SUREWEST PROBLEMS in Roseville, CA

Many customers had trouble accessing Internet and e-mail.
Thousands of SureWest Communications' Internet subscribers were hit with a double-whammy over the weekend as a digital "attack" caused some customers to lose Web access, while unrelated software upgrades made accessing e-mail more difficult, company officials said Tuesday. The problems started Sunday morning with a "denial of service attack" in which SureWest's servers were bombarded by a coordinated barrage of repetitive messages designed to tie up the computers.
About 15 percent of SureWest's 40,000 Internet customers had difficulty going online because of the attack, said Scott Barber, SureWest's vice president of network operations. Most of those affected had DSL accounts, he said.
The attacks lasted from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon. Barber said the company didn't know the source of attacks but had contacted law enforcement officials.
Also beginning Sunday, many SureWest e-mail customers were unable to log on to their e-mail accounts because of software upgrades designed to help with spam filtering and other issues, Barber said.
The upgrades required a new sign-in procedure, which apparently confused many customers.
"A lot of people were struggling with the new log-in screen and calling in and having to get their passwords from us," Barber said.
The company's tech-support lines were jammed with callers trying to work through their e-mail problems, he said. SureWest hosts about 65,000 separate e-mail addresses.
Barber said the company had sent several e-mail notices plus a registered letter to its e-mail customers advising them of the new sign-in procedure.
But apparently that wasn't sufficient. SureWest customer Michael Heenan said he wasn't aware of a change until he called in and, after waiting 55 minutes on hold, talked to a customer relations representative.
"They are maddeningly primitive in their customer communications, but when you get somebody on the phone they are invariably super-nice," said Heenan, who has a public relations business.
He also said even after using the new sign-in procedures, e-mails were only "trickling in" to his account. "If I didn't have so much tied up in stationery and letterhead (including a SureWest e-mail address) I would have fled them on principle alone a long time ago," he said.
Despite bringing on more customer support staff, Barber said he expected phone lines to remain busy, though wait times are shortening. The company said its phone message for customers on hold has instructions for working through e-mail problems, and also directs callers to a Web site - www.surewest.com/email/ -for more instructions.
Barber advised customers with continuing problems to send SureWest an e-mail - via other accounts such as Yahoo or their work e-mail - to: support@surewest.net.

By Clint Swett -- Bee Staff WriterPublished 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, September 7, 2005Story appeared in Business section, Page D1