Frequently Asked Questions about InSPire Net Services
The Internet is an incredibly rich and flexible medium, but at the same time, it comes with a heavy load of jargon and acronyms that occasionally baffle even those who work with the technology for a living.
To help you navigate Internet and networking terminology, we have put together several documents with words, phrases and frequently asked questions.
If you have a problem with your InSPire Net connection, please take the time to read through the below pages before contacting our Help Desk. Chances are that you will find the resolution to the trouble there.
The Glossary and FAQs are “living documents”, and will be amended as new items arise and old ones disappear. If you have any feedback about these documents, please email us at .
Internet terms and their meaning
DNS or Domain Name System
What’s easier to remember? www.inspire.net.nz or 203.114.128.1? A name, of course. Mapping domain names to IP addresses is one of the functions of the DNS. Another job for the DNS includes telling mail servers where to deliver email.
Firewall
The term firewall is slightly misleading, because it is actually an IP network traffic management tool. That’s a bit of a mouthful, but describes more accurately what a firewall does: a good one will give you control over what comes in and what goes out to and from your computer (or network). In this day and age, a good firewall is a necessity. Not all firewalls are created equal, however. Please contact InSPire Net for our recommendations for software and hardware firewalls, designed for different needs.
FTP or file transport protocol
For transferring files between computers, you will often see “ftp” being used. Although most Web browsers understand ftp, there are many specialised programs for the protocol which offer greater control over the transfer.
HTTP or Hyper Text Transport Protocol
The language used by Web browsers to fetch HTML and other content from Web servers anywhere around the world is called HTTP. You can specify this when you type in the URL in your Web browser, e.g. http://www.inspire.net.nz.
Internet
What started out as a research project in the United States to create a network of computers with the ability to survive nuclear strikes that took out parts of it has now become a truly global medium linking people in a manner nobody foresaw.
When you connect to the Internet, your computer becomes a node on it. This is an important thing to remember: connecting to the Internet is not the same as making a telephone call, or watching broadcast television. Your computer will send as well as receive data, and thus is visible to other Internet users.
This means you need to pay attention to security for your computer, because there are unfortunately rogues – spammers, scammers and crackers – who are quick to abuse unprotected Internet-connected computers. Make sure your computer software is up-to-date and consider investing in a firewall.
IP or Internet Protocol
IP is one of many protocols on the Internet. Its role is to deliver data in packets to and from Internet-connected computers, which are identified with an IP address. Splitting the data up in packets allows them to take many different routes to computers. This is an intentional design feature of the Internet, which allows it to survive partial large-scale network outages. Unfortunately, the free routing across all hosts on the Internet is no longer done, as the networks have become commercialised and charge for traffic.
Currently, the Internet is built around IP version 4, but the more feature-rich IP version 6 is starting to appear on experimental networks.
IP address
A unique address consisting of four dot-separated groups of numbers, each of which range from 0 to 255, used to identify computers on the Internet. For instance, our main Web server can be found at the 203.114.128.1 IP address.
The above addresses are for IP version 4. IP version 6 will have much longer, and thus many more addresses are available.
TCP or Transmission Control Protocol
To make sure IP packets are delivered to computers on the Internet even if they arrive out of order, TCP is used. Hence, we talk about TCP/IP.
UDP or User Datagram Protocol
A simpler protocol for network communications than TCP, UDP is often used for timing-sensitive applications that only shift small amounts of data, like online games and DNS.
URL or Uniform Resource Locator
When you type in http://www.inspire.net.nz into your browser, you are using an URL. It can be used to display Web pages or files with HTTP, files with FTP or other items such as music.
InSPire Net General FAQ
What is InSPire Net’s address?
You can find us at:
InSPire Net
325 Main Street
Corner of Andrew Young Street & Main Street
Palmerston North
The postal address is:
InSPire Net Ltd
PO Box 4387
Palmerston North
What are InSPire Net’s phone numbers?
You can reach us on 06 357 8559, or toll free 0800 484 363.
What are InSPire Net’s office hours?
The Help Desk can be reached on the telephone every day from eight in the morning until ten in the evening. Outside those hours, please leave a message on the voice mail service.
Our office is open from 9am until 6pm weekdays, and 9am until 5pm Saturdays.
What are the InSPire Net contact email addresses?
- General enquiries:
- Email-related:
- Support:
- Webhosting:
- Report spam and abuse:
- Domain names:
- Sales enquiries:
- Billing enquiries:
InSPire Net Billing FAQ
How do I keep track on how much time or how much data I have used?
To look at all your account details, head to https://secure.inspire.net.nz . Enter your username and password on the encrypted and secure page, and click on the “View Time Online” and “View Data Usage” links.
My Internet usage is more or less than I expected. How do I change to a larger or smaller plan?
Head over to https://secure.inspire.net.nz , enter your username and password, and look under “Change Plans” for a different plan that suits your needs better.
I’ve used up more hours than the allowance on my InSPire Net Dial-Up Plan. How do I pay for the extra hours?
If you use up more than $10 worth of extra hours, we will send you an invoice for these when your account falls due. This invoice can be paid with a cheque, credit card, in cash at our offices, or through direct credit. Amounts under $10 are held over until such time there is an equivalent amount of accumulated extra hours, or you wish to cancel your account.
I’m off on a long holiday and won’t be using my account. Could it be put on hold?
Yes, if you have a Dial up or MetroLAN account we can “park” your account for up to 12 weeks. This takes effect from the end of the current billing cycle. We will store all your incoming emails, and nobody will be able to sign up with the same account name. Unfortunately we are unable to park a Bitstream account.
I pay by automatic payment or credit card, but need tax invoices as well.
We are more than happy to post out or email in PDF format your tax invoices if you need them. Just let our Billing department know at
InSPire Net Email FAQ
Can I have more than one email address?
InSPire Net provides up to five additional addresses per account, which can either forward to your existing address, or use different logins and mail accounts if required. Each costs $3 per month. Please email the InSPire Net postmaster to apply for more email addresses.
I’m travelling or not at my machine at the moment. How do I check my email?
InSPire Net offers a Web mail service that lets you read and reply to email from just about anywhere. Just go to the InSPire Net Web Mail page here: http://webmail.inspire.net.nz and bookmark it for future reference.
How long can my InSPire Net email address be? I would like to use my full name.While we recommend that email addresses are kept as short as possible for convenience and to prevent typos, they can contain up to 32 characters.
Note that there are limitations as to which characters you can have in an email address. For instance, dots and underscores are valid, but ampersands (&), strokes (/ or ), spaces or colons (: or ;) are not, as they are used for special purposes by email programs.
Someone sent me a huge email that I don’t want to download. Is there a way to delete it?
Yes, head over to our email management facility here, http://webmail.inspire.net.nz. Enter your username and password, and you will see all the emails in your account that haven’t been downloaded. Select the one or ones you wish to delete. Remember that there is no way to undelete messages that you have deleted, so be careful to check first.
Spam spam spam spam spam. I’m sick of it. What do I do to get rid of it?
InSPire Net offers some very efficient spam filtering. Go to your account options page at https://secure.inspire.net.nz and log in to set them.
I’ve turned on the spam filtering, and would like to automatically delete messages that are tagged with ***SPAM*** instead of downloading them.
This is easy to do: just have a read of the Spam Deletion Instructions.
Oh no! People are sending me viruses! What do I do?
InSPire Net also offers virus filtering which is turned on by default if you enable spam filtering. Go to https://secure.inspire.net.nz to check it out.
I would like to use InSPire Net’s email service to send out lots and lots of messages to people for marketing purposes. Do you mind if I do that?
Yes, we most certainly do. InSPire Net has a very strict anti-spam policy and if you are found to be violating it, your account will be suspended without notice. Our terms and conditions explicitly ban spamming, so don’t even think about it.
I run a legitimate mailing list that people have requested to be on and also operate a strict anti-spam policy. Can I use InSPire Net’s mail servers to send out messages?
If your bulk-mailing is above board and is not spam in any form, we can assist you with the mail outs. Please contact us to discuss the matter further.
InSPire Net Dial-Up Service FAQ
What do I need for InSPire Net Dial-Up Service?
Please take a look at the requirements page for InSPire Net Dial-Up Service to see what you need in terms of hardware and software. Generally speaking, all that is needed is a Telepermitted modem, a computer with a serial or USB port and an up-to-date operating system.
How fast is InSPire Net Dial-Up Service?
This depends on how good your telephone lines are, as well as the type of modem you use. On a good telephone line and using a recent V.90 standard modem, you can expect speeds of 50-52 kilobit/s when downloading, and up to 33.6 kilobit/s for uploads.
What are the settings for InSPire Net Dial-Up Service?
- Telephone number: 0867 21212
- Automatic allocation of IP address, DNS servers and gateway on remote network
- Incoming mail server: pop3.inspire.net.nz
- Outgoing mail server: smtp.inspire.net.nz
My computer doesn’t pick up the DNS servers automatically. What are their IP addresses?
- Primary: 203.114.128.1
- Secondary: 203.114.128.2
Do you have a proxy server for Web browsing?
We do not use a transparent caching proxy server for Web access, so you don’t need to configure anything here.
Do I need to run an antivirus and/or a firewall with InSPire Net Dial-Up Service?
The short answer is “yes” to both. The long answer is that while we do our best to protect InSPire Net customers from dangerous malware that circulates on the Internet in a variety of ways, it is not always possible to catch everything.
Is it worth “tweaking” my modem connection?
The normal settings for Windows and Mac OS work well for InSPire Net’s Dial-Up service and there is no need to change them. In rare special cases, there could be some mileage in changing some of the settings. However, don’t attempt this unless you know exactly what you are doing.
Can I use the free home page that’s included with some of the larger plans for commercial purposes?
No, the free home page is only for personal Web sites. If you wish to run a commercial site, you need to sign up for InSPire Net’s Web Hosting Service.
InSPire Net Bitstream Service FAQ
I’ve heard about Bitstream, but what is it?
InSPire Net Bitstream Service uses Telecom’s Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) technology to deliver very fast Internet access over normal telephone lines.
To give you a rough speed comparison, Bitstream can be anywhere from three to a hundred times as fast for downloads as dial-up, depending on the plan you choose. This only tells half the story though, because Bitstream is also much more responsive (less laggy) than dial-up, making it feel much faster even with the moderate speed plans.
What other advantages are there to InSPire Net Bitstream?
Apart from the performance boost, you will like the fact that InSPire Net Bitstream Service is always-on: no need to wait for the modem to dial-up and connect in other words.
InSPire Net Bitstream Service also lets you use the phone while connected to the Internet. That’s right, no more busy signals.
Finally, InSPire Net Bitstream Service can be shared. It’s easy to network the computer that will share the connection. Just ask our Help Desk for recommendations and advice.
What are the settings for InSPire Net Bitstream Service?
We will help you configure the DSL router with the right settings to log on to InSPire Net Bitstream DSL service. After that, you are ready to go.
Email settings are:
- Incoming mail server: pop3.inspire.net.nz
- Outgoing mail server: smtp.inspire.net.nz
The DSL router should assign the DNS server automatically, but if you need to do it manually, use these settings:
- Primary: 203.114.128.1
- Secondary: 203.114.128.2
Do you have a proxy server for Web browsing?
We do not use a transparent caching proxy server for Web access, so you don’t need to configure anything here.
Do I need to run an antivirus and/or a firewall with InSPire Net Bitstream Service?
The short answer is “yes” to both. The long answer is that while we do our best to protect InSPire Net customers from dangerous malware that circulates on the Internet in a variety of ways, it is not always possible to catch everything.
Can I use the free home page that’s included with some of the larger plans for commercial purposes?
No, the free home page is only for personal Web sites. If you wish to run a commercial site, you need to sign up for InSPire Net’s Web Hosting Service.
InSPire Net Wireless Service FAQ
What areas does the InSPire Net Wireless Service cover?
We currently service most of Manawatu and other ares around New Zealand. Please call our Help Desk during office hours for up-to-date coverage information as we are constantly expanding our wireless network.
How reliable is InSPire Net Wireless Service?
The technology we use have proved itself to be extremely reliable, and we are confident that you will be happy with its performance. However, no connection, wireless or wired, is immune to unforeseen disruptions caused by weather, careless workmen or other factors outside our control. Please bear this in mind.
How fast is InSPire Net Wireless Service?
Very – you are looking at speeds of up to 4 megabit/s with very low latency (lag), making the InSPire Net Wireless Service a great alternative for fast Internet access. It beats dial-up hands down for convenience and performance.
What are the settings for InSPire Net Wireless Service?
We will help you configure the wireless router with the right settings to log on to InSPire Net Wireless service. After that, you are ready to go.
Email settings are:
- Incoming mail server: pop3.inspire.net.nz
- Outgoing mail server: smtp.inspire.net.nz
The wireless router should assign the DNS server automatically, but if you need to do it manually, use these settings:
- Primary: 203.114.128.1
- Secondary: 203.114.128.2
Do you have a proxy server for Web browsing?
We do not use a transparent caching proxy server for Web access, so you don’t need to configure anything here.
Do I need to run an antivirus and/or a firewall with InSPire Net Wireless Service?
The short answer is “yes” to both. The long answer is that while we do our best to protect InSPire Net customers from dangerous malware that circulates on the Internet in a variety of ways, it is not always possible to catch everything.
Can I use the free home page that’s included with some of the larger plans for commercial purposes?
No, the free home page is only for personal Web sites. If you wish to run a commercial site, you need to sign up for InSPire Net’s Web Hosting Service.
InSPire Net Ethernet Service FAQ
Who is InSPire Net Ethernet Service aimed at?
The MetroLAN Ethernet is a premium product, aimed at business customers demanding best-of-breed fast Internet access. It is fast, reliable and has enough capacity to be shared by a large number of users.
What are the settings for InSPire Net Ethernet Service?
We will help you or your systems integrators configure the router with the right settings to log on to InSPire Net Ethernet service. After that, you are ready to go.
Email settings are:
- Incoming mail server: pop3.inspire.net.nz
- Outgoing mail server: smtp.inspire.net.nz
The router should assign the DNS server automatically, but if you need to do it manually, use these settings:
- Primary: 203.114.128.1
- Secondary: 203.114.128.2
Do you have a proxy server for Web browsing?
We do not use a transparent cacheing proxy server for Web access, so you don’t need to configure anything here.
Do I need to run an antivirus and/or a firewall with InSPire Net Ethernet Service?
The short answer is “yes” to both. The long answer is that while we do our best to protect InSPire Net customers from dangerous malware that circulates on the Internet in a variety of ways, it is not always possible to catch everything.
Can I use the free home page that’s included with some of the larger plans for commercial purposes?
No, the free home page is only for personal Web sites. If you wish to run a commercial site, you need to sign up for InSPire Net’s Web Hosting Service.
InSPire Net Co-location Service FAQ
Who is responsible for insurance and maintenance of our co-located servers?
InSPire Net Co-location Service customers are responsible for insuring and maintaining equipment hosted at our premises.
We can help organise competitive quotes from insurance brokers if you need. Please contact us on .
What sort of content can I host on my servers through InSPire Net’s Co-location Service?
Please ensure that any content you intend to host on servers co-located at InSPire Net is legal before putting it up on the Web. Take legal advice first if you are unsure.
InSPire Net Web Hosting Service FAQ
What sort of content can I host on InSPire Net?
Please ensure that the content you intend to host is legal before putting it up on the Web. Take legal advice first if you are unsure.
Adult content hosting is subject to full review of the material in question and must not breach any applicable laws in any of the countries that it may be viewed in.
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