<chapter id="getting-online">
<title>Getting online the easy way</title>

<sect1 id="things-to-prepare">
<title>A few things you should have ready before you start</title>

<para>If you have a fairly modern &Linux; distribution, you might find the rest
of this document superfluous.  &kppp; comes with a clever little wizard that in
many cases can have you up and running with an internet connection in just a few
minutes.</para>

<para>Whether using the wizard or not, you should know the following information
before you begin:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>Your <acronym>ISP</acronym> modem pool phone
number.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Your username and password for your
<acronym>ISP</acronym>.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Your <acronym>ISP</acronym>'s <acronym>DNS</acronym> servers
(one is sufficient, but two is better).</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>Other optional information you should find out to fully access your
<acronym>ISP</acronym>'s services are:</para>

<itemizedlist>
<listitem><para>The incoming mail server address (often <systemitem
class="systemname">pop.yourisp.com</systemitem> or <systemitem 
class="systemname">mail.yourisp.com</systemitem>)</para><para>Also find out if
your <acronym>ISP</acronym> uses the POP3 protocol or IMAP.</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The outgoing (<acronym>SMTP</acronym>) mail server address (it
could be the same as the incoming mail server, or it is often called something
like <systemitem
class="systemname">smtp.yourisp.com</systemitem>).</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>The Usenet News (<acronym>NNTP</acronym>) server address (possibly
<systemitem class="systemname">news.yourisp.com</systemitem> or <systemitem
class="systemname">nntp.yourisp.com</systemitem>).</para></listitem>
<listitem><para>Any proxy servers your <acronym>ISP</acronym> has set
up.</para></listitem>
</itemizedlist>

<para>All this information is probably available on any paperwork you received
from your <acronym>ISP</acronym> when you signed up with them, or you can find
it out from your <acronym>ISP</acronym>'s support telephone line.</para>

<para>Armed with the above, and a fairly recent default installation of &Linux;,
you may well find that setting up an internet connection is as simple as running
the &kppp; wizard.</para>
</sect1>

</chapter>
