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Frequently
Asked Questions
Lost e-mail is very rare. It could happen if the mail server crashed and the backup failed, but that almost never ever happens. When people ask if mail was lost, we usually find that there was a human error by the sender. The message came back and they didn't understand that:
If mail is undeliverable then it is returned to the sender -- assuming that the sending and receiving servers are following Internet protocols. Whe people have a problem, they often ask, "Is the server down?" We have 7 servers running, one of which is the mail server. Right now it has been running continuously for 39 days. It is turned off for perhaps 5 minutes 2-3 times per year. This year we changed to a bigger server and the change over took 90 minutes. When a mail server is off or down, mail doesn't get lost; rather, it is spooled (saved) for trying later. At some point the sender is informed that it hasn't been delivered but it is still being tried. After a certain amount of time the mail is returned to the sender if it can't be received by the receiver's mail server. We try every hour, and after 4 hours we inform the sender it is still pending. After 24 hours we stop trying and send it back to the sender as undeliverable. I
received e-mail from my bank (or credit card or PayPal, etc.) asking
me to confirm my account or password. Is it real? Should I respond?
No!! Banks and credit card companies do not send out e-mail asking people to confirm their account number or passwords. Criminals do, however. And if you answer, you will be giving them information which will allow them to empty your bank account or use your credit card. Such criminals are able to copy complete websites from banks, credit card companies, or PayPal. If you click on the link in the e-mail, you will think you have gone to the website. How can you tell if a website is real? First, you need to know the actual URL of your bank or your credit card company. Look at the URL at the top of your browser. It must include the proper URL after the http://. For instance, http://www.paypal.com is the proper URL for PayPal. It has "paypal" immediately before the .com. Anything like the following is not safe:
If you have any doubt, call your bank or send them an e-mail using a phone number or e-mail from one of your statements. Do not respond to any telephone numbers or e-mail addresses found in the e-mail you have received. Is
it safe to use credit cards on the Internet? "Safe" is a very relative term. Any time you give anyone your credit card number, you are taking a chance. This means in a hotel, in a restaurant, in a store -- and on the internet. Only you can
decide if a particular site is safe enough for you. There should
be encryption for the transfer of data. Look for a small padlock
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But even the best sites get hacked, and if they store your credit card number there is the danger that it can get stolen, along with whatever confirming data you have entered. There is a website which keeps track of stolen card numbers. If you suspect that your card number may have been stolen, you can check at: If
you do not find your card listed there, this does not mean that
you are safe. But if you do find it listed, you should notify
the issuer of your card.
How do I avoid viruses and worms? 
Viruses and "worms" are small destructive programs which are hidden in files. When these files are sent with e-mail and opened, the programs may try to destroy thing in your computer, or try to mail themselves to all of your friends. To avoid viruses: Have an anti-virus utility, and update it frequently. Never open an attachment unless you requested it or it is from someone you know AND they confirm that they sent it. "Confirmation" means a clear statement in their e-mail which you know they wrote and which says they are sending the attachment. "Check this out" is not confirmation; it is often just a standard sentence which the virus puts in every letter. Scan all attachments with your anti-virus utility before opening. Never pass on an e-mail warning about a "new" virus. They are all false. Some of them tell you to delete files from your computer, and those especially should be ignored. The massive traffic of "virus warnings" sometimes does more damage (to the bandwidth) than the viruses themselves do. (Many of the warnings are hoaxes. If you are unsure, check the Symantec hoax page: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.ht If you are part of an institutional computer network (a LAN) and you have an e-mail server, you may want to contact ANM concerning RAV. RAV is an anti-virus program which is installed on your mail server and which checks all e-mail coming into your institution. This protects all the computers on your LAN. If you want more information, write to support@habari.co.tz and ask for information about RAV. How
can I get rid of the Bugbear virus? If your computer has become infected with the Bugbear (W32.Bugbear.B@mm) virus, go to the following link and follow the directions: The Symantec Security Response website (http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/) is an excellent resource for information on viruses and hoaxes. Hoaxes are false warnings. Two of the most popular hoaxes are "warnings" about the jdbgmgr.exe virus or the sulfnbk.exe virus. You may receive a note from a friend who says, "I have a virus on my computer and I am writing to all my friends because I think I may have infected them." Then your friend tells you to look for a certain file on your computer and delete it. These warnings are almost always false. Do not pay any attention to them. They are a bad joke, and they tell you to erase good files which are important for your computer. If you receive a warning from a friends, first go to the Symantec hoax page: http://securityresponse.symantec.com/avcenter/hoax.html and look for the virus which they mention. If you find it listed, write back to your friend and tell them they are passing on a hoax. Give them the above URL so that they can check for themselves. If you have Anti Virus Protection and update it frequently, you will not get viruses You can safely ignore any warning from a friend which says "this is a new virus which cannot be stopped by Norton or McAfee anti virus programs. Norton and McAfee will know about the viruses long before your friend does! There are several possibilities. Malware. When clients experience slow connections, about 70% of the time the problem is malware (see below) which has come into the computer over the internet. Sometimes, it can indeed be a connection problem or not enough bandwidth. However, surveys have shown that over 50% of the world's computers are infected with malware. Malware includes viruses, Trojans or worms, and spyware or adware. These infections slow down your connection and, in extreme situations, can slow down the connections of other internet users as well. It is important to ensure that your virus protection is regularly updated. But you also should install programs such as Ad-Aware or Spybot to further protect your computer from malware. See our downloads section to obtain these programs. If you continue to have problems with malware, Arusha Node Marie or most Computer Services companies can, for a fee, send a specialist to help you remove the problem. Not enough bandwidth. When more than one computer share a connection, the amount of bandwidth being used by one computer will affect the bandwidth available to the other computers on that connection. If one computer, for example, is downloading music, this will severely limit the bandwidth available to the other computers sharing the connection and therefore limit the speed of their connection. Bad scheduling. There are times when the internet in general, and and your connection in particular, are very busy. During the day, when offices are open, things are much slower than at night time. So schedule your use of the internet wisely -- and encourage your friends and co-workers to do so also. If you have large downloads (especially music and videos!), do them at night time, not during the day. And listening to music consumes 20Kb of bandwidth -- which can slow down your network during the daytime.. What can I do to make my connection faster?
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at the bottom of the screen and to the right. The URL at the top
will begin with https: (not just http:), and If you are using
the Firefox browser it will have a gold background and a padlock
to the right.:
on behalf of the Arusha Node Marie Management Steering Committee.
Latest revision: May 14, 2007
© 2005 Arusha Node Marie