Another month in the Internet world has gone by without a peep from the usual suspects. ISP filtering seems to have taken a back seat to the federal budget and discussion and speculation about Mr Rudd’s national broadband network still continues.

There is however plenty happening for Amnet customers. YouTube and Google are now peered. This means faster connectivity to these sites and also frees up your normal download allowance.

In our Hot Tips section this month, we part with some pearls of wisdom on the subject of power surges and storms.

We trust you’ll benefit from this months amag and happy 'You-Tubing'. As always you can contact us at amag@amnet.com.au.

The Western Force unfortunately missed another year of finals (they almost made it – again), but that disappointment was short lived for one Force fan: the winner of our May competition, Katherine Belin-Shaw.

Katherine has won a fantastic Western Force jersey, signed by all the players and framed with a certificate of authenticity. We congratulate our lucky winner Katherine and also thank all who participated.

We're please to announce that upgrades to our Cannington, Hamersley, Kingsley and Nedlands exchanges have been completed. This means we now have ports available in all of these exchanges.

Should anyone you know be looking to connect to Amnet's great value broadband in these areas, there has never been a better time. Spaces fill up quick so be sure to let them know sooner than later.

And the winner is...

Congratulations to this month’s winner of our Refer A Friend competition – Yalin Sha.

Yalin Sha accepts her shiny new iPod from Chris.

If you too would like to win the 'funnest' iPod ever with thousands of games applications, there is no time like the present to refer a friend. It’s that simple, every referral gives you a chance to win and your friends a chance to save.

For more information visit our Refer A Friend page.

Don’t Be Thunder Struck This Winter

Winters icy grip will soon be upon us and so too the winter storms that wreak havoc on our Internet connection. This month we're talking about ways the weather wilts your 'inter-web' and how to safeguard yourself.

1. Power Surges / Spikes
Power surges, whilst infrequent, can cause major issues for your ADSL modem. You of course already knew that, right? But did you know that the switching off and on of electrical appliances can also cause power spikes? Static build up from cables and components is another worry.

Our advice – purchase a surge protector; it's the simplest and most convenient method of protection from mains power surges. But be wary, some cheaper surge protectors, especially those found in cheaper power supplies, are effective for only a short period of time and degrade with each surge. Some units also offer protection for your phone lines.

Alternatively, take the simplest approach and pull the plug on your modem when you leave the house for extended periods of time.

2. Power Fluctuations
Whilst more of an annoyance than a destructive force, power fluctuations are a reality. Commonly they occur in older suburbs, when heavy loads are put on old power grids. Whilst they won’t turn your modem into a plastic puddle like a power surge, they can reduce the life of your modem. They have also been known to cause performance issues.

We recommend power cycling your modem from time to time. This involves turning the power off at the wall and back on again or removing the power supply from the wall and re-inserting it. We suggest doing this whenever you experience modem performance issues.

3. Storms and Lightning
Storms, and the resulting electric bursts, are one of the most common reasons electronic goods end up at the tip. How bad can the damage be? Well the electric surge a lightning strike makes can render your semiconductors (computer chips) useless and cause a magnetic field that overwrites and/or destroys your hard drive. In case you thought only a direct lightning strike could cause this damage think again. Strikes over 4km away have been known to cause damage and lets not forget that surges can come through your phone line too.

Our advice – unplug your modem from the power as well as the phone lines the moment a storm rears its ugly head. Surge protectors may save you from some, but not all, electric bursts. Investigate what surge protector you purchase; some protectors only work when earthed and others only cover you for a certain amount of energy (joules).

We hope this saves you some hassles and look forward to bringing you more handy tips next month.