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A dialer software dials into another computer to give you internet connectivity. Many ISPs these days release dialer software that comes bundled with unnecessary extra features. This results in the bandwidth being wasted and the computer slowing down. PeoplePC dialer, for example, always keeps a window open that shows ads and links in the form of their website. If you close this window, you get disconnected automatically.

You can easily bypass the dialer software and go online by creating a dialup connection yourself. I will use Microsoft Windows as an example OS for this: go to your “Control panel” and double click on the “Network Connections” icon. Then, click on “Create a new connection” to open the “New Connection Wizard.” You will be asked about the type of connection you want and the way you want to connect. Choose the “Connect to the Internet” and “Set up my connection manually” options respectively. You will then be asked about the nature of your connection hardware. Choose “Connect using a dial-up modem” option for this.

This will create a dialup connection for you in the network connections area of the control panel. Simply double click this connection and enter the following three pieces of information whenever you want to start connecting to your ISP:

Information you need to connect to your ISP

1. Your ISP username that you chose while signing up
2. Your ISP password that you chose while signing up
3. A local access number to dial into

A local access number is a number you dial into to get an internet connection. I have listed below the local access numbers for some major ISPs within the United States to help you:

List of local access numbers for a few major ISPs

• AOL dialup access numbers
• AT&T and SBC Yahoo dialup access numbers
• Earthlink dialup access numbers
• Fry’s dialup access numbers
• NetZero dialup access numbers

Sometimes it is not easy to find local access numbers for an ISP through their website. For example, I could not find a list of access numbers on the PeoplePC website. If you run into a similar situation, follow these four steps to find a list of local access numbers:

4 steps to find out local access numbers for your ISP

1. Install the ISP dialer program.”What!? I was just told that it’s the most evil thing in the world!“, you are thinking. Do not worry. We will remove the dialer program in the fourth step.
2. Use the dialer software to find a list of local access numbers. The dialer software will show you a list of local access numbers before it connects you to the internet.
3. Write down all the local access numbers for later reference.
4. Uninstall the dialer software.

You now have a list of local access numbers you can use to connect to the internet. Whenever you feel like surfing the web, simply go into your network connections area and open the connection you created. The benefits of taking this route are simple: you save time by connecting in fewer steps, you do not install any additional programs that you do not need, and you end up saving a little bit bandwidth.

I hope this helps you in some way. If you have any questions or comments, please let me know either via email or by posting a comment here. Thank you for reading this.

Updates
I am getting several e-mails from many people asking questions about the direct dialing route I post above. I will slowly add updates to this page to include any questions that may help you successfully dial into your ISP without using your ISP’s dialer software.

February 15th, 2007 - 9:05 am PST

The following question was sent to me by a wonderful reader who said that basically they could not connect directly to PeoplePC using my method above when they used their usernames which otherwise worked well when used in the PeoplePC dialer software. If you enter your username and it gets denied, try entering your full PeoplePC or your ISP e-mail address in the login box [like username@peoplepc.com ] . That should solve the issue. If you are using your e-mail to login, try entering only your username [username instead of username@peoplepc.com ]. Basically you are switching the two to see if you can login, and in most cases, you will be able to login without further issues. Thank you.

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I timed how long it took PeoplePC to disconnect me on random days, and noticed that it ranged from 3 to 4 hours for any local number I dialed into. It’s inconvenient to be disconnected like that, so I thought PeoplePC was disconnecting me because I wasn’t using their software. I downloaded their software to see if I was being disconnected simply because of that reason. Their software was simply a dialer that dialed into PeoplePC and showed the PeoplePC member homepage after a connection was established. The software kept running in the taskbar while allowing users to access the internet. However, even when I had connected using their software, a very happy “disconnect warning” box popped up on the screen after about 3 hours, advising me that the internet connection would be dropped in 10 minutes, and I could reconnect again immediately if I wished. The box also told me that this was the limitation of their basic plan, and that I could get their advanced plan to avoid this forever.

Somehow, PeoplePC didn’t appear to be offering the “unlimited access” that it claimed to. I used to have AOL and other dialup ISP’s long time ago and they didn’t disconnect users even after being connected for 12 hours or so. Searching through the PeoplePC help pages, I found the following section which talks about being disconnected automatically:

The reference to broadband connections having service interruptions didn’t make sense, as those interruptions are accidental and rare, whereas PeoplePC had a different connection technology [dialup] and was disconnecting on purpose simply because majority of the users were online for no more than an hour. Also, it is not the very nature of electro-communication medium that the connection be temporary after every hour, contrary to what PeoplePC is trying to imply in the last sentence of the above quote. The point of the entire paragraph itself is nullified because when you use the PeoplePC software to connect to the internet, the pop-up box that tells the user about the connection being dropped in 10 minutes also tells the user that if they purchase a higher PeoplePC plan, they will not be subject to such an annoyance. Sorry, I meant “limitation.”

For many people, staying online means accessing different email accounts and services. Using a dialup as a connection, that sometimes takes more than an an hour. PeoplePC does not mention the fact about disconnection during the sign-up process, nor does it mention it in their terms of service or the contract agreement you agree to abide by. Thus, for many people, if not most, PeoplePC is not cheap unless you get their premium plan, and you won’t know about it unless you get disconnected all of a sudden. Or unless you read about it here just now or somewhere else online.

Thus, with or without the PeoplePC software, you’ll get disconnected from the internet after a while if you get their basic plan, even though PeoplePC claims they offer “unlimited access.” And even though PeoplePC states on their site that this disconnection is because of “the very nature of electro-communication medium“, their own PeoplePC software implies otherwise by telling users to pay more for a higher price in order to get a connection that will not be dropped after a while.

What do you think about this? Have you ever experienced something similar?

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I’ve used AOL in the past as a backup, in case my broadband connection ever went down, or while moving to a place and waiting for a broadband connection to be setup. The “No Credit Card Required” slogan is wrong and misleading; you are required to give out your credit card information when taking the free trial offer. When I asked the customer support why this is the case, they said “We only take the credit card information in case you decide to continue using AOL after the free trial period, in which case you don’t have to go through the hassle of calling us again, and you can continue to use your AOL account uninterrupted.” I think AOL can easily identify trial users by their names, phone numbers and addresses, and taking a credit card is in simple terms cashing in on the idea that the person will be charged automatically for at least one month in case they forget to cancel, and thus will be charged.

I’ve recently noticed PeoplePC, a newcomer in the field, advertise its service heavily. They’re trying to take dial-up customers away from AOL, using the same ads that have annoyed the living daylights out of many AOL customers. Be careful if you sign up with any service that says it will take your credit card information and yet won’t charge you; many times, such as in the case of AOL, you have to send a written letter to get your credit card information and your account deleted from their servers. Still, that won’t take you off their “spam with AOL offer cd and emails” list, but that’s a topic for another day.

May be I should get a TiVo and do away with advertisements all together.

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