All of the paperwork and planning has been completed and Socket has started installing FTTH connections in Millersburg, MO. The first step of the process is to survey the home and find out how far the line has to be ran and what wall the customer would like the connection to come through. The following video explains the process in greater detail as Socket's own Kevin Sell conducts a recent survey.
Here at Socket, we love a good poker tournament. Last fall, we hosted our own casino night for employees, as well as their friends and family members.
So when we decided to sponsor the 2012 Dream Factory Poker Tournament, we sent half a dozen of our best superstar players to represent us.
Unfortunately, they didn't come away winners (our top finisher placed 17th), but they sure had a blast!
The event, held on April 27 in Columbia, helped raise funds for the Central Missouri Dream Factory, which grants dream vacations to critically and chronically ill children.
A great time and a great cause. We were so glad to be a part of it!
This story was recently sent to us by customer Pete H. of Marshall, MO -
My 9-year-old son wanted his own laptop. We told him he could continue using our computer. He wanted his own. My wife and I told him if he wanted his own then he needed to save the money and buy one himself. We don't believe in buying our children everything. We feel it's best for them to "earn" the extra things in life. Well, that 9-year-old saved his money for 18 months. I don't think he spent $5 over that amount of time. He saved everything he got for gifts, extra jobs, etc...He bought one.
We needed to set it up on wireless in the house, load programs and get him set up on email. Once again, your customer service has been outstanding.
I would like to relay to you the quality of your employees, especially John and Heff. Those two individuals were extremely helpful and patient.
My son thinks those two guys can do anything!!
We know that very excited young boy will enjoy his hard-earned laptop for years to come.
Our people may not be able to do ANYTHING, but we'll sure work our hardest to keep your Internet running smoothly!
Every month, Socket employees nominate and vote on a co-worker who best exemplifies our Core Values and Beliefs.
This month, we picked Kevin Sell.
Kevin came to Socket a little over a year ago, bringing a decade's worth of field service experience to the position. Lately, he's been performing pre-installation work in rural Boone and Callaway counties. As we prepare to begin installing fiber-to-the-home services in this area, Kevin talks with customers about how the fiber will be run to their home. Check out a video of him in action.
Originally from Springfield, MO, Kevin has lived in Columbia for the past seven years. In his spare time, he enjoys wakeboarding, knee boarding and keeping up with his four-year-old daughter.
"Kevin does make a difference," said a co-worker who nominated him for the award. "He's the go-to guy for installs and dispatches, and he comes through in a pinch."
Congratulations, Kevin!
Read about other You-Make-the-Difference-Award winners.
Internet users are urged to check their computers to avoid connectivity problems when the FBI completes its shut-down of a massive international hacking ring later this year.
What happened?
Last November, the FBI arrested several criminals who were operating a hacker ring that distributed viruses to computers worldwide. The viruses pointed Internet users to fake websites that resulted in millions of dollars in advertising revenue for the hackers.
When the FBI made the arrests, they moved Internet traffic from the hacker’s servers to special servers established to avoid Internet disruption for affected computers. The FBI plans to shut these servers down on July 9, however, which will result in Internet outages for infected computers that have not been cleaned.
What is Socket doing?
Our engineers were notified by the FBI of affected IP addresses on our network and worked with affected customers to clean the virus off those computers.
We are also proactively monitoring Internet traffic to determine if any users on our network are visiting the hackers’ sites. We have not seen any such traffic. If we do, we plan to notify those users and help them take appropriate action to clean their computers.
How do I tell if my computer is infected?
It's still a good idea to check your computer for DNS Changer malware.
Visit http://www.dcwg.org/ and click on the “Detect” link in the upper left-hand corner. Scroll down and click the link next to “English.” This test will not install any software or make any changes to your computer, and it only takes a few seconds.
If you see a green graphic, your computer is likely not infected. Socket does not redirect DNS traffic for its customers, as the warning advises users to be aware of.
If you see a red graphic, follow the instructions or call Socket Technical Support at 1-800-762-5383 for assistance in removing the virus from your computer.
What else can I do?
Help spread the word and encourage your friends and family members to check their computers as well. If more users check their computers now, there will be fewer outages in July when the FBI servers are shut down.
Also, be sure your computers are protected with an up-to-date anti-virus program. Socket recommends and supports Trend Micro Internet Security and offers it at a discounted rate to our customers. Learn more or call 1-800-762-5383.
Additional resources
Read more about Operation Ghost Click, the FBI's operation to dismantle the international cyber ring.
Fill out this form if you believe you have been victimized by the DNS Changer malware.
View more DNS Changer information and instructions from the FBI.
A few simple ways you can help the planet.
Earth Day is right around the corner, and many Missourians are looking for ways to lessen their negative impact on the environment. While everyone knows how important it is to reduce, reuse and recycle, many are afraid of what it may cost them to "go green."
Consumers and businesses can actually save by going green--and without spending a dime. "Green" practices are often free-of-cost and have high and promising returns on investment.
Reduce electricity consumption.
Reducing consumption and energy usage is key to saving money and the planet. Often, it's as easy as simply evaluating technology use.
When you aren't using appliances and electronics, turn them off and unplug them. Leaving your computer and other electronics on, or even just plugged in, actually uses energy and racks up your electricity bill.
In an effort to reduce electricity consumption, it's also recommended to replace old computer monitors with LCD monitors--which use one-third as much energy--and replace screen savers with the "turn off monitor" feature, since it saves energy and increases the lifespan of a monitor.
Reuse electronics.
Reusing items is another good way to conserve resources and save money. For example, reuse old ink cartridges by taking them to a store that specializes in refilling them. Discarded electronics are another significant source of waste. Websites like Gazelle pay consumers for used electronics; if the electronics are not worth any money, the site will pay for shipping costs to properly recycle the items.
Recycle unwanted items.
Finally, recycle items that cannot be reduced or reused--many recycling centers and websites offer small monetary incentives for bringing in recyclables. Some recycling centers are willing to pay per pound for aluminum. Recycling is a great way to save the planet by reforming and reusing natural and non-renewable resources.
The common misconception of "going green" is that it costs a lot of green. But by merely adapting lifestyles to the rules of the three Rs--reduce, reuse and recycle--consumers can save big bucks while protecting the planet for years to come.
We've expanded our Phone + Internet bundles and Naked DSL Internet to more Jefferson CIty neighborhoods. Check out the updated coverage map.
We're excited to bring our flat-rate, honest pricing to more Jefferson City residents and businesses.
View residential packages and pricing.
Fiber connection lines are being installed from the road to customers' homes, and that means a lot of splicing needs to be done at our service hut locations. Watch this video to learn more about how the technology works and how the network delivers high-speed Internet through fiber-optic lines.
Watch the video here.
Still on dial-up?
If so, you know how incredibly frustrating it can be to browse today's high-powered, multimedia-filled websites. Even a good dial-up connection can't support much of the Flash animation, Java script or large video and image files on popular sites.
That's why dial-up users may have better luck browsing mobile versions of popular websites. If you have a smartphone, you're probably familiar with mobile websites--they're trimmed-down versions with reduced graphics and are free of frames, Java and other design elements that make browsing on a slower connection more difficult.
You can often substitute the letter "m" for the "www" in a website's URL in order to access the mobile version. For example:
Not every site has a mobile version, and some may not display very well on a traditional computer monitor. But it's worth it to give the mobile version a shot if you're looking to speed up your browsing experience and cut the unnecessary page elements that won't work well with your dial-up connection.
It’s not like it’s the first time. We have done it many times before. But it’s still one of the most fun parts of being in business. The moment a plan goes the way you had predicted it would on the back of a piece of paper years before.
We knew years ago that we would have to get into the phone system business. We could see the slow march of our PBX partners to start offering SIP trunks from a national provider to replace the phone service that Socket was providing today. We even looked at traditional PBX offerings, and considered purchasing an existing interconnection company to get us up and running fast. But each time we would come back to the move toward “cloud services” and how customers wanted more from their phone systems than what a traditional premise-based system could provide. More flexibility. More mobility. To not have their phone system stuck in a physical location. To be able to route their calls where they want, when they want. In the event of a disaster or in their normal course of business.
We spent years building our system. Geographically redundant – check. Ability to do call recording – check. Ability to support many embedded schools' handsets using Cisco-proprietary SKINNY protocol – check. Ability to do complex and true call center environments (not just hunt groups) – check. It felt like it was never going to get off the ground to me, but SIP was still maturing. We saw many companies jump in with a single system that wasn’t mature, and the results where disastrous. We needed a system that could be a leader in class on day one.
So how did it go so right this time? It was for a small town rural hospital with a 30-year-old phone system with 103 handsets that was on its last leg. They knew they needed to bring new technology online, but the budget wasn’t there for a six-figure capital outlay to bring a modern PBX into service.
They were able to save enough money each month off of their traditional local phone service bills to able to afford a new Hosted PBX for all 103 seats, and have savings left over. This will be our 2nd 100+ seat Hosted PBX sale in mid-Missouri alone in the last 60 days.
If you want to learn more about Hosted PBX or see a demo, be sure to reach out to us. We would be happy to show you what's written on the back of the next napkin!
1-800-762-5383