Mountain Area Information Network

HelpDesk Central

The MAIN Helpdesk can help with connecting to MAIN by dialup or broadband, email, web browsing, web hosting and MAIN related services.
Computer hardware and system related problems are not within the scope of Helpdesk support. There are too many variables and problems such as data integrity and security to be able to handle these types of questions. These are best solved by having a computer repair person or technician work on your computer directly, either on site or taking it to a repair facility.

You can send your problem to us with this Help Desk Form.

See the network status page for updates on outages and other problems.

Search MAIN for Help Topics (or use the links below)

Type key words here and click on GO:

How to Set Up Your Dial Up Connection to MAIN
Troubleshooting Your Connection to MAIN
Email and Webmail Troubleshooting and How To's
Wireless Instruction Sheets, Troubleshooting, Network Setup, etc.
Megaspeed Accelerator
MAIN National Access
Using Webpages
Virus Tools and Security
CanIt and Spam (Junk Email)
Web Page (Domain) Hosting, Registration, Creation
General Tips on Downloading and Installing Software
MAIN Downloads
MAIN Links
How Things Work on the Internet
Reference Resources and Internet Living
Computer Education
Free Software - Windows and Macintosh
Windows Software (Free) and Links
Macintosh OS X Free Software
WNC Computer Users Groups
More Information about MAIN's Account Services
To Reach Helpdesk by phone form or fax



How to Set Up Your Dial Up Connection to MAIN
     How to set up Windows to connect to MAIN
     How to set up OutlookExpress and Incredimail to get your email
     How to set up Thunderbird to get your email
     General Tips on Downloading
     How to set up your Macintosh to connect to MAIN
     Some tips on setting up Linux for dial up and PPP
     Switching to MAIN from AOL, BellSouth, Earthlink, Juno, MSN, Netzero, SBC
     Switching from AOL
     Switching from BellSouth
     Switching from Earthlink
     Switching from Juno
     Switching from MSN
     Switching from Netzero
     Switching from SBC
     MAIN's County Access Numbers
     SMTP servers
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Troubleshooting Your Connection to MAIN
     Windows Connection Problems
     Modem problems - Winmodems
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Email and Webmail Troubleshooting and How To's

Wireless Help
     Instruction Sheets, Troubleshooting, Network Setup, etc.
     With a wireless connection on 24/7, you should consider these security tips:
     Checklist for Safer Internet Useage
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Megaspeed Accelerator
     Megaspeed Help Page
     General Tips on Downloading
     Windows Megaspeed Quick Configuration
     Windows Megaspeed Settings Configuration
     Windows Megaspeed Connection Troubleshooting
     Windows Megaspeed Detailed Configuration
     Windows Megaspeed Frequently Asked Questions
     Windows Megaspeed General Troubleshooting
     Macintosh Megaspeed Quick Configuration
     Macintosh Megaspeed Detailed Configuration
     Macintosh Megaspeed Frequently Asked Questions
     Macintosh Megaspeed Settings Configuration
     Macintosh Megaspeed General Troubleshooting
     Macintosh Megaspeed Connection Troubleshooting
     How to Remove Megaspeed
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MAIN National Access
     MAIN's National Access Numbers and Setup for Windows & Macintosh to our national access
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Using Webpages
     General Tips on Downloading
     Web Page Troubleshooting and Tips
     How to Set Your Home Page Manually
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Virus Tools and Security
     Checklist for Safer Internet Useage
     Switch to Linux
     WebExtras - links to Parental Control, Internet Call Answering and Anti-Spyware
     General Tips on Downloading
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CanIt and Spam (Junk Email)
     CanIt - MAIN's Virus and Junk Email Filtering Service
     How do I tell if the email is really from MAIN?
     Return to the top

Web Page (Domain) Hosting, Registration, Creation

Links - General Tips on Downloading and Installing Software, Links to MAIN's Software and Services, Free Programs How Things Work, etc.
     Downloading Tutorial and Tips

MAIN Downloads
     MAIN Installer
     Windows Connection Manager
     Windows Megaspeed
     Macintosh Megaspeed
MAIN Links
     MAIN County Access Numbers
     Indylink
     WebExtras
     MAIN Domain Website Control Panel Tutorials (Plesk) How to setup email boxes, etc. for your domain
     Postini login web page
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How Things Work on the Internet
     How Stuff Works - How Stuff Works - All sorts of stuff - simple explanations of what goes on inside
     How Domain Name Servers Work
     How Web Pages Work
     How Web Servers Work
     How Email Works
     How Spam Works
     How Spyware Works
     How Modems Work
     How Computer Viruses Work
     How Phishing Works
     How Firewalls Work
     How Firefox Works
     How Internet Cookies Work
     How Instant Messaging Works
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Reference Resources and Internet Living
     Refdesk.com - References to everything, the Swiss Army Knife of links
     The Living Internet - History, Design and Use of internet services
     Whatis.com - technical references for the internet
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Computer Education
     Asheville Buncombe Community College Continuing Education - Computer Training
     Blue Ridge Community College

Free Software - Windows and Macintosh
     Mozilla.com FREE Firefox browser and Thunderbird email program for Mac and Windows
     Eudora - FREE, sponsored and paid Mac and Windows email program
     TrueCrypt FREE Hard disk encryption program for Mac and Windows
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Windows Software (Free) and Links (in some cases it may take some looking to find the free version)
     Netants, a download manager for Windows
     Open Office, FREE word processing, spreadsheet, database, drawing, slideshows & math formulas
     Portable Applications - programs you can use from a flash drive (thumb drive) on any USB capable Windows computer
     Microsoft Knowledge Base
     Microsoft Downloads - Internet Explorer upgrades and more
     Zone Alarm - FREE and paid Windows firewall program, look for Download, then plain Zone Alarm
     Spybot - FREE Windows antispyware program
     AVG Free Edition - FREE Windows antivirus program
     Trend Micro's House Call - FREE Online Windows antivirus check
     Modemhelp.org - Modem driver and manufacturers links
     Modemhelp.net - Another modem driver and manufacturers links
     TweakUI - Makes Windows settings hard or impossible to get to easy, change privacy settings, etc.FREE
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Macintosh OS X Free Software
     TextWrangler - a FREE text processor, do more with text than you ever thought possible.
     Kompozer - a FREE WYSIWYG web editing program
     Taco HTML Edit - FREE HTML editor for web pages
     GIMPshop - a FREE image editing application alternative to Photoshop Note: You will need to download and install Apple’s X11 in order to run GIMPshop. It may be already installed on your computer. If you don’t have X11 yet, it’s free but you will have to install it from your OS X disk or provide your name and email address at Apple.com to download it.
     NeoOffice - word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, vector drawing, database, and macro functionality. A free alternative to Microsoft Office:Mac.
     Inkscape is a FREE vector graphics editor, with capabilities similar to Illustrator, Freehand, CorelDraw
     Delineate - a FREE tool for converting raster images to lines
     Juice - FREE , take audio streams and convert to files - podcast receiver
     Audacity - Free Sound Editor
     TinkerTool - FREE, gives you access to additional preference settings Apple has built into Mac OS X.
     Sunshield - FREE firewall configuration utility
     Cyberduck - FREE ftp program
     Destroyer - FREE program for erasing free space on your hard drive
     Open Source Macintosh Program List - Updated list of free mac programs
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WNC Computer Users Groups
(if you would like a link for your group here, please email help@main.nc.us)

     Asheville/Buncombe PC Users Group
     Hendersonville Area Computer Society
     Macintosh Asheville Computer Society
     Spartanburg Mac User Group
     Transylvania Mac Users Group
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More Information about MAIN's Account Services
     Account Questions
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To Reach Helpdesk by phone or form, call or click:

  • Call 255-0182, ext 2, in Buncombe County
  • Call (866) 962-6246, ext 2, toll-free outside Buncombe County
  • If you are on dial up, make sure your computer is on, but not connected. You can open web browsers and email programs and configuration windows while on the phone with the HelpDesk, you just can't be dialed in. If it tries to dial up, just click on Cancel The Call or Do Not Connect.
  • The Helpdesk hours are:
    Monday through Friday 9:00 am to 5:00 pm.
  • We will call back as soon as possible. If you reach the recording during business hours, we may be on the line assisting other callers - leave a message and we will return your call in the order it is received.
  • Administrative Line: call 255-0182 in Buncombe County
  • Administrative Line: call (866) 962-6246 toll-free outside Buncombe County
  • use this Help Desk Form
  • Return to the top

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