• Introduction
• From the Managing Director
• Support & Services
• Announcing AdamAnyG - Take your broadband with you
• Get your own personal domain name hosted free
• Adam effectively doubles all Residential ADSL quotas for free
• Important change to personal webspace
• Be heard with Adam Internet YourSay
• Outage Voice Notification System
• News
• SAFM Suburban Centrefold and Adam Internet liberating South Australians
• Adam Internet takes to the air
• Be wary of the worm - Conficker update
• Adam Internet turns the lights off for Earth Hour
• Adam Internet's bright yellow bus at the CMV Convoy for Kids
• Competitions
• Have you got your Footy Tips in?
• Feature
• BodyTalk Health with Phil Sheldon
• Entertainment
• Weblinks
• Hot Tips

This is an extremely exciting time for Adam Internet, as we are launching a broad range of new products that provide our customers with the ability to bundle all their telecommunications needs together on the one bill and continue to receive our high-levels of customer service and competitive prices.

The first of our new Adam products is AdamAnyG, a 3G service that allows our customers to take their Internet Australia-wide, which will be followed up later in the year by AdamMobile, a mobile phone service. In addition to these mobile products, we have altered the way we count downloaded data, which has in effect provided all customers with twice the quota of their current plans -- a massive bonus for families looking to the Internet for lower cost entertainment during this period of financial turmoil. We have also introduced a new domain name purchasing system for residential customers, providing the ability to purchase personalised domains names at low prices, with Adam Internet hosting up to 10 email addresses for that domain name. An option to take up web hosting at only $5 per month extra will also be launched in June. These services provide customers the perfect way to establish their own online identity and their own website.

In the past few months we have taken part in a range of community events. SAFM presented a raunchy little calendar entitled Suburban Centrefolds, with 12 South Australian suburbanites getting their kit off for fun, and Adam Internet was there to support their liberation! Though Adelaide isn't a bashful city, the lights were also turned off at our King William Street building for one hour during Earth Hour, helping raise awareness of global climate change and the ill-effects it may have in store for us.

On Sunday 24 May, the Adam Internet double-decker bus will be making an appearance at the CMV Convoy for Kids 2009, providing an entertaining ride for children with disabilities and their families, in support of Novita Children's Services.

Adam Internet's media presence will be stepped up in the next few months as a radio and television campaign begin to air. Last year, our Naked DSL campaign, featuring the liberated 'naked guy' Chris, was so successful we had to ease back on the advertising following a massive intake of customers but this year we are prepared to liberate as many ailing citizens from their slow and poorly supported Internet plans as possible! We'd like you, our customers, to be a part of this too. By making use of Adam Rewards, you can receive up to 100 percent off your current broadband plan for every new customer you rescue to Adam Internet and what better time to take advantage of this than during our advertising campaign?

As I said earlier, this is an exciting time for everyone here at Adam Internet and for all our customers, old and new.

Best regards,

Scott Hicks
Managing Director

Please don't forget, if there's anything you would like to see in Newsbytes, either as a feature or as a regular column, please email us at newsbytes@adam.com.au.

Adam Internet is proud to announce the launch of AdamAnyG, an innovative new product enabling customers to take their broadband service Australia-wide*.

AdamAnyG is a mobile broadband service delivered by an Adam Internet SIM Card and a small USB receiver, no larger than a regular USB memory stick. This provides access to the AdamAnyG service when used in conjunction with a computer, such as a laptop or desktop PC.

Perfect for browsing websites or checking email, AdamAnyG allows the freedom to connect to the Internet from more locations than you can throw a stick at. Whether it's inside the house or on the move, AdamAnyG provides the flexibility and convenience that only a wireless service can provide.

Setting up AdamAnyG is easy! Simply insert the SIM card into the USB, plug into the USB port of a compatible device, run the setup wizard and you’re ready to begin browsing.

Existing customers may sign up over the phone or via the Members Services Area from the Adam Internet website.

For more information regarding Adam Internet's AdamAnyG and for full plan pricing visit http://www.adam.com.au/products/adamanyg/adamAnyG.php

Business customers seeking a wireless broadband solution should inquire about our SmartBiz AnyG service by contacting our Business Solutions team on (08) 8423 4020. For more information regarding Adam Internet's SmartBiz AnyG and for full plan pricing visit http://www.adam.com.au/products/smartbizanyg/smartbizAnyG.php

*AdamAnyG is available in areas covered by the Optus 3G network. For more information on coverage areas, please click here.

Adam Internet is now offering its residential ADSL customers the opportunity to register their own domain names, and Adam Internet will host this for free.

A domain name is the unique part of a web address that identifies a particular space on the Internet, such as the "adam.com.au" that takes you to the Adam Internet website when typed into a web browser.

Customers may register a domain name of their choice for an annual fee of $25* which remains yours to keep. Each domain comes with up to 10 personal email addresses hosted at no cost.**

One of the great benefits of registering a personal domain name is the ability to take your email address anywhere - even if you decide to switch Internet Service Providers (ISPs).

Adam Internet has complete confidence in the quality of its products and services, and our decision to offer domain name registration is testament to Adam Internet’s ability to satisfy customer needs and our outstanding customer service.

Now, all Adam Internet account holders have the ability to establish personalised email addresses, such as you@yourdomain.com – addresses which are owned by you, the customer.

Web-hosting services designed to complement residential domain name registration will be introduced later this year for an additional $5 per year, allowing you to host your personalised website on your own domain name.

To purchase your personal domain name, log in to the Adam Internet Members Services Area via www.adam.com.au and select "Domain Tools" from the left-hand side menu. Then, follow the instructions as prompted.

* Not available for .AU domain names as these can only be registered by a business or organisation.

** This hosted service is designed for residential use only and not for businesses and organisations.

Adam Internet is simplifying the way we measure downloads of all residential ADSL accounts by effectively doubling the current download quota of all plans, providing access to a wide range of unmetered content at no extra charge.

New "Peak" and "Off-Peak" quotas will replace the current "External Download" quotas of all Adam Residential ADSL plans. The "Peak" quota will count all data downloaded from the hours of 8am to midnight and the "Off-Peak" quota will count all data downloaded from the hours of midnight to 8am.

For example, if you are currently on the AdamDirect Light account which has a monthly quota of 5GB, you will now receive 5GB to use during peak times and an additional 5GB to use during off-peak. So effectively, in this example, you can now download 10GB - doubling the value of residential broadband accounts, while providing the same reliability, service and value for money at no additional cost.

In addition to this bonus, we are introducing unmetered download traffic that will replace the current "Local" quota. Adam will now provide a selection of sites where all usage is excluded from your monthly download quota. From launch these will include Adam Internet's FileArena, GamingSA, Fresh FM Radio Stream, KG and the General Live Video Stream, ABC iView & Games.On.Net. Unmetered data will not be counted towards the peak or off-peak data quotas and may be considered free of charge.

Adam Internet is extremely excited to announce these changes which will take effect on Tuesday 19 May, 2009.

The web address for all Adam Internet customers’ personal webspaces will be changing in the near future.

At present, personal webspace is located at http://adam.com.au/YOURUSERNAME, which will change to http://users.adam.com.au/YOURUSERNAME.

Customers using personal webspace will also be required to reflect this change when uploading files via FTP. For instance, the "host" location will need to change to “users.adam.com.au”. Your username and password will remain the same.

Once the change has occurred, a splash page will appear on http://adam.com.au/YOURUSERNAME providing a reminder that the webspace has moved and will redirect to the new web address at http://users.adam.com.au/YOURUSERNAME.

All content currently hosted on personal webspace will be preserved.

Further notification will be provided closer to the change.

If you’d like to activate your 50MB of free personal webspace, log in to the Members Services Area via www.adam.com.au and select "Webspace Manager" from the left-hand side menu under "Members Toolbox" and follow the instructions.

YourSay is an innovative new service established by Adam Internet to create a direct line of communication between customers and senior staff.

Aside from the already existing help desk, which services any regular enquiries or technical support, YourSay allows customers to approach senior level staff with more pressing and higher level issues such as ongoing or unresolved problems, concerns, feedback or suggestions regarding any of our services. All emails will be read by a senior staff member and will be responded to directly.

YourSay is not a help desk system, so if you have any questions or concerns about troubleshooting, Adam Internet’s services, or general enquiries about Adam Internet, then please contact the help desk directly on (08) 8423 4000.

If you have something that you would like to say, then please email YourSay@adam.com.au.

At Adam Internet we're always looking for new ways to improve on the range of already high-quality services that we offer to our customers. So, we’re proud to announce that we have successfully introduced an Outage Voice Notification System, providing customers with access to outage notifications, even if there is no access to the web or email.

By dialling the telephone number (08) 7129 6000 from any fixed line or mobile phone, Adam Internet customers will be able to hear a live, automated reading of the current outage notifications that appear on the Adam website at http://adam.com.au/outages_system/outages-current-page1.php.

By using this service you will be able to easily track any outage notifications and be aware of any outages that may affect your ability to be able to connect to the Internet.

Adam Internet has joined SAFM in liberating a select group of regular South Australians through the Suburban Centrefold Calendar project. Promoted by SAFM’s breakfast team - Rabbit, Amber and Cosi - a special nude calendar has been made, featuring 12 gorgeous South Australian’s, selected via online audience voting.

The calendar, which will run from July 2009 and June 2010, features six male and six female South Aussies completely starkers, featured alongside South Australian icons such as Port Adelaide Power and Adelaide Crows AFL team scarves, Farmer's Union Iced Coffee, and more generic props such as body boards, rabbit ears and Christmas candy canes.

Download the SAFM Suburban Centrefold calendar via the SAFM website at http://www.safm.com.au/shows/rabbitamberandcosi/galleries/suburban-centrefolds-home.

The website also features a range of photographs from the shoot that didn't make the calendar, in addition to candid snaps from the calendar launch party and the sexy suburbanites before they became centrefolds.

SAFM Suburban Centrefold was proudly supported by Adam Internet Naked DSL. It's liberating!

Look out for Adam Internet’s fresh, new advertising campaigns coming soon on radio and television.

The suite of advertisements, put together by our good friends at Brand New Creative, will be airing on Fresh FM 92.7 radio station, Channel Ten and Channel Seven television stations in the coming months.

Above all, we want to highlight the great work of our customers who have continued to be ambassadors for our services. Current customers that successfully refer family and friends to sign up to Adam Internet are receiving up to 100 percent off their next broadband bill.

Do you know someone who is looking at joining or switching to a new ISP? Refer them to Adam Internet, and for each successful referral you will get one month free Internet.  

For more information regarding AdamRewards visit http://adam.com.au/rewards/.

On April 1 2009, a new evolution of a computer worm called Conficker was released online, which targets Microsoft Windows operating systems by exploiting a vulnerability in Windows Server services used by a number of operating systems.

Adam Internet issued a warning prior to the online release of the evolved Conficker worm, however, a number of our customers have been affected by the virus. These customers have been notified.

We would like to remind all customers how to protect against, and remove, the Conficker virus and that all computer users should defend their computers against online threats through the use of a protection program, which are available though a number of vendors including Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee and AVG. Free solutions are available alongside commercially released products.

The Conficker worm and how to remove it

The Conficker worm exploits a previously patched vulnerability in the Windows Server service used by the following operating systems:

• Windows 2000
• Windows XP
• Windows Vista
• Windows Server 2003
• Windows Server 2008
• Windows 7 Beta and
• Windows Server 2008 R2 Beta

Three main variants of this worm are known and have been dubbed Conficker A, B and C.

The worm has several mechanisms for pushing and pulling itself over a network. Upon infection, the worm saves a copy of itself to a random filename in the Windows sytem folder, then arranges to load itself at boot time as a system service with a randomly-generated name.

Conficker then resets System Restore points and disables a number of system services, such as Windows Automatic Update, Windows Security Center, Windows Defender and Windows Error Reporting.

Some symptoms of the Conficker include but are not necessarily limited to:

• Account lockout policies being reset automatically
• Certain Microsoft Windows services being disabled
• Domain Controllers responding slowly
• System network becoming unusually congested
• Websites related to antivirus software becoming inaccessible

AntiVirus experts say that the Conficker is the worst infection since 2003 and estimate that the number of computers infected range from 9 million up to 15 million PCs.

Microsoft released a patch to fix the vulnerability in October of 2008. Removal tools are available from several vendors, including Microsoft, Symantec, McAfee and AVG.

The Microsoft Windows Malicious Software Removal Tool checks your computer for infection by specific, prevalent malicious software (including Blaster, Sasser, and Mydoom) and helps to remove the infection if it is found. Microsoft releases an updated version of this tool on the second Tuesday of each month.

Since the worm can spread using USB drives that trigger AutoRun, disabling the AutoRun feature for external media is recommended, however, this is not fully effective at stopping the Conficker worm spreading.

Microsoft has released a removal guide for the worm via the Microsoft Website.

For more details on the Conficker worm, please see the Microsoft TechNet Blog.

Adam Internet joined the rest of Adelaide - and a massive number of population centres across the world - in turning off the lights and conserving energy during Earth Hour on Saturday 28 March.

Earth Hour is a world-wide event organised by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), encouraging people to take action against climate change.

Adelaide, together with all Australian capital cities and 309 council districts, switched off the lights illuminating many great landmarks, including the Rundle Lantern situated above the Rundle Street U-Park in Adelaide City, the Opera House and Harbour Bridge (Sydney), St Kilda’s Luna Park and Flinders Street Station (Melbourne), Story Bridge (Brisbane), Parliament House (Canberra) and the WA War Memorial (Perth).

The Rundle Lantern turned off for Earth Hour. Photograph courtesy of Adelaide City Council.

Though flicking a switch might seem like only a small way to show support for a much greater issue, the cumulative value world-wide is huge. Aside from the obvious savings in electrical energy, and thus resources, the voluntary power-down also has a unifying effect, solidifying whole communities that share an investment in the health of the planet looking toward the future.

Earth Hour is also just the start. Now that the lights are back on, we encourage everyone to do what they can to be more carbon efficient.

At Adam Internet, we encourage our staff to avoid printing to paper when possible. We also ensure that all computers, monitors and non-essential lighting are switched off before staff head home.

At home, you can demonstrate your support by turning off the lights and television when you leave the house, ensuring your car tires are properly inflated to help increase fuel efficiency, and by recycling more to reduce household waste.

For more information regarding Earth Hour, visit http://earthhour.org.

The Adam Internet bright yellow double-decker bus will again be making an appearance at the CMV Convoy for Kids on Sunday 24 May 2009, supporting Novita Children's Services. Last year, our bus won the James Kemp Children's Choice Award, with nearly 30 passengers laughing and waving and enjoying the ride.

Each year, hundreds of large trucks, new and old, and their drivers, young and old, take South Australian children with disabilities and their families on a Sunday morning drive around and through Adelaide city, raising awareness and funds for Novita Children's Services.

For the first time, the event will be held at an exciting new location in the South Parklands, providing the starting point for the Convoy and the home of the Convoy Carnival, a free family fun day featuring rides, games, face-painting, live entertainment and a special guest performer Peter Combe!

The Adam Internet double-decker bus was the winner of the James Kemp Children's Choice Award at last year's CMV Convoy for Kids

We'd like to encourage any truck drivers interested in the event to visit the Novita website at http://www.novita.org.au/Content.aspx?p=538 and register. After all, the more trucks, the more fun!

The Adam Internet 2009 Footy Tipping Competition kicked off earlier this year, with more than 2860 people registered and competing for the first prize of $2000.

Five rounds in and the battle is fierce, with "papajoe" looking strong at the top of the leaderboard, having held the position for a number of weeks and looking tough to beat with an enviable margin. Although, things can change quickly at the top!

We're extremely pleased to see the South Australian contenders already sitting in the top eight, even though it's early days a strong start can go a long way. However, Port Adelaide Power suffered a humiliating 36 - 102 defeat to a solid St. Kilda team in Round 5, while the Adelaide Crows were embroiled in a slow and low-scoring game of tit for tat with the Melbourne Demons. Come on guys, pick it up!

The Adam Internet 2009 Footy Tipping Competition is open to all Adam Internet customers. To register, log in to the Members Services Area via www.adam.com.au and select "Footy Tipping" from the left-hand side menu, then follow the instructions. Though we're already five rounds in, it's not too late to join in the fun and compete for $2750 worth of end of season prizes.

The top tipper at the end of the tournament will take home $2000, the second top tipper will take home $500 and the third top tipper wins $250.

In addition, each week, the top three tippers win four tickets each to Wallis Cinemas.

You've got to be in it to win it!

Visit http://www.afl.com.au/ for all your official football information.

Superbugs

They are not all that super - just bad.
 
"There are almost no bacteria strains that are not resistant to more antibiotics than there were 10 or 15 years ago," says Associate Professor Peter Collignon, Director of Infectious Diseases and Microbiology at the Canberra Hospital, Australian Capital Territory.

Scientists are telling us that perhaps we really do have a problem, a snapshot of the situation in Australia reveals a war that’s not being won. In recent years, bacteria or ‘Superbugs’ have adapted to resist multiple antibiotics including the ‘last-line’ in drugs. Staphylococcus aureus, commonly known as Golden Staph because of its colour on a laboratory plate, is normally harmless. Carried on our skin it can, sometimes, cause minor infections in wounds or create boils. Yet, Golden Staph is becoming resistant to the most powerful of antibiotics and returning as a big problem in many large Australian hospitals, attacking intravenous lines, catheters and wounds post-operation. It spreads quickly through patient contact, respiratory droplets and food. Approximately five per cent of those Multi-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) can only be treated with the antibiotic Vancomycin, and now that last-line defensive is having less of an effect.

Another variation has been discovered in Japan, which has been classified to be of intermediate resistance and is known as Vancomycin Intermediate Staphylococcus Aureus (VISA).  Then we have got Enterococcus, a bacterium in our gastrointestinal and genital tracts, which can be highly aggressive, especially in post-operative hospital patients. Another nasty version is Vancomycin Resistant Enterococci (VRE), that occasionally hits the headlines, and not to mention Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenza, which now resists penicillin, tetracyclines, and the newest groups of antibiotics, and is on the increase. Add to that Escherichia coli, commonly known as E-coli, which can cause gastroenteritis.

There are some really nasty bugs out there, and as there have been no newly developed antibiotics available to combat them, it appears that preventative measures such as caution, good health and hygiene are your best bet.

For starters, keep your immune system up! Eat a good, well-balanced diet with lots of fresh fruit and vegetables, together with wholegrain cereal and a lean source of protein, too. You should try not to smoke, maintain a healthy weight and exercise regularly, wash your hands, be hygienic, and try to avoid hospitals - they seem to be unhealthy places.

©  Phil Sheldon MSc
www.optimalessentials.com
www.philsheldon.com.au

All views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, Adam Internet.

Gotta love Adelaide -- www.radelaide.net -- a relatively vibrant and young website that yearns to provide it's readership with a one-stop shop for information regarding Adelaide's bubbling culture. It is currently in its early stages and is developing well.

Easy to digest tech talk -- www.wired.com -- Wired is one of the most accessible and well written "what's going on in tech today" magazines available on shelves, while the online version is just as awesome, if not better, because the content is free. Topics covered include everything from the relative to the whimsical, with a variety of blogs ranging from video games and latest gadgets to what's new in science.

Keep track of the weather -- http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/sa/sa-forecast-map.shtml -- the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's official website provides detailed weather forecasts for any location Australia-wide.

For those of you that work in an office environment, are studying or otherwise use a real desktop -- as opposed to the virtual one on your PC -- you may have already learned that the secret to being efficient and to avoid distractions is to keep your work area clean and organised.

This same principle applies to your computer desktop. If you find yourself staring at a messy virtual desktop stacked with shortcuts, an assortment of random and meaningless downloaded images or other files and folders that you never use, here are some quick suggestions on how you can tidy up.

1. Some Operating Systems, such as Windows XP and Windows Vista, include a built-in feature called Desktop Wizard, which will help you clean away your unwanted files and icons. To access the wizard, follow the official instructions at http://support.microsoft.com/kb/306542
2. Set some time aside to go through all your unwanted icons and either find a home for them elsewhere, such as Documents, Pictures, Music, etc (Mac OSX) or My Documents, My Pictures, My Music (Windows XP and Vista), put them in the trash or throw them into a new folder on your desktop to tidy up later.
3. Create a new folder for your desktop by right-clicking on an empty space and selecting "New Folder" (Mac OSX) or "New" -> "Folder" (XP and Vista), name it "Desktop Junk" or "Unwanted Files" or anything you prefer (no quotation marks). Now you have an empty folder, drag and drop the excess desktop contents into the folder to do a quick bout of spring cleaning. Click on the image to the top-right of this article for visual reference. Please note, this pictorial is for Mac OSX, however Windows users may follow along noting that to create a new folder, right-click and highlight "New", then in the new list of items select "Folder".

If your desktop is full of shortcuts to programs or folders that you use on a regular basis but would still like to remove these can be pinned to the Dock (Mac OSX) or Start Menu (Windows XP and Vista).

• Mac OSX: To place a folder or program in the Dock, simply click and drag the item over a space between two other icons in the dock, then drop. More information available in Newsbytes September/November 2008.
• Windows XP and Vista: To pin a folder or program to the Start Menu, simply click and drag the item over the Windows Start Menu button, wait for the window to open, then drop the item in the top half of the left window. The Wuick Launch Bar offers similar space-saving benefits, with a full explanation available in Newsbytes May/June 2008.