accelerator installation guide - ntc net

Installation Guide

This section will assist you with the installation of the Accelerator.

Detailed Installation Instructions

Minimum System Requirements:

• Pentium® 200 MHz (or equivalent)

• 64MB of RAM

• At least 11 MB of hard-drive space

Accelerator is supported by the following Windows® Operating Systems:

• Windows® 98

• Windows® Millennium Edition (Windows ME)

• Windows® 2000 Service Pack 4

• Windows® XP

• Windows® XP Service Pack 2

Accelerator works seamlessly with the following browser versions:

• Microsoft® Internet Explorer 5.0® and later

• Firefox® 0.9 and later

• Netscape® 8.0 and later

• Opera® 8.0 and later

Uninstall Venturi Accelerator Client

• If you have been an NTCNet Customer and are currently using our older Venturi Accelerator Client follow the steps that follow, otherwise skip to the “Download” section below.

• You need to uninstall the older Venturi Accelerator Client 1. Choose Start, All Programs, Venturi 2; the click on “Uninstall Venturi Client” (as

shown below)

2. Follow along with the instructions for the uninstall 3. Click the yes button when the Confirm Uninstall window comes up (picture

below)

4. Click the ok button when the Venturi Client 2.3-Reboot Computer window comes up (picture below)

5. Then click the Finish button to finish the uninstall.

• One your PC has rebooted, continue with the “Download” section below.

Download

• Download the Accelerator Installer by:

1. Go to http://ntcnet.com/isppages/accelerator.html 2. Click on the “Download ACCELerator Now!”, see image below

3. Choose “Save File”

4. Click on “Desktop” to have the download location be your Desktop

5. Click “Save” to start the download.

• Once the download has completed, proceed to “Install”.

Install

• After downloading the Accelerator installer onto your Desktop, an icon will appear on your Desktop as shown below. Double-clicking on the icon will launch the installer.

• The installer will guide you through the complete setup process. Please click the OK button when prompted to do so.

Integration

• If your computer has Firefox®, Mozilla® or Netscape® installed as your Web browser, Accelerator will ask you for the integration with the browser.

• Simply click the "Yes" button for the integration.

Connect and Browse the Web

• As this is your first time launching the product, you will be prompted for a username and password. Enter your NTCNet username and password in the fields provided.

• NOTE: You MUST use your full NTCNet username (usually your e-mail address), which means it must end with “@ntcnet.com”

• Click the "OK" button. Accelerator will connect to the NTCNet server.

• After logging into Accelerator, an icon is placed in your system tray as shown below. Acceleration will take place immediately after any Web browser launches.

• Browse the Web as you normally would. When finished browsing, simply close your Web browser. Accelerator will remain idle in your system tray.

Launching Accelerator

Accelerator launches automatically each time you start Windows. It operates in the background to accelerate your Internet connection. No user intervention is required.

If Accelerator is not running and you need to launch it manually, an icon titled "NTCNet Accelerator" is located in the Windows® Start Menu under the NTCNet Accelerator folder (as shown below).

If Accelerator is running, the Accelerator system tray icon will appear in the Windows system tray (as shown below).

Accessing User Interface

Once launched, the Accelerator icon will remain in the system tray (as shown below).

In general, there will be no need to change the settings during web browsing. You can use the user interface to change settings, access the Privacy Manager, view the connection status, and check the acceleration statistics. To access the user interface features, click on the Accelerator icon in the system tray (shown above). A pop-up menu will appear (shown below), providing access to all the features of the product. Selecting and single-clicking any of the menu items will access that particular feature.

Setting Username and Password Information

Your username and password information is located under the Connection tab. To set the username and password:

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon and select "Settings..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

• Click on the "Connection" tab.

• Enter your username and password in the fields provided. To avoid having to do this each time you connect, ensure that the "Save password" box is checked.

• NOTE: You MUST use your full NTCNet username (usually your e-mail address), which means it must end with “@ntcnet.com”

• To save your settings, press the "OK" button. The changes will take effect the next time Accelerator is restarted.

Changing Image Quality Settings

The image quality setting changes the quality of images that appear in supported Web browsers while the Accelerator is enabled. The higher the quality you select, the longer it will take for images to load. For slower Internet connections, it is recommended that you lower your image quality. This slider can be adjusted anytime while browsing.

You can easily obtain original image quality for a particular image, so don't be overly conservative about lowering your image quality setting.


• Select the "Image Quality" tab.

• Use the slider to adjust the Image Quality settings.

• Click the "OK" button to save the settings.

Getting Original Image Quality

Note: The following information applies only when browsing with Internet Explorer 5.0® or later, Firefox™ 1.0 or later and Netscape® 8.0 or later.

If you would like to request the original quality image while browsing, simply right-click on the desired image within your Web browser and select "Show Original Image" from the menu (shown below).

The original quality image will appear in place of the lower quality image.

If you want to see the original quality version of all images on the current page, simply right-click on any image within your Web browser and select "Show All Original Images" from the menu (shown above).

Starting and Stopping Accelerator

When Accelerator is launched it automatically connects. Occasionally, you may need to stop or start Accelerator manually.

Stopping Accelerator:

If you want to manually disconnect Accelerator, click on the Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Stop NTCNet Accelerator ".

The icon that indicates Accelerator is disabled will appear on the system tray (shown below).

Starting Accelerator:

If Accelerator is stopped and you want to start it manually, click on the Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Start NTCNet Accelerator".

The icon that indicates Accelerator is disabled will be replaced by the enabled icon (shown below) once your connection is authenticated.

Closing Accelerator

To close Accelerator:

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon and select "Exit" from the pop-up menu. Accelerator will disconnect and close. Doing this will not close any open Web browser windows.

Note: Accelerator will automatically launch again the next time you reboot your computer.

Viewing Acceleration Statistics

You can view the acceleration statistics and how they change dynamically using the Statistics dialog.

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon and select "Statistics..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

• Click the "Reset" button to reset the statistics. This can be done at any time (even while browsing) without affecting Accelerator's performance or operation.

• Click the "Details" button to view more detailed statistics (see below).

The following table provides a description of the statistics that are displayed:

Original Data

Size of the original (uncompressed) data.

Actual Data

Amount of compressed data that has been sent by Accelerator.

Savings Ratio

Factor of reduction in data. E.g. A savings ratio of 4.00 means that the actual data that has been sent is 1/4 the size of the original data due to compression.

Text-based

Statistics regarding compression of text-based content.

Graphics Statistics regarding compression of graphical content.

Others Statistics regarding compression of content that is neither text nor graphical.

Upstream The total amount of original and compressed data uploaded.

Viewing Performance

You can view your Accelerator's overall performance using the Performance dialog.

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon and select "Performance..." from the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

• Click the "Reset" button to reset the statistics. This can be done at anytime (even while browsing) without affecting Accelerator's performance or operation.

From this screen you can view the size of the original (uncompressed) data transferred through Accelerator, the actual (compressed) size of the data, and your savings ratio. For example, a savings ratio of 7 means that the actual data that has been sent is 1/7 the size of the original data due to compression.

Also, this window displays the speed of your connection and the estimated amount of downloading/uploading time that has been saved by using Accelerator. Note that these two features are only available when using a dial-up connection.

Changing Connection Settings

Normally, the connection settings that are set during installation do not need to be changed. If NTCNet provides new connection settings, you will have to change the preset ones using the "Settings..." dialog.


• Click the "Connection" tab.

• Click the "Advanced..." button.

• These settings are supplied by default by NTCNet. In most cases, it will not be necessary to change them. Changing them without direction from NTCNet will likely cause the accelerator to no longer function.

• Press the "OK" button to close the "Connection" dialog box and save your new connection settings. These settings will be changed after you restart Accelerator.

Bypassing Accelerator for Selected Sites

If you wish to bypass Accelerator for certain Web sites (e.g. Web sites on your local corporate intranet), then simply select the "Features" tab in the "Settings..." dialog and click on "Proxy Exclusion" (see below). You have two options for bypassing sites:

• If you have already defined a proxy exclusion list in your Web browser, select "Use browser's proxy exclusion settings" to configure Accelerator to exclude these sites as well.

• You may also "Specify a proxy exclusion list" by selecting this option. In the given text field, list all the Web sites, separated by semicolons, that you wish to bypass Acceleration.

• Stop and then start Accelerator. Please refer to the Starting and Stopping Accelerator section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

Note: Some versions of Netscape do not support the wildcard (*) operator.

Accelerating Flash

Accelerator can accelerate Macromedia® Flash™ files. The degree of compression is based on the Image Quality setting.

To enable Flash acceleration:


• Select the "Features" tab.

• Check the "Macromedia Flash" checkbox.

• Press the "OK" button to save the settings.

Blocking In-Page Advertisements

Accelerator can block many graphical advertisements that appear on various Web pages (i.e. ad banners). Enabling this feature will prevent these ads from being downloaded and displayed in your Web browser. Thus, the Ad-Blocking feature will reduce the time taken to download Web pages.

To enable or disable the Ad Blocker:

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon and select "Settings...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

• Select the "Features" tab.

• To enable ad blocking, check the "Ad-Blocking" checkbox. To disable ad blocking, uncheck it.


Updating Software

To manually update Accelerator:

• Open the "Settings..." dialog. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

• Click on the "Update" tab.

• Select "Update Now" to upgrade to the latest version. Note that the button is disable if no update is available

Changing Pop-Up Blocker Settings

Pop-Up Blocker applies when browsing with Internet Explorer 5.0® or later. Accelerator can prevent pop-up windows and floating Flash™ advertisements from appearing while you browse the Internet. This behaviour is enabled by default, and no user-intervention is required. However, you can disable these features at any time.

To enable or disable the Pop-Up Blocker:

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon and select "Pop-Up Blocker...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

• Select the "Options" tab.

• If you would like to be notified when a pop-up is being blocked, check the "Notify blocked pop-up by PC speaker beep" checkbox.

• To enable the blocking of floating Flash advertisements, check the "Block Floating Flash-Ads" checkbox.

• To disable pop-up blocking for all sites, uncheck the "Enable PopUp Blocker" checkbox.


Manipulating Pop-Up Blocker White-List

A limited number of Web sites require pop-ups to function correctly. Accelerator allows you to specify a "White-List" of sites where pop-ups will not be blocked.


• Select the "White List" tab.

• Use the "Add", "Remove" and "Remove All" buttons to manipulate the White List.


To add sites to the White List:

You can add sites to the White List within the Pop-Up Blocker dialogs (which is shown above) or within Internet Explorer®.

• Right click on the page while browsing within Internet Explorer®.

• Select "Add to Whitelist" from the menu to add the current site to the White List.

Accessing Pop-Up Blocker Log

You can also see a list of all pop-ups that were blocked. This information is useful if you suspect a Web site is not functioning properly because pop-ups are being blocked.


• Select the "Logging" tab.

Running Diagnostics Tool

If you contact NTCNet for technical support, the support personnel may request that you send a diagnostics report to them. The diagnostics report contains system information, such as your Accelerator settings and connectivity, which will allow NTCNet to provide further assistance.

To create a diagnostics report:

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu.

• Select "Help" > "Diagnostics" to display the Diagnostics dialog.

• Click on "Create Report".

• Launch your email application, compose an email, paste the results into the email (the results have already been copied to your clipboard), and send it to NTCNet.

Getting Technical Help from Support Web site

To get more information on Accelerator and troubleshooting, please visit our support Web site. You can access our support site by clicking on the system tray icon and selecting "Help "> "Support Web site".

Accessing Product Version Information

To view the product version information:

• Click on the Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu.

• Select "Help" > "About" to display the About dialog (see below).

Uninstalling Accelerator

• Under the Windows Control Panel, select "Add or Remove Programs".

• Select “NTCNet Accelerator” and click Remove.

• Then when the NTCNET Accelerator window (picture below) comes up click the Yes button

• The rest of the uninstall is automatic.

accelerator installation guide - ntc net

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