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Updated: 10 July 2002

New proxy server speeds web surfing!

The long-awaited Chebucto proxy server is now online and fully functioning for all Chebucto users. A proxy server speeds connections to the web by keeping local copies of requested files. Users should see an immediate increase in the speed at which web pages load.

The proxy server has been tested on the Chebucto office network for the last eleven months and is considered to be stable. A planned second backup proxy server was considered unnecessary.


Spam/virus filtering server soon ready

The new Chebucto spam and virus-filtering server is nearing the final stages of testing. Using Spam Assassin for spam mail filtering and F-Prot for virus mail filtering, the new server should dramatically decrease rubbish mail sent to Chebucto users. Plans are to send out an email to all users and give them the option of having unfiltered mail, having their spam and viruses shunted to a special folder for their later inspection or having their spam and viruses deleted outright.

It is hoped the new server can be online within the next week.


Search heats up for 56K equipment

Chebucto Plus 56K logo The Chebucto Technical Committee plans to have purchased new server side 56K digital equipment by July 31st as part of the plan to upgrade the Chebucto Plus service to 56K from the current 33.6K speed. The upgrade, with an estimated cost of $15,000, should be in place later this summer.


Chebucto Community Café Opens

Chebucto Community Cafi Chebucto Community Net has opened a new café, a virtual coffee-house where people can post their opinions on a variety of topics. The forum is open to all, Chebucto users and the general public. The café is online at http://cafe.chebucto.info and can also be reached by Chebucto text users with the g)o cafe shortcut (type gcafe then hit Enter or Return).

There are ten forum topics to start, and people can suggest new topics. The topics range from Harbour Cleanup to Crime & Justice, with a focus on Metro Halifax issues. Chebucto Internal Committee Chair Mark Rushton was the driving force behind the new forum, which he hopes can address an unfulfilled community need to communicate and collaborate in an easily accessible way.


Low-Cost Custom Web Addresses Now Available

Chebucto users, groups and businesses can now have low cost custom website and email addresses. For $20 a year or less, full details here, users can have a custom Chebucto Sub-Domain name.

Non-Profit groups on Chebucto can have the website address name.chebucto.org, where name would be replaced by the organization or group name. Small businesses on Chebucto can customize the website address name.chebucto.biz; individuals and families can customize name.chebucto.net with their family name; and Chebucto-based information resources can customize the web address name.chebucto.info.

Email aliases to registered Chebucto sub-domain names are also available for $10 per year per alias. These email aliases can redirect mail to any email account.


Membership Reward Plan continues

Chebucto is pleased to announce a new Membership Reward Plan open to all current Chebucto members. Full Details here.

For each new Sustaining or Family Sustaining member who tells us they were referred to us by you, we'll give you a $20 credit good towards your next Sustaining or Family Sustaining membership. "Word of mouth" advertising can now get you free internet: five referrals are good for a free Sustaining membership, including a year of our famous Chebucto Plus full graphical access.


Chebucto Users still tops in *.NS.CA SETI processing

SETI, the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence, has been processing their radio telescope data with home users' computers for years now. Using an innovative screensaver which runs whenever the user computer is not in use, SETI has had more than 1,043,000 years of high quality computer processor time donated to it.

Of all the computer domains ending in the letters NS.CA, denoting Nova Scotia, chebucto.ns.ca now ranks number one, beating out both the government of Nova Scotia and the vast resources of EdNet, the schools network. Current stats here. Chebucto users have sent in more than 14,600 results, representing more than 31 years of CPU time that would otherwise have been wasted.


Outlook user email advisory

After the recent wave of viruses specifically targetting users of Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express email programs, and the constant stream of user complaints about randomly altered program settings and difficulty using the program, the Chebucto Community Net Office and the Chebucto Technical Committee recommend our users do not use either Outlook or Outlook Express as their email program.

Windows Users can find a selection of email programs available for download here and Macintosh users can find a selection of email programs here.

 

 

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