ENHANCED LOGIN SECURITY
(USER ID - IP ADDRESS- MAC ID BINDING)

Dear Sify Broadband subscriber,

It’s been our constant endeavor to enhance “Customer Delight” and towards that we have been continuously upgrading our services as well as network infrastructure basis the feedback received from you. We immensely value these feedback and thank you for the same as it helps us to incorporate the necessary changes required to give you a world class Internet experience.

One of the frequent requests being received by us is to resolve the issue of IP Conflicts. (An IP Conflict happens when a user unknowingly or otherwise makes changes in his IP configuration that is set at the time of installation). If one user has made a change in his IP address then another user who actually owns that particular address is not able to log in as his IP address is already under use. (Please note that this does not affect billing in anyway, as billing is done to your user id and not the IP address). This is similar to a telephone being engaged because somebody else is using the line.

We are pleased to inform you that we would be able to overcome this issue by making certain application and database changes. This is explained in greater detail below. The changes will be effective in a phased manner by each region as per the following schedule:

Western Region: 10th Feb 2005
Northern Region: 15th Feb 2005
Andhra Pradesh: 17th Feb 2005
Rest of South and Eastern Region: 22nd Feb 2005

With effect from the above dates, we are dedicating one Private IP Address for your PC. This IP Address will now work ONLY from your PC. No Other PC will get Connectivity, if your IP address is used. This will help to resolve IP Conflict issues if any.

However, note that you can continue to have multiple userids, with different Product plans, to suit your browsing needs. All these Userids can be used ONLY from your PC and the IP address allocated to you. This enhances the Security of your Account(s) with SIFY Broadband, as your accounts cannot be misused by anyone else from any other PC.

These steps will ensure that you get a hassle free Browsing experience. We request you not to make any change to your IP Address after these changes become effective as per the dates given above, as this could affect your browsing experience.

Happy Surfing

Team SIFY BROADBAND
Frequently Asked Questions
 
1. How do you bind the computer to one IP address only?
 
2. How can I use a night product and a day product as these are two different products and I need to have two different user id’s?
 
3. I am running a cyber cafe and I have only one connection with which I run many PC’s. Can I continue to do this in the new system?
 
4. What happens if I change my LAN card or I reformat my PC, as the earlier LAN card address may be different from the new address or reformatting my PC may lead to some other changes?
 
5. Are there any other potential problems that I can face or that I should be aware of?
 
How do you bind the computer to one IP address only?

In the Ethernet connection that you have, a LAN card is installed in your computer. Each LAN card sends out a unique address called MAC address. This address is read by our application and is then married to your IP address (which is allocated to you as long as your account remains active) and your user id. In this manner each subscriber has a unique combination set of IP address, MAC address and user id.
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How can I use a night product and a day product as these are two different products and I need to have two different user id’s?

This is easily resolved by the application that we have developed. The software allows you to buy as many packs as you want with as many different user id’s (for each member of your family or office you may want to have a different pack). Each of those user id’s are married to the same IP address and the computer (MAC address) where it is being used from. Hence, many user id’s may be married to the same IP and MAC address. However one will not be able to use the same user id from two different PCs or locations.
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I am running a cyber cafe and I have only one connection with which I run many PC’s. Can I continue to do this in the new system?

No you cannot. The unlimited products are not meant for cyber cafe usage. You will need to change your service to a Data Transfer service or an Hourly service and connect each PC separately with your chosen service option. Please note that both data transfer and hourly services have been priced very attractively and offer dedicated speeds. This means you will get a better surfing experience that is very affordable.
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What happens if I change my LAN card or I reformat my PC, as the earlier LAN card address may be different from the new address or reformatting my PC may lead to some other changes?

Such a situation is indeed a challenge to manage as the application runs certain rules automatically and checks for the data that is stored against your user id. If this data has changed, then we need to make a manual intervention and nullify the current data and allow the software to pick up the new data automatically. Hence, if you experience any such problem, please call SIFY customer care or your local operator. To allow for greater flexibility and speed of resolution we have provided tools to your Operator to enable such changes.
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Are there any other potential problems that I can face or that I should be aware of?

On the Internet the number of challenges faced are immense and it is almost impossible to predict what some new software downloaded from the Net or some unknown virus can do to the system.
However with regard to the current changes we will be happy to share here some situations that may be predictable by explaining the process by which our application will work.
When you log in for the first time from now onwards, our system will recognize your systems MAC address, IP address and your user id .
i. If you have however logged in using a computer which is not your regular usage computer then the system would have recorded a different computer address. Hence at a later stage when you use your regular computer, you will not be able to access the net.
ii. If you have logged in using your user id but from a location which has a different IP address then later when you log in from your home/office where you regularly use, you will not be able to access the Net from this location. This is because the software recognizes the original IP address as your main location.
  What do I do in such cases?
You need to inform Sify Customer Care or your area operator that you need to reset the MAC address or the IP address as you may have done the first time login from a different computer/location. Sify Customer care will subsequently validate the change request and make the necessary changes. Please note that this change is a manual process.


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