thanks a bunch for the tip mike.. im not sure what pump does thought, or what it supposed to do. if the isp requires a hostname, will i be given the opportunity to type "pump -h hostname" or should i put that in a script? (btw, im assuming that by hostname you mean the name of my machine; that little name that appears next to the login prompt.) thanks again.. trying to learn a bit here ;> ari arigold@bigfoot.com