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1. How do I set up my e-mail accounts?
2. How do I send and receive e-mail messages on my existing accounts?
3. For no apparent reason, my Anvil service sometimes “locks up.” Why? What can I do?
4. Is there a problem with placement of the Anvil antenna on my property?
5. I am having e-mail problems, the service seems to be very slow. Why is that?
6. I received an e-mail from your office is it really from you, it wasn’t signed?
7. What is the size of attachments that I can send with my e-mails?
8. For no apparent reason, my Anvil service sometimes “locks up.” Why? What can I do?
9. How do I power cycle my radio?
10. How do I reboot my router?
11. What about rebooting the entire system? What order do I do it in?
12. Which port on the back of my computer is the ethernet port?
13. How do I put in the settings for my IP address?
14. I seem to be power cycling my radio a lot. What could be causing this to happen and how do I fix it?
15. Peer-to-Peer Usage.
16. Unlisted vs Global Ip address. What is the difference?
17. Voice over IP or “VoIP”
18. SPAM
If you have questions that are not answered in the FAQ you can also send your questions to service@anvilcom.com. We will respond to you directly with your answers.
1. How do I set up my e-mail accounts?
The answer to this question depends on whether you want to keep old e-mail addresses or use new ones.
If you wish to use your new Anvil e-mail addresses
and haven’t already done so, contact our office (512-847-1180) and give our customer service folks your choice for e-mail account names along with passwords for each account. Account names (the part of your e-mail address in front of the @ sign) must be all lower case, can be letters and numbers (but no punctuation except periods), and cannot contain any spaces. E-mail passwords must be 6-14 characters, may contain upper and lower case letters (it is case-sensitive), may also contain numbers, but may NOT contain spaces or punctuation.
To set up new accounts on your PC, navigate to the “E-mail Accounts” set-up box. (For users of MS Outlook or Outlook Express, go to
Tools, E-mail Accounts. Click on “Add a new e-mail account” and then “POP3” and “Next” to get to the set-up box.)
For illustration purposes, we have used a fictitious name “bopeep” and password “blacksheep”. This account would have the e-mail address
“bopeep@anvilcom.com.”) All e-mail applications require four different settings. navigate to the appropriate screen and configure the following:
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Account name:
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bopeep
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E-Mail address:
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bopeep@anvilcom.com
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Password:
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blacksheep
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Incoming mail server (POP3):
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mail1.anvilcom.com
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Outgoing mail server (SMTP):
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mail.anvilcom.com
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(Please note that Anvil’s POP3 and SMTP entries are different. This is important!)
Now click on Test Account Settings to confirm that your account is working properly. If not
, go back and double check all your entries from above. If everything checks out, click on Finish and your account should be working.
If you wish to keep existing e-mail addresses you can, but please understand that Anvil has
no control over these addresses. You should have no problems in sending and receiving your e-mail using these existing accounts. You will have to maintain an account with the
service that supplies you with the address in order to continue using the old address and make a couple of changes to the account properties.
2. How I send and receive e-mail on my existing accounts?
Here’s how to send and receive e-mail messages on your existing accounts using Anvil as your service provider. First, navigate to the “E-mail Account
” set-up box. For users of MS Outlook and Outlook Express, go to Tools, E-mail Account. Click on “View or change existing e-mail accounts” and “Next
.” Your existing accounts will be listed. Click on the account you wish to modify to highlight the account, then click on “Change.” You are now looking at the configuration page.
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Highlight the entry for Outgoing mail server (SMTP) and change it to mail.anvilcom.com.
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Leave the Incoming mail server (POP3) as is.
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Click on Test Account Settings to confirm that the account is working.
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Repeat this process for each of your non-Anvil e-mail accounts.
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You may wish to add your e-mail address in the “reply to” field to ensure that replies get sent to that address.
For Anvil subscribers who use other e-mail applications, such as Yahoo or Netscape, or for MAC users, it is necessary to establish the
Account Name, Password, POP3 and SMTP settings (from above) at the appropriate place where e-mail accounts are configured.
3. For no apparent reason, my Anvil service sometimes “locks up.” Why? What can I do?
Radios used for wireless Internet connections are sensitive electronic instruments, not unlike
PCs. They are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in power. Unfortunately, those of us who live in Wimberley and surrounding areas are subject to frequent power fluctuations. When
this happens, the radios are programmed to go through a reboot cycle. If another fluctuation occurs during the reboot cycle (as sometimes happens), the radio becomes confused and “locks up.”
Fortunately, the problem is usually simple to fix. Most often, a quick manual power recycling
will restore the radio to its normal operational mode. You can do this by unplugging the power from the Anvil wall plate (the green light will go off), waiting about fifteen seconds,
and plug it back in. The green light will come back on and service will be restored. (Radio power is supplied from a wall transformer, installed by Anvil when your service was initiated.
The transformer is plugged into the bottom of the Anvil wall plate just below the Ethernet cable that connects to your computer.)
If you also have a router for your home or office network, it is also prone to the same
problem and the solution is the same. Recycle the power to the router and that should restore it to normal operations. (Do this AFTER you recycle power to the radio.)
Finally, it is a good idea to reboot your computer after recycling power to the router. This
will ensure that the computer has obtained a proper IP address and other network setup information from the router.
Installing a good surge protector can help. Connect Anvil’s radio power transformer, as
well as your computer and router, into the surge protector. Some of Anvil’s customers have had success in minimizing power problems by installing a power conditioner. This device,
which typically costs about $100, is quite effective at smoothing the occasional power fluctuations. Contact us if you wish to purchase one for your home of office.
4. Is there a problem with placement of the Anvil antenna on my property?
There is are not any problems with having an Anvil antenna on your property. It falls under the FCC rules and regulations. See the FCC antenna rule.
5. I am having e-mail problems, the service seems to be very slow. Why is that?
Occasionally, people are having difficulty sending e-mail, most often when an attachment is
being sent. We have traced the apparent cause to e-mail viruses that have infected a number of people here in town. If you are having trouble sending e-mail it does not
necessarily mean that you are infected. The virus causes infected machines to periodically send out floods of e-mail that overwhelm our e-mail servers and legitimate e-mail cannot get
through. Additionally, this extra traffic adds an extra burden on the entire network that slows down everyone’s service.
We are taking actions to relieve this problem. We are being more aggressive in finding and
responding to customers who are infected with e-mail viruses. When we detect a subscriber with an e-mail virus we will block their service and immediately alert them to the problem.
There are several people in town we can recommend to assist you in fixing the problem.
You can help avoid getting infected by following a few basic guidelines. Please do not open
attachments unless you know the source and are expecting to receive the attachment from them. This cannot be stressed enough. E-mail viruses spread primarily
through people who open infected attachments. We at Anvil and all your fellow subscribers will appreciate this effort and everyone’s service will benefit.
6. I received an e-mail from your office is it really from you, it wasn’t signed?
There is one specific item that has come to our attention, several variations of an e-mail
have been received by some of our subscribers claiming to come from our office and asking for personal information or carrying infected attachments. I would like to assure you that
Anvil will never send you, without prior arrangements, any e-mail with attachments and we will NEVER ask for personal information through e-mail. If you have received one of these e
-mails please delete it without opening the attachment. Any e-mail from Anvil will be informational only, will have the name of a person here, will clearly state it is from “Anvil
Communications, Inc.” and include a return e-mail address as well as our phone numbers.
7. What is the size of attachments that I can send with my e-mail?
The maximum size of e-mail is 10MB. The size of your e-mail inbox is approximately 50MB.
We recommend that you download your e-mail files to your computer instead of leaving them on our server. Once it is downloaded to your machine, you will have it accessible to you at all times.
When you are away, you can check your e-mail though Webmail on our website (www
.anvilcom.com - left hand corner). With Webmail you can create, send, forward, read and/or delete any e-mails. By deleting e-mail you do not wish to keep (like spam) it will fee up more
space for more important e-mails that you will receive.
8. For no apparent reason, my Anvil service sometimes “locks up.” Why? What can I do?
Radios used for wireless Internet connections are sensitive electronic instruments, not unlike
PCs. They are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in power. Unfortunately, those of us who live in Wimberley and surrounding areas are subject to frequent power fluctuations. When
this happens, the radios are programmed to go through a reboot cycle. If another fluctuation occurs during the reboot cycle (as sometimes happens), the radio becomes confused and “locks up.”
Fortunately, the problem is usually simple to fix. Most often, a quick manual power recycling
will restore the radio to its normal operational mode. You can do this by unplugging the power from the Anvil wall plate (the green light will go off), waiting about fifteen seconds,
and plugging it back in. The green light will come back on and service will be restored. This could take several minutes, so please be patient! (Radio power is supplied from a wall
transformer, installed by Anvil when your service was initiated. The transformer is plugged into the bottom of the Anvil wall plate just below the Ethernet cable that connects to your
computer. Please refer to the picture on the right.)
If you also have a router for your home or office network, it is also prone to the same
problem and the solution is the same. Cycle the power to the router by unplugging the power cord to it and that should restore it to normal operations. (Do this AFTER you
recycle power to the radio.) Finally, it is important to reboot your computer after recycling power to the router. This will ensure that the computer has obtained a proper IP address
and other network setup information from the router.
Installing a good surge protector can help. Connect Anvil’s radio power transformer, as well
as your computer and router, into the surge protector. Some of Anvil’s customers have had success in minimizing power problems by installing a power conditioner. This device, which
typically costs about $100, is quite effective at smoothing the occasional power fluctuations. Contact us if you wish to purchase one for your home of office.
9. How do I power cycle my radio?
To power cycle your radio, remove the black cord from the wall plate, wait 10 seconds and then plug it back in
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10. How do I reboot my router?
Unplug the power cord going into the router.
11. What about rebooting the entire system? What order do I do it in?
Shut down all your computers first. Unplug the power plug on the wall plate (in 9). Unplug the power plug on the router (in 10).
To turn everything back on. Plug in the power to the wall plate first (the green light will come
on). Plug in the power to the router second, then turn on your computers. Everything has now been rebooted properly.
12. Which port on the back of my computer is the ethernet port?
You will see openings or ports on that look like a telephone jack would fir them. There is a
large one, this is the ethernet port. This is where will plug the cable that comes from the wall plate or from your router. (Layout may vary).
13. How do I put in the settings for my IP address?
If you are using Windows XP and do not have a router:
To edit/change your IP address,
click on START (lower left corner on your monitor),
click on Control Panel,
click on Network Connections,
right click on Local Area Connections,
click on properties (at the bottom of the pop up menu)
highlight Internet Protocol TCP/IP
Click on properties
The information needed to fill in the spaces is located on the inside back cover (please fill in from the sheet provided to you at time of installation).
If you have a router, follow the documentation that came with your router to set it up. Once that is done usually you only need to reboot your computer to start using it.
14. I seem to be power cycling my radio a lot. What could be causing this to happen and how do I fix it?
One of the reasons for this could be that you also have a wireless router or connection
going in your house or at a neighbors. This could be over-powering your system. One of the ways to fix this, is to make sure that the wireless router is in a place that it is shielded from
your antenna. You may also want to check with your neighbors. For additional help with this call our office.
15. Peer-to-Peer Usage.
Unfortunately, some Anvil users of peer-to-peer software disrupt the network for all of our
customers, sometimes without even knowing about it. Thus we have prepared this brief outline of our policy regarding peer-to-peer software usage.
Peer-to-peer software
Beginning with the now-defunct Napster, peer-to-peer software has enjoyed enormous popularity, particularly among the younger crowd. Morpheus and Kazaa and Lime Wire are
widely used, and there are at least a dozen others that essentially offer the same service. Basically, users install the peer-to-peer software, which allows them to share files with
others. This is accomplished by enabling a file-sharing protocol that opens up the computer to others who also have the software installed. According to the reports we read, by far the
most common usage is sharing music and video files. You should be aware that in many cases this is in violation of copyright laws and could expose you to legal action.
The problem
The typical peer-to-peer networking software creates an incentive for users to set up their computers for maximum availability for others to share, and to leave their machines online at
all times. For example, one choice is to enable a feature called "supernode," which turns a user computer into a server for the benefit of others who wish to easily access large
downloads. Also, because Anvil provides broadband speeds, this is further incentive for outsiders to choose Anvil subscriber machines for downloads. This, in turn, creates massive
and on-going traffic on our network, which keeps other customers from using their Internet service.
Users of peer-to-peer software should also keep in mind that a peer-to-peer system
inherently compromises their computer, exposing it to the outside world. Even with a router in place, this software potentially makes all of your files open to anyone who knows how to
look at them. Many peer-to-peer systems also install "spyware" that is secretly inserted into the code. Even if users think their peer-to-peer software is not running, it is often still
operating in the background.
At the present time Anvil is reluctant to simply forbid peer-to-peer networking on our network because we recognize some of our subscribers find this software to be a useful tool
. We also realize that with some consideration on the part of the users of peer-to-peer file-sharing software, steps can be taken to minimize the disruption its usage causes other
Anvil subscribers. We will gladly provide specific information regarding minimizing problems while using peer-to-peer networks. Call us for assistance, but, please be aware that if your
software is causing problems for other users, Anvil will take action to minimize the problem and this could result in a temporary slowdown or suspension of service.
16. Unlisted vs Global IPaddress. What is the difference?
With an unlisted IP, you can initiate connection to anyone on the Internet but attempts to
connect to you are blocked for your protection. With a Global IP address, you send and receive information without any blockage and anyone can reach your address. For most
people an unlisted IP provides protection from certain types of attacks without causing any problems. If you have any servers or need to be reachable directly then you will need a
global address. There is no additional charge for this. Contact our office and change your address type usually over the phone. You will have to enter the changes on your equipment to make them effective.
17. Voice over IP or “VoIP”
A number of our subscribers use various Voice over IP phone services. Although Anvil does
not directly support such use, many of these subscribers have been happy and satisfied. Some have not. This is a new technology and we have found that even though it works well
much of the time, it is inconsistent and varies from installation to installation and call to call.
We strongly urge you not to rely on those services for your primary phone service. They
can, however, be an economical adjunct to your regular service.
18. SPAM
SPAM (unsolicited commercial e-mail) is an internet-wide problem. To help avoid spam, only
give your Anvil e-mail address to friends or associates. When you sign up for an account with a company online use a junk e-mail account that you setup through, Yahoo, Hotmail,
Gmail, etc. We are continually improving our ability to find and eliminate the worst of the junk e-mail that now floods the Internet.
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