fix secure sites won't load on dialup
(Mac OS X)
Sometimes for reasons not immediately clear you may find that websites suddenly decide to not load properly while using dialup on a Mac. Things you do regularly like checking your email or logging into Internet banking just stop working - yet your dialup connection appears stable.
This problem may be related to an Internet setting called "Maximum Transmission Unit" or MTU. Here we are offering a recommendation on how to resolve any MTU issues you might have on dialup.
For most users, an application called IPNetTunerX is needed to make the change. For users with Mac OS 10.3 you can use Cocktail Panther Edition. For more info on these applications please see Cocktail and IPNetTunerX on the web. Please note that both of these programs are SHAREWARE which means they may only be able to be used a few times before having to be paid for.
IPNetTunerX
1. Download the latest version (1.6.4 at time of print) and mount the disk image on the desktop by double-clicking the .dmg file
2. Double click the disk drive icon that appears.
3. Double click the Macintosh HD and open 'Applications'.
4. Drag the IPNetTunerX folder (appears when you double click IPNetTunerX disk on desktop) into the Applications folder.
5. Go into "IPNetTunerX Folder" in applications and run IPNetTunerX (looks like a blue ball with coloured circles around it)
6. Choose 'Accept' to make the first screen disappear and then click OK when prompted about demo.
7. Type in the client's Mac username and password when prompted. Mac username will need to be an admin type user.
8. Choose the 'Advanced' tab and then the 'Interface MTU' from the first dropdown menu on the left.
9. Choose 'Modem interface MTU or pppoe connection (ppp0) [This is the important bit]' from the interface list.
10. Type the desired MTU into the MTU box (576, 400 etc). The Default is 1500 which is for broadband but dialup should never be set higher than 576. Broadband settings should be set at a maximum of 1492 and the adapter type is Built-in Ethernet (en0).
11. Press Apply. and choose Quit IPNetTunerX from File menu.
