What are the system requirements to run US Message?
Windows Requirements:

• 200 MHz Pentium processor
• 64 MB of RAM
• Windows 95 with SP2, 98, 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP
• 28.8k modem or higher
• 5 MB of free disk space
• Web Browser with Proxy support (i.e. Internet Explorer, Netscape)

• PowerPC G3 processor 333MHz
• 128 MB of RAM
• OS X 10.2 or later
• 28.8k modem
• 6 MB of free disk space
• Web Browser with Proxy support (i.e. Safari, Internet Explorer, Netscape)

I want to change my email address or Member ID to a different Name.
You may need to change your e-mail password or add a new e-mail account occasionally. When you make any change to your email password, email address, or if you would like to add a new email account, this requires system changes within US Message's systems, as well as changes within your PC. As a result, this is a two part process.

First, you need to access your account by clicking on the "My Account" button located on the top of any US Message web page. After clicking on this button, you will find in the left hand column of the page a section labeled "Manage Accounts." Under this heading you will find the following links:

• E-Mail Maintenance - for adding, changing, or deleting addresses
• Change Password - for changing passwords

What connection speeds does US Message offer?
US Message offers our services at speeds up to 56k using both V.90 and V.92 compression technology. You may also connect with slower modems at speeds of 28.8k and 33.6k.

Does US Message offer Instant Messaging or Newsgroups?
US Message offers compatibility with Instant Messaging programs such as AIM, ICQ, Yahoo, MSN and Trillian. These programs allow you to chat instantly with friends and family members. As for Newsgroups, US Message does not host its own direct newsgroup servers. However, you have unlimited access to other Newsgroups on the Internet. You can locate some of these groups by searching for words "Usenet servers" or "Free NNTP" to find various newsgroup access.

What is US Message Dial-Up?
US Message Dial-Up is our basic internet access plan. You have access to over 36,000 dial-up numbers throughout the United States.

What is US Message High Speed?
US Message High Speed is a program that accelerates your Web surfing experience using your existing phone jack and modem with NO additional equipment and NO waiting! It's the hi-speed surfing solution with the convenience of dialup Internet Service! Before the text and graphics that make up Web pages are sent to you over your phone line, US Message Servers will compress the information using a proprietary technology. This information is then extracted and translated by the US Message High Speed software on your computer. This allows for smaller chunks of data to be sent to your computer making pages load faster, pushing your Internet experience to the maximum! In addition, US Message High Speed stores elements of the web sites you visit frequently so you do not have to re-download them every time you visit the site, saving you even more time on the page load!

Once I pay for US Message Dial-Up, will my credit card be billed automatically?
If you are paying for US Message services using a credit card or bank draft billing, your credit card or bank account will be billed automatically on the original account activation date.

• Month-to-Month Plan
  Your credit card or bank account will be billed each month automatically on the anniversary of the activation date.

• Quarterly Pre-Pay Plan
  Your credit card or bank account will be billed automatically every three months from the anniversary date of your original activation date.

• Semi-Annual Pre-Pay Plan
  Your credit card or bank account will be billed automatically every six months from the anniversary date of your original activation date.

• Annual Pre-Pay Plan
  Your credit card or bank account will be billed automatically every twelve months from the anniversary date of your original activation date.

Does US Message accept checks or money orders?
Members can choose to pay for their US Message service using either personal checks or money orders. At the present time we are unable to process check or money order requests for service via our online registration process. However, you can place an order via the mail. To place an order when paying by check or money order, simply mail us a check or money order in the appropriate amount, along with the following information:

• Desired Login Name (email address, "you@usmessage.net")
• Password
• First and last name
• Address, City, State, and Zip Code
• Home telephone number
• Work telephone number

What credit cards does US Message accept?
US Message accepts the following credit cards:

• Visa
• MasterCard
• American Express
• Discover

Can I use a debit card to pay?
Yes, you can use either Visa or MasterCard branded debit cards to pay for any of our services.

How do I switch from another Internet Service Provider?
We have listed some numbers below for canceling service to other ISP's. If you are with a provider not listed below, you should contact them directly to determine how to cancel your service subscription with them.

• To Cancel NetZero call 1-866-841-1442
• To Cancel Juno call 1-888-839-5866
• To Cancel BlueLight call 1-800-522-0839
• To Cancel People PC call 1-866-772-6277
• 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, screen name, and the last four digits of the credit card charged by AOL)
• 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

How many hours do I get with US Message Dial-Up?
This is an important question as many ISPs mislead customers when they promote their service as "unlimited." In fact, one of our competitors uses the following language in its Terms of Service -

"Although competitor name advertises "Unlimited Access" in regards to some of its Dial-Up services, there are several limitations applied. The sole purpose of these limitations are intended to limit the amount of unnecessary use of competitors name services by any such User, which restricts overall competitors name system availability for other such Users. These limitations apply only to Dial-Up access services offered by company name."

US Message does not use the word "Unlimited" to describe our service. The Internet industry recognizes a difference between UNLIMITED and DEDICATED access. However, most consumers are not aware of the difference. They expect unlimited to mean no time limits, but that is what DEDICATED access is (dedicated access typically costs around $50.00 to $100.00 per month and represents a 24/7 connection). UNLIMITED typically refers to any account that has a usage allowance of 150 hours per month or more. Industry experience shows that less 1% than of Internet users will exceed that.

US Message allows overall usage up to 200 hours per calendar month, which is an average of over 6.5 hours per day. This is far beyond what is used by the average consumer. If a user reaches the 200-hour limit, their account will be temporarily disabled until the first of the next month.

How do I sign-up for US Message Dial-Up?
You can sign-up for US Message Dial-Up by clicking here.

What are the hardware and software requirements for using US Message High Speed?
US Message High Speed is highly compatible and can be used with almost any browser!

Windows Requirements:

• 200 MHz Pentium processor
• 64 MB of RAM
• Windows 95 with SP2, 98, 98 SE, ME, 2000, XP
• 28.8k modem or higher
• 5 MB of free disk space
• Web Browser with Proxy support (i.e. Internet Explorer, Netscape)

• PowerPC G3 processor 333MHz
• 128 MB of RAM
• OS X 10.2 or later
• 28.8k modem
• 6 MB of free disk space
• Web Browser with Proxy support (i.e. Safari, Internet Explorer, Netscape)

Why do I need US Message High Speed?
US Message High Speed is a program that accelerates your Web surfing experience using your existing phone jack and modem with NO additional equipment and NO waiting! It's the hi-speed surfing solution with the convenience of dialup Internet Service! Before the text and graphics that make up Web pages are sent to you over your phone line, US Message High Speed Servers will compress the information using a proprietary technology. This information is then extracted and translated by the US Message High Speed software on your computer. This allows for smaller chunks of data to be sent to your computer making pages load faster, pushing your Internet experience to the maximum! In addition, US Message High Speed stores elements of the web sites you visit frequently so you do not have to re-download them every time you visit the site, saving you even more time on the page load!

What features does US Message High Speed include?
US Message High Speed offers accelerated Internet access and operates on the same reliable network as US Message Dial-Up service, with over 36,000 access numbers throughout the United States. You also receive up to ten email addresses, as well as compatibility with various Instant Messaging programs such as AOL(r) Instant Messenger(tm), ICQ and Yahoo(r) Messenger.

Also, US Message has recently integrated a simple pop-up blocking technology that is efficient and powerful. This feature is built right into US Message High Speed software and requires no extra software to be installed.

How does US Message Dial-Up differ from US Message High Speed?
US Message High Speed offers the same great features as US Message Dial-Up, with the additional benefit of accelerated access to the Internet.

How fast is US Message High Speed?
The acceleration you gain can vary, however, you should experience significant speed when accessing web sites, web based e-mail, as well as other web based tasks up to six times faster. The chart below can give you an idea of the enhanced web acceleration when compared with other competitive web acceleration software applications available:

How reliable is US Message High Speed?
US Message High Speed is extremely reliable. This is primarily due the fact that we offer over 36,000 access numbers throughout the United States which increases network redundancy, and reduces the potential for busy signals and disconnects.

How does US Message High Speed work?
US Message High Speed software accelerates your Web surfing experience using your existing phone jack and modem with NO additional equipment and NO waiting! It's the hi-speed surfing solution with the convenience of dialup Internet Service!

Before the text and graphics that make up Web pages are sent to you over your phone line, US Message Servers will compress the information using a proprietary technology. This information is then extracted and translated by the US Message software on your computer. This allows for smaller chunks of data to be sent to your computer making pages load faster, pushing your Internet experience to the maximum! In addition, US Message stores elements of the web sites you visit frequently so you do not have to re-download them every time you visit the site, saving you even more time on the page load!

What gets accelerated with US Message High Speed?
What will be accelerated?

• Web pages - HTML, markup and JavaScript
• Graphics including JPEG and GIF images
• Text
• E-mails

• Streaming media, audio and video files
• Secure pages, such as those used for online banking and credit card forms
• Attachments such as music or digital photo
• File Transfers

Will US Message High Speed speed up everything on the Web?
US Message High Speed accelerates certain text and graphics on Web pages. With US Message High Speed you will notice a significantly faster experience when you visit Web sites, read your e-mail on the Web, download email using an email client like Outlook Express and perform many other Web-based activities. US Message High Speed will not currently accelerate file downloads such as music files, streaming media or secure web pages.

What browsers can I use with US Message High Speed?
US Message High Speed works with many popular browsers. The only requirement is that the browser must be able to support a proxy server.

Why can't I use US Message High Speed when connected through another ISP?
The US Message High Speed works by processing each of the web pages that you browse through our servers so that it can be compressed and optimized for accelerated display on your computer. In order to reach our servers, you must be connected with the US Message connection.

Does US Message High Speed speed up email?
Yes, US Message High Speed automatically accelerates your email traffic (POP3 and SMTP) for all popular email clients such as Eudora, Outlook, Outlook Express and Netscape Mail. Other email clients should work transparently as well. US Message High Speed will also speed up Web-based e-mail programs such as web mail.

Can I use US Message High Speed with secure pages or sites?
US Message High Speed does not interfere with secure pages (such as those where you enter personal or credit card information), although it does not accelerate them either. You will not see speed improvements when viewing these types of pages.

How do I install the US Message High Speed software?
Installation of US Message High Speed is very easy. Simply download the US Message High Speed installer and save it to your desktop. Then, double-click on the file to install US Message High Speed.