COMPUTERS, THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY

[Tizer]

Tripps, Internet Explorer is an integral part of the Windows operating system and therefore can't be removed (which was Microsoft's way of forcing you to have it) but I think Pluggy would tell you that it does no harm sitting in the background while you use Firefox.

Both our computers quickly received Firefox version 16.1 to correct the vulnerability. It was so quick that the only defence needed was to not use the PC for anything like banking during the hours between 16 and 16.1, although even if we did the probability of being a victim of anything malicious was extremely low.

[Stanley]

I got a complete Firefox reload yesterday, just accepted it and carried on.
Kev, yes I saw it. No change yet but it's only day four after the promise. I shall be patient, after all, everything is working fine and the only disadvantage is having to wait while emails with attachments are uploaded. A small price to pay for functionality.

[Callunna]

TalkTalk YouView box installed this morning, which uses a combination of external aerial and broadband, apparently. I can now pause & rewind live TV, record a single programme or whole series and get access to loads of films etc. I’m supposed to get 74 channels but I think in Barlick we can only get 38 - unless folk know any different? There’s a scheduled upgrade to the digital signal on 17 October so maybe that’ll help.

However, the main reason for posting this is that I’ve got a fancy new router which achieves speeds of ... wait for it ... 18meg. I saw it with my own eyes when the engineer tested it. OK, I don’t get that upstairs through the thingy that wirelessly connects my main Mac to the router (drops to about 13 meg) but I’m not complaining.

When I swapped over from ISDN to broadband about 10 years ago I was over the moon to leap from half a meg to 2 meg. However, it’s only a numbers thing really, isn’t it? If I’m honest, I haven’t really noticed the few nanoseconds less it now takes to load a web page, even though I’ve gone from 12 to 18 megs.

[PanBiker]

Your broadband speed is more or less the same as mine H. I am with Talk Talk as well and use a Netgear Router. As long as the gear at the exchange is all up to top spec it all comes down to the quality of the line (all BT infrastructure) between the exchange and your master socket which in Barlick is a mixture of underground fibre and copper and of course the copper coated steel overhead stuff. The number of street cabinets interconnecting the route to your house will also have an effect. I'm currently showing 17Mbps on the Croft.

[Pluggy]

Mines 6-7 and I expect it will stay that way. I'm not going knocking on Orange's door, I have a good deal and I might have to start paying their current rates..... If you're just web browsing and doing normal stuff you probably won't notice. Its when you start doing big downloads it comes into its own. The extra upload speed is nice when you're uploading moderate sized files though.....

[PostmanPete]

My speed has been between 6 and 7 Mb/s for years (Post Office Broadband) but on the last two Sunday mornings something strange has happened. Yesterday morning at around 11am to 11.30am whilst doing some major downloading my speed went up to 16 Mb/s for about 10 minutes. The previous Sunday morning it went to 16 and then to 32 Mb/s for a similar period of time...!
Could this be possibly due to someone working on improving the line at the exchange, as I didn't think that a speed of 32 would be possible on a normal telephone line?

[Sunray10]

A similar thing has recently happened to me and I'm on BT. Computer speeded up and everything downloaded quickly, sadly its more or less back to going slow again. But, it was nice while it lasted. Hope it speeds up again soon. Pigs might fly.

[Stanley]

I'm still on the old speed but being patient. No doubt that a lot of work is going on at the exchange migrating customers to the new BT gear. Pluggy, I asked and the upgrade is free, it's only putting me back to where I was. Same may apply to you.

[Pluggy]

I'm still on the old speed but being patient. No doubt that a lot of work is going on at the exchange migrating customers to the new BT gear. Pluggy, I asked and the upgrade is free, it's only putting me back to where I was. Same may apply to you.

Not a hope, the 8mb/s is in my terms and conditions. I had 8 when you had 13 before Orange pulled their gear out of Barlick, and It will probably still be 8 when they get your speed back.



But looking at that, would you change ?

[PanBiker]

Nothing to do with broadband but Orange related. Since I ended self employment 10 years ago now when I needed a contract mobile I have existed on my kids cast off's coupled with a Pay as you Go Orange SIM. I have kept the same SIM and just swapped it from phone to phone so I always keep my number. I'm currently using a Blackberry phone with a "Dolphin" deal from Orange. Top up when I want (about £10 every 3 months). When I do, I get free calls to other Orange mobiles, 500 free text messages and free internet connectivity.
I received a text message yesterday from Orange to say that my SIM had been upgraded followed by a second to say that the Orange network now forms part of the EE network and that I should re-boot my phone. Nothing else changes. Sure enough my mobile now announces EE as the service provider, as to no other changes, I wonder how long that will last?

[Stanley]

Pluggy, do you know what Orange charge for international calls by land line?
No speed improvement yet.... 8 days since they promised results in 4 to 5 days. Another call is indicated I think!
Update. I decided to call them yet again at 7am and got straight through to the agent. He has enquired of Customer Services and says that my line will be upgraded tomorrow.... I will believe it when it happens!
Pluggy, I see what you mean about the contract, however, you might they pointing out to Orange that they upgraded their other customers free to a 20 mps service when they installed their own equipment in the exchange. This was done automatically, I simply got a call from a nice lady one day to say it was happening. There was no charge for this and it was not prompted by me. Try asking for the upgrade at the same price, it wouldn't surprise me if you got it. I suspect it won't cost them anything.

[Big Kev]

Nothing to do with broadband but Orange related. Since I ended self employment 10 years ago now when I needed a contract mobile I have existed on my kids cast off's coupled with a Pay as you Go Orange SIM. I have kept the same SIM and just swapped it from phone to phone so I always keep my number. I'm currently using a Blackberry phone with a "Dolphin" deal from Orange. Top up when I want (about £10 every 3 months). When I do, I get free calls to other Orange mobiles, 500 free text messages and free internet connectivity.
I received a text message yesterday from Orange to say that my SIM had been upgraded followed by a second to say that the Orange network now forms part of the EE network and that I should re-boot my phone. Nothing else changes. Sure enough my mobile now announces EE as the service provider, as to no other changes, I wonder how long that will last?

It's the "official" amalgamation of Orange and T-Mobile, I believe. I had a text message about it before mine changed. I was on PAYG and using around £10 a month with the Dolphin package. October 1st I signed up for a contract phone, I have the Dolphin package and a new Samsung Galaxy Mini 2. I get 30 anytime minutes of calls, 500txt messages and 100MB of internet for £10.50 a month.

[Stanley]

There is movement.... Broadband speed has doubled, running at over 10mps at the moment. Only problem is that the telephone isn't working though the broadband connection is fine. I assume these are related matters and will be patient, again!

[Big Kev]

There is movement.... Broadband speed has doubled, running at over 10mps at the moment. Only problem is that the telephone isn't working though the broadband connection is fine. I assume these are related matters and will be patient, again!

Broadband change had no effect on my phone. If it doesn't come back I'd suspect and issue with the line.

[PanBiker]

Sure enough my mobile now announces EE as the service provider, as to no other changes, I wonder how long that will last?

1 day later another text from Orange "Wer'e making some changes that will affect your current plan terms from 15 November. For more details please click this free link http://oran.ge/newterms"

This actually re-directs here: Orange World New Terms

65p per Mb over any internet allowance on the package (65p a day minimum regardless of usage) and top up at least once every 6 months or lose your phone number and any existing credit.

This news is actually in the Customer Help and Support section of the website.

AKA screw the customer for more money.

[Pluggy]

Pluggy, do you know what Orange charge for international calls by land line?
No speed improvement yet.... 8 days since they promised results in 4 to 5 days. Another call is indicated I think!
Update. I decided to call them yet again at 7am and got straight through to the agent. He has enquired of Customer Services and says that my line will be upgraded tomorrow.... I will believe it when it happens!
Pluggy, I see what you mean about the contract, however, you might they pointing out to Orange that they upgraded their other customers free to a 20 mps service when they installed their own equipment in the exchange. This was done automatically, I simply got a call from a nice lady one day to say it was happening. There was no charge for this and it was not prompted by me. Try asking for the upgrade at the same price, it wouldn't surprise me if you got it. I suspect it won't cost them anything.

How much you pay for international calls will vary by country and by which tariff you're on. It usually not very expensive to the civilised world (US, Canada, Europe, Aus etc) and a lot more to places like Afghanistan.

I'll leave it Stanley, I suspect I'm in a forgotten bywater and I don't want to draw attention to said forgotten bywater. (They might pull a Panbiker on me...) I can't exactly threaten to leave when everyone else wants a lot more for a similar service.

[Stanley]

Could be a good decision Plugs. I got mail yesterday to say they have put me on a new contract and waffled on about reimbursing me for less service since the 2011 change but then said that when they had finished upgrading my connection, about ten days, they would come back with the new contract. I suspect a price hike and if they do they will get an interesting response from me.. Not out of the wood yet!

[David Whipp]

Our broadband was down when I got up this morning (6.30am). After unplugging router to no avail, I thought 'they' may be working on lines. When it came back on, I'm getting 10mbs to my wifi linked laptop. We're on Pipex, which I think has been taken over by Talktalk?

[Big Kev]

Our broadband was down when I got up this morning (6.30am). After unplugging router to no avail, I thought 'they' may be working on lines. When it came back on, I'm getting 10mbs to my wifi linked laptop. We're on Pipex, which I think has been taken over by Talktalk?

I believe TalkTalk are one of the few who offer an "up to 20MBs" service in Barlick. You may find that speed increases, over the week, as "they" complete various tests on your line.

[Stanley]

My connection hasn't improved beyond 10mps as yet. Patience Stanley!

[David Whipp]

Hovering just below 10mb/s over weekend/this morning.

[Big Kev]

Might be worth having your line checked.

I got nearly 20MBs just before 09:00 today.

[Pluggy]

I believe TalkTalk are one of the few who offer an "up to 20MBs" service in Barlick. You may find that speed increases, over the week, as "they" complete various tests on your line.

Behind the time Kev, Barlick has 21CN now, everybody can do 'up to' 20MB nowadays. Some haven't got around to it yet........

[Tripps]

Some advice please. I've had more trouble this last week than in the previous many years. I've been invaded by unwanted data. Something called jucheck.exe appears constantly asking to be let in, and another thing called searchnu. has taken up residency in Explorer. The latest invader is a site for emoticons which has self installed a shortcut on my desktop. - The cheek of it. I've got rid of searchnu from firefox (Ithink) but it is fixed in Explorer. There have also been many seize ups and data dumps.
A little research reveals that these things are not viruses, and I may have inadvertently given permission when downloading so called "free" software, thus is not picked up by anti virus software. I have used the free version of Avast for many years without any problem at all. I have even given Linux another try, but still can't get on with it.
Has anyone had similar problems, and Is there a reliable software which will rid me of these things. Would I be free of this if I got an Android Tablet device?

[PanBiker]

You could try this Dave, worked for me when de cluttering my laptop:

Malewarebytes Free

Install, run and see what it turns up, you can always uninstall it when you have done.