Getting Setup with Windows XP

Configuring your connection is easy and takes less than 5 minutes. You will need your local access number to connect to the Internet. If you don't already know the number, go to the Access Numbers page.

1. Click the Start button in your system tray (lower, left corner of your monitor)
2. From the menu, select 'Connect To' --> 'Show all connections'
3. You will see the Network connections screen
4. Click the 'Create a new connection' link (upper left corner)
5. When you see the 'Welcome to the Network Connection Wizard' screen, click 'Next'
6. Select Connect to the Internet and click 'Next'
7. Select the option to set up your Internet connection manually (the second one) and click 'Next'
8. Select 'Connect using a dial-up modem' and click 'Next'.
9. Enter ProvideNet and click 'Next'
10. Enter your local access number (without area code, i.e. 555-5555) and click 'Next'  (To search for an access number - Click Here)
11. Select ' Anyone's use' and click 'Next'
12. Enter your username (login@providenet.com) and password (leave all other options as they are) and click 'Next'
13. Select ' Add a shortcut to this location to my desktop' and click 'Finish'

That's it! Anytime you want to connect to the Internet, just double click the new icon in your 'Network and Dialup Connections' window.

If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact Technical Support at our Contact Us page.

These instructions are informational only. No representation is made or warranty given as to their content, phone line conditions or user's system configuration. User assumes all risk of use. ProvideNet and its suppliers assume no responsibility for any loss or delay resulting from such use.

1. From your desktop, double click on My Computer
2. Double click on the Dial-up Networking folder
3. Double click the Make New Connection icon
4. Enter a name for the connection (i.e. ProvideNet) and click 'Next'
5. Enter your local access number (without area code, i.e. 555-5555) and click 'Next'  (To search for an access number - Click Here)
6. Click the 'Finish' button to close the window and a new icon will appear in your 'Network and Dialup Connections' window
7. Double click the new icon (this is the connection you just created and will have the name you just gave it)
8. Enter your username (login@providenet.com) and password and click 'Connect'

1. Click on your Mac Hard Drive
2. Click on the Mac Assistants folder
3. Click on the Internet Setup Assistant. When the Internet Setup Assistant appears, click 'Yes' to continue
4. This screen asks if you already have an Internet account. Click 'Yes' to continue.
5. This screen asks if you have the information needed to set up your account. Click the arrow to move to the next step. Note that your DNS server and the IP address will be assigned for you later in the process.
6. Enter a name for your connection (i.e. ProvideNet) and then select Modem and click the arrow to move to the next step.
7. The Macintosh OS usually selects the modem already installed on your system. If you want to choose a different modem, select it from the drop down list, as well as the port you wish to use. Click the arrow to move to the next step.
8. Enter your local access number (you don't need to enter your area code)
   (To search for an access number - Click Here)
9. Enter your Login ID. Your Login ID is the username given to you when you purchased a ProvideNet plan. (login@providenet.com).  Click the arrow to move to the next step.
10. This screen asks if you require a PPP connect script when you log on. Select 'No' and click the arrow to move to the next step.
11. This screen asks if you if there is a specific Static IP address for your setup. Select 'No' and click the arrow to move to the next step.
12. This screen asks for your Domain Name Servers (DNS). Leave this blank and your DNS servers will be assigned automatically when you connect. Click the arrow to move to the next step.
13. This screen asks for your e-mail address and password. If you wish to use our web-based mail at http://mail.providenet.com, then you can skip this section.  If you want to use the mail program on your Mac, put in your entire email address and password here.
14. This screen asks for the incoming (POP3) and outgoing (SMTP) mail server names. For incoming server enter pop.providenet.com. In the second field, enter the ProvideNet outgoing mail server smtp.providenet.com.  Click the arrow to move to the next step.
15. This screen asks for the News server name. Leave this field blank and click the arrow to move to the next step.
16. This screen asks if you are using a proxy server. If you don't know what a proxy server is, then select 'No' and click the arrow to move to the next step.
17. Last step. To complete your Internet setup, click on 'Go Ahead'. If you don't want to connect to the Internet right away, remove the check mark from the 'Connect when finished' field.

Internet Access Dial-up Numbers

If you want a complete list of the phone numbers so you may access your Internet during traveling whenever and wherever you are, you can Get it here.

Our Dialup Numbers database allows you to search by AreaCode, State, Home Phone Number or get a complete list.

Accessing E-mail

Please go to: http://mail.providenet.com to login. It's a good idea to bookmark that page for easy future reference. Or, you can always access it from any page of our site by clicking on 'WebMail' on the ProvideNet home Page.

Your username will be your full e-mail address which is your username with @providenet.com (username@providenet.com).

Setting up your mail through MS Outlook:

1. For Outlook 2000, go to Tools > Accounts > Properties > Servers. (For other versions, this may not be the exact path to the 'Servers' tab.)
2. Set your SMTP (outgoing mail) to smtp.providenet.com.
3. Set up your incoming POP mail to pop.providenet.com
4. Click the box "My Outgoing Mail Server Requires Authentication"
5. That's it.

About ANTI-SPAM

Your web-based e-mail account comes automatically with ANTI-SPAM. What this does is filter out e-mails with certain words in the headers and content. Rejects viruses also. Turns it away based on known-spam content, profanity and more. If you are having trouble with receiving e-mails that are legitimate, please give us some feedback at abuse@providenet.com.

Also, if you receive SPAM mail, please forward to abuse@providenet.com so we can add it to our SPAM filters.

Port 25 Blocking

Some ISP's block port 25 to control email on their network.  This can cause email errors to occur when trying to send email though our servers.

We have resolved this by allowing our clients an alternate SMTP port that is not being blocked.  Simply change your SMTP port to 2525 and you will get around any blocking the alternate ISP has put into place.

To change this port in Outlook, simply open your email account settings, Click on More Settings, Click on the Advanced tab and change the SMTP port from 25 to 2525.

In Outlook Express, Click on Tools, Accounts, Mail Tab and double click on your email account in the list.  Click on the Advanced Tab and change the SMTP port from 25 to 2525.