IOWA - Lost E-Mails Traced to McLeod Upgrade

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Lost e-mails traced to McLeod upgrade

By Dave DeWitte Gazette assistant financial editor June 27, 2000 10:11 AM

A few thousand customers of McLeodUSA's Internet service may have received less e-mail than they bargained for last weekend.

Up to 3,000 customers of McLeodUSA's Internet service experienced service disruptions over the weekend when efforts to upgrade the company's e-mail server led to the deletion of text messages on certain e-mail clients.

The problem was caused by incompatibility between the new system and Internet customers using Netscape version 4.0 and higher versions of the Netscape Web browser, according to Bruce Tieman, senior manager of external relations for McLeodUSA.

When the affected customers began to log into the e-mail system after the upgrade Friday, it caused the deletion of their e-mail beginning with the "@" symbol in the e-mail message and the text that followed.

McLeodUSA's customer support lines experienced heavy call volume over the weekend as customers called to report the problem.

Customers who called McLeodUSA customer support lines were given instructions for downloading a software patch that would fix the problem. By Monday, it was estimated that more than 80 percent of the affected customers had contacted customer support.

McLeodUSA officials said any remaining customers who are using Netscape 4.0 and higher versions of the Netscape browser should call customer support (toll free) at 1-(877) 556-6556.

Tieman said customers using the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser or versions of the Netscape browser earlier than version 4.0 should not be experiencing the difficulty.

http://www.gazetteonline.com/GCDA/article/1,1098,3992,00.html?nme=Dee&email=Dee360Degree%40aol%2Ecom&zip=28314&curlocation=2&art_ID=3992

-- (Dee360Degree@aol.com), June 29, 2000


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