Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

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I can't get online after I installed RapidNet
Be sure when your "Connect to" box comes up your login name includes @oasisol.com
If you receive an error message that says " Oasis Online RapidNet Dial Up was unable to connect to the remote RapidNet Web Accelerator. Click Details ..........."
            Click the Palm Tree icon then "Settings", then Connection Tab and be sure you have entered your
            username@oasisol.com  (ex. [email protected] ) and your password correctly.
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I am having problems with my email since I installed RapidNet
While in your Outlook Express Click "Tools", "Accounts", click your mail tab, Click on your email account to highlight, click "Properties" Click the "servers" tab, click to check the box next to "My Server Requires Authentication" Click "Apply" the "OK". Click "Close" to return to your Outlook Express.

If you have more than one email account, you must make this change in each account.

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When I try to use RapidNet on my XP machine the following message appears "Failed to start due to
HTTP port listening device conflict..."
When you use RapidNet with different profiles in XP, you must ensure RapidNet is disabled in all profiles other than the one in use.

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RapidNet Accelerator 5-Minute Troubleshooting Guide
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It should take you less than 5 minutes to "troubleshoot" RapidNet Accelerator. That is, to find out if you are getting acceleration and if not, why not. Verification occurs in the following order:

Is RapidNet Accelerator installed, active, and enabled on your computer?
If RapidNet Accelerator is installed and active on your computer a small Palm Tree icon will appear in the Windows taskbar area (near the system clock). If the Accelerator is active while you are surfing the Internet, the Palm Tree icon will appear to be moving in the wind. Try accessing a Web site. You should see the Palm Tree moving as Web pages load. If you are able to surf the Internet but do not see the Palm Tree moving, there are several possibilities:
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What types of Web content does RapidNet accelerate?
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RapidNet accelerates Web page text (including plain text, HTML, markup and javascript) and the most common forms of graphics: Gif, animated Gif, and JPEG images and Flash. RapidNet does not accelerate other forms of Internet content, including: streaming media, such as video and audio streams; secure pages, such as those used for online banking and credit card forms; file downloads, including MP3 files and executable programs.

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Are ad blockers, popup stoppers, personal firewalls and other utilities compatible with RapidNet Accelerator?
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RapidNet is compatible with most ad blockers, popup stoppers, personal firewalls, and other utilities. In some cases, minor configuration either of RapidNet or other products is needed. In other cases, RapidNet is not compatible.

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What's the best way to get technical support?
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The most effective way to obtain technical or customer support is to first review the on-line 5-minute Troubleshooting Guide, which contains numerous suggestions as well as instructions on sending vitally important RapidNet Accelerator diagnostic information. Click Here to access this guide.
If the Troubleshooting Guide does not answer your questions, the most effective thing to do is to click here to email the NOC - [email protected]

You may also call Oasis Online  tech support  at 423-6277 or toll free 888-547-6277

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How do I uninstall RapidNet Accelerator?
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IMPORTANT: If you are using Netscape, Mozilla, or Opera with RapidNet you will need to manually reconfigure the proxy settings for the respective browser after uninstalling or stopping RapidNet Accelerator in order to continue using the Internet.

For Microsoft Internet Explorer users, simply click "Start", "Programs" "Oasis Online RapidNet" click  "Uninstall Oasis Online RapidNet Dial Up" and follow the Onscreen Instructions. If you no longer want to use the RapidNet Acceleration please remember to contact the Oasis Online office at 423-6277 or 888-547-6277 to close your RapidNet account to eliminate future charges.
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Why can't I open the RapidNet Accelerator installation file after I download it?
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If, when downloading acceleration software, you chose "Save the file to disk" rather than "open" it, you will need to go to your "Windows Explorer" find the RapidNet_Installer.exe file and double click on it to launch the installation of the software. 

In very rare cases you may find after you have installed the software, the Palm Tree icon will not appear in the lower right hand corner of your start bar after installation. If this occurs try clicking "Start" , "Programs" , "Oasis Online RapidNet" and "Oasis Online RapidNet Dial Up. Your Palm Tree Icon should appear in the lower right hand corner of your task bar.
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How does RapidNet, powered by Propel, come up with the up to 5X claim?
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Web page performance is measured by the amount of time it takes to download an entire Web page into your browser. So, when comparing the performance improvement delivered by RapidNet Accelerator with an unaccelerated Internet connection, we configure two identical computers. Both are connected to the Internet at the same dial-up connection speed and both have the same PC and Internet browser configuration.
Using an automated browsing measurement tool (i.e. a surfing "bot"), both computers visit the same Web pages multiple times. In order to eliminate variations in download speed caused by various network factors, we take the average times for downloading the same page with and without RapidNet Accelerator and compare the two averages in order to determine the improvement factor for a specific Web page (example: www.amazon.com). 5X represents the high-end of the frequently measured averaged results.
If you are particularly interested in the topic of timing Web pages, here's a link to a site that provides a stopwatch for timing page loads and many other interesting Internet timing tools: http://www.numion.com/Stopwatch/index.html

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How does RapidNet's solution compare to DSL or cable modem?
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RapidNet is an affordable software-only solution designed to significantly enhance Web access over low-speed (less than 200 kbps/second) connections. By contrast, DSL and cable modems provide high-speed Internet connectivity using hardware solutions that work with special telephone or cable lines.
The price for DSL or cable modem is significantly higher than RapidNet Accelerator. In addition to the higher price, many areas simply do not have DSL or cable Internet service available.

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Why am I seeing partial or incomplete page loads with RapidNet Accelerator?
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We have recently become aware of a problem with incomplete page loads when simultaneously using RapidNet Accelerator and Zone Alarm Pro, a product from Zone Labs. This will result in pages only partially loading and then stopping ("timing out").
Propel is currently working with Zone Labs to resolve this problem. In the meantime, if you want to use Zone Alarm Pro and RapidNet Accelerator at the same time, the workaround is to go into the Zone Alarm Pro control panel and turn off the ad blocking and cookie control features. Note that this problem does not apply to the basic Zone Alarm version.

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At first I received faster page loads, now they seem slower. Why is this?
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Click Here for Troubleshooting tips.

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What are the system requirements for RapidNet Accelerator?
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System Requirements
Below, please find the suggested and minimum system requirements beyond the basics of an analog modem, a telephone line, and an active Internet connection.
RapidNet Accelerator cannot be installed if minimum requirements are not met.

Look for "X86-based PC" or the equivalent in the System Summary section.

Operating system:
Windows 98, NT 4.0, 2000, ME, XP Home Edition, XP Professional

Disk space:
At least 25 MB of disk space. (135 MB recommended for optimal performance)

System memory (RAM):
At least 32 MB (64 MB recommended for optimal performance)

Internet connection line speed in Kbps (kilobits/second)
Minimum: 14.4 Kbps
Maximum: 200 Kbps

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I travel. Does RapidNet Accelerator work anywhere I use my PC?
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Yes. If you are accessing the Internet through a dial-up connection in the U.S. and Canada and your system conforms to RapidNet Accelerator system requirements you should be able to get an accelerated Internet experience, if you are dialing numbers from the same ISP.

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What are the privacy implications of using RapidNet Accelerator, powered by Propel?
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This FAQ describes the technical privacy risk implications of using Propel Accelerator, and the special steps that Propel Software Corporation takes to minimize those risks. (Please note: Propel's official Privacy Policy is the definitive representation made by Propel regarding our handling of personally-identifiable information about customers. The information presented in this document is for general informational purposes only.)

Personally-identifiable Information on Propel Servers
If you have a high level understanding of how Propel Accelerator works you may be concerned that the Accelerator could be used to track your browsing activities in a way that could violate your privacy. Propel recognizes that your privacy is very important, and therefore we have implemented the Propel Acceleration Service so that personally-identifiable information cannot be easily tracked or easily derived from data within our server infrastructure. When your Accelerator client software connects to our infrastructure, it identifies itself using a unique client ID. Our infrastructure has a database of client IDs that are authorized to receive acceleration, but that database does not contain any personally-identifiable information associated with the IDs, such as your name, address, or email address. Further, we have designed all of our server logging features in such a way that no single log contains a direct record of the Web sites visited by specific clients. Personally-identifiable information regarding browsing activities is subject to the Privacy Policy and can be derived from information logged by Propel only by applying special post-processing.

Personally-identifiable Information on Your Computer
The Accelerator client software that resides on your personal computer introduces the same sort of privacy risk as your browser software does. Your browser stores temporary files on your computer's hard drive. These files are sometimes collectively called your "browser cache". It is possible for someone with sufficient expertise to use the information in your browser cache to determine what Web sites you have visited. For this reason, your browser software includes commands that allow you to delete its temporary files. The Accelerator client software also stores temporary files on your computer's hard drive in the "RapidNet cache". Those files could also be used to determine what Web pages you have visited, so RapidNet Accelerator includes a command (on the Accelerator menu's Options dialog) so that you can delete those temporary files at any time.

Propel Client/Server Communication
The Propel Accelerator client software does not transmit any historical record of your browsing activities to our servers other than non-user-identifiable summary timing and compression information, and diagnostic information. Such information is used solely for overall system performance monitoring and quality assurance.

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How long will it take to download RapidNet Accelerator?
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Depending on the speed of your modem and the processing speed of your computer, downloading will take between 5-10 minutes. For example, a modem operating at 48kbps (kilobits per second) will download RapidNet Accelerator in about 5 minutes using a recent-vintage computer. Running the install on your computer takes a minute or less. The optional quick tour takes approximately 2-3 minutes.

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How do I see the original graphic quality of specific image or Web page?
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If you are using Internet Explorer, simply move your mouse over an image on a Web page and click the right mouse button. You'll see that two new options are available:

Refresh Page with Full Quality.
Refresh Picture with Full Quality. When your mouse is over a graphic.

If you select one of these options, RapidNet Accelerator will replace the compressed graphic image with an original quality version. When the Propel icon arrows stop moving, the new image is in place.
Note: When you first install RapidNet Accelerator, it is necessary to close and then restart IE in order to have the Refresh Page and Refresh Picture right-click menu options available. These options are not available in Outlook.

These menu options are not available in Netscape, Opera or Mozilla. Please follow these steps.
1. Click on the small blue Propeller icon located near your system clock. Go to Options and adjust the Graphics Acceleration Level to 1 (original quality) and click OK.

2. Hold down the Ctrl key and select R OR Select Reload from the View menu. The compressed graphic image will be replaced with an original quality version.

3. Repeat step one and adjust the Graphics Acceleration Level back to its setting.