# Getting online the easy way

## A few things you should have ready before you start

If you have a fairly modern &Linux; distribution, you might find the rest of this document superfluous. &kppp; comes with a clever little wizard that in many cases can have you up and running with an internet connection in just a few minutes.

Whether using the wizard or not, you should know the following information before you begin:

- Your ISP modem pool phone number.

- Your username and password for your ISP.

- Your ISP's DNS servers (one is sufficient, but two is better).

Other optional information you should find out to fully access your ISP's services are:

- The incoming mail server address (often `pop.yourisp.com` or `mail.yourisp.com`)

  Also find out if your ISP uses the POP3 protocol or IMAP.

- The outgoing (SMTP) mail server address (it could be the same as the incoming mail server, or it is often called something like `smtp.yourisp.com`).

- The Usenet News (NNTP) server address (possibly `news.yourisp.com` or `nntp.yourisp.com`).

- Any proxy servers your ISP has set up.

All this information is probably available on any paperwork you received from your ISP when you signed up with them, or you can find it out from your ISP's support telephone line.

Armed with the above, and a fairly recent default installation of &Linux;, you may well find that setting up an internet connection is as simple as running the &kppp; wizard.