Recommendations please!

[Diamond Downs]

With all due respect to all the experts who post here I'm asking for recommendations to any ISP's who will fulfill our needs. We presently use AOL who provides a fine service but we need a little something more.

Tey, you've always been an extraordinary source of information, so your input is without question. Paul, I'd put you in the same category so....we want to leave AOL...what are your recommendations? I really don't want to have a lot of BS as far as changing screen names, and the services that AOL provides are very nice. We use Sygate as a firewall, which I have confidence in, but as far as virus protection, spam protection, etc. versus price, please give us your honest opinion.

We are currently on dial-up, which sux, however, the price comparison is substantial so please be completely honest and forthcoming in all your responses. Any opinions are welcome.

Thanks,
Jewel

[McDuff]

Diamond, if what I hear about AOL pricing, you should be able to upgrade to DSL for very little money. Looks like AOL is in the low $20's/month. I have Verizon DSL for $29.95/month. You will also get the combination DSL modem/wireless router for free(+shipping n handling). This setup will provide you with a good hardware firewall solution. You would still use your s/w virus/firewall/spam protectors. I use Norton Internet Security which has served me well.

As far as screen name hassles, no way around that. Anything associated with AOL, email address/screen names/... will go away. Of course anything unrelated like login names here and such are fine.

If you happen to be serviced by Verizon, go here verizon (http://www22.verizon.com/ForHomeDSL/channels/dsl/forhomedsl.asp?ID=Res) and put in your phone # to see if you can get it. Or check your phone co.

Good luck, it's never fun to switch ISP's. I just switched to them from another and it went rather smoothly.

McD

"Rather be ridin' than rollin'"

[Lewis]

AOL is more than just an ISP. Are you looking for a company to provide just Internet access, or do you want unique content as well? Also, your screen name/username is unique to AOL and you'll simply get a new one with whatever service you choose.

I'm on a cable modem, so I don't really have any personal experience with dial-up options.

Good luck!

-Lewis

[teyrn]

AOL is not your typical ISP. They are like a one stop shopping center for the Internet. No other ISP will offer what AOL can offer with their unique services. People that used AOL heavily and for what ever reason switched were not happy and it took a long time for some to get used to the internet without the AOL shell wrapped around it. I personaly do not like dialup. I would recommend cable or at the very least DSL. You do not have to give up your AOL experiance though to swich to broadband. AOL offers a broadband service, a package that uses whoever you want for broadband but you get the familure AOL shell wrapped around it. You can go with broadband from AOL or you can find another provider. You can then install "AOL for broadband" ontop of your broadband service. You keep your login names and passwords, you keep as I understand all your current AOL email addresses as well. Granted it will cost up to like 9.95 ontop of what you will spend for broadband which can be from 19.95 up to 45.00 a month. It all depends on what you want in the way of speed.

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[PN]

Hello Jewel,

I understand about wanting to keep your AOL account, along with your screen name.
I also felt that changing my email address was too drastic, so I decided to keep my AOL account, but sign up for the minimum program, which is: $4.95 per month with 3 free hours per month and $2.50 per hour after that. My main ISP is Cox Cable Internet. Another ISP that I like is DSL Extreme and they do offer a dial-up service at $9.95 a month. Currently, they have a special for DSL at $21.95 per month for the first year, which includes free equipment and free setup. Also, there are only 4 days left for this introductory offer. I see that you live in Georgia and you would have to check to find out if they are available in your area. I recently started using the Panda Titanium 2005 Anti-Virus, with which I am very satisfied. I like the free version of the Sygate Firewall and I also use Spy Sweeper by Webroot. Good luck!

http://www2.dslextreme.com/

PN

[teyrn]

This is a good place to go and see what other people in your area have to say about broadband providers.
Broadband Reports (http://www.broadbandreports.com/)

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[Diamond Downs]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. It will take some research to figure out what to do. Thanks for that link Tey, very helpful!