HYDonline - Internet Help

FAQs

VSNL does not allow me to run TCP/IP emulators on my shell/students account? Can I still browse the net graphically?

You have two options :
One is to download a winsock substitute that has been made by two young men from India and has been made available for free to the public. Separate versions exist for shell and students accounts. You can download this from their site Xtend Technologies (P) Ltd or from my site Shellsock for Shell Account and Shellsock for Student Account. For more information and support on Shellsock, please visit Xtend Technologies (P) Ltd.
The other is to run TCP/IP emulators on other hosts. See TCP/IP emulators.
Please note : ShellSock has been disabled by VSNL at most nodes.

I am using a shell account and every time I press the Backspace key, I get ^H on the screen and the text is not deleted. Why?

Actually this is a question of terminal settings and Unix. Most comms software will have a setting to allow you to use Backspace key to delete. Otherwise just use Ctrl+Backspace to delete. You may also use the stty command to set the settings on the server when you login. To do so, you need to shell to the unix prompt and then type "stty erase ^H" where the "^H" is obtained by pressing the backspace key. If this does not work then you need to check if stty is on the executable path. For this you need to look up the directory /etc/rbin.

[Top]

I have been using my VSNL account for sometime now. How do I find how much time I have left before my account expires?

Login on your shell account (all TCP/IP accounts have a shell account included). From the menu, shell to the unix prompt and then give the tmenu command. This menu has the additional option of viewing your remaining time. Note that this command may not be available on all VSNL nodes.

[Top]

What are the commands that are available at the Unix prompt on my VSNL a/c?

True to its form, no two VSNL nodes have the same set of commands. And the commands are sometimes available as renamed commands. At some nodes, "cp" has been found to have been renamed to "cpp" and even "pc".
The best way to find the commands that are available to you is to shell to the Unix prompt and then issue a "ls /usr/rbin" command. This should list the command files available.

[Top]

I wish to download images from webpages so that I can view them. How do I do that using Lynx?

If your node has Lynx 2.6 or above, then it is really very easy to download images. When you are on a page from where you wish to download the image, press "". This should reload your page with the "[Image]" as selectable areas that you can tab over to. You can now download this image by the download command.
For Lynx 2-4, downloading images is rather more complicated. You first need to view the source code for the page by pressing "\". On the source of the page, you need to find the reference to the image that you wish to download. The reference to the images are stored as "<IMG SRC="http://www.website.com/image.file">". Note down the reference address and then using the Lynx command to go to a webpage enter the address of the image file. This will display a message that the file cannot be displayed and you will get an option to download the file.

[Top]

How do I forward my mail sent to VSNL a/c automatically (bounce) to another account?

You need to create a file called ".forward" containing just the e-mail address you wish to forward you mail to. To create this file, mail it to yourself as an attachment. Then, when you get the mail, follow the following procedure using Pine
(V)iew attachments
select the file
(S)ave the file, being sure to change the name of the file to ".forward"

[Top]

I have an account with VSNL. How do I connect to my account when I am in another city?

Several VSNL nodes provide a guest account by which you can telnet to the other VSNL nodes and login to you account. The Guest account has a login name of "guest" and a password of "GUEST". Refer to my Telephone Numbers page for the telephone numbers and information on which nodes support the guest account.

[Top]

The helpdesks maintained by VSNL are not very helpful. Is there anywhere else that I can ask for answers to my questions?

Yes. The mailing list VSNL-L is such a place. This list is run by IndiaGate and is meant for users of VSNL GAIS to help each other. To subscribe to the list send mail to LISTSERV@INDIAGATE.COM with an empty subject line and the message SUBSCRIBE VSNL.
Also check out the CCI website for tips etc.

[Top]

I can't access my mail. What is wrong

Most probably your e-mail account has not been unlocked when you last used your e-mail account. To check if this is so, go to the unix prompt in your shell account. Type LS usr/spool/mail/<username>.lock where <username> is your login name. If this file is there then it needs to be deleted to free your account. Call the VSNL helpdesk number and ask them to free your e-mail account. Of late VSNL has suggested implementing a script at its server that periodically checks and deletes any .lock files. Ask the staff at your end to implement a similar script. In case of problems, contact your local helpdesk or helpdesk@giasdl01.vsnl.net.in

[Top]

I have a shell account. Can I read and write my mail offline?

You can use Eudora, one of the most popular e-mail programs, with your shell account to download and upload your mail. You will need to use scripts to do this. Refer to Mahesh Net for Eudora scripts for offline mail on VSNL shell accounts.
You may however use zmodem to download your mail as one single text file and then later read it if you do not have access to Eudora. Your mail is spooled in the file /usr/spool/mail/<your-login-id>. Substitute your login id when downloading the file. Remember to delete this file on the VSNL server after downloading it otherwise your new incoming mail will be added to this file.
To download your mail, use sz at the unix prompt or use the zmodem option at the menu and for the file name of the file to download, just type /usr/spool/mail/<user id> where <user id> is the login name that you type while logging into vsnl. This would download your mail file to your computer as one txt file where all the mail is placed one after the other. You could then use Eudora to load this file simply by copying this file as in.mbx and Eudora will then load this file when you open the In box and will also generate a TOC for the messages.
You may also use the $MAIL variable instead of giving your entire mail file path. Therefore you would say sz $MAIL to download your file. But please note that I am not sure if this will work on all the VSNL nodes.
If you have another e-mail account, like on a BBS that receives e-mail from the Internet, then you could also forward you mail at VSNL to this account and use your favorite e-mail program to download mail from your BBS account. To do this see Forwarding mail from VSNL a/c to another account

[Top]

My shell account gives me Pine for e-mail. I want to know more about it and what I can do with it?

A very good source of information is the Pine FAQ at http://www.cac.washington.edu/pine/faq/ You may also get the same information by ftp at ftp://ftp.cac.washington.edu/pine/docs/faq or by mail at pine-faq@docserver.cac.washington.edu Also lookup http://www.cac.washington.edu/pine/secrets.html for some interesting information on Pine.

[Top]

Sometimes when I try to logon to VSNL using my TCP/IP account, I get a message "% No response from authentication TACACS server" after giving the password. Whats wrong?

This is a problem with the VSNL server that verifies your password. If you try to logon to the VSNL server using your shell account, you will get a host down message. Call the VSNL node staff and inform them of the problem.

[Top]

I have heard a lot about using TCP/IP emulators on shell accounts. How do I do that on my account?

VSNL gives you restricted shell accounts. As such you can not run TCP/IP emulators directly on the shell accounts. But you can create accounts on a freenet and then run emulators on them. This will make browsing very slow. Chaitanya Belwal's site has information on how to do this for VSNL users.

[Top]

I can login using my TCP/IP account but I can't connect to any server on the net?

Be sure that you are using the default gateway. You need to leave the gateway entry in winsock for Windows 3.x blank. In Windows 95 you need to set the default gateway option.

[Top]

I have a TCP/IP account but I can't connect to the VSNL server?

You need to configure your winsock software properly. For configuring winsock for Windows 3.x and Windows 95

[Top]

I have a shell account. How do I access newsgroups?

You need to configure Pine to access newsgroups. Refer to Accessing newsgroups using Pine for information on configuring Pine to access the VSNL news server. Also see the next question.
You can also read news using Lynx at Zippo.com and at DejaNews.

[Top]

Frequently Asked Questions

Help! The answer to my question isn't in this FAQ. Now what do I do?
If you are sure that your question hasn't been answered in the FAQ, feel free to ask us. Use our Feedback Form.

How do I change my password?
Please see "Changing your password" for information on how to do this.

How do I find out how many hours are remaining in my account?

Please see "Changing your password" page and notice the text bolded:

YOUR ACCOUNTING DETAILS
------------------------
REMAINING HOURS= 405.17
EXPIRY DATE = 4.2.1999

You will see something similar if you just follow the directions. Remember to enter your hostname, which would be the first value after the @ in your email address. For example, the hostname of i4u@bom2.vsnl.net.in is bom2.

Why can't I get my email?
There are many possible answers to this question. The most obvious is that you don't have your software (Netscape Messenger, Outlook Express, etc) configured correctly. In that case, please read the directions on setting up email. If you're SURE those are right, though, then the problem may be more complex.

Another reason is the possibility of your mailbox being full. It could be locked, and to fix this you must contact VSNL directly. Calling VSNL by phone should be your next step.

Why can't I send any email?
Your SMTP server is probably incorrect. Setup your email software to use the SMTP server the city of the server you are dialing into. This means that even if you are a Delhi user, and you happen to be in Bombay, you must use the Bombay SMTP server. To find the correct SMTP server, look at the list of Important VSNL Servers.

I paid a LOT of money for my account to be renewed and the hours still haven't been up.
In case the renewal formalities have been completed in advance,the renewal will be effective only when the present term of the a/c is expired or all usage hrs are consumed and even in those cases where the renewal is made only after the expiry of the a/c it's done within a day

What are the rates for getting an Internet account?
Please see this page.

How can I tell if somebody is using my account?
You can regularly telnet into your shell account (even TCP/IP users can do this), and check for a line that says usage between last two updates. Notice this value is in seconds, so divide by 60 to find out how many minutes that is. If that seems reasonable amount of usage for the day, there probably isn't anybody using your account. Remember to check this regularly.

How can I get a second email address?
There are many online and free services providing web-based email. The most notable is Hotmail.com, but it is now owned by Microsoft, and so we discourage you from using it. Far more superior services are offered by Yahoo.com, Netscape, Usa.net, Snap.com.

We highly recommend you make at least one web-based email account. This can be very useful when having email problems, as the lines of communication can still be kept open.

My modem won't stay connected! What can I do?
Please see this page for help.

What are my POP3 and SMTP servers supposed to be?
You can see the entire list here.

How can I read newsgroups?
Configure your news server (also known as the NNTP server) as news.vsnl.net.in Note, though, that currently this server isn't too great and doesn't provide access to many newsgroups. You'll find a whole lot more, and in a searchable format, at DejaNews.com

How do I configure my system to work with a VSNL TCP/IP account?
Both directions for Windows 95 and Windows 3.x are currently available.

How do I configure Outlook Express?
You can find directions Windows and the Macintosh.

However, we don't recommend you use Outlook Express as almost every time a email security alert comes out, Outlook is the first program to be found vulnerable to attacks. Instead use a program such as Eudora or Eudora Light

Also, please turn off HTML formatted email. Even today, many people choose not to use email clients which cannot read this. It ends up looking like garbage on their machine and you'll probably get flamed for doing so.

How do I configure Internet Explorer?
The same as above applies for Internet Explorer. Since we don't use Internet Explorer, we haven't put up a page on how to configure it. If you'd like to do this, you're welcome to and we'll post it on The Guide.

Can I post my own articles on The Guide?
Sure! Just send us a copy of the text and we'll work something out.

Your links are broken. Fix them.
While we try to fix all broken links, we cannot always find them all. If you have found a broken link, please let us know.

ASK US???

If you have any questions related to Internet and related technologies, mail us at info@hydonline.com

A technical Team comprising of Internet Professionals will answer your Questions and Queries.