System Requirements
What operating systems does SurfStream
run on?
SurfStream works on Windows XP Professional,
Windows XP Home, Windows 2000, Windows Me and Windows
98SE.
What else do I need on my computer to run
SurfStream?
You will need to have Microsoft Internet Explorer
5.0 or higher installed on your computer. You can
download the latest version of Internet Explorer from
http://www.microsoft.com.
You must have at least 50MB hard disk space to install
SurfStream. The SurfStream proxy server may use more
disk space to cache web page content as you browse
the web. The disk space used is user configurable.
It is recommended that you have set your screen graphics
resolution to 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit color.
SurfStream will work with all internet connections
such as ADSL, cable, ISDN, dialup modem, and microwave.
How SurfStream Can Help You
Why will SurfStream help me use the internet?
SurfStream contains a powerful collection of integrated
tools that can make your internet experience faster,
more productive and more enjoyable.
SurfStream's proxy server can significantly increase
the speed of web browsing by caching often visited
web content. Pre-fetching web content can help display
web pages instantly. Other computers can share the
benefits.
SurfStream contains an advanced banner ad blocker
and popup window blocker that will eliminate annoying
advertisements contained in web pages.
SurfStream analyzes your computer's TCP/IP settings
and can adjust them so that they are tuned for your
internet connection type - such as ADSL, cable, ISDN
and dialup modem.
A built-in speed checker can tell you exactly how
fast your internet connection is. It tests your download
speed and your upload speed, and displays the results
is an easy-to-understand graph that compares your
speed with popular internet connection types.
SurfStream lets you manage all your favorite web
pages. It allows you to create, edit and manage all
your Internet Explorer favorites. It will check all
your favorites and notify you which favorites are
broken and which favorite web pages have been updated
since you last visited them.
You can keep you computer's clock as accurate as
possible using internet time servers. SurfStream can
connect to internet time servers and automatically
adjust your clock to keep it accurate.
How does SurfStream optimize my internet
connection?
Your TCP/IP settings are stored on your computer
in your computer's registry. They are very technical
in nature and require expertise to modify them.
SurfStream reads your computer's registry and determines
your current settings. By using advanced techniques
and by testing your internet connection speed, SurfStream
can determine your optimal settings for you. You do
not have to edit the registry - SurfStream does it
all for you!
Before making any changes, SurfStream makes a backup
of your original settings so you can restore your
computer back to its original state. Optimizing your
computer's TCP/IP settings has never been easier!
What advertisements does SurfStream block?
SurfStream contains two techniques for blocking unwanted
content while you browse the internet.
Many web pages contain banner ads. These are typically
images or flash that make it annoying when you are
viewing web pages. SurfStream can remove these banner
ads from a web page. It supports removal of all types
of banner ads - GIF, JPG, SWF, HTML and more. An extensive
ad web site database containing offending ad web sites
is included in SurfStream so that you should not see
ads after SurfStream is installed. You can also add
more entries to the ad database using SurfStream -
as new ad web sites appear on the internet.
Many web pages now have annoying popup windows when
you visit them. SurfStream contains a popup window
blocker that will stop popup windows from appearing
while you browse web pages in Internet Explorer.
SurfStream vs. Competitor Products
Why is SurfStream better than other proxy
servers, popup blockers, speed checkers, TCP setting
editors and bookmark organizers?
There are no products available today that combine
all of the features and tools that SurfStream has.
You would need to buy a proxy server, a banner ad
blocker, a popup blocker, a bookmark manager, a TCP/IP
settings registry editor, a speed checker and
an internet time changer to get all the power and
features of SurfStream. In the end, this will be much
more expensive than SurfStream and the tools will
not be integrated into such an easy-to-use interface
as SurfStream.
I already have a popup blocker. Why do I
need SurfStream's banner ad blocking?
Popup blockers just stop popup ad windows from appearing
while you are browsing the internet. They do not stop
banner ads. So you will still see many annoying banner
ads on web pages. These will be usually be animated
GIF files but now Flash ads are being used to take
over your web browser. They can be very annoying.
SurfStream helps eliminate all of these banner ads.
I already have a bookmark organizer. Why
is SurfStream's favorites organizer better?
SurfStream reads all your Internet Explorer favorites
and allows you to create, edit and manage them.
A powerful feature is the ability to check all your
Internet Explorer favorites for broken links (i.e.
web pages that are no longer available on the internet).
This helps you clean up your favorites.
Another powerful feature is the ability to check
for any recent updates to web pages contained in your
favorites. This helps you know about web pages that
have been updated so you can visit them and view the
updated content.
I already have a TCP/IP settings registry
editor. Why should I use SurfStream's Tune Up feature?
SurfStream's Tune Up comes with optimized TCP/IP
settings profiles for popular connection types such
as ADSL, cable, ISDN and dialup modem. You can choose
one of these profiles or you can change your computer's
settings manually using SurfStream.
SurfStream can also automatically read your current
settings and determine your optimal settings. A backup
of your current settings is made so that you can restore
your original settings at anytime.
SurfStream's Speed Checker is fully integrated into
the Tune Up feature so that results for each speed
test are listed next to the Tune Up profiles that
you have chosen so far. This provides a great way
to accurately measure which setting are the optimal
settings for your computer.
Troubleshooting Common Problems
I have started SurfStream but I cannot see
the SurfStream window.
By default the SurfStream main window is not displayed.
You can display the SurfStream main window by double
clicking the SurfStream icon in your computer's system
tray.
My internet connection type is not listed
in the Options dialog.
Select "Other" and enter the maximum speed
that your connection is able to achieve.
I can no longer connect to the internet after
making changes in Tune Up. How do I to restore my
internet connection settings back to the original
values?
Select the "Backup of your Original Connection
Settings" in Tune Up and click the Apply Profile
button. This will restore your original settings before
installing SurfStream.
Why are advertisements not being blocked
in my web browser?
Make sure that the SurfStream proxy server is switched
on. Make sure that you have banner ad and popup blocking
turned on. Make sure that the web site address that
is delivering the banner ads is included in the ad
web site list.
The popup blocker is stopping me from seeing
a window in Internet Explorer. What can I do?
Before clicking on a link on a web page, you can
hold down the Ctrl key and then click on the link.
This will stop SurfStream's popup blocker so that
normal web page processing will occur.
Why aren't popup windows being blocked in
my web browser?
SurfStream only supports popup blocking for Microsoft
Internet Explorer version 5.0 and higher.
Why does Speed Check give me a different
result every time?
To test the speed of your internet connection, SurfStream
connects to the internet and exchanges data with the
SurfStream Speed Check web server. If the internet
is busy or congested, then the speed may be slower.
You should run Speed Check several times - even at
different times during the day - to get an overall
speed of your connection.
Why is time synchronizing not working?
Make sure that you have an active connection to the
internet and that you have selected an internet time
server. Try testing the internet time server (using
Test button in Choose Internet Time Server dialog
box) to see if its still active. Sometimes a web site
may stop providing its internet time service and you
may need to choose another time server.
Why doesn't the Analyze Internet Connection
dialog box does not complete its analysis of my TCP/IP
settings?
You must have an active internet connection in order
to use the Analyze Internet Connection dialog box.
Also, SurfStream requires that your computer can send
ICMP packets (or ping) to web servers. SurfStream
uses ICMP packet transmission to determine your optimal
TCP Receive Window setting. Some firewalls and proxy
servers can be configured to stop ICMP packets being
sent. If this is done, SurfStream will not be able
to determine your optimal settings. You need to enable
ICMP packets for SurfStream's Analyze Internet Connection
dialog box to work correctly.
How do I get the latest updates to SurfStream?
Click the Help/Check for Updates menu item.
My Trial Version has expired. How do I register
my copy of SurfStream?
You need to purchase SurfStream and a serial number
and license key will be sent to you. To purchase SurfStream,
click the Help/Buy Online menu item to go to Conceiva's
secure online purchasing system.
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