The ACCC Network Services Kit

The Network Services Kit (NSKit) is a collection of software that allows you to access email, participate in newsgroups, log in to UNIX machines at UIC and elsewhere, and to browse the World Wide Web. In short, it lets you make use of Internet resources, whether from home or office.

The price is right too -- free if you download it from the UIC FTP site or $15 if you buy the CD and printed documentation from a campus bookstore.

There's a new NSKit available now, Version 5.0. In addition to having the latest versions of the most important Internet software, it has two nifty new features and a potentially computer-saving one.

A neat feature of the new NSKit is that you will be able to upgrade applications in Version 5 of the NSKit on the Web. For more information, visit http://www.uic.edu/depts/accc/, click the purple Software button at the top of the page, and select NSKit Version 5 Upgrades on the "Available Software and Services" page.

While it's a lot easier to set up dialin connections for newer members of the Microsoft Windows operating system family than it used to be, it's not quite in the "it's a snap" class yet.

Until Version 5.0 of the NSKit, that is. The new NSKit has an automated script for Windows 95/ 98/ Me that installs all necessary dialin components and creates a Dial-up Networking connection named UIC-1 that connects to the ACCC Dialin-9000 lines. Since Dialin-9000 automatically bounces to Dialin-2001 and Dialin-2002 if necessary, this UIC-1 connection is all you need to use the Chicago new-style ACCC dialin lines.

There's a second Win 95/98/Me automated script that creates a connection named Dialin-Express that connects to the Chicago Dialin-Express phone lines. The NSKit documentation explains how to copy the Dialin-Express connection and reconfigure it to connect to the other old-style dialin lines, Dialin-Rockford or Dialin-Peoria.

(Old-style dialin lines? New-style dialin lines? What's the difference? In addition to the new-style lines being faster - 56 Kbps vs. 28.8 Kbps or 33.6 Kbps -- they're also easier to log in to. When using the old-style lines, you enter your UIC netid and password in a "terminal window" after your modem dials in; when using the new-style lines, you enter your netid and password before dialing. Want to know more? See ACCC Dialin Services at http://www.accc.uic.edu/network/dialin/ or click the Connect - Home link in the "Quick Start" section of the ACCC home page.)

If the recent spate of Windows/Web/email viruses and worms (page 10) hasn't already scared you enough to install antivirus software on all your personal computers, both Windows and Macs, maybe it's because you've been lucky and haven't been inflicted with one yet. Don't depend on luck -- install the NSKit's highly rated and easy to update Symantec Norton AntiVirus, NAV. There's an option to install NAV in the main menu of both the Windows and Mac Version 5 NSKit.

Our license agreement for Norton AntiVirus allows it to be installed on any computer belonging to any member of the UIC community, on campus or off.

Run Norton AntiVirus's LiveUpdate by hand when you hear about a new virus or worm.

After you install Norton AntiVirus, be sure to keep your virus protection up-to-date by running its Web LiveUpdate feature on a regular basis, say once a week, either by hand:

Windows:

Start->Programs->Norton AntiVirus->Norton AntiVirus Corporate Edition->LiveUpdate button

Macs:

Macintosh HD->LiveUpdate folder->LiveUpdate->Update Everything Now

or automatically. For more information, see: http://www.accc.uic.edu/software/antivirus/

NSKit software is available for Apple Macintosh personal computers and for personal computers running MS Windows that meet or exceed the NSKit machine and operating system requirements. (See The Requirements for Dialing In.)

The NSKit CD, which includes both the Windows and Mac NSKit, costs $15.00 and may be purchased on the east side of campus at the UIC Bookstore, 118 CCC, and on the west side at the MicroStation West in the UIC Medical Bookstore, CIU.

If you're on-campus (including when you dial in on an ACCC dialin line), you can download the NSKit from the UIC FTP site. See the NSKit Web site for instructions and links.

The NSKit applications include:

Adobe Acrobat Reader:

Acrobat Reader displays and allows you to print PDF (portable document format) files -- a common way to view documents on the Internet.

Eudora:

Eudora works with your email account, allowing you to manage your email on your personal computer without having to log in to your email account to do it. (Also Eudora is not Outlook, and therefore it isn't generally affected by Outlook viruses/worms; see Living with a Hostile Internet.)

FTP:

Use File Transfer Protocol software such as WS FTP and Fetch to copy files between your computer and a remote computer. The remote computer may be your UNIX account, an FTP site such as ftp.uic.edu, or any other location.

Web browsers:

Browser software provides fast and easy graphical access to the Internet and the World Wide Web. Netscape is a core application; MS Internet Explorer is also offered as a recommended optional application.

Newsreaders:

A newsreader is used to read and post to the over 5,000 NETNEWS/Usenet newsgroups. NETNEWS/Usenet gives you access to ClariNet, an electronic newspaper which offers daily news, sports, weather, syndicated columns, AP wire service feature stories, and science and technological news. The MT-Newswatcher newsreader is included with the Macintosh NSKit; people using Windows can use the newsreader built into Netscape.

Telnet:

Telnet allows you to access your accounts on remote shared computers such as the ACCC's tigger, icarus, or borg UNIX workstations In addition to standard telnet applications, Host Explorer for Windows and Better Telnet for Macs, the Windows NSKit includes SSH Secure Telnet, a recommended optional application that allows you use your accounts on UNIX machines such as the ACCC's tigger, icarus, and borg and be sure that no one else can intercept your password or work. SSH was introduced in the April/May/June issue of the A3C Connection.

Various Media Players and Web Plug-ins:

RealPlayer and Apple QuickTime are core applications and a number of additional Web plug-ins are optional components, including Windows Media Player (Windows only).

Documentation:

A printed booklet with comes with the NSKit, which includes instructions for installing the kit applications and for configuring your computer to connect to the Internet so you can use them. All the info in the printed booklet is also available online; there's a link in the NSKit Web pages.
The online version of the NSKit documentation has several additions, including links to information about the NSKit applications. (See The Basic Steps.)