Sept 7, 2007: End of Usenet News Service
As of Jan 1, 2008 we will no longer be offering Usenet News (NNTP) service. There aren't enough users to justify continuing it any more.
Aug 1, 2007: New Speed Test
We have a new
July 25, 2007: Dial-In Change
On Saturday, 8/4, we plan to switch to a new Dial-In (56K and IDSN) server. The new server requires the suffix "@dial.sstar.com" be added to your current Dial-In Username. For example, "jdoe" becomes "jdoe@dial.sstar.com". You can make this change now, as the current Dial-In server will accept either format. Your Dial-In Password remains the same.
May 8, 2007: Wi-Fi
We now offer Wi-Fi equipment, setup and service. Check out our
Mar 5, 2007: Larger Mail Accounts
The default size of mail accounts was increased from 20M to 30M.
Jan 8, 2007: ADSL Extras
Our ADSL Setup now includes an ADSL2+ Modem/Router with Firewall, ADSL Filters (if needed) and a Surge Protector for the phone line (while supplies last).
Nov 30, 2006: Custom ADSL
In some areas we now offer Custom ADSL with speeds up to 8M down and 1M up, in addition to faster upload speeds in general. Check out the complete list on our
Aug 9, 2006: 256K ADSL
The 256K / 128K speed ADSL is available again.
Jun 12, 2006: Southern Star now part of Integrated Data Systems and Hunt Telecom
Southern Star is pleased to announce that we are now part of Integrated Data Systems and Hunt Telecom. IDS operates the Co-Location facility where our equipment has been located for the last 3 years, among other things and Hunt Telecom is a telephone company. This merger allows Southern Star to offer additional services and gives us a larger staff with a more varied expertise.
You shouldn't notice any change to your service. We will gradually be making some improvements but nothing which should disrupt your normal operations. Billing will be on a more regular basis as the accounting info is moved to the new system.
You can reach us just as before. The only changes are that the mailing address will gradually shift from the PO Box to Southern Star, 106 Metairie Lawn Dr #300, Metairie LA 70001, and the fax number is now 504-832-1877.
If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to
Feb 18, 2006: ADSL Modems
In addition to our standard ADSL2+ Modem/Router/Switch we now also have an ADSL2+ Modem/Router. It costs a bit less for those who only plan to connect one computer or have their own Switch.
Jan 2, 2006: ADSL Surge Protectors
We have a new supply of ADSL Surge Protectors. These protect your ADSL modem against electrical surges on the phone line. We are giving them away to customers as long as our supply lasts. Contact us if you would like one. No charge!
Dec 22, 2005: FTP Server Upgrade
The FTP server has been upgraded.
Nov 4, 2005: ADSL Changes
As of Nov 15, 2006 there will be some ADSL changes.
First, the 256K / 128K speed ADSL will no longer be available. Customers using this speed will be upgraded to the 1.5M / 256K speed (and rate).
Second, the Bridged type of ADSL connection will no longer be available. Customers will need to convert to the PPPoE type. Check here to learn what's involved in
Oct 1, 2005: ADSL Rate Decrease
The ADSL 20+ Business Use group has been merged into the 10-19 group at its lower rate.
Aug 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina
Thanks to our rugged Co-Location facility, we weathered the storm just fine. Unfortunately, the backup generator's fuel line clogged, thus taking us off line on Aug 29 at 1:34pm. It took a while to diagnose and repair this. Meanwhile, we moved the DNS, Web and Mail servers to another site and were back on line on Sep 1 at 10:00pm.
Once the generator was repaired and the facility operational again, we moved the servers back and reestablished the rest of the services on Sep 6 between 8:00am and 1:05pm. Needless to say, steps have been taken to reduce the impact of any generator problems in the future.
Please contact us for credit if you experienced any down time.
Aug 18, 2005: Spam Article
Check out ISP-Planet's
Jul 22, 2005: Co-Location Access
Co-Locations Admins are now issued security passes allowing them 24x7x365 access.
Jun 24, 2005: New IP Address Space
We have been issued new IP Address Space, 204.14.144.0/21. Those with old addresses (209.205.176.0/22) will gradually be renumbered to new addresses.
Feb 18, 2005: 3M ADSL Upgrade
Over the next month, 3M ADSL links will be upgraded to 3.5M. No charge!
Dec 27, 2004: New Spam Scoring
We are running a new
Sep 29, 2004: Mail Account Sizes
The default size of mail accounts was increased from 10M to 20M.
Sep 25, 2004: Personal Web Sites
The personal web sites were moved from the old web server to the new web server.
Sep 19, 2004: DNS Server Upgrade
The master DNS server, ns.sstar.com, has been upgraded.
Sep 15, 2004: New Monitoring System
A new Network and Server Monitoring System has been installed.
Jul 12, 2004: Outgoing Mail
Users who connect to our mail server via an ISP other than Southern Star and who use POP3 accounts will have to make some changes to their mail configuration. Check the
Jul 5, 2004: SPF and Spam
SPF is a new mail forgery detection scheme which is currently being adopted. As more ISP's make use of it, it will become more effective. By validating the "from" address, it will stop those spam and virus messages which use fake "from" addresses. For a link to more information check our
We have implemented SPF verification on incoming mail. Thus mail from any domain which supplies SPF information will have its source verified before our mail server accepts it.
We are also supplying SPF information for outgoing mail for all of the domains which we host. This allows other ISP's to verify mail claiming to be from these domains before they accept it. SPF for the domains which have no mail service is operational now. SPF for the domains which do have mail service is currently in the SPF test mode. Before the latter group can be made operational two things have to take place.
1) Users who connect via other ISP's to our mail server and use POP3 or IMAP4 accounts will have to make some changes to their mail configuration. Check the
2) Our mail server needs to have the SRS enhancements so that it will forward mail according to the SPF requirements. We don't know exactly how long this will take, but the software author is working on it.
We will send out an announcement before converting the rest of the domains from test mode to operational.
