Message dated 23rd February
2008.
MAIL SERVER PROBLEMS.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING TO NOTE IS
THAT MEMBERS SHOULD ALWAYS CONNECT TO THE INTERNET AND USE THE ACBA
FACILITY TO CHECK FOR INFORMATION>
We are pleased to report that the urgent
work need to our mail server facility has now been completed. Thank you to
all Members for their patience.
It is however, important to remember that
if your Email facility is not working, there is also the chance that this is
operating throughout the system and it is very probable that the Emails you
send to the Help Desk facility will not reach us. Try and check first with
another Member or Members just to be certain that the fault is throughout
the system.
If the whole system is not functioning
then when it does start again, the help desk will be flooded with messages.
Please also remember that faults should
never be reported to individual voluntary helpers but always to the official
ACBA help facility.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Message dated 22nd February
2008
MAIL SERVER PROBLEMS.
There will be some disturbance with the
Mail Service as major work is being carried out on the server facility that
we use at ZEN Internet services. This is really important work and could
take some time. We regret that we cannot inform you of how long the repairs
will take.
Keeping Your Money Safe
Online.
The
'catastrophic error' on the
part of the Government that
led to the personal details
of 25 million people were
lost has served to highlight
the need to protect your
identity. The potential
financial devastation caused
by identity fraud should be
reason alone for us all to
keep a tighter check on the
how we give out our details
and the way we use our money
online.
10 ways to keep your
money safe online
1. When you visit a bank
or retailer's website enter
the address manually - never
follow an email link.
2. Keep account details
and passwords secret - if
you surrender them yourself
you may not be covered in
the event of fraud.
3. Don't judge a company
or person on their website
alone - look for a telephone
number and address.
4. Remember your bank
will never contact you to
disclose security
information - ignore any
emails that ask for your
PIN, password or other
personal details.
5. Use up-to-date
anti-virus software, a
personal firewall and, if
your computer uses the
Microsoft Windows operating
system, keep it updated from
the Microsoft website.
6. Check your bank
statement regularly, and if
you notice anything
irregular call your bank
immediately.
7. Sign up to a secure
payment method such as
Verified by Visa or
MasterCard Secure Code, which
will verify your card
information and provide an
extra layer of protection.
For transactions over £100,
use a credit card for
security against
non-delivery or fraud.
8. When buying online,
check the website is secure
- look for a padlock at the
bottom right of the browser
window. Click on the padlock
to check that the seller is
who they say they are and
that their certificate is
current and registered to
the right address. The web
address should also begin
with 'https://'.
9. Be wary of buying
anything offered via spam or
unsolicited phone calls.
10. Don't be conned by
emails that offer you the
chance to make some easy
money - if it looks too good
to be true, it usually is.
Although banks and other
organisations are stepping
up their efforts against
this type of fraud, the
latest slip by the
Government shows us that
nobody is immune and the
best place to begin
protection is with
ourselves. The more
proactive and aware amongst
us can follow these steps to
safeguard their identity and
their finances.
Golden rules to protect your
identity
• Store personal information
securely and dispose of any
documents bearing your name
and address by shredding or
ripping them up.
• Don't let cards or card
details out of your sight
when making a transaction,
and shield the keypad when
entering your PIN in a shop
or at a cashpoint.
• Never send money or supply
financial details to
unsolicited emails or phone
calls.
• Regularly check your
credit record with a credit
agency, such as Experian,
Equifax or Call Credit, to
monitor any applications for
credit.
• Prevent deceased fraud of
loved ones by following the
steps detailed at
Cifas.org.uk.
• Before sharing personal
details, ask yourself: Who
is asking for them? Why they
need them? Are you 100% sure
they are genuine?
• Close accounts you no
longer require - dormant
accounts can be re-activated
by fraudsters without your
knowledge.
• Enrol on the electoral
register of your new local
authority when moving home,
inform all the relevant
organisations of your change
in address and use the Royal
Mail re-direct service for
at least 12 months.
• Never use the same
password twice, and don't
use your mother's real
maiden name - this can
easily be found out.
• Keep an eye on your bills
and statements and make a
note of when they should
arrive. If your bills or
statements don't turn up,
inform the organisation
concerned.
©
Hannah Ricci from
21.11.07
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On behalf of the Chairman & Officers of
the Association we wish to thank Ian Smith for all the hard work put into
keeping accurate and detailed records, for collecting the sums due to the
association, and in paying accounts for supplies and services. Ian also
keeps his eye on bandwidth usage in order to arrange extra capacity should
any of the three ADSL links exceed their allotted allowance.
Our grateful appreciation is also
given to Michael Slann for his work in auditing the accounts.
The accounts were approved at the
meeting.
The balance being held at the present time in
the 'Alliance & Leicester Community Instant Reserve Account represents to a
greater part the reserve held to cover the cost of the conversion to 5MHz
transmission and for equipment replacement. All our equipment is long past
its guarantee period.
Connection Problems.
It is VERY IMPORTANT that in the
rare cases when members have a connection problem, the
correct way of logging a problem should be used. The 'Helpdesk' button on this
page appearing just above this message should be used and in no
circumstances should the 'contact us' connection on the Community Website be used
(that connection is for the general public and word wide users of the
Internet who connect with the Webmaster to ask questions related to the
community area. It is also just as important that neither the Techboys or any member
of the committee should be telephoned or Emailed about connection problems.
If members cannot connect then it may not be possible to use the
Internet. In this case a fellow member should be telephoned asking them to
log the problem on your behalf.
Virus Protection Condition of Membership
Although all ACBA systems and those of Zen carry a
full range of protection against viruses Members are reminded that they are
responsible for protecting their own systems and that this is a condition of
Membership and that all the computers you have connected to the ACBA service
should be protected from viruses.
ACBA recommend that Members use the
AVG anti virus 7.1
version issued by Grisoft free of charge.
Grisoft's new version is available for download free of
charge. The following link marked in blue will take you to the correct Website.
Free
anti-spyware can now be downloaded from the same site.
AVG AntiVirus Protection
both systems require that they be regularly updated.
This
notice is very important. Do not leave your system unprotected from
attack by viruses.
The free
version, does not include anti-spam or a personal
firewall but it is a very reliable anti-virus and anti-spyware product.
Terms
and Conditions of the agreement between ACBA and Members may be found at the
bottom of this Webpage.
a.k.a. carding or brand spoofing or hoax e-mail
(pronounced: fish-ing)
An online scam in which the perpetrator sends out
a large number of legitimate looking e-mails that may appear to come
from respected companies (such as Citibank, eBay, PayPal, MSN,
Amazon. Yahoo, BestBuy, AOL, etc.) and may even appear to be
addressed to another member rather than the recipient with the intent of "fishing" for
personal and financial information from the recipient. These
are falsely claiming to be the respected company or seemingly
genuine sender needing the user's information to update their files,
when in fact, it is an attempt to scam the user into surrendering
private information that will later be used for nefarious purposes.
Never open Emails and attachments if you are
unsure or doubtful about the sender. Never forward any dubious
messages to other people.
Important Notice
There is a growing risk of power failures
during
severe weather. The stronger winds that seem to be a part of the
general weather change pattern, can cause problems by moving the position of
antennae . May we
remind you to check with your Insurance suppliers/brokers to make sure that
the ACBA antenna installed on your property is covered by your household
insurance and remember that Members are
responsible for all the equipment supplied including any public liability
where a dislodged antenna causes damage to a third party property [Most
Insurance companies cover this risk but to be safe you should check with
your insurance company or broker.
When there are high winds please check that your antenna is safely
secured and has not moved. It is especially important to make this
check if you are having a fault and before logging a ticket on the ACBA
Webpage.
Practical Help for Members
Help for Members in dealing with
practical problems arising with software installation and use of new or even old
programmes. Learn quicker ways of using the facilities available in software and what a
programme can do for you. Have a chat with David and let him help you.
We are fortunate to be able to announce that
we are now able to offer the much needed services of a volunteer to help some of
our members to develop
their knowledge in the use computers. David Bradley, who originally helped ACBA
in the early days of setting up the Community Network and by this work helped to
fulfil one of the conditions of our Grant Award in having younger people
involved in setting up the ACBA Network, has once again kindly offered his help.
David Bradley
David is 17 years of age the eldest son of Byron Bradley a member
of ACBA's technical team. He is currently studying Mathematics, further Mathematics, Chemistry, French, Physics and Spanish at
Settle College. He is in year 12 and next year will start applying to
universities to study mathematics. Some Members may have seen him at the
Gamecock Inn where he works in his free time in the kitchens. He already has
some experience of teaching basic computer skills. Last year he was involved in
teaching adults how to use software such as Microsoft Excel and Word. He gave
further instruction on use of the Internet, Scanners, and how to use Digital
Cameras with a computer. He has very kindly offered his help with computing
services to members of ACBA..
.
David may be contacted by Email:
davidbradley@austwick.org
Mobile Testing Rig.
A recent addition to the ACBA tools is the creation of a
mobile antenna that can be used to measure signal strength. The antenna
is connected to a laptop computer housed in Steve's car which has a
program loaded that can measure radio activity. This is used
particularly when a connection is required by a new member, but also in
checking on the entire ACBA Network.
Power Surges
You are again reminded that when power failures occur and
the power is quickly restored it does create a power surge. This surge can
cause damage to computers and peripheral equipment. Protection from this is
not expensive and requires a special power plug. These are available at most
electric retailers, computer suppliers and DIY store.
For Members working from home or any member where a loss of
connection would be serious
small APC units (power back up) can be installed. The units
are not too expensive and are very efficient. ACBA has installed such units
on its more important nodes. The power back up has proven very satisfactory.
Chain Mail
Interspersed among the junk mail and spam that fills our Internet
e-mail boxes are dire warnings about devastating new viruses,
Trojans that eat the heart out of your system, and malicious
software that can steal the computer right off your desk. Added to
that are messages about free money, children in trouble, and other
items designed to grab you and get you to forward the message to
everyone you know. Most all of these messages are hoaxes or chain
letters. While hoaxes do not automatically infect systems like a
virus or Trojan, they are still time consuming and costly to remove
from all the systems where they exist. At CIAC, we find that we
spend much more time de-bunking hoaxes than handling real virus and
Trojan incidents. These pages describe some of the warnings, offers,
and pleas for help that are filling our mailboxes, clogging our mail
servers, and that generally do not have any basis in fact.
The above has been taken from information published on the Web. You
may like to add the following contact to your favourites’ list.
http://hoaxbusters.ciac.org/HoaxBustersHome.html
Chain Mail letters have been received
by several ACBA Members, sadly a member responded and forwarded the
Chain Letter Message to addressees on their Mailing List.
Such chain letters are one of the main causes of the growing number
of Spam Mail.
Please do not fall for the bait.
NEVER RESPOND IN ANY WAY TO SUSPECT CHAIN MAIL LETTERS. DO NOT
FORWARD MESSAGES TO THE PEOPLE IN YOUR ADDRESS BOOK IF YOU ARE EVER
ASKED TO DO THIS.
Service Agreement – Terms and Conditions 1. Definition.
1.1 The "Member" means the
user, "ACBA" means Austwick Community Broadband Association. "Services" means
all services provided by ACBA
including but not limited to Internet access, electronic mail, web space and
newsgroups.
Subscribers are
automatically members of ACBA, a not for profit community association.
2. Supply
2.1 ACBA agrees to provide
the services to the Member to the extent described in the relevant Service
Agreement, which shall be deemed and incorporated into these terms and
conditions.
2.2 ACBA reserves the right
to alter or withdraw any service at any time, on giving current Members prior
warning.
3. Exclusion of
Warranties
3.1 Save as expressly set
out herein, all conditions or warranties which may be implied or incorporated
into these terms and conditions by
law or otherwise are hereby
expressly excluded to the extent permitted by law. In no circumstances
whatsoever will ACBA be liable for economic, indirect or consequential loss.
3.2 ACBA's Services
are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis and makes no warranties or
representations, whether express or implied, in relation to ACBA or the
Services, including but not limited to, implied warranties or conditions of
completeness, accuracy, satisfactory quality, or any loss of data resulting from
delays, non-deliveries, missed deliveries, or service interruptions.
3.3 In any event the
liability of ACBA to the Member in respect of an event or series of connected
events arising out of or in connection with these terms and conditions whether
in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise shall be limited to all
sums payable in respect of the Services supplied.
3.4 Each provision
of this Clause 3 excluding or limiting liability shall be construed separately,
applying and surviving even if for any reason one or other of those provisions
is held inapplicable or unenforceable in any circumstance they shall remain in
force not withstanding the termination or expiry of these terms and conditions.
4. Price and Payment
4.1 The charges payable by
the Member for the provision of the Services are decided by the committee each
year in advance and the amount calculated according to the date the connection
is made. If for any reason ACBA is unable to collect payment from the member as
it becomes due under these terms and conditions or in the event of default on
payment by the member, this will constitute a material breach of these terms and
conditions by the member. ACBA shall have the right to require the Member to pay
all sums due under these terms and conditions on demand.
4.2 All sums due to ACBA
under these terms and conditions are quoted exclusive of Value Added Tax, as
ACBA is not currently registered for VAT. Should VAT or other applicable taxes
become due in accordance with the relevant regulations in force at the time of
making the supply these shall be paid by the Member. As ACBA is not registered
for VAT, it is unable to claim back any VAT charged by suppliers of goods or
services that are registered for VAT. Such VAT paid will constitute a part of
any charges made to members. Members registered for VAT will not be able to
claim such VAT as in input amount.
4.3 ACBA reserves
the right to terminate the services to the Member forthwith in the event of any
default of payment or infringement of any of the regulations.
4.4 All subscriptions and
service charges are due in advance.
5. Termination
5.1 The initial term shall
commence before the Member is connected to, or starts using ACBA services. The
starting date based on the estimated commencement of payment of the annual
service charge for the ADSL connection will be the 3rd January. Any
difference in connection date to a member will be credited to the member on a
daily rate. This agreement will continue and payments will be taken according to
the service subscribed to until the member requests cancellation or if ACBA
decides to terminate the agreement according to the terms below.
5.2 ACBA (without prejudice
to its other rights) may terminate this Agreement immediately if:
a) The Member breaches any
clause under these Terms and Conditions.
b) ACBA is obliged to
comply with an order, instruction or request of Government, an emergency
services organization, or other administrative authority, to cease to provide
any service provided to the Member.
c) The member breaches
ACBA's Acceptable Use Policy, or
d) The provision of any
service to the Member would give rise to or cause disruption to the services
offered by ACBA to its members.
5.3 Without prejudice to
its rights of termination at any time under Clause 5.2, ACBA shall have the
right to suspend the provision of any Services without notice if ACBA has the
right to terminate this Agreement.
5.4 ACBA shall be able to
terminate this agreement for any reason on giving the Member a minimum of 1
month's notice at any time.
5.5 The Member may
terminate this agreement having given written 30 days notice by e-mail or
letter.
5.6 In the event of
termination, whether initiated by the Member or ACBA no refunds will be given on
subscription charges. Unused portions of any annual service fees may be refunded
at the sole discretion of ACBA but only during the years following the
anniversary of the initial service connection.
5.7 In the event of
termination the Member shall immediately cease to make use of ACBA’s Services.
5.8 In the event of a
connection to a member being a cause of disruption to the service or any part of
the service, ACBA will close the connection without giving prior notification.
Service will only be resumed when the fault has been corrected.
6. Improper Use
6.1 A breach of our
Acceptable Use Policy will constitute a material breach of these terms and
conditions and shall entitle ACBA to terminate the agreement pursuant to Clause
5.2.
6.2 The Member shall not
(or authorise
or permit any other party to) use ACBA’s Services for the transmission of any
material which is in violation of any law or regulation or which is defamatory,
menacing, obscene, in breach of third party intellectual property rights
(including copyright) or in breach of trade secrets or is in breach of ACBA’s
Equality Policy. Any breach of this Clause will be deemed to be a material
breach of this agreement and shall entitle ACBA to terminate the agreement
pursuant to Clause 5.2 and for this purpose it shall
be irrelevant whether the
Member is aware of the content or illegality of any material so transmitted or
not.
6.3 Not withstanding and in
addition to Clause 5.2 ACBA may suspend the Service without notice with
immediate effect if in ACBA's reasonable opinion the Member is in breach of
these Terms and Conditions or acted inconsistently with the spirit of these
terms and conditions.
6.4 The Member acknowledges
that ACBA is unable to exercise control over the content of the information
passing over the ACBA connection and/or the ACBA network and/or the Services,
and ACBA hereby excludes all liability of any kind for the transmission or
reception of infringing information of whatever nature.
6.5 The Member hereby
agrees to indemnify and holds ACBA harmless from any claim brought by a third
party resulting from the use of the ACBA connection and/or the ACBA network,
Services including but not limited to infringement of any intellectual property
right of any kind, legislation or regulation. The Member shall defend and pay
all costs, damages, awards, fees (including reasonable legal fees) and
judgments finally awarded
against ACBA arising from such claims, and shall provide ACBA with notice of
such claims, full authority to defend, compromise or settle such claims and
reasonable assistance necessary to defend such claims, at the Member's sole
expense. Such actions will be taken in consultation with the Member.
7. Suspension of
Services
7.1 ACBA may without
terminating this agreement suspend provision of any Services in whole or in part
until further notice with immediate effect if:
a) ACBA has reason to
terminate this agreement in accordance with Clause 5; b) ACBA is obliged to
comply with an order, instruction or request of Government, an emergency
services organisation,
or other administrative authority, or c) ACBA needs to carry out work relating
to upgrading or maintenance of the ACBA network but providing that ACBA has
given the Member a reasonable period of notice practicable in the circumstances.
7.2 If ACBA exercises its
right of suspension in respect of an event referred to in Clause 7.1, this will
not exclude its right to terminate this agreement later in respect of that or
any other event, nor will it prevent ACBA from claiming damages from the Member
resulting from such event if the Member is in breach of these terms and
conditions.
8. Data Protection
8.1 ACBA reserves the right
to put the names and other information from the registration form relating to
the Members into a computerised
directory for internal use only, unless specific written instructions are
received from the Member to allow it to do otherwise.
8.2 ACBA reserves the right
to provide information concerning your account and activities whilst using
ACBA's services if we are requested to do so by the police or a regulatory or
government authority in investigating illegal activities. ACBA will never
provide information to any third party other than provided for as in this
clause. Data held by ACBA will be available to the main officers of the
association for a ‘need to know’ reason. This will be restricted to the
President, Chairman, Vice Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary.
9. Acceptable Use of
Bandwidth
9.1 There shall be no
utilisation of the
wireless network or broadband facility, which is detrimental to the bandwidth of
either or both the network and broadband connection. If access is determined as
monopolising
bandwidth, it shall first be brought to the notice of
the offender by an ACBA
representative, and where repetition occurs, brought to the notice of the
Committee or to determine further action.
The system is intended
primarily for download of information and shall not be used for activities which
require significant uploading, such as web-hosting, video conferencing or file
sharing.
10. Security
10.1 The member is
responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of their username(s),
password(s), and other network access details and may not release them to any
third party. The member is fully responsible for all activities that occur using
their network
access
details. Other users of the Member's network access shall be bound by these
terms and conditions as if they were the Member. The member agrees to
immediately notify ACBA of any
unauthorised use of
his/her network access or any other breach of security of which the Member
becomes aware. The member will not knowingly publish, or cause to be published,
any information about any part of the system, but
should refer any external
enquiries to the website or to info@austwick.net. Members will not pass on any
personal details of any other users of the network.
11. General
11.1 Other than in respect
of the Member's obligation to make payments neither party shall be liable in
respect of any breach of this contract due to any cause beyond its reasonable
control including but not limited to acts of God, flood, lightning or fire,
industrial action, act or omission of Government or other competent authority,
riot, war
or act or omission of
another party for whom that party is not responsible.
11.2 ACBA shall have the
right by notice to the Member to modify these terms and conditions at any time,
subject to the Constitution of the Association. It is the responsibility of
Members to check these terms and conditions for changes on a regular basis.
11.3 These terms and
conditions are governed by and shall be construed in accordance with the laws of
England and the Member hereby submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of the
English Courts.
11.4 These terms and
conditions represent the entire agreement between the parties.
11.5 The Member shall not
assign or purport to assign or otherwise deal with any of its rights and
obligations hereunder, except if expressly agreed in writing with ACBA.
11.6 ACBA shall have the
right to assign, sub-contract, or otherwise deal with all or any of its rights
and obligations under these terms and conditions to any third party subject to
approval of a majority of the Members to be sanctioned at an Extraordinary
General Meeting.
11.7 The Member, by
creating an account with ACBA, hereby acknowledges that he/she has read and
accepted the terms hereof.
11.8 Any notice given by
ACBA to the member under these terms and conditions will be given either by
email or by a message on the ACBA website.
11.9 The Member may not
sub-let, share or sell-on any services provided by ACBA unless expressly agreed
in writing by the Committee
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