ExedeSM by ViaSat
Are You Ready for Truly Fast Satellite Internet?
It's here and we hope you're ready to experience fast satellite Internet, available from Otsego Electric Cooperative (REC) and ExedeSM by ViaSat.
We will begin taking orders for this new high-speed service. If you would like to go on our waiting list, either call our office or fill our our contact form.
Don’t be tricked by Scare-ware
Computer viruses and malware have been a problem for a long time. Cyber-criminals are always looking for ways to take advantage of unsuspecting computer users. A common scheme that is frequently used is scare-ware. Scare-ware is something that may appear to be helpful to your computer; however, it’s often a trick to scam unsuspecting users into paying for a service that will do more harm than good.
To prevent being scammed here are a few things to consider:
How should you deal with a scare-ware attack?
If a virus alert appears on your screen, and it’s not from a program you have installed in your PC, stop and think before you do anything. Most importantly don’t touch it.
Try to become familiar with the way your real anti-virus software on your computer looks and behaves. If you know what a real warning message looks like, it will be easier to spot a fake.
Now that we’re in the midst of the holiday season and your children will soon be on school break, tell them about the WildBlue Fair Access Policy (FAP). If children or young adults are using your computer, they might inadvertently download games or videos or upload vacation pictures and send your threshold limit skyrocketing. Common causes for increased bandwidth are using peer-to-peer file sharing programs, a computer virus, use of a webcam, downloading full-length movies and downloading large quantities of music files. Please be sure to talk to anyone who may be using your computer and let them know of this policy. If you have any questions feel free to call our office at 607-293-6622.
Our office will be closed Thursday, November 24th, for the Thanksgiving Day holiday.
Follow Otsego Electric Cooperative, Inc. on Twitter. Get energy saving tips and outage updates. See the Twitter link on the top of this webpage.
The Take Action Network allows you to make your voice heard in the halls of Congress and in your own state legislature. Visit http://takeaction.nreca.coop to send a letter to your legislators to encurage them to support legislation to prevent the EPA from regulating Coal Ash as Hazardous waste. A hazardous designation would add huge costs to electric bills.
If you use an e-mail client, such as Outlook or Windows Mail, you will need to make a settings change on all your computers and smart phones before June 30, 2011, to maintain the ability to send and receive OECBlue e-mails. Specifically, you will need to reconfigure the settings in your e-mail client for SMTP authentication and use your full e-mail address instead of just your username (if you have not already done so).
Here is a website you can go to for directions: http://email.sitecare.info
Tech Support is also prepared to walk you through the changes over the phone; they can be reached at 1-888-326-9356.
It may also be a good time to strengthen your passwords.
If you own a wireless router, and you have not secured it, you should. Securing it will prevent unwanted users in the vicinity of your router to connect to your wireless internet connection.
Here are a few simple steps to take:
We are extremely excited to introduce our new e-mail service to you. The new platform gives us much more flexibility in the services we offer and allows us to continue to improve the service we offer to you. Your login URL and password will stay the same. Beginning Monday, March 28, 2011 you will notice the changes put in place. Here's a sampling of some of the new features you will see:
Please see the Getting Started Guide . It advises you on what to do right away to get the most out of the new service, including reconfiguring your e-mail clients within the first 90 days.
If you have any questions, please contact Tech Support at 1-888-326-9356.
Dear Subscribers:
“Phishers” are criminals who trick people into providing personal information (like passwords, bank account numbers, credit card numbers, etc.) on fake Web sites. You may get an e-mail, instant message pop-up message or even a phone call by someone pretending to be from a bank or credit card company. The phisher will try to tell you it’s urgent that you update your personal information. This is a trick! Don’t fall for it! Reputable companies would never ask for personal information that they already have.
It Can Be Hard to Spot a Fake Web Site
If you're lucky, you can spot a phishing site by looking at the Web address. If the company's name is spelled incorrectly, like "www.paypa1.com" instead of "www.paypal.com," it's a fake. But since phishers are using increasingly sophisticated tactics, this is your best defense:
Please protect yourself and contact us at 607-293-6622 if you have any questions.
