Common Questions About ISP.com

This page lists questions that people often ask about ISP.com and the services we have to offer. It does not offer any technical support for your Internet connection or software. If you need technical support, or are experiencing difficulties with your Internet connection or Internet applications, please visit our NetFAQs page.

Billing Questions

What methods of payments do you accept?

ISP.com accepts monthly payments by credit card, or online check drafts (US Only). We accept Visa, Mastercard, Amex, and Discover. We accept annual payments by check (US Only), money order or cashiers check.
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Is there a contract term?

All ISP.com service is month to month. You can cancel at the end of any billing cycle. Please see our terms of service for more details.
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How do I change my billing information?

You can change your billing information online using our secure server (SSL) by clicking here.
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Why was my credit card declined?

If your credit card was declined when you signed up, this may be caused by several factors. Our system does extensive fraud checking. You need to be sure you enter the exact name and address that the credit card company has on file. This is done to protect you, the user, from fraudulent use of your credit card. Also, If your credit card company issues you a new card with a different expiration date, you'll need to let us know.
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I signed up, but have not used the service, will I be charged?

Yes, you are charged initially when you signup and then on a recurring per month basis regardless of usage.
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My first charge was more than I expected, why?

For all credit card transactions that take place after the 25th of the month, we bill the intial charge for the prorated number of days left in the month plus the next months amount.
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What currency are accounts billed in?

All accounts are billed in US Funds for all customers, including canadian. If you have an international credit card, your credit card company will convert to the US Funds charge to your currency based on the current excahnge rate.
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I signed up for high speed, but want to downgrade, will I be penalized?

There is no fee to downgrade, just call our billing team at 1-888-744-6477 or email billing@isp.com. Your account will be downgraded at the end of the billing cycle and pricing adjusted during our next charge to your credit card or checking account.
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I signed up for regular, but want to upgrade, is there a cost?

There is no setup fee to upgrade. You can upgrade at your regular dial-up account to High Speed dial-up by clicking here. Your account will be upgraded immediately and starting at the next charge to your credit card or checking account, you will be billed at the new rate.
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Are there any additional phone charges?

ISP.com will never charge you more than your monthly rate. However, we do not control the phone companies, we recommend that prior to using our service, that you verify that you are calling a local non-toll number. You can do this by calling '0' and asking your local operator.
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How do I cancel service?

You can cancel your service one of three ways.

By mail to:
ISP.com
P. O. Box 22310
Salt Lake City, UT 84122

By Phone to:
1-866-700-3245
(5:00 AM - 8:00 PM PST M-F, and 6:00 AM - 3:00 PM PST on Saturday)

By fax to: 1-801-924-1092

Please include your name, address, return phone number, dial-up username, and email address as well as a request to cancel service and the date you want the cancellation to occur.
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General Questions

How many hours do I get with ISP.com?

We market ISP.com as unlimited, but not dedicated service. Dedicated service is defined in the Terms of Service and can be reviewed by clicking here.
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Where is your technical support located?

ISP.com's technical support is based in the United States. We have English, Spanish, and French speaking reps available.
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Do you advertise with a banner on my screen?

ISP.com does not place a banner on your screen like the Free Internet Providers used to do. You are purchasing banner free service from ISP.com.
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How many screen names do I get?

ISP.com does not offer screen names, this is a feature unique to AOL. With ISP.com, everyone will share one login ID to the internet. From there, you can setup up to 5 email accounts that yourself, friends and family can use.
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Can I use Instant Messenger?

Yes. ISP.com is compatible and will work with many of the most common instant messenger programs including but not limited to: AOL, MSN, ICQ, and Yahoo.
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Can I use my account when traveling?>

Yes. When you join ISP.com you get access to over 12,500 access numbers. Our network covers over 97% of the US and parts of Canada as well. You may roam for free accross all POP locations that we offer. If you use ISP.com's software this is easy, just push the select button on the dialer to select a new number in the location that you are traveling to.
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Do I need software to access ISP.com?

No, but it is recommended. By using software, your access numbers will always remain up to date and the software will always list our most up to date contact information in your dialer. In addition, it makes setup of ISP.com's internet service easy as it will automatically configure your computer and setup your email program for you.
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Do you offer DSL, or high speed service?

Yes! ISP.com is proud to announce that we know offer DSL Internet service through PowerDSL. Click here for more information.
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The access number you have is the same as my previous ISP, why?

We utilize some of the largest networks in the world including MCI, and Qwest to provide service. It is likely that your current provider may be using the same providers that we are to purchase service.
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Do you offer parental controls?

At this time, ISP.com does not offer any Internet content filtering or parental controls.
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What is ISDN service, do you support it?

ISDN stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. Unlike dial-up which gives you various speeds, ISDN gives you a constant 64k speed. However to use it, you must have a digital phone line from your phone company and digital modem. There is an additional fee applied by your phone company and setup costs for the modem. There is no addition cost from ISP.com . ISP.com does support 64k however we do not support the use of 128k on our network. If you wish to order an ISDN line, please contact your phone company for pricing and details.
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Do you offer static IP's?

We do not currently offer static IP's. We support dynamic IP's only.
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Do you offer Multilink?

We do not currently offer multi-link service. We support 56k and 64k only.
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Can I use multiple computers at the same time?

Only one computer can connect to a username at a time. In order to have multiple simultaneous connections, you will need to purchase multiple logins which can be combined under a single account. If you are interested in doing this then please contact our tech support line by way of the sales or support option.
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How do I cancel my previous ISP?

ISP.com cannot cancel your service with your previous ISP. However to help you cancel your service, listed below are some hard to find phone numbers of other ISP's.

  • To Cancel Earthlink call 1-800-890-5128
  • To Cancel AOL call 1-888-265-8008 or Fax 1-801-622-7969 (include your full name, phone number, address and either your screen name or the last four digits of the credit card you billed the account to)
  • To Cancel AT&T Worldnet call 1-800-400-1447
  • To Cancel CompuServe call 1-800-848-8990
  • To Cancel MSN call 1-800-386-5550
  • To Cancel Prodigy call 1-800-213-0992
  • To Cancel NetZero call 1-866-841-1442

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Email Questions

Can I use my own SMTP server, do you block port 25?

Yes. ISP.com blocks ports 25. All users that are dialed into our server will have to use our SMTP server to send mail. This is automatically setup when you use our configuration software.
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How many email accounts do I get?

We offer five (5) email accounts to every customer that signs up for our service. You can visit the support page to manage your account settings and add / remove email addresses online. If you want more than the standard 5 mailboxes, we charge an additional $1.00 per email that you setup. Please contact the support department if you want an additional mailbox over the 5 that are allocated to each account.
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Do you offer WebMail service?

Yes! You can check your mail online by visiting www.isp.com/mail.asp.
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Can I check my other email accounts while using ISP.com?

Yes, we do not prevent you from checking your other email accounts or web based email accounts while connecting to ISP.com, to send mail however you will have to use mail.isp.com as your SMTP server.
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Will I be able to use programs such as Outlook Express?

Yes, In fact we recommend using a program such as Outlook Express rather than relying on web mail. For instructions on configuring your email with many different programs, follow the instructions listed on our Support Page.
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Will I still be able to use my other email accounts?

Yes. You will still be able to use your other email accounts when connected to ISP.com. You can use any of the popular webmail interfaces such as hotmail and if configured, can even use any other domain using a program like outlook express. You will however have to change your outgoing mail server to "smtp.isp.com"
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After writing a very long email, I get disconnected and am not able to send?

Our service has a 15 minute idle timeout. This means if you do not browse, check your email, or send an email within a 15 minute period your service will be disconnected. To send the mail you will need to reconnect to the internet (if you are using our software, it will automatically prompt you to reconnect) and then click send.
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Do we support POP3 SSL?

Yes, ISP.com supports pop3 SSL, you will get a warning box, but "OK" it and all email received will be encrypted between our mail servers and you, thus making it nearly impossible for someone to steal the data that you are receiving. You can turn POP3 SSL on in many email programs in advanced settings.
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Do we support SMTP SSL?

No, we do not support SMTP SSL at this time.
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What is the maximum size attachment I can send?

We have a 2 MB limit on attachments.
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I get a content rejected message when I send, what does that mean?

The mail you sent more than likely contains an attachment with a file extension that viruses are often transmittted in. We recommend zipping up the attachment and then sending it. If you do not have a zip file, you can change the extension of the file and then write instructions to the recipient on how to open it.
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How long do you keep messages on the server?

We keep messages on the server for only 60 days. After 60 days, old messages will be deleted. Mailboxes that are not checked in a 180 day period are also subject to a possible cancellation.
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When I forward a message to all my friends I get a "number of recipients exceeded message"?

The email server is setup to deny messages that contain over 25 recipients. You may need to cut the message into 2 emails and resend.
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I am getting a "To many emails sent" error, what does this mean?

To prevent spam from our users, we place a cap of 200 emails going out per hour through our SMTP server.
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I know you offer spam filtering, can I customize it?

You can raise and lower your spam threshold level. Effectively making it very tight or 100% off. You can also white list and blacklist people that email you.
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Webspace Questions

How do I access my personal webspace?

To use your personal webspace, first you must activate the service. You can activate the service on your account by clicking here. Each dial-up customer gets one (1) personal webspace account. Here are the settings you need to use with the personal webspace service:

  • FTP Server: ftp.isp.com
  • FTP Main File: index.html (all lowercase)
  • FTP Directory: /
  • URL: http://members.isp.com/user@isp.com/
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How do I upload to my webspace?

You will need to use an FTP program. You can find some FTP programs at our FTP Client members page located by clicking here, and then clicking on software on the left.
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How much webspace do I get?

All personal webspace accounts get up to 100 MB of space. Additional space is not available for purchase.
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Do you support ASP, PHP, CGI, Frontpage, etc?

The personal webspace account does not support ASP, PHP, CGI, or Frontpage. It supports HTML & Graphic files only. You will have to use an FTP program to upload your website.
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What can I use my website for?

Personal webspace is meant to be used to maintain hobby websites, or websites about yourself. It can not be used for business reasons. It can not be used to maintain hate sites, guns, violence, adult material, warez, crack sites or anything that is illegal. We reserve the right to remove a website immediatly and without notice if we feel it violates these rules, or our terms of service.
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How much bandwidth can I use?

The website is meant to be used for personal and hobby sites only. Thus we have a cap of 500 MB of traffic per month to personal websites.
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Can you guys help me develop a website?

We do not have assistance available for developing websites or assisting with website problems. Technical support is limited to dial-up and email issues only.
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Can I use my own domain name?

Personal websites does not support domain name hosting. It can only be accessed by using http://members.isp.com/user@isp.com/
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High Speed Dial-Up Questions

How does the High Speed work?

ISP.com High Speed dial-up uses web acceleration software to accelerate the delivery of HTML, Javascript, JPEG, GIFS, BMPS, Text and Email to the clients computer. This is done by server side compression and advanced cacheing of websites. The User must run a client side software piece that runs in the background on the Users machine. Typical speed increases have been seen to reach up to 6x on certain websites. This solution provides High Speed dial-up through your existing phone line and modem without the high cost of Broadband and / or area restrictions.

It's the high-speed surfing solution with the convenience of dial-up for people who want:

  • A low-cost surfing alternative to costly DSL services
  • Faster surfing and web-browsing using a dial-up connection
  • A faster surfing experience in areas where DSL is not available
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Is High Speed Dial-up available for me?

ISP.com High Speed is available in all locations we offer regular dial-up. To find out if its available in your area, please visit our access numbers list.
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What type of speed should I expect?

You should expect to see an increase when you are surfing the web. Most users experience an increase of about 3x to 6x on most websites. This means that web pages load as is you are connecting at 150k speeds. The exact amount of acceleration can vary but with ISP.com High Speed Dial-up you will notice a significantly faster experience when you visit Web sites, read your e-mail on the Web, and perform many other Web-based activities.
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What does High Speed Dial-up Accelerate / Not Accelerate?

High Speed will not speed up delivery of downloads, https (secure) pages, or streaming media. But it will speed up visits and page load times to 99% of the websites including the likes of espn, cnn, isp.com, and other popular websites.
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I usually connect at 45k, what will I connect at with High Speed Dial-up?

You will still connect at your normal speed approximately (33k to 52k). What happens is that when you visit a website that website is compressed before it arrives to your computer, thus not as much data needs to be sent to you. This makes it so the page loads faster.
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Does it require a special modem?

High Speed Dial-up does not require any special equipment. It works over your existing dial-up account with ISP.com and your existing phone line.
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Will High Speed Dial-up run on a network (LAN)

High speed will not work on mulitple computers at one time. It will only work on the main computer that is dialed up to the internet.
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What are the minimum requirements for using the software?

Minimum Hardware / Software

  • Pentium II 133Mhz
  • 32MB RAM
  • Additional 5MB Free Disk Space
  • Internet Explorer Version 4.0 and higher or
  • Netscape 4.0 browser and higher

Supported Software

  • Win 95b (Winsock 2)
  • Win 98, Windows ME
  • Windows 2000, Windows NT
  • XP, XP Professional
  • Mac OS X
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Can High Speed Dial-up work with my mac?

Yes, as of January 30, 2005 ISP.com now supports High Speed Dial-up for Mac OS X or above. We have no plans to support the earlier versions of Mac at this time.
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What are the costs for High Speed Dial-up?

ISP.com High Speed Dial-up service costs just $ 4.00 more than Regular service. It is just $ 12.95 a month. No setup fees required.
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What if I'm not happy with ISP.com High Speed Dial-up?

If you are not happy with ISP.com High Speed Dial-up, you can email billing@isp.com and we will downgrade you to ISP.com Regular free of charge.

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Newsgroups Questions

  • Are newsgroups available?
  • What are the settings for newsgroups?

Are newsgroups available?

Yes. ISP.com provides newsgroups free of charge with our service.

What are the settings for newsgroups?

To use newsgroups you must be dialed into an ISP.com location. Secondly, you would use the news server of "news.isp.com". ISP.com newsgroups require authentication so you would use your ISP.com dial-up username in the format of user@isp.com and your password to login.



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