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Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is Centova Online? A: Centova Online is a web-based instant messenger, based on Centova Technologies' web-based IM product, Centova Messenger. It runs entirely from your browser, which means that you don't need to download any software or plug-ins to use it. You can use it from virtually any computer that can browse the web. Centova Online is our free, public version of our Centova Messenger software. Q: Why would I need Centova Online? A: Centova Online does not require any extra software on your computer. This makes it ideal for use when away from home -- such as at univerisities, Internet cafes, public libraries, or even at your workplace. If you can browse the web from your computer, you can use Centova Online. Centova Online uses the same 128-bit SSL encryption as is used for online banking, so your communications from any of these locations to our servers are secure. Q: My friends/colleagues don't use Centova Online - can I still chat with them? A: Yes, Centova Online integrates with most other popular chat networks. If you have an account on another instant messenger, you can probably use it with Centova Online. Note that you still need to setup a new account with Centova Online first, however. Once you've setup your Centova Online account, you can login and setup your other instant messaging accounts. For a list of chat networks that work with Centova Online, login to your Centova Online account, click the Menu button, choose Account Manager, and then click Manage Accounts. Note that we are not affiliated with any of the third-party chat networks we interoperate with, and we make no guarantees about the reliability of their networks or our continued ability to connect to them. Q: Can I use my existing instant messenger accounts with Centova Online? A: In many cases, yes. Please see the question above for details. Q: Is it really free? A: Yes, it's completely free. We also sell the Centova Messenger software product that powers this site at www.centova.com. Businesses may purchase this software product to run their own, internal Centova Messenger systems. Sales of the product combined with advertising revenue provide the funding necessary to run this free service. Q: Does it contain any spyware or other malware? A: No. Centova Online is a web application, and runs completely from your browser. Thus, even if we wanted to (and we don't!), it would be impossible to install any kind of spyware/malware/junkware, or any other kind of software (good or bad) on your computer. Q: What are the requirements? Can it really be used from any computer? A: The only requirement is that your computer must be running a relatively recent web browser, including any of the following:
You do NOT need Java or any extra plug-ins. The Macromedia Flash plug-in is not required unless you want to use sound. Q: Why do I have to disable my pop-up blocker to use Centova Online? Do you use pop-up ads? A: We do not use pop-up ads. Your pop-up blocker must be disabled because it will not be able to distinguish chat windows and dialogs from pop-up ads. Thus, you will not receive incoming message notifications or other important dialogs while using the service. Some pop-up blockers include a "whitelist" feature, allowing you to disable pop-up blocking for only a selected few web sites. If your pop-up blocker supports this, you should add "www.centova.net" to your whitelist to allow Centova Online to operate. Q: Can I use Centova Online under Linux? A: Yes, Centova Online works with Mozilla and Mozilla Firefox under Linux. (Any Gecko-based browser should work.) Q: Can I use Centova Online on my Mac? A: Yes, Centova Online works with Mozilla Firefox on the Mac. Safari is not currently supported - but we're working on it! Q: Can my Internet cafe/employer/educational institute determine that I'm using this service? A: From an administrator's perspective, at a glance, the use of Centova Online will look no different than any other typical web browsing -- it should not cause any problems that would draw an administrator's attention. However, it is certainly possible for an administrator to determine that you are using the Centova Online service. We strongly recommend against using Centova Online if it violates any policies in your workplace/school/computing environment. Q: Can my Internet cafe/employer/educational institute eavesdrop on my conversations? A: Short answer: If it's a reputable establishment, and you are using Centova Online's "Privacy Mode", then no, probably not. Long answer: Centova Online's "Privacy Mode" uses the same 128-bit SSL encryption as is used for online banking, so any communications are fully encrypted and secure from moment they leave your computer, until the moment they reach our servers. For all practical purposes, it is impossible to break this encryption and "eavesdrop" on your conversations from another computer on the network. However, since your Internet cafe/employer/educational institute owns the computer you are using, nothing (short of privacy laws) prevents them from installing "spy" software (such as keyloggers, screen grabbers, etc.) on the computer to monitor your activities. Thus, we recommend using your discretion when working on any third-party computer. Q: Does Centova Online record my conversations? A: Centova Online does include a conversation logging feature. However, this is intended for your convenience only; if you do not want to use it, you can disable this feature. To do so, click the Menu button, select Preferences, click the Chat tab, and remove the checkmark from the "Store conversation logs" checkbox. Then click OK to save your preferences. Q: What information of mine does Centova Online store? A: By default, Centova Online stores only your E-mail address (as provided when you signed up). We do not use your E-mail address for any purpose other than account verification and lost-password retrieval, nor do we ever share any of your information with any third parties. If you choose to use the third-party chat network integration features, Centova Online also stores your username and password for the third-party chat networks. This is necessary due to the way the underlying Jabber® Server works. If you are not comfortable with this, please do not use the third-party chat network integration features. (Specifically, do not use Manage Accounts feature under the Account Manager menu.) Q: Technically speaking, how does this service work? A: Centova Messenger uses a combination of PHP+MySQL (on the server side) and XHTML+CSS+JavaScript (on the client side). The PHP back-end transmits commands to the browser in realtime, which are then executed using JavaScript to create an interactive interface without the use of plug-ins. On the server-side, Centova Messenger uses the Jabber® Protocol to communicate with other Jabber® Servers and other third-party chat networks. For more information, please see the Centova Messenger product page on our corporate web site. Q: Is there any way I can run the Centova Messenger software on my own web site? A: Yes! Please visit our corporate web site at http://www.centova.com for details on our products and services. You can purchase the product and run it yourself on your own servers with a domain name of your choice. We even offer a limited, free version of the product for personal (non-commercial) use. Q: Where can I get help with the Centova Online public chat service? A: For assistance with Centova Online, please visit the forums. You can access the forums by clicking the link at the bottom of every page on this site. |
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