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Sonic.net Accelerator General Reference

This document provides instructions for miscellaneous tasks that are to a greater or lesser degree common for users of the Sonic.net Accelerator software. If you are just starting to troubleshoot a problem with your Sonic.net Accelerated Dialup, you may wish to start with the Sonic.net Accelerator FAQ.

Using Internet Explorer and AdSubtract with Sonic.net Accelerator

Sonic.net Accelerator + AdSubtract and Internet Explorer Like Sonic.net Accelerator, AdSubtract uses a local proxy server. In order to use Proper Accelerator on a system running AdSubtract, some minor changes to preferences are needed.

The following steps allow you to "chain" Sonic.net Accelerator and AdSubtract proxy settings together for use with Internet Explorer. Although there are a number of steps, each takes only a few moments to accomplish.

Configure Internet Explorer

  1. Click on the Sonic.net Icon and and choose "options" then "advanced" and make sure that Sonic.net is set to "only accelerate connections without proxy conflicts"
  2. From Internet Explorer select Tools -> Internet Options--> click on the Connections tab.
  3. Select the connection you are using (typically from the Dial-up settings list -- it may already be selected).
  4. Click Settings... 
  5. Make sure that the "Use a proxy server for this connection" checkbox is checked. If not, do so.
  6. Click the Advanced... button. 
  7. Make sure that the proxy address for HTTP is set to 127.0.0.1. If the proxy address is missing or is some other value, change it to 127.0.0.1 (AdSubtract may have automatically changed this setting at some point to "AdSubtract" -- that is fine.) Make sure that the port number is set to 4444, AdSubtract's default proxy server port number. If the port number is missing or different, change it to 4444.

Configuration Changes to AdSubtract 

  1. Double-click on the AdSubtract icon in the taskbar (near the system clock).
  2. Click on the Proxy tab. Make sure that the checkbox "Use next-hop HTTP proxy server" is checked. If not, do so. 
  3. Set the HTTP Proxy to "localhost" (without quotation marks).
  4. Set the port number to the Sonic.net Accelerator proxy server port number. By default this number is 8080, but it may be different on your system. 
  5. Make sure that the checkbox "Use an AOL proxy" is not selected. 
  6. Click OK.

Verification

You can verify that both AdSubtract and Sonic.net Accelerator are working together when: 

  • The Sonic.net Accelerator icon (blue propeller near the system clock) shows moving arrows when you browse the Internet.
  • The diagnostic test provided with AdSubtract succeeds. Double-click on the AdSubtract icon (yellow circle near system clock). From the Main menu click the Test Filtering button and follow the screen instructions. Re-Enabling AdSubtract After Stopping Sonic.net Accelerator

Important: Sonic.net Accelerator is run in the background at all times. If you stop or uninstall Sonic.net Accelerator, you will get a message indicating that you need to change your Internet Explorer HTTP proxy setting. However, since the proxy setting is pointing to AdSubstract, you actually do not need to alter the browser settings. Instead, re-enable AdSubtract after stopping or uninstalling Sonic.net Accelerator by following these steps: 

  1. Double-click on the AdSubtract icon (in the taskbar, near the system clock). 
  2. Select the Proxy tab.
  3. De-select the "Use next-hop HTTP proxy server" checkbox. 
  4. Click Apply, then OK.
  5. Verify using the diagnostic test provided with AdSubtract.
  6. Double-click on the AdSubtract icon.
  7. From the Main menu click the Test Filtering button and follow the screen instructions.

Using Cookie Crusher with Sonic.net Accelerator

You will need to make a change to Cookie Crusher. See the steps below:

  1. Click the small blue propeller icon and select Options, Advanced. Write down the port number. You will need this later. Click Cancel.
  2. From Internet Explorer, select Tools, Internet Options. Click the Connections tab. Select the connection you are using. Click Settings.
  3. Select the Use a proxy server for this connection check box. Then click the Advanced button.
  4. Make sure that the proxy address for the HTTP port address is set to 127.0.0.1, and the port is set to 5555. Click OK.
  5. Right-click on the Cookie Crusher icon located in the corner of the taskbar near the clock. Choose Show from the menu.
  6. On the left side of the Cookie Crusher control panel window, click Configuration and select Chain to the following proxy server.
  7. In the box directly below, enter localhost. In the port number area to the right, enter the Sonic.net Accelerator port number, usually 8080
  8. Close the Cookie Crusher control panel and start browsing.
  9. You can verify that Sonic.net Accelerator is working when the Sonic.net Accelerator icon (blue propeller near the system clock) shows moving arrows when you browse the Internet.

Norton Internet Securities with Sonic.net Accelerator?

If you're running Norton Internet Securities 2004, you will need to make a change.

  1. Click on the NIS 2004 system tray icon and choose "Norton Internet Security" from the top of the list.
  2. Click on "options" at the very top
  3. Click on the "firewall" tab
  4. Under "HTTP port list" find the number "8080" in the list, highlight it and click on the "remove" button.
  5. Click "ok"

This is a bug with Norton Internet Security 2004, Norton Internet Security 2003 works with no problems.

Proxomitron with Sonic.net Accelerator

First you will need to make some changes. Proxomitron uses a local proxy and 8080. You need to first confirm that your browser is configured for port 8080 then change the port on the Sonic.net Accelerator and configure Proxomitron for the Sonic.net Accelerator port.

Internet Explorer

  1. From Internet Explorer select Tools -> Internet Options. Then click on the Connections tab. Select the connection you are using. Click Settings...
  2. Make sure that the "Use a proxy server for this connection" checkbox is checked. If not, do so. Then click the Advanced... button.
  3. Make sure that the proxy address for HTTP port address is set to "localhost" (no quotes) and the port is set to 8080. Click OK and exit it out.
  4. Click on the small blue propeller icon and select Options, then click on the Advanced... Change the port to 8081 and click apply.
  5. Right-click on the Proxomitron icon in the system tray and select the control panel. Check the "use remote proxy" box.
  6. Click on the proxy button and type in localhost:8081
  7. Click "ok".
  8. You can verify that Sonic.net Accelerator is working when: The Sonic.net Accelerator icon (blue propeller near the system clock) shows moving arrows when you browse the Internet.

Netscape

  1. Click on the Netscape Edit menu and select Preferences...
  2. Double click on the Advanced category.
  3. Click on Proxies.
  4. Click View [Netscape 4.7 only]
  5. Make sure that the "Manual proxy configuration" radio button is selected.
  6. Click in the HTTP Proxy area and enter the word "localhost" without the quotes.
  7. Click in the HTTP Port area and enter port 8080. Save changes and exit out.
  8. Click on the small blue propeller icon and select Options, then click on the Advanced... Change the port to 8081 and click apply.
  9. Right-click on the Proxomitron icon in the system tray and select the control panel. Check the "use remote proxy" box.
  10. Click on the proxy button and type in localhost:8081
  11. Click "ok".
  12. You can verify that Sonic.net Accelerator is working when: The Sonic.net Accelerator icon (blue propeller near the system clock) shows moving arrows when you browse the Internet.

RealOne Player with Sonic.net Accelerator

The initial RealOne Player proxy settings may need to be adjusted before you can use RealOne Player with Sonic.net Accelerator.

If you encounter connectivity problems using RealOne Player when Sonic.net Accelerator is active, make the following configuration changes to RealOne.

  1. Select the Tools menu.
  2. Select the Preferences... menu option.
  3. Double-click on Connections.
  4. Click Proxy.
  5. Under HTTP Proxy Options select the "Use proxy" radio button.
  6. Make sure the proxy address is set to localhost. Make sure the Ports setting adjacent to the proxy address matches that in use by Sonic.net Accelerator. The default Sonic.net Accelerator port number is 8080.

We-Blocker with Sonic.net Accelerator

You will need to make a change to We-Blocker see steps below:

  1. Obtain the Proxy port used by Sonic.net Accelerator. Click the small blue propeller icon near your system clock.
  2. Select Options, Advanced. Write down the port number.
  3. Click the We-Blocker icon We.
  4. Select Master Controls, and enter the password. Click OK.
  5. Select the System Settings tab.
  6. Select the Network tab.
  7. In the Proxy Settings frame, select the check box for We-Blocker is behind a
    proxy server.
  8. Enter localhost in Proxy Server IP address and enter the Sonic.net Accelerator port number (such as 8080) in the Proxy Server HTTP Port.
  9. Click Save and Close.

WebWasher with Sonic.net Accelerator

The following steps allow you to use Sonic.net Accelerator and WebWasher together for use with Internet Explorer. Although there are a number of steps, each is easily accomplished.

  1. The order in which Internet Explorer, WebWasher, and Sonic.net Accelerator programs start is not important.
  2. From Internet Explorer select Tools -> Internet Options. Then click on the Connections tab.
  3. Select the connection you are using (typically from the Dial-up settings list -- it may already be selected). Click Settings...
  4. Make sure that the "Use a proxy server for this connection" checkbox is checked. If not, do so. Then click the Advanced... button.
  5. Make sure that the proxy address for HTTP is set to 127.0.0.1. If the proxy address is missing or is some other value, change it to 127.0.0.1
  6. Make sure that the port number is set to 8080, WebWasher's default proxy server port number. If the port number is missing or different, change it to 8080.
  7. Right-click on the WebWasher icon in the taskbar (near the system clock). Then click on "preferences".
  8. Make sure that the checkbox "Client" is checked. If not, do so.
  9. Set the HTTP1 Proxy to "localhost" (without quotation marks). Then set the port number to the Sonic.net Accelerator proxy server port number. By default this number is 8080, but it may be different on your system. Click here for instructions on verifying the Sonic.net Accelerator HTTP proxy port number.
You can verify that both WebWasher and Sonic.net Accelerator are working together when:
  • The Sonic.net Accelerator icon (blue propeller near the system clock) shows moving arrows when you browse the Internet.
  • The WebWasher icon changes to blue when surfing and encountering filtered content. To test WebWasher, you can go to the WebWasher test page at:

    http://www.webwasher.com/en/products/wwash/testpag1.htm

    If you do not get the above results:

    • Double-check the changes you made and the settings you verified.
    • Reboot and verify settings. Then retest Sonic.net Accelerator and WebWasher, as described above.
    Important: Sonic.net Accelerator is designed to be able run in the background at all times. If you stop or uninstall Sonic.net Accelerator, the proxy settings changes you made to Internet Explorer will be lost. For this reason it is suggested that if you want to use Sonic.net Accelerator with WebWasher that you not disable or stop Sonic.net Accelerator. If you do so, you will need to reset the proxy address and port in the browser.
    Here's how to re-enable WebWasher after stopping Sonic.net Accelerator:
    • Double-click on the WebWasher icon (in the taskbar, near the system clock).
    • Uncheck the Client checkbox.
    • Click OK.
    You can verify that WebWasher is working by going to the WebWasher test page.

ZoneAlarms with Sonic.net Accelerator

Note: There is a known incompatibility problem between the Sonic.net Accelerator and Zone Alarm 6. There is no known workaround available to make these two products work properly with each other at this time.

If you are using Zone Alarm Pro, please click here for important details. You do need to answer two ZoneAlarm questions properly so that it will allow Sonic.net Accelerator to accelerate your Web browsing experience. It is best to exit Sonic.net Accelerator and restart it. As soon as Sonic.net Accelerator starts the first time under ZoneAlarm, the ZoneAlarm questions will appear.

  • The first question will asked if it OK for Sonic.netAC.exe to act as a server. You can answer "No" to this question since Sonic.net Accelerator only needs to act as a server for connections originating inside your computer. However it is important to check the box which says, "Remember this answer".
  • Next ZoneAlarm will ask "Sonic.netAC.exe want to acccess this Internet. Is this OK?". This question will not come up until you begin accessing the Internet using Sonic.net Accelerator. For this question you should answer "Yes" and also check the box "Remember this answer" in order for Sonic.net Accelerator to operate properly.

Note: Sonic.net Accelerator will not operate properly if you reboot your computer before answering the ZoneAlarm questions.

Seeing partial or incomplete page loads with Sonic.net Accelerator

There are two software applications that may cause this problem.

Zone Alarm Pro

Zone Alarm Pro, a product from Zone Labs. This will result in pages only partially loading and then stopping ("timing out"). This issue has been fixed by Zone Labs. Please upgrade to Zone Alarm Pro version 4.5.xxx.xxx or later.

Norton Internet Securities

If you're running Norton Internet Securities 2004, you will need to make a change.

1. Click on the NIS 2004 system tray icon and choose "Norton Internet Security" from the top of the list.

2. Click on "options" at the very top

3. Click on the "firewall" tab

4. Under "HTTP port list" find the number "8080" in the list, highlight it and click on the "remove" button.

5. Click "ok"

This is a bug with Norton Internet Security 2004, early versions of Norton Internet Security 2003 works with no problems.

Finding out what proxy port number Sonic.net Accelerator is using

Follow these steps to check the Sonic.net Accelerator proxy port number:

  1. Click the small blue Sonic.net Accelerator icon (located in the taskbar by the system clock).
  2. Click Options...
  3. Click Advanced...
  4. Note the port number. You will need this number to configure Netscape, Opera, or Mozilla to work with Sonic.net Accelerator.
  5. Click OK.

View the original graphic quality of specific image or Web page

If you are using Internet Explorer, simply move your mouse over an image on a Web page and right-click. You'll see that two new options are available:

Refresh Page with Full Quality.
Refresh Picture with Full Quality. When your mouse is over a graphic.

If you select one of these options, Sonic.net Accelerator will replace the compressed graphic image with an original quality version. When the Sonic.net Accelerator icon arrows stop moving, the new image is in place.

The right-click options are not available in Outlook, Netscape, Opera or Mozilla. Please follow these steps.

  1. Click once on the small blue propeller icon located near your system clock. Select Disable Sonic.net Accelerator
  2. Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the refresh icon on the browser toolbar. The compressed graphic image will be replaced with an original quality version.

In Outlook use the Save As command to save the file in HTML format to your desktop, then double click it to view in your browser. Once in your browser, you can use the Refresh With Full Quality right-click commands.

Note:

  • When you first install Sonic.net Accelerator, it is necessary to close and then restart IE in order to have the Refresh Page and Refresh Picture right-click menu options available.
  • If you want to save the original quality of an image to your hard drive you will first need to refresh the original quality.
  • If you wish to change the graphics quality setting, click on the small blue propeller icon located near your system clock and select options.
  • If you uninstalled Sonic.net Accelerator and you want to remove the degraded images, click here for details.

If you have specific Web pages you do not want accelerated and therefore always see original image quality follow these instructions.

Microsoft Internet Explorer

  1. Go to the specific Web page. Right-click on the Web URL in the browser address bar and select copy.
  2. From Internet Explorer select Tools --> Internet Options. Then click on the Connections tab. Select the connection you are using. Click Settings...
  3. Click the Advanced... button.
  4. Click in the Exceptions box, right-click and select paste.
  5. Click OK
  6. Clear your Browser and Sonic.net Cache.


Images still degraded after uninstalling Sonic.net Accelerator

In order to speed up web browsing, web browsers are designed to download parts of web pages and store them locally on your machine in an area called "cache" all so known as temporary files. When you visit the same page for a second time, the browser speeds up display time by loading the parts of the page locally from your cache instead of downloading from the Web site. As a result it will use degraded images from your cache. To remove these degraded images so the browser will load new ones from the Web site simply delete your browser cache.

If you are still using Sonic.net Accelerator you will also need to delete the Sonic.net Accelerator cache. You can do so by clicking on the small blue propeller icon near your system clock, click on options, click on Temporary Files, click on the Delete Files.. button.

Internet Explorer

  1. Select "Tools > Internet Options..." from the main menu
  2. You should be on the "General" tab
  3. Click on "Delete Files" button

Netscape

  1. Select "Edit > Preferences..." from the main menu
  2. Change to the "Advanced > Cache" section
  3. Click on "Clear Memory Cache" and "Clear Disk Cache" buttons to clear memory and disk cache

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