At 10:58 AM 6/30/2003, Jeff Wasilko wrote: >email address of the 'attbi.com' domain <*cough*>, it's changing to >'comcast.net'; moreover, said users won't be able to connect and check >their email (and sadly wondering why no one writes...) until they make >some manual configuration adjustments, unless they ran the 'auto-config >wizard', and rebooted this morning.
That auto-config wizard scares me. ATTBI once told me that I had to install their stuff or I couldn't get help with my connectivity problem, and explained that their CDROM allowed them to REMOTELY RECONFIGURE my computer. That's the reason they insist (according to the helpline person) on removing hardware and software firewalls before rendering assistance, because they intend to essentially hack into your machine. All that is required to make the change is to replace the SMTP and POP servers and enable SSL transactions... USUALLY. At least one of the mailboxes I was using at attbi.com was already in use (according to them) at comcast.net, so it's NOT just a matter of changing the domain name of your subscribers. Their whole address may be different, and if you just change the domain you'll be spamming an innocent in some cases. Sigh. Good reason to own your own domain name. Also, I've confirmed with Comcast that their website is under repair. Right now I cannot read my email through their web interface since it's down. They are showing many scripting errors (fatal) on places like "contact us" and generally look like they're tripping over their own shoelaces with a poorly-thought-out transition. Telling people "we won't tell you how to change your email until AFTER your service has been interrupted" is surely the stoopidest idea I've seen from an ISP. Steve
