Next Generation Web Accelerator
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User Guide for SlipStream SP5.0
MegaBoost is powered by SlipStream's patented technology.

Click here for information about NOW!Imaging.

This document will familiarize you with the features of SlipStream Web Accelerator Version 5.0 and later.

1. Using SlipStream Web Accelerator

2. Accessing SlipStream Web Accelerator Advanced Options

3. Uninstalling

Need further assistance? Please feel free to contact us for product information or feedback.

Launching SlipStream Web Accelerator

SlipStream Web Accelerator launches automatically each time you start Windows. It operates in the background to accelerate your Internet connection. No user intervention is required.

If SlipStream Web Accelerator is not running and you need to launch it manually, an icon titled "SlipStream Web Accelerator" is located in the Windows Start Menu under the SlipStream folder (as shown below).

If SlipStream Web Accelerator is running, the SlipStream system tray icon will appear in the Windows system tray (as shown below).

Accessing User Interface

Once launched, the SlipStream Web Accelerator icon will remain in the system tray (as shown below).

In general, there will be no need to change the settings during web browsing. You can use the user interface to change settings, access the Privacy Manager, view the connection status, and check the acceleration statistics. To access the user interface features, click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator icon in the system tray (shown above). A pop-up menu will appear (shown below), providing access to all the features of the product. Selecting and single-clicking any of the menu items will access that particular feature.

 

Setting Username and Password Information

Your username and password information is located under the Connection tab. To set the username and password:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon and select "Settings..." from the menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Click on the "Connection" tab.

·         Enter your username and password in the fields provided. To avoid having to do this each time you connect, ensure that the "Save password" box is checked.

·         To save your settings, press "OK". The changes will take effect the next time SlipStream Web Accelerator is restarted.

 

 

Changing Image Quality Settings

The image quality setting changes the quality of images that appear in your SlipStream Web Accelerator. The higher the quality you select, the longer it will take for the image to load. For slower Internet connections, it is recommended that you lower your image quality. This slider can be adjusted anytime while browsing.

You can easily obtain original image quality for a particular image (See "Getting Original Image Quality"), so don't be overly conservative about lowering your image quality setting.

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select "Settings...".

·         Select the "Image Quality" tab.

·         Use the slider to adjust the Image Quality settings.

·         Press "OK" to save the settings.

 

Getting Original Image Quality

Note: The following information applies only when browsing with Internet Explorer 5.0 or later, Firefox 1.0 or later, Mozilla 1.7.3 or later and Netscape 7.2 or later.

If you would like to request the original quality image while browsing, simply right click on the desired image within your Web browser and select "Show Original Image" from the menu (shown below).

The original quality image will appear in place of the lower quality image (shown below).

If you want to see the original quality version of all images on the current page, simply right click on any image within your Web browser and select "Show All Original Images" from the menu (shown below).

 

 

Starting and Stopping SlipStream Web Accelerator

When SlipStream Web Accelerator is launched it automatically connects. Occasionally, you may need to stop or start SlipStream Web Accelerator manually.

Stopping SlipStream:

If you want to manually disconnect SlipStream Web Accelerator, click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Stop SlipStream".

The icon that indicates SlipStream Web Accelerator is disabled will appear on the system tray (shown below).

Starting SlipStream:

If SlipStream Web Accelerator is stopped and you want to start it manually, click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Select the menu item "Start SlipStream".

The icon that indicates SlipStream Web Accelerator is disabled will now be replaced by the enabled icon (shown below).

Closing SlipStream Web Accelerator

To close SlipStream Web Accelerator:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon and select "Exit" from the pop-up menu. SlipStream Web Accelerator will disconnect and close. Doing this will not close any open Web browser windows.

Note: SlipStream Web Accelerator will automatically launch again the next time you reboot your computer.

 

Viewing Acceleration Statistics

You can view the acceleration statistics and how they change dynamically using the Statistics dialog.

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select "Statistics..." to display the Statistics summary dialog.

·         Click "Reset" to reset the statistics. This can be done at anytime (even while browsing) without affecting SlipStream Web Accelerator's performance or operation.

·         Click the "Details" button to view more detailed statistics (see below).

The following table provides a description of the statistics that are displayed:

Original Data

Size of the original (uncompressed) data.

Actual Data

Amount of compressed data that has been sent by SlipStream Web Accelerator.

Savings Ratio

Factor of reduction in data. E.g. A savings ratio of 4.00 means that the actual data that has been sent is 1/4 the size of the original data due to compression.

Text-based

Statistics regarding compression of text-based content.

Graphics

Statistics regarding compression of graphical content.

Others

Statistics regarding compression of content that is neither text nor graphical.

Upstream

The total amount of original and compressed data uploaded.

 

Viewing Performance

You can view your SlipStream Web Accelerator's overall performance using the Performance dialog.

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select "Performance..." to display the Performance dialog.

·         Click "Reset" to reset the statistics. This can be done at anytime (even while browsing) without affecting SlipStream Web Accelerator's performance or operation.

From this screen you can view the size of the original (uncompressed) data transferred through SlipStream, the actual (compressed) size of the data, and your savings ratio. For example, a savings ratio of 4.00 means that the actual data that has been sent is 1/4 the size of the original data due to compression.

Also, this window displays the speed of your connection and the estimated amount of downloading/uploading time that has been saved by using SlipStream Web Accelerator. Note that these two features are only available when using a dial-up connection.


 

Changing Connection Settings

Normally, the connection settings that are set during installation do not need to be changed. If your ISP provides new connection settings, you will have to change the preset ones using the "Settings..." dialog.

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select "Settings...".

·         Click on the "Connection" tab.

·         Click on "Advanced...".

·         Change the "Remote Server Hostname" and "Server Port" to the ones that your ISP provided to you. In most cases, it is unnecessary to change the "Local Listening Port".

·         Press "OK" to close the "Connection" dialog box and save your new connection settings. These settings will be changed after you restart Slipstream Web Accelerator.


 

Bypassing SlipStream Web Accelerator for Selected Sites

If you wish to bypass SlipStream Web Accelerator for certain Web sites (e.g. Web sites on your local corporate intranet), then simply select the "Features" tab in the "Settings..." dialog and click on "Proxy Exclusion" (see below). You have two options for bypassing sites:

·         If you have already defined a proxy exclusion list in your Web brower, select "Use browser's proxy exclusion settings" to configure SlipStream Web Accelerator to exclude these sites as well.

·         You may also "Specify a proxy exclusion list" by selecting this option. In the given text field, list all the Web sites, separated by semiculons, that you wish to bypass SlipStream Web Acceleration.

·         Stop and then start SlipStream Web Accelerator.

Note:  Some versions of Netscape do not support the wildcard (*) operator.

Accelerating Flash

SlipStream Web Accelerator can accelerate Flash files. The degree of compression is based on the Image Quality setting.

To enable Flash acceleration:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select "Settings...".

·         Select the "Features" tab.

·         Check "Macromedia Flash".

·         Press "OK" to save the settings.


Accelerating FTP

SlipStream Web Accelerator provides FTP acceleration. If this feature is enabled, both download and upload FTP traffic will be accelerated. FTP acceleration works with any FTP client in both passive and active mode, including Internet Explorer, Cute FTP, WS_FTP and Smart FTP.

To enable FTP acceleration:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select "Settings...".

·         Select the "Features" tab.

·         Check "FTP".

·         Press "OK" to save the settings. The changes will take effect the next time SlipStream Web Accelerator is restarted. You also need to restart the browser if you are using Internet Explorer as your FTP client.

Accelerating Email

SlipStream Accelerator can reduce the amount of time taken to send and receive emails. This feature works with any POP3 or IMAP email accounts. SlipStream Accelerator is compatible with Outlook Express, Eudora, Opera Mail, Pegasus and Netscape Mail. Since SlipStream Accelerator accelerates email automatically without any user intervention, you can use your mail program exactly as you normally would.

To change the email acceleration settings:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select "Settings...".

·         Select the "Features" tab.

·         To enable/disable acceleration in receiving emails from a POP3 account, check/uncheck the "POP3" option.

·         To enable/disable acceleration in sending emails, check/uncheck the "SMTP" option.

·         To enable/disable acceleration in receiving emails from an IMAP account, check/uncheck the "IMAP" option.

·         Press "OK" to save the settings. The changes will take effect the next time that SlipStream Web Accelerator and your mail client are restarted.

 

Blocking In-Page Advertisements

SlipStream Web Accelerator can block many graphical advertisements that appear on various Web pages (i.e. ad banners). Enabling this feature will prevent these ads from being downloaded and displayed in your Web browser. Thus, the Ad-Blocking feature will reduce the time taken to download Web pages.

To enable or disable the Ad Blocker:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon and select "Settings...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select the "Features" tab.

·         To enable ad blocking, check the "Ad-Blocking" box. To disable ad blocking, uncheck it.

·         Press "OK" to save the settings.

Updating Software

AutoUpdate will inform you of any major or minor software upgrades to the SlipStream Service. By default, you will be notified of all software upgrades.

To manually update SlipStream Web Accelerator:

·         Open the "Settings..." dialog. Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Click on the "Update" tab.

·         Select "Update Now" to upgrade to the latest version. Note that the button is disable if no update is available

 

Changing Pop-Up Blocker Settings

SlipStream Web Accelerator can prevent pop-up windows and floating Flash advertisements from appearing while you browse the Internet. This behavior is enabled by default, and no user-intervention is required. However, you can disable these features at any time.

To enable or disable the Pop-Up Blocker:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon and select "Pop-Up Blocker...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select the "Options" tab.

·         If you would like to be notified when a pop-up is being blocked, check "Notify blocked pop-up by PC speaker beep".

·         To enable the blocking of floating Flash advertisements, check "Block Floating Flash-Ads".

·         To disable pop-up blocking for all sites, uncheck "Enable PopUp Blocker".

·         Press "OK" to save the settings.

 

Manipulating Pop-Up Blocker White List

A limited number of Web sites require pop-ups to function correctly. SlipStream Web Accelerator allows you to specify a "White List" of sites where pop-ups will not be blocked.

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon and select "Pop-Up Blocker...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select the "White List" tab.

·         Use the "Add", "Remove" and "Remove All" buttons to manipulate the White List.

·         Press "OK" to save the settings.

To add sites to the White List:

You can add sites to the White List within the Pop-Up Blocker dialogs (which is shown above) or within Internet Explorer.

·         Right click on the page while browsing within Internet Explorer.

·         Select "Add to Whitelist" from the menu to add the current site to the White List.

Accessing Pop-Up Blocker Log

You can also see a list of all pop-ups that were blocked. This information is useful if you suspect a Web site is not functioning properly because pop-ups are being blocked.

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon and select "Pop-Up Blocker...". Please refer to the User Interface section of the product guide for detailed instructions.

·         Select the "Logging" tab.

 

Using Privacy Manager

SlipStream Web Accelerator's Privacy Manager provides a more secure browsing environment. It can clear the cache (Internet Explorer's cache and the cache of any Web browser that uses the same cache folder), cookies, and history in the Temporary Internet Files folder.

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator taskbar icon to access the pop-up menu.

·         Select "Privacy Manager" to bring up the Privacy Manager dialog.

·         Please check the items you would like to clear. For example. If you want to clear the Internet Explorer's cache, please check the option "Delete all cached webpages and other Temporary Internet Files".

·         Click on the "Run" button to start the actions. A dialog "The selected actions have completed successfully" will appear once all the selected items are deleted.

  • Click on the "OK" button to close this window.

·         Click on the "Close" button to exit the Privacy Manager dialog.

 

Running Diagnostics Tool

If you contact your ISP for technical support, the support personnel may request that you send a diagnostics report to them. The diagnostics report contains system information, such as your SlipStream Web Accelerator settings and connectivity, which will allow your ISP to provide further assistance.

To create a diagnostics report:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu.

·         Select "Help" > "Diagnostics" to display the Diagnostics dialog.

·         Click on "Create Report".

·         Launch your email application, compose an email, paste the results into the email (the results have already been copied to your clipboard), and send it to your ISP.

 

Getting Technical Help from Support Website

To get more information on SlipStream Web Accelerator and troubleshooting, please visit our support Website. You can access our support site by clicking on the system tray icon and selecting "Help "> "Support Website".

Accessing Product Version Information

To view the product version information:

·         Click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon to access the pop-up menu.

·         Select "Help" > "About" to display the About dialog (see below).

 

Changing Settings from SlipStream Toolbar

There are two methods to access the SlipStream Web Accelerator menu. For previous versions, you can only access the menu by clicking the system tray. Starting from version 4, you can also access the menu from the SlipStream Toolbar in Internet Explorer (shown below).

To access the SlipStream Web Accelerator menu, simply click the arrow sign beside the SlipStream title on the toolbar and expand the menu items.

Uninstalling SlipStream Web Accelerator

·         Under the Windows Control Panel, select "Add or Remove Programs".

·         Select SlipStream Web Accelerator and click Remove.

·         The uninstaller will launch and guide you through the uninstallation procedure.

 


NOW!Imaging

NOW!Imaging results in web pages that are instantaneously both viewable and usable without sacrifice in image quality.

With this functionality, Slipstream accelerator first loads the images with the lowest quality and then progressively improves the image quality until it reaches the maximum preset value. Quality improvement occurs only if extra bandwidth is available.

Note: This functionality supports IE 6.0 or above and images that are in either GIF or JPEG format. Please note that this function is not used if the Image Quality is set to "Reduced Significantly" or "Original".


To change the NOW!Imaging settings:

·  Right-click on the SlipStream Web Accelerator system tray icon.

·  Select "Settings"

·  Select the "Image Quality" tab

·  To enable/disable NOW!Imaging, check/uncheck "Enable
NOW!Imaging"

·  To make the progress bar of the NOW!Imaging process visible/invisible in the bottom of the supported images, check/uncheck "Show Progress Bars"