewalls
Hardware firewalls are a good alternative for earlier versions of Windows. Many wireless access points and broadband routers for home networking have built-in hardware firewalls. These provide sound protection for most home networks.
Software Firewalls
Software firewalls can be obtained from the following companies
http://blackice.iss.net/microsoft.php

http://us.mcafee.com/root/campaign.asp?cid=8437

http://download.zonelabs.com

Step 6: Get Computer Updates = Applying updates mitigates the risk of attacks that can exploit security vulnerabilities in your environment. In homes and small offices where users self-manage software installation and computer maintenance, Windows Update, Office Update, and Automatic Updates should be set up to keep Windows and Office current on security updates. Administrators want to manage updates efficiently and reliably on many computers. IT Professionals must test to determine compatibility before deploying software updates. Software Update Services (SUS), Systems Management Server (SMS), and several other tools, products, and processes can help automate the Patch Management process.

Most computer users deploy Microsoft technologies, if you are in this category you should constantly update your machines). If you use another type of operating system, visit your vendor website for latest security updates. Whichever system and application software you use, make sure you update them regularly.

Step 7: Use Up-to-Date Antivirus Software: Antivirus software is a program that either comes installed on your computer or that you purchase and install yourself. It helps protect your computer against most viruses, worms, Trojans, and other unwanted invaders that can make your computer "sick." Viruses, worms, and the like, often perform malicious acts, such as deleting files, accessing personal data, or using your computer to attack other computers. Help your computer stay healthy by asking yourself the following questions:

A. Do you have antivirus software installed on your computer? Many major computer manufacturers include at least a trial version of a popular antivirus package on new computers.
1. Click Start, and then click Programs. Look for an item in  the list with a name like McAfee, Norton, or Symantec.

2. If you don't have antivirus software installed, check out the following antivirus software companies for special offers on their products

http://www.symantecstore.com/BlasterProtect2/
http://us.mcafee.com/root/landingpages/default.asp?lpname=ms_vso&cid=8448

If you already have antivirus software installed, but you want to install a new product from a different company, be certain to uninstall your current product before installing the new one. Leaving the previous version installed can cause conflicts on your system.


B. Is your antivirus software up to date? Out-of-date antivirus software means ineffective antivirus software. Antivirus software relies on regular updates to help protect against the latest threats. If you aren't subscribing to these updates, your computer may be vulnerable to threats.

1. Make sure you have activated a subscription for continuous updates of your antivirus software.

2. Most antivirus software updates itself when you are connected to the Internet. To ensure your software is up to date, open your antivirus program from the Start menu or the taskbar notification area and look for update status. If you still aren't sure if your antivirus software is up to date, contact your antivirus software provider.

C. Is your antivirus software set up correctly to provide the best protection possible? The following settings should be turned on by default when you install the software. If you turn them off for any reason, be sure to turn them back on before you connect to the Internet.
1. "On-access" or "real-time" scanning should be turned on. An icon in your notification area should appear to indicate that this setting is enabled.
2.  Antivirus software should perform a scheduled scan of your hard disk.
3.  Antivirus software should be configured to scan e-mail messages.
 

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