Then again, I never had an issue with Telefonica/Movistar but I know a lot of you do. If I ever had an issue with their service, I'd call them and they got it sorted. In fact, every service provider I've been with have always been good with me.

At our new house, I've gone with a company called Conecta3 because people said they were good.
They offer various levels of speed on their rural (wifi) internet and I chose their 12Meg offering which was the same price as the 8Meg I had with Enersol. Result, I thought.

Having arranged for their guy to call and do the business, he duly turns up, quick site survey and it's a go'er.
Straps their little receiving dish to the TV aerial pole, cable fed into the house, router connected, pc connected and ......... ooppsss.

I could tell from their faces and the nervous chatter something was wrong. After 30 minutes of the aerial pointer pointing the aerial all over the place and the technico giving instructions it's still not working so they reverse roles. Technico is now on the roof asking for the numbers on the screen.

Another 30 minutes pass and aerial pointer is reunited with technico and they now have happy smiley faces. Internet working and shows the 12Meg I've asked for. Result! and off they go.

3 weeks on and it's not all roses in the garden, far from it. The internet was never that responsive and for 12Meg, I would have expected it to be at least as fast as the 8Meg I'd had previously but no. But at least it worked. Then we've had a little wind which has mucked things up a bit more with virtually no upload speed at all rendering it virtually useless AND I've just received an email wanting 2 months rental. Ha!!! Fat chance.

I've included a picture that will probably help some of you work out why my internet is so poor. The receiving dish is BEHIND a metal chimney!!! DOH!!

For those who don't understand, the dish operates in the same way as your satellite tv dish, it collects the signal and reflects it to the bit in the middle, only in this instance, it collects some of the signal whilst the metal chimney reflects the rest of the signal across it's path and so hinders reception (download) and transmission (upload). Fabulous! So it looks like they're going to have to come back and do the job properly or I'll be going somewhere else.

Whilst my previous supplier, Enersol, didn't have a working signal here, they did offer to set up an experimental solution for me but that was after I'd got Connecta3. I did tell them if Connecta3 couldn't supply the service, I'd let them experiment so that might be my next option.

I'll post an update later.

**Update** 19 June 17.30
Well, went into see Connecta-3 this morning.

It appears someone 'forgot' to tell me that after your first month, they take two months money - one for last month and one for the coming month. That's not bad, taking money for a service you haven't provided yet.

After having this confirmed, I paid my dues and raised the issue about how poor the service is I'm getting. They got my email last week but decided to do nothing. Now I'm speaking to the technical boss who, after making a phone call, assures me the engineer will be here to put things right between 2-3pm and I'm still waiting.

At the moment, every speed test I do fails to upload and sometimes fails on the download. Oh Connecta-3, what a shitty start to a business relationship. Struggling to provide a service and struggling to get the engineer here.

**Update** 25 June 12.20

So, the engineer finally came this week to see what the problem is.

A quick chat and he connects his laptop to the internet (not the router) and after a few clicks doesn't appear impressed. In fact, he's so unimpressed he has to ask what speed I'm supposed to have.

12M says I and see a glimpse of 'oh shit' in his face. Now I reveal the reason it doesn't work - the dish is hiding behind the chimney - so he goes outside to look.

Not impressed, he says it's been installed wrong. I know says I and he explains that he needs to have a look in his van to see if he has a 'U' pipe mount so he can attach it to the tv aerial mast and swing the dish out into the open.

Success, so up the ladder he goes and sets it all up. One small problem arises. He has to call base on his phone whilst repositioning the dish to get a signal. He tells me it's the best he can do without having an accomplice to fine tune it here.

I now have internet (of sorts). The speed test shows the right numbers so he's happy (sort of). Thing is you see, whilst I get the right numbers, the internet is still crap, pages take forever to load and the computer keeps reporting no internet connection on a regular basis.

Would I recommend Connecta-3? In a word no!

I'm sure there are a lot of people out there who don't have any problems with them but I'm a demanding user who pushes my internet connection to it's limits so it simply has to be ultra reliable - which this isn't.

Communicaciones Enersol hardly missed a beat, I had to call them 3 times in four and a half years and they resolved the problem within the hour. I had 8M internet with them and it ran a lot faster then the 12M I currently have, which reminds me of an old saying "it's quality, not quantity, that counts.". Something a lot of us tend to forget.

**Update 6th July **

After living with this for a couple of months now I have to say it's the worst move I've ever made.
Example 1: Emails take what seems forever to open and if it has graphics in it you can be looking at 45 seconds.
Example 2: My downloads constantly disconnect and fail.
Example 3: My TV buffers like crazy.

This is supposed to be 12M internet for goodness sake.

It shows 12M on speed checks but, in real terms, it certainly isn't running anywhere near 6M which can only be down to constraints imposed by the provider.

Based on my experience, my opinion has to be AVOID CONNECTA-3 LIKE THE PLAGUE

** Update 18th Jan 2018 **

We've moved house and I've switched suppliers to ComEnersol who I had before the disastrous Conecta3 fiasco.

Was it worth it? Oh yes!! 8 meg internet €10 cheaper than C3 12 meg and it works. No buffering TV, no disconnecting downloads and email attachments open when clicked.

This confirms my earlier statement in respect of C3 rural (wifi) internet - avoid it like the plague, it's total crap!!

This is a little rant I'm afraid. I know it's basically my fault BUT!!!!!

Sometimes when at clients premises, I have to use a series of rescue/installation discs to resolve an issue.

Sometimes, it can take quite a few hours to sort out the multiple problems people allow to accumulate on their computer before seeking professional help. A lot of which is helped along by the 'bar room fixers' who know absolutely sod all in real terms about much at all.

They don't know what the real problem is because they've not seen it and clients rarely know how to describe the problem fully anyway - not that there's anything wrong with that, I don't expect it.

The client then goes and mis-follows the wrong advice they've been given and make an even bigger dogs breakfast of the whole thing and after they've totally screwed their computer, they call me.

Now to the point of my rant.

After I've spent hours sorting out the cock-up, I put my things back in my bag (or so I think) and head off home. Some days, or even weeks, later I open my bag looking for the discs to find that I've accidentally left at my clients.

The annoying thing is the client, who now has a full set of service and recovery discs that I've paid for, and doesn't have a clue in hell how to use them, hasn't had the decency to ring me and let me know I've left them. This has happened every time I've done it.

I now have to go through the time and expense of getting a new set of dics together.

ONE THING YOU GET FROM ME IS HONESTY, IF YOU CAN'T RETURN THE FAVOUR THEN YOU DON'T DESERVE THE SERVICES I OFFER.

​I will work out where I left them and that person will have a heavy bill next time they call me!

It just goes to show, there's a lot of really dishonest immigrants out there.

Starting on the 1st April, we will be lowering our monthly line rental on standard installations from €11.98 to €9.99.

This will apply to all our existing customers currently paying €11.98 monthly rental and for all new standard installations from that date.

What are you waiting for? Our line rental and call charges are lower than just about everyone else on the market so get connected NOW and save!

Our standard pricing beats BT & Virgin in the UK and Telefonica, Direct Telecom, Spantel and Europa and many others in Spain.

Why are you paying more than you need to?

We can even integrate your existing phone line into our voip system with no extra monthly rental allowing you to easily take advantage of our rates. Typical rates are €0.007 per minute to UK and €0.012 per minute to Spain.

Yes, you read that right, less than 1 cent a minute to the UK, that's 1 hour for only 42 cents so work out how much you're overpaying with your current provider or if you'd like us to do the maths, just send a copy of your current bill and we'll do it for you - no problem.

All prices include IVA

If you ever needed a reason to move away from a Windows OS, this is it.

The Cryptolocker Virus is gaining victims by the hour and there is very little you can do about it.

When you know you have this particular virus, the damage has already been done. The way it works is by getting into your system via email, social media sites (facebook), pirate downloads or other infected website that you happen to drop on. It then starts encrypting EVERY data file on your Windows PC using industry standard technology as used by places such as The Pentagon and other high profile organisations.

There are currently only 2 ways to get your data back, pay the €300 ransom or totally format your hard drive, reinstall from your recovery discs (you know, the ones I'm always telling you to do) and restore your data from that backup you've done (what do you mean, what backup).

I think that means you have a couple of jobs to do sooner, rather than later! That's backup your data - all those photos and important documents - and create your recovery discs so your PC can be reset to the day you bought it. Generally speaking, if you have Windows XP, you should have an installation disc somewhere, if not, get one form your PC manufacturer or we can source one for you. Most Windows 7 systems have an option to create recovery media as do Windows 8. Do it!

You cannot be complacent, this threat can and will destroy your data and/or the entire contents of your hard drives if you don't pay the ransom.

I am receiving regular updates of individuals and corporations alike, all succumbing to this threat at an alarming rate and most are paying the ransom to get their data back because they didn't look after it in the first place. Don't let this happen to you.

The easiest way to backup your photos and documents is to copy your 'my documents' folder (or libraries folder - win7/8) onto a usb memory stick. If you don't have all the photos and documents on your PC in the 'my documents/libraries' folder, then put them there now and stop being sloppy. That's where they belong if they're on your PC.

Please be assured that if you get this and you don't have your data backed up, there is only one way you MIGHT get it back, and that's paying the €300 to the crooks within 3 days or it's gone. If they 'give' you your data back, it can take days before all your files are returned and you need to keep you PC turned on and connected to the internet until the job is finished or you lose what hasn't been undone.

This can be a problem for those on wireless services such as Ole, Telecable, TeleEast and the like because they always have momentary dips in service when it's not available and this can be enough to disconnect from the remote PC doing the decryption.

Hello everybody.

Please be advised that we are starting to get booked up for April, so if you think your PC has a problem, or you're considering taking up one of our other services then please contact us now or we may not be able to get you sorted before we go.

You might even miss out on our FREE telephone install offer available for this month only if you don't get in now! Check our Special Offer page for more details.

Please don't leave it until the last minute and miss out.

Over the past few months, I've been extolling the virtues of a wonderful website that allows all us ex-pats to view live UK TV without the need to do anything special, and without the need for satellite TV installations. This website is www.filmon.com. It seems that Filmon are now only able to offer live UK TV in the UK. This is probably down to licencing regulations and the fact that to receive licenced UK TV broadcasts, you should be paying for a licence.

This issue does NOT affect any of our Satellite Internet clients as they all have a UK Internet address.

Currently, anyone residing outside the UK should not be able to watch live UK TV. Scream and shout as much as you like, that is how it is. So why can other nationalities get away with it then - you ask. Well, that's because they don't have the same licencing regulations as the UK so as to provide you with honest and impartial reporting of world events (for most of the time, that is).

So, you don't live in the UK BUT, you want to watch live UK TV (shame on you ;-) ). How do you go about it?

You can always fork out for a satellite dish and receiver and buy a forged sky card, you can pay for an illegal card sharing setup, you can pay one of the many illegal re-broadcasters who pop up all over the place - and disappear just as quickly with your money or you can watch live UK TV through the Internet, either directly from the broadcasters website or from an aggregators website such as www.myiplayer.com.

When I try to watch TV on the broadcasters website, it tells me it's not available in my region. Of course it does, because it's illegal to watch it outside the UK - because it's licenced for the UK only! Please pay attention, I'm getting to that.

OK smart a**e, how's it done? I'll tell you. You use something called a VPN (Virtual Private Network) that fools the website into believing you are in the UK.

How can I get one? There are many free one available along with some relatively cheap ones (5.00 GBP a month). I have personally used a 5GBP one from www.my-private-network.co.uk and it works fine, and they give you a full setup guide with pictures. We have also used the free "Best UK VPN Service" and find that works very well also.

What I do find a lot of - and have to uninstall a lot of - is Expat Shield. Whilst Expat Shield may be free, it's backed by advertisers, it also installs a 'handy' toolbar. Anybody who knows me knows how I feel about third party 'handy' toolbars. They're very handy at breaking things (as many of my clients can testify) and should be banned.

To get the "Best UK VPN Service", it is available from the myiplater.com website on the "catchup" page.

In my opinion, the only thing handy about Expat Shield is the ability to click a few buttons and it installs itself, along with the c**p it comes with. I used it for a couple of days then got rid of it and it will never darken my PC again. Not to be totally negative about this product, I do have customers who think it's marvelous, brilliant and all sorts of other positive adjectives.

Oh, I forgot to mention this option - Slingbox. An ideal option for those with relatives in the UK with a Sky/Cable subscription.

How does that work then? Well, it's intended for people on holiday who would normally be paying for their UK licence but they're not currently using it because they're on holiday and no one is in the house watching TV. That way, you're not breaking your licence agreement and it's legal.

It works by connecting a Slingbox to a Sky/Cable TV box in the UK. You then connect the Slingbox to your internet router. Whilst you're (ahem) 'away', you can watch your Sky/Cable package on your laptop or you would take something with you called a Sling Catcher. Sling Catcher is like a set top box that plugs into the Internet and the TV you're going to be watching. It then transports all your programs from the UK to where you are.

If that all sounds like black magic then when you've got the kit from Currys/PC World, just drop Sling Media support a line from their website and they'll set it all up for you. So that's the Slingbox in the UK, and SlingCatcher over here.

If you would like any more info, please feel free to drop us a line or comment below.

I have no connection to any of the products mentioned in this article.

All brand names and registered trade marks belong to their respective owners - not me.

Tooway internet keeps on getting better.

Not only has the speed barrier been broken, so has the price barrier! Tooway internet now runs at speeds of 20Meg download and 6Meg upload ANYWHERE with prices starting as low as €29.90 including taxes.

Not only that, when you get your Tooway 20M internet for just €29.90, you're not even tied in to a contract and giving you the freedom to turn it on or off at any time.

Thought Satellite internet was expensive, think again!

Click here for more information and price list.

Just a quick post to let everyone know we will not be taking calls from 5th May 2013 until 21st May 2013 inclusive as we will be on holiday. We will be open for calls again on the 22nd May.

We are having a well earned break, not having done so for over 2 years. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

We will, of course, still be monitoring our telephone networks and will be in a position to remedy any problems should there be any.