HomeDownload SoftwareSetupPurchaseContact Us
FEATURES
Built-in applications
Customization
Advertising
Monitoring
External applications
Security
Languages
Central access control
Coin/bill acceptors
Credit card payments
Remote Maintenance
Automatic dialup
Database

Frequently asked questions
Q00001: Can surf-timer disable Control-Alt-Delete and other key strokes that would give the user unwanted access?
Yes, but you must first reboot in secure mode.

To reboot in secure mode, run surf.exe. From the main menu, type the kiosk password - for the evaluation version the password is password. You won't see the password on the screen while you are typing it but the keystrokes are captured. Once the password has been typed, a small window will be displayed giving you the option to reboot in secure mode. In secure mode, surf-timer automatically loads as the shell and keys such as Control-Alt-Delete are disabled.

 
Q00002: Is it possible to track usage remotely?
Yes. When a kiosk is used, a record is created in the central database. At the end of the usage, the record is updated with the number of minutes used and the number of pages used. This information can be monitored from the following web site:

You will need to provide your Owner ID and Validation.

When looking at the usages, if the last two columns for the latest usage are  red then the usage is still in progress.

This web page is also used to monitor payments (cash and credit cards), and revenues. You can get the card info from there in order to process credit card payments.

 
Q00003: Can an access code be used at any of our kiosks?
Yes, surf-timer uses a central database and therefore all of your kiosks access the same database. The same applies for user name and passwords.

 
Q00004: Can I replace the surf-timer Logo with my own Logo?
Yes, run setsurf.exe and go to the Appearance tab. Under Logo, specify the file location for the Logo that will appear on the main menu and the one that will appear on each built-in application.

 
Q00005: When I try to register a kiosk, I get a message saying that the registration number is already in use. What does that mean?
A registration code can only be used at one kiosk at any given time. If you want to use registration code on a different PC, you must first unregister. This is done as follows:

From surf-timer, type the kiosk password. You won't see the password on the screen while you are typing it but the keystrokes are captured. Once the password has been typed, a small window will be displayed giving you the option to Unregister.

 
Q00006: Will a magnetic card reader that connects to the keyboard work with surf-timer?
No, you need a magnetic card reader that connects to a serial port.

 
Q00007: Can surf-timer support both credit cards and cash payments?
Yes, as long as you have enough serial ports on your PC.

 
Q00008: What type of encryption is used between the kiosks and the database server?
The software itself uses an powerful encryption algorithm called Poisson. Therefore every information sent to the database, like payment information, is first encrypted.

Also, if the web server used to access the database is a secure server (like it is the case for the default database), then the encryption provided by the Internet Explorer is also used.

 
Q00009: We have several kiosks - do we have to enter all the settings for each one?
No, you can save the settings from one kiosk by clicking on the Export button in setsurf.exe. This will create a file with all your settings. You can then use the Import button in setsurf to apply these settings to any other PC.

 
Q00010: I registered surf-timer and now it won't accept some access codes. Why?
This is normal, registered copied of surf-timer will not accept access codes with start with 000000. These are reserved for evaluation copies.

 
Q00011: What is the web based main menu?
Although you can modify many aspect of the surf-timer interface, in some cases you might want a completely different look. This is made possible with the option to use a web page as the main menu. Instead of using the existing buttons, etc... you use a web page with different links. Note that you can create links that will do the same as if the user had clicked on a button (which is hidden underneath). For example a link with APP://Email  as the URL would invoke the email client.

 
Q00012: I would like to offer some links for free and some that require payments. How can I do that?
There are two ways to add links, with web displays (banners) or with new buttons (Other 1 through 10). In both cases you can set the links to Free. In that case the user will not be required to make a payment to navigate to the links.

You can also set these links to be Restricted - meaning that the user will be restricted to navigate within specified sites. These sites are listed in setsurf and can include wild cards such as *surf-timer* to include all the sites with the word surf-timer in it.

 
Q00013: Does surf-timer support touch screen?
Yes, all the buttons are big enough to be used with touch screen. There is also an onscreen keyboard that can be used if you don't have a physical keyboard.
Q00014: If a user's time is running out, can he make a payment before he runs out so that he won't loose his current information?
Yes, and in fact as soon as the money is inserted or the credit card is swiped, the timer will stop so that the user will not have to rush to make the payment.

 
Q00015: Do I need to install setsurf.exe and account.exe on each kiosk?
Setsurf.exe needs to be run at the kiosk but does not need to reside on the kiosk's hard drive. It can be run from a floppy disk.

account.exe can be run from any PC connected to the Internet. It does not have to be a PC with surf-timer software.

 
Q00016: How can we setup our own database?
Some info on that topic is available at

www.surf-timer.com/database.htm

 
Q00017: Do you have an example of a web based main menu?
Yes, look at 

www.surf-timer.com/mainmenu.htm

 
Q00018: How do I know how much money my kiosks are making?
When kiosks are used or payments are made, data is written to a central database. It is therefore possible to view reports over the Internet.

If you use the default database, go to http://db.surf-timer.com

If you have your own database, you need to install the reporting tool on your server:

  • Extract the files to your drive by executing the self-extracting file downloaded in 1
  • Copy the following files to the web server in your CGI-BIN directory (or the directory where you have the other DLLs):

    GenReports.dll, invalidid.jpg, watch.gif, yellowbk.gif
  • Edit WebStatsInfo.htm so that it points to the right URL for genreports.dll. Do a search on genreports.dll to find the line that needs to be changed.
  • Copy the modified webstats.htm, webstatsinfo.htm, and webstatsrep.htm to your web server.
  • On the web server, run SetReport.exe and enter the required values. These are the same values you enter in account.exe and setsurf.exe.
Q00019: How can I hide a drive for applications other than the built-in applications?
The closest I have seen of being able to do that is to use a freeware utility from Microsoft called TweakUI.

You can download it from the following links:

To install,

  1. Right click TWEAKUI.INF.
  2. In the shortcut menu that appears, click Install.
  3. TweakUI is installed and the TweakUI icon is added to your Control Panel. To run TweakUI, double-click this icon.

In My Computer: You may explicitly allow or forbid access to any drives. You may, for example, allow access to the a: drive, if you want to allow users to save files under SiteKiosk.

Also - In Network: You can automate the login into a Windows 95/Windows NT network. 

Q00020:  When I reboot in secure mode, the PC freezes at the startup screen - I also noticed that the floppy drive's light is on. How can I fix that? When rebooting in secure mode with a Windows 98/ME PC, the following line is added to the file c:\msdos.sys:

BootWarn=0

This line Disables the safe mode boot warning message and the startup menu (which would sometimes be displayed when the PC is turned off without a proper shutdown).

It seems that adding this line causes problems with some PCs, mostly Intel Celeron running Windows ME. The only solution I found is not to add this line in msdos.sys. A check box labeled "BootWarn" was added to the Security tab in setsurf. If you check this value, the line will not be added.

If you have this problems, you will have to go through a few steps before being able to get to Windows:

1 - Find a boot disk. Reboot with that disk.

2 - The file c:\msdos.sys is usually set to hidden and read only. From the DOS prompt, type the following command:

c:\windows\command\attrib c:\msdos.sys -h -r

3 - c:\windows\command\edit c:\msdos.sys

4 - Remove the line BootWarn=0 and save the file.

5 - Remove the disk and reboot. The PC should now reboot in secure mode with Surf-Timer. Type the admin password and click on Reboot to Desktop.

Once you are back to Windows, make sure you have version 3.63 or later. This is when the BootWarn checkbox was added to setsurf. Run setsurf, check that checkbox. Rebooting in secure mode should now work.

 
Q00021: Will I get a CD when I purchase the software?
No, the software must be downloaded from the web site.

 
Q00022: I cannot get my bill acceptor/coin acceptor to work. What should I check?
The most common problem is the payment mode selected in setsurf under the payment tab (top of the page). This has to be set to one of the prepaid modes:

Prepaid Minutes and Pages
Prepaid Minutes (Printing Charged as Minutes)
Prepaid Amount

You can also try the following test program:

For the GBA bill acceptor:

http://www.surf-timer.com/download/gbatest.exe
Q00023: What are the dimensions for the coin acceptor and the bill acceptor?
You will find some info, including the dimensions, in the following PDF files:

GBA: http://www.surf-timer.com/gba/gba.html

 
Q00024: I ran Surf-Timer and it created two new files, DefaultBrowser.exe and Monitor.exe. What are these files?
DefaultBrowser.exe is a file created to ensure that Surf-Timer is always the default browser, even in cases where the web browser is invoked from menu items in applications such as NetMeeting.

Monitor.exe is a small program launched by Surf-Timer when rebooting in secure mode. This small program continuously look for Surftimer and if it does not find it, it will assume something is wrong and will reboot the PC. Make sure not to execute this program from Windows Explorer because it might reboot your PC without any warning.

These two files are only used by Surf-Timer itself.

 
Q00025: We give access to application such as Microsoft Word, but when the user tries to save his work he gets a message saying that this is not allowed. How can that be fixed?
This is caused by some entries in Prohibited Windows on the Security tab in setsurf. For example there is an entry "Save*" that will prevent any windows with a window title which starts with "Save" from opening. You can remove this entry but this may give too much access to the user.

 
Q00026: I am using Surf-Timer in free mode. I would like to track usages with webstats but there is no data being created, why?
When you use the free mode (with or without timer), data is not written to the database. If you want to track usages, use one of the prepaid modes and set the price per minute to zero. The kiosk will still be free but data will be written to the database. If you do that, you might also want to uncheck Access Codes as a Sign-In option on the Payment tab in setsurf.

 
Q00027: Does Surf-Timer support Java and add-ons such as Flash?
Yes, Surf-Timer web browser is using Internet Explorer as a web engine and therefore all features and the add-ons you install in Internet Explorer will be used in Surf-Timer. Even third party application such as CyberSitter will work with Surf-Timer.

 
Q00028: What is the best way to give users quick access to their email, like hotmail, AOL, etc...?
You can use a banner on the main menu.  In setsurf, on the advertising tab, use the following values for web banner 1:

url: http:// www.surf-timer.com/freemail.htm

Top 492
left 80
Width 630
Height 48

This is just an example of what you can do and you can of course modify this banner. You might have to change the Top value if you are using a resolution higher than 800x600.

 
Q00029: When I enter an access code I get the message "Problem retrieving the balance". What could this be?
Look in the log file c:\kiosk.log. There might be a more specific error message. For example you might see a message about an Invalid Owner ID and Validation number.

 
Q00030: My kiosk cannot send email. Why?
Look in the log file c:\kiosk.log. There might be a more specific error message. Make sure you specify an SMTP server and a valid return address on the General tab in setsurf.

 
Q00031: What do I need to do to accept credit card payments?
You need merchant accounts and a card reader - the type that connects to a serial port, NOT the keyboard. This will allow you to accept credit card payments, at least off line, meaning you will have to go to www.kiosk.hm to get the credit card info and amount for each payment and process it manually.

If you want to have the transaction processed in real-time, then you have to contact:

www.processing.net: works with most existing merchant accounts. They can also setup new merchant accounts.
Q00032: I don't mind processing the credit card transactions off line but what if someone keeps using a bad credit card, can I stop them?
Yes, go to the following web page:

You have the option to build a list of credit cards number which will be rejected. This list will be used by all your kiosks that belong to a same Owner ID..
Q00033: Do I need a license for each PC?
Yes, for each PC running Surf-Timer.exe , as well as for AccountPro and VisualDesigner .

 
Q00034: Is there any cost for upgrades?
No, so far upgrades have been free and there is no plan to change that.

 
Q00035: Is there any cost to use the database?
There is a small monthly fee to use the database.
For more information contact our support team.
Q00036: Do I need to unregister before upgrading to a newer version?
No, you can just overwrite the old files with the new ones. In some cases you may have to run the new setsurf.exe.

 
Q00037: Do I need to put Surf-Timer in the startup folder if I want it to start every time I reboot?
No, when your kiosk is all set, you need to reboot in Secure Mode.

To reboot in secure mode, run surf.exe. From anywhere in Surf-Timer type the admin password - for the evaluation version the password is password. You won't see the password on the screen while you are typing it but the keystrokes are captured. Once the password has been typed, a small window will be displayed giving you the option to reboot in secure mode. In secure mode, Surf-Timer automatically loads as the shell and therefore there is no need to add it to the startup folder.

 
Q00038: We have a database but it's not MS SQL Server. Will it work with Surf-Timer?
No, as far as I know it has to be MS SQL Server, unless other database engines have the exact same features, like IDENTITY columns.

 
Q00039: I tried to run Surf-Timer but I got the following error message: "A required DLL file; Systemhooks.dll was not found.". How can I fix that?
You have to run setsurf.exe before you run surf-timer.exe. Surf-Timer.exe will create the file Systemhooks.dll. This DLL is the implementation of a system wide hook which captures keyboard and mouse activity, and also control the creation and position of windows.

 
Q00040: I tried to run Surf-Timer but I got the following error message: "SURF-TIMER.EXE file linked to missing export WININET.DLL:DeleteUrcacheEntryA". How can I fix that?
Surf-Timer uses some features only available in Internet Explorer 5 and above. You therefore need to upgrade Internet Explorer.

 
Q00041: I am using a DSL connection. When a user quits, the connection is lost. How can I prevent the connection from being lost?
When ending a session, Surf-Timer closes all windows except those listed in the "Windows Never Closed" on the Security tab in setsurf. With some types of connection, an application has to be running in order for the connection to work. You therefore have to figure out the window title of this application and add it to the list of windows never to closed.

To help you, download the following utility:

http://www.surf-timer.com/download/ListWindows.exe

This utility will give you a list of all running processes, with the window title and the window class.  Compare the list when connected and with the list when disconnected. If some windows disappear and they seem related to the connection, add them to the list of windows never closed.

 
Q00042: What currency does the Microcoin QL coin acceptor support?
The Microcoin QL can be programmed for coins within the following dimensions:
  • Coin widths 16-34mm
  • Coin thickness 1-3.8mm
Q00043: What currency does the GBA bill acceptor support?
A list is available at http://www.surf-timer.com/gbaliste.htm or more info on the GBA download the following file:

http://www.surf-timer.com/gba/gba.html

 
Q00044: Is it possible to maintain the kiosks remotely?
Yes, you can do some of the maintenance remotely:

Updating Files: A file located on a server can be automatically downloaded and executed at the kiosk daily. By using this feature with a self-extracting compressed file you can update any file on the kiosk drive. Winzip from www.winzip.com is one of the products you can use to create a self-extracting file.

Updating Registry Settings: A .REG file located on a server can be automatically downloaded and applied to the Windows registry. This allows you to create a file including the settings you want to change, and have some or all of your kiosk apply these changes.  For example you could create a .REG file with the Export button in setsurf, and edit this .REG file with Notepad to only leave the values you want to change. You should normally remove the kiosk ID since each kiosk has a different kiosk ID.

You can also get some direct control with tools such as pcAnywhere. pc Anywhere allows you to access the kiosk either through a phone line or over the Internet. pcAnywhere is a good product but may be expensive if you have many kiosks.

Alternately, you can use some free software from AT&T Laboratories in Cambridge,  UK, called Virtual Network Computing™ (VNC). VNC   requires that you know the IP address of the remote host computer (i.e., your kiosk), but is pretty easy to setup and use.

 
Q00045: What happens if there is a power failure while a user is using a kiosk - does he loose his money?
Surf-Timer accesses the database at the beginning and at the end of a session.  However it keeps some current information in a local file called previous.ini. Therefore if the PC is rebooted in the middle of a session, Surf-Timer will be able to update the account to reflect the time used before the reboot.

Also, it is possible to setup Surf-Timer so that if the PC reboots during a session and the user does not have the ability to sign-in (for example if it is a new account and it is not expected that the user will know his access code), then Surf-Timer will automatically restart with that account. To enable this feature, check the checkbox "Automatically Sign-In After Crash (For New Users Only)" under the Payment tab in setsurf. If the user had already entered his access code himself, then we know he will be able to do it again and there is no reason to do it automatically.

 
Q00046: What is the best way to prevent users from visiting adult sites?
Surf-Timer includes a built-in filter based on keywords. You specify a list of keywords, and if a site contains one of the keywords then it is rejected. This filter is optional and is not enabled by default. To enable it go to the Content tab in setsurf and check Filter Content.

You can also use third party filters. CyberSitter is one that works well with Surf-Timer. It can be downloaded from www.cybersitter.com.

 
Q00047: When should I use the window class and when should I use the window title in the Security tab?
In some cases it is hard to use the window title because it is dynamic, meaning it changes all the time (like Internet Explorer). In this case it may be necessary to use the window class. However in some cases using the window class is not possible because the class is used for many different windows. For example many dialog windows have the class name #32770. Therefore the class name should not be used for these windows. It is also possible to use both, the window title and the window class. In that case both values must match.

To help you find out the window class and title, download the following utility:

http://www.surf-timer.com/download/ListWindows.exe

 
Q00048: I   am using Windows NT. I rebooted in secure mode so now I am required to press Control-Alt-Delete to logon but these keys seem to be disabled. What can I do?
If your drive is formatted NTAS, I think you have no choice but to reinstall Windows.

If your drive is formatted FAT, then you can reboot with a floppy and delete the file c:\winnt\system32\drivers\keyblocknt.sys. Once you reboot the keys should now work.

To avoid this situation make sure to setup Auto Logon. Note that Auto Logon only works if your password is not blank.

 
Q00049: How come I can only see 3 months of data in Webstats?
Every night, a clean up process runs to delete all the Payment records and the Usage records which are more than 3 months old. This only applies to the default database. It is required otherwise the database would grow too much and possibly affect the response time.

 
Q00050: I rebooted in secure mode with Windows 98/ME and it will not reboot. I get the message that Windows needs to be reinstalled. Do I really need to reinstall Windows?
No, probably not. When you reboot in secure mode, Surf-Timer change a line in the file c:\windows\system.ini which usually looks like shell=explorer.exe. In secure mode, this line is changed to shell=c:\surf-timer\surf.exe, or something different if you use a different directory name.

This error message can be caused by the use of a directory name with spaces. To solve this problem, reboot with a floppy, and move Surf-Timer to a directory name without spaces. Then edit the file system.ini to reflect the new directory name in the shell= entry.

 
Q00051: I would like to add a language to Surf-Timer. How do I do that?
First download the following file:

http://www.surf-timer.com/download/language1.reg

This is a text file that will eventually be saved in the Windows directory. Edit the file and translate all the text you wish to display in the new language. Once this is done, apply this file to the registry by executing the file (double click on it from Windows Explorer.

In setsurf, check Other 1 in the list of available languages.

To add a second language, download

http://www.surf-timer.com/download/language2.reg

 
Q00052: Does Surf-Timer work with Mac or Linux?
No, Surf-Timer works only with Win 98/ME/NT/2000.

 
Q00053: Is it possible to add a description for each kiosk when displaying data in Webstats?
Yes, go to

http://www.surf-timer.com/description.htm

You will have to specify your Owner ID and validation number. Once you have changed the description of a kiosk, this description will be displayed in Webstats beside the kiosk ID.

 
Q00054: When I create access codes with account do I need to specify both a number of minutes and a corresponding amount?
No, it should be one or the other, not both. It depends on the Payment Mode specified under the Payment tab in setsurf.

Prepaid Minutes (Printing Charged as Minutes):  specify the number of minutes.

Prepaid Minutes and Pages: Specify the number of minutes and the number of pages.

Prepaid Amount: Specify only the amount.

Note that in all cases you can also specify values to be added daily or values to be set daily. For example you could create an account with Added Daily in minutes set to 30, and cumulative unchecked. In this case the customer would get 30 minutes every day.
Q00055: How do I join the Surf-Timer discussion group?
Go to the following link:

http://egroups.de
Q00056: Why doesn't Surf-Timer play Real Audio files?
By default, Surf-Timer does not allow downloads from the web browser. Downloads are prevented by having an entry in the Prohibited Windows list (Security tab in Setsurf). Unfortunately Real Audio files trigger the same download dialog as when a file is downloaded. To remove this security feature, remove the entries related to "download" in the Prohibited Windows list.

 
Q00057: Windows 98 has problems shutting down. Any suggestions?
Read the following article:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q238/0/96.asp
Q00058: Sometime the keyboard appears to stop working under Windows 98. Any suggestions?
It was discovered that for some PCs running Windows 98/ME, pressing the Alt key and the Windows-Start key (the one next to the Alt key) at the same time causes the keyboard to stop responding. The keyboard is in fact in a state where the Alt key stays down. This is caused by the third party driver used to disable keys such as Control-Alt-Delete.

The immediate solution I implemented is to allow the Alt key to be disabled. This was added in version 3.62. Under the Security tab in setsurf, uncheck Alt. This will have the effect of disabling the Alt key and take care of that problem. This does not apply to Windows NT/2000.
Q00059: When I reboot in secure mode, the PC freezes at the startup screen - I also noticed that the floppy drive's light is on. How can I fix that?
When rebooting in secure mode with a Windows 98/ME PC, the following line is added to the file c:\msdos.sys:

BootWarn=0

This line Disables the safe mode boot warning message and the startup menu (which would sometimes be displayed when the PC is turned off without a proper shutdown).

It seems that adding this line causes problems with some PCs, mostly Intel Celeron running Windows ME. The only solution I found is not to add this line in msdos.sys. A check box labeled "BootWarn" was added to the Security tab in setsurf. If you check this value, the line will not be added.

If you have this problems, you will have to go through a few steps before being able to get to Windows:

1 - Find a boot disk. Reboot with that disk.

2 - The file c:\msdos.sys is usually set to hidden and read only. From the DOS prompt, type the following command:

c:\windows\command\attrib c:\msdos.sys -h -r

3 - c:\windows\command\edit c:\msdos.sys

4 - Remove the line BootWarn=0 and save the file.

5 - Remove the disk and reboot. The PC should now reboot in secure mode with Surf-Timer. Type the admin password and click on Reboot to Desktop.

Once you back to Windows, make sure you have version 3.63 or later. This is when the BootWarn checkbox was added to setsurf. Run setsurf, check that checkbox.   Rebooting in secure mode should now work.
Q00060:
How can I disable F8 on startup with Windows 2000 - this allows them access to the trouble shooting menu?
The following solution was found by Mr Michael J. Reynolds.  He found that ntldr does the F8 checking & displays the troubleshooting menu.  Therefore the solution is to modify this file (which he did), and replace the existing one with this modified version.   Here are the steps you should follow:
( Warning : will not work with Win XP !! )

1 - Download the following file and save it to c:\

http://www.surf-timer.com/download/ntldrnof8

2 - The existing file c:\ntldr is set as a system file. Before you can overwrite it you must change the attributes. Go in a Command Prompt window (or DOS window) and type the following command:

attrib c:\ntldr -s -h -r

3 - From the same Command Prompt window, type

copy ntldrnof8 ntldr

Answer Y to replace.

4 - Change the attributes back

attrib c:\ntldr +s +h +r

This should do it.

 

 
 
 

Back to top