Keep your banking info safe

Identity fraud is on the rise and there is no easier way to hijack your information than online.  Many consumers utilize online banking software from their banks and while the banks do everything they can to prevent fraudulent cases you should also take  responsibility to keep your information safe.  Just following a few simple precautions can save a world of headache.

This article written by the Better Business Bureau has some good tips for not only small business but also can be applied to consumers as well. Thanks BBB!

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Domain renewal time…?

I just got a domain name renewal notice in the mail and thought to myself,  didn’t I purchase that domain for 5 years.  Crap, who is my registrar again?  Are you asking yourself these same questions?  Several of our customers have and after a bit of digging we realized the notice they received did not come from their true registrar.

A company by the name of Domain Registry of America has been sending out these types of suspicious notices for years. The notice is portrayed to be a friendly reminder that you’re domain name is about to expire but little do you know it’s a solicitation to get your business so don’t be fooled.

Here’s a sample of what the solicitation looks like.  Thanks Scrappybusiness.com!

Also, special thanks to Nick Stamoulis for writing “Domain Registry of America: Don’t be scammed!” a few years back warning us about this scam that still continues to this day. The full article can be found here http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2008/03/18/domain-registry/

If you ever have questions about your domain please don’t hesitate to call us!

Domain Registry of America: Don’t be scammed!

I just received an interesting notice in the mail from Domain Registry of America. It was real easy for me to identify these schmucks as scam artists, but the average consumer may not find it so easy.

In the top right corner of the mailing are the words “Domain Name Expiration Notice.” Then, below that, there is an 800 number and a web address (www.droa.com). It’s an official looking letter and arrives in an official looking envelope and a return envelope, addressed but not postage paid. The letter begins, “As a courtesy to domain name holders, we are sending you this notification of the domain name registrations that are due to expire in the next few months.”

Some people may not know when their domains expire, but I do. I also know who my domain registrars are and I have no interest in switching. The letter continues:

When you switch today to the Domain Registry of America, you can take advantage of our best savings.

Then the letter tells me when my domain names expire – several months away. But they want me to “Act today!”

First, if I did switch my domain registration to Domain Registry of America, I wouldn’t be saving any money. I’d be losing money; and that’s probably the case with anyone.

I currently pay $10 per year for domain name registration, the going rate. Some web hosts include this fee in their packages. Others offer registration for less than $10. In any case, I’d never pay more than $10. Domain Registry of America wants to charge me $30.00 for one year or $50.00 for two years. And in bright red letters next to the $50.00 price tag are the words “save $10.” Hmmm … by my calculations I’d be losing $15. Nice scam they have going there.

There are probably people who would fall for this. But I’d caution my readers to stay away from these people. After doing a little more research (like a Google search), I discovered that I was not the only person to have been solicited by these people.

Blog.Forret appears in Google as the No. 3 result for the company’s name. The No. 2 listing is the FTC (Federal Trade Commission). On the FTC website, I read:

The Federal Trade Commission has requested that a federal district court enjoin Domain Registry of America, Inc., an Internet domain name re-seller, from making misrepresentations in the marketing of its domain name registration services and require it to pay redress to consumers.

That was 2003. Evidently, these guys have been around a long time. There are 58,400 results on the Google SERP for this company’s name inside quotes. Most of them are negative reactions to DROAs aggressive marketing tactics and its penchant for misrepresentation. The company’s response? Theythreatened to sue a blogger whose blog posts ranked highly for their company name.

Read rest of the article at:  http://www.searchengineoptimizationjournal.com/2008/03/18/domain-registry/

What’s going on with my internet connection?

• Have you ever wondered what your internet traffic looks like?
• Ever wonder if watching that movie or downloading those songs was killing your connection?

Well now you can see what’s going on with our new bandwidth tracking software.  Use the tools the Tranquility “Tech Guys” use to check out your connection.  It’s quick, easy and provides a snap shot of your internet traffic.  Below is a sample screen shot of what the software can share.

If you’d like access to this software please just give us a call and one of our “Tech Guys” will set it up for you.  Also, no need to worry about any extra charges for this service because it’s FREE!

Thunderbird has new wings!

Mozilla Thunderbird released their 3rd version a few months ago and we had a chance to review the new features.  After several months of use we have come quite satisfied with them.  The two biggest are tabbed emails and advanced search.

The search feature is a little slow upon first use but that’s because it’s indexing all your mail.  After the indexing process has finished it becomes much faster and easier to find stuff!

If you want to give it a try simply click on the icon to your left to download it. Then if you need helping configuring your Tranquility settings please check out our new tutorial in support center.

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Website designer needed – MayeCreate is looking for a rock star.

MayeCreate Design is looking for an experienced Website Designer to join our small, fast-paced, and growing team. Do you have what it takes?

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Are you a celebrity? Paparazzi shots from the Jefferson City Micro Business Expo

We had a lovely time making new friends and visiting with old ones at the Jefferson City Micro Business Expo.  Monica, from our sister company MayeCreate,  FINALLY remembered to take photos with the camera Danielle packed for her.  She forgot the last two years…

Are you a celebrity?

Let’s get Google Fiber!

This is a long post. But this could be immeasurably important for Columbia, so I beg you to read it and take action.

If you haven’t heard yet, Google is planning an “experiment” in fiber broadband. They intend to pick one or more cities in the U.S. to deploy gigabit ethernet citywide. That is roughly 10 times as fast as Tranquility’s entire connection to the Internet…and they’re looking to bring that kind of bandwidth everywhere. Perhaps best of all, they want to make it an open-access, carrier-neutral network. That means Tranquility, Socket, and other providers will be able to offer service at these speeds…which adds up to competition and low prices.

I couldn’t overstate the impact this would have on Columbia if I tried. We simply have no idea what new applications and technologies this could engender. It would also instantly make Columbia an epicenter for data-intensive industry, dramatically improving our economy and jobs market. We should do everything in our power to bring this home.

The city government, in partnership with many interested parties, is working up an application as we speak; those who are watching the process tell me it’s unlike anything they’ve ever seen: interest groups that can’t ever get along on anything are working hand-in-glove, and we’re going to have a tip-top proposal. This is fantastic…but it only gets us halfway there. That’s where you come in.

PLEASE, go here: http://www.google.com/appserve/fiberrfi/public/options

…and click on “Nominate Your Community.” I know it’s kind of a long form, but most of the items are easy, and there’s a “don’t know” option for many of them. They just want to hear from normal people, so don’t worry if you aren’t a techie. Numbers are going to matter. If you are part of an organization and you feel comfortable speaking on their behalf, be sure to list them…but it’s just fine if you just speak as you.

Also, note that Columbia is an ideal city to meet Google’s goals. Feel free to note any of these reasons…but please don’t just cut/paste them; we don’t want to look like we’re astroturfing.

1)They say they want between 50,000 and 500,000 people. We’re right on target there.
2)We’ve got lots of colleges and universities, including some world-class research facilities.
3)Our demographics are good, with high education and quite a bit of technical industry.
4)We’re a major life-sciences hub; life-sciences is one of the most data-intensive fields there is.
5)Our population density and geography should be a good microcosm for suburbia nationwide.
6)Our current broadband availability is below average in performance and above average in cost.
7)We’re on the I-70 corridor, one of the nation’s major fiber backbones.
8)There are at least two live proposals for large data centers in town that just need the right anchor client.
9)We have a rich history of network development, including stars like Datastorm Technologies (old-school geeks will remember Procomm Plus, one of the biggest early networking programs…it came right out of Columbia, MO)
10)Our cost of living is low, which will be good for the Google employees who come to live here.

Anyway, this is just off the top of my head; I’m sure if you think about it you can come up with tons more reasons Columbia is a great place for Google to set up shop. So have fun, and make our case. Even if you aren’t interested in this stuff, I beg you….at least just spend 5 minutes and send the form off. If we really get this, it’ll be huge for everyone…even people who don’t use computers.

Also, if you don’t mind, I would really appreciate it if you sent a link to this page ( http://www.tranquility.net/2010/02/lets-get-google-fiber/ ) to everyone you know who lives in Columbia. This competition is going to be fierce; everybody’s going to want in on this. If we expect to be chosen, we’ll need to work for it.

If you’re still here, thanks for reading all this. I know it was long…but it’ll be worth it.

Let’s get out there and do it!

Hunter Cook
Data Center Manager
Tranquility Internet Services

Spread the word and save the dough

What you need to know:	What your friends need to know:
You can choose to be credited at $5/month for one year or for $2.50/month for two years.	They must sign up with ACH, meaning that there will be an automatic monthly withdrawal for their bank account.*
You can sign up as many people as you want and continue to receive credits up to the total amount of your monthly bill.	They must sign up for a 1- or 2-year agreement. If they sign up for a 2-year agreement, they’ll get free installation!
The person you refer must provide us with your Tranquility account ID at the time of their signup; we want to make sure it gets applied to the right account.  You can’t receive credit at a later date.	They can sign up for any of the Internet services we provide: dialup, standard DSL or naked DSL.

What’s the scoop here at Tnet

We’ve been working long and hard to make a new website for our valued customers, and we’re excited to tell you about it! On the new site, there are several great features that may be taken advantage of, such as:

• an updated help section for all of your Internet worries and woes

• a speed test that you can use to check the speed of your Internet connection

• a new blog that you can peruse at your leisure to find questions to your answers and read up on interesting articles and the latest trends

Let us know what you think! Contact Us