110 W. 17th Street • Falls City, NE 68355Phone: 402-245-4451 • www.sentco.net

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S o u t h e a s t N e b r a s k a C o m m u n i c a t i o n s • F a l l s C i t y , N E

110 W. 17th Street • Falls City, NE 68355Phone: 402-245-4451 • www.sentco.net

Get 3 Months

of fRee high-speed Internet

Plus a FREE Wireless Router and FREE Installation

Why wait for Santa to come down the chimney when you can start getting holiday gifts right now? (And you don’t even have to have been a good

boy or girl this year to get them.) SNC will give you all of these great FREE gifts if you switch your Internet service to us and sign a one-year agreement for a residential voice and Internet bundle.*

• FREE three months of high-speed Internet (a value of $96)

• FREE wireless router (a $72 value)

• FREE installation (a $55 value)

This is an easy way to save money now and keep enjoying benefits later. After your FREE three months of high-speed Internet service is completed, you’ll continue to enjoy great rates from SNC along with the outstanding customer service that comes from us being your local communications provider.

*Some restrictions apply. Call for details. Corn

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Are you already an Internet customer of SNC? First

of all, thanks for choosing SNC to provide your home’s Internet service. And secondly, we’d like to give you a special opportunity to get a holiday bonus. 245-4179

Simply refer a friend or rel-ative to SNC for Internet service and if this person becomes a cus-tomer, we’ll give you one month of FREE Internet service (a value of up to $39.95). It’s a win-win deal! You get a FREE month, and your friend or relative gets to start enjoying the speed, value, and convenience of SNC Internet.

To find out more, call 402-245-4451.

holiday Bonus for Current snC Internet Customers

Hurry, this FREE offer ends December 28, 2011. Call 402-245-4451 today!

Jim Wisdom Retires After 40+ Years With snCJim began his career with SNC on March 22, 1971. During his career of more than 40 years with SNC, Jim has seen many changes — from early responsibilities that included fixing telephone wires on poles, managing party lines, and burying copper cable to more recent work on our FTTH (Fiber to the Home) project. 245-2288

Jim is married to Angie and they have five children. He has been active in many of SNC’s community projects and is currently a city coun-cil member of Falls City. Jim will not only be missed by everyone at SNC, but also by the subscribers that he came in contact with over the years.

Best wishes to Jim on his retirement!

Welcome Chris Gargas, snC’s new network technician

Chris and his wife,

Megan, moved to Falls City from Albu-querque, New Mexico. Chris brings with him many years of computer and networking expertise. They are excited to be “new residents” of Falls City and they are looking forward to making new friends and becoming involved in the community. One of Chris’ hob-bies is “Lifecasting” which is the process of taking a mold of the face to use as a base for sculpting prosthetics. 245-5194 Needless to say, Halloween is one of Chris’ favorite holidays.

Welcome aboard, Chris!

Bob and his wife, Judy,

have been life-long residents of Richardson County. They have a son, Brooks, who is a sophomore at Peru State College. Bob brings 28 years of telecommunications experience to SNC and looks forward to furthering his career with us. When not working, he enjoys outdoor activities and being an active participant in our community.

Welcome aboard, Bob!

Welcome Bob Ivey, snC’s new network technician

We Wish You and Your family a Joyful holiday season

Warm Smiles. Loving relationships. Cherished traditions. These are the ingredients to create a memorable and meaningful holiday season. We

hope you and your family share many treasured moments during this special time. The staff of SNC would like to take this opportunity to thank you, our

customers, for your loyal patronage during the past year. 883-2155 SNC appreci-ates your trust in us, and we look forward to continuing to meet your individual needs. It is a pleasure to serve you and help you stay connected to your world. If we can improve our service, please let us know by calling 402-245-4451.

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holiday office Closings

SNC will be closed for the following holidays:

Veterans Day Friday, November 11th

thanksgiving Thursday, November 24th & Friday, November 25th

Guard Your home’s network from Wi-fi PiratesYou see a suspicious vehicle driving back and forth through your neighbor-

hood, stopping every so often along the curb. No one gets out, and it finally comes to rest for 20 minutes outside one home. There could be a “Wi-Fi pirate” inside — a person who drives slowly through neighborhoods looking for unse-cured access to wireless networks.

While some of these Wi-Fi pirates could be harmless — such as out-of-towners who just need to check their email — others might be looking for ways to steal identities or conduct illegal activities without being identified by law enforce-ment. There have been cases of homeowners being questioned by police about downloading child pornography, when in reality, it was done by someone pirat-ing the home’s wireless network.

To protect yourself and help prevent unauthorized Wi-Fi access, make sure your home’s wireless network is as secure as it can be. 245-5572 Start by taking these five precautions:

1. Position the router correctly. Typical wireless routers transmit radio signals for about 300 feet. If you position the router far enough back in the house, it will be more difficult for Wi-Fi pirates to steal your bandwidth.

2. Configure your router properly. Change the default network name and pass-word immediately after setup to secure your network and keep others from using it. 245-2706

3. Update software regularly. This includes keeping your operating software up to date, as well as antivirus and spyware protection.

4. Install and use firewalls. The majority of computers already have firewalls installed and enabled when you buy them. Your wireless router comes with a firewall, too. It’s best to have firewalls in both places.

5. Turn on data encryption and filtering. Encryption technology rearranges the information that goes through your wireless router in such a way that it’s diffi-cult for humans to read without permission. Filters in your router can identify friendly users and decline access for unknown users.

If you have questions or need additional assistance with the protection of your home’s wireless network, contact snC at 402-245-4451.

surprising Christmas statisticsHere are a few fun facts to mention at your next holiday gathering:

• According to the National Retail Federation, 77 percent of shop-pers purchased at least one gift card during last year’s holiday shopping season. Yet many of these gift cards go unused because they’re misplaced or forgotten. 245-5164

• Heart-related deaths jump by close to 5 percent during the holidays, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego and Tufts University.

• Drunken antics at holiday office parties are pretty common in movies and television shows. But according to Reuters, only 45 percent of companies sur-veyed say they serve alcohol at their holiday parties,

• China might be the new North Pole. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, 85 percent of artificial trees come from China. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, $488.5 million worth of Christmas tree ornaments were imported from China in 2010. 245-3458

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“ ho, ho, ho” Lots of help at holiday sitesWe all need a little help during the holiday season. (Remember, even

Santa has his elves.) For tips from the experts on buying and wrapping holiday gifts, plus fun activities to keep children busy, visit the sites below:

Wrap It in Style • hgtv.com/topics/gift-wrappingFor some people, one of the most challenging aspects of the holiday season is wrapping presents! If you’re one of them, you’ll appreciate this site. It offers specific wrapping instructions (complete with photos and videos) for a variety of themes and materials, such as a holiday country theme, popsicle stick name- tags, and ways to go green with your gift wrap.

Holiday Gift Safety • cpsc.gov With all the product recalls over the years, it’s best to be on the safe side when picking out holiday gifts, especially toys for young children. Go to “Recalls and Public Safety News” to find recalls for toys and other products. You can search by variables like date, type of product, company, or hazard.

Santa’s Secret Village • northpole.comYoung kids will love this site, which takes them to the North Pole to write a letter to Santa, print stories to color the pages, visit the Elf Club House, and much more. There’s also a recipe for “Night Before Christmas” Coffee Cake and other festive foods.

hidden number Contest

If you find your number in italics anywhere in this

newsletter, please call our office at 402-245-4451 by November 15, 2011, to be eligible for $20 off your next month’s phone service. One lucky person’s name will be drawn. Last newsletter’s win-ner was Roger Schulenberg, Jr. Good luck and happy reading.

Christmas is Right Around the CornerTime to Think About Stocking Stuffers

At SNC Computer Sales & Service, we have a full

line of computer accessories to fill the stocking. For desktop computers, we have webcams, a cordless mini optical mouse, flexible keyboards, flash drives, and speakers. 883-2377 For laptop computers, we have Bluetooth USB adaptors, com-puter cases, cordless number pads, and much more. We also carry a full line of laptop and desktop computers if you need a big gift for under the tree.

stop by our office and talk to Don for lots of practical gift ideas!

Call Us When You need Convenient Computer Repair servicesAt SNC, we know how important your computer is to your daily activities and what a hassle it can be when things aren’t working properly. That’s why we offer a full range of services to keep your computer in tip-top shape including computer diagnos-tics, performance tune-ups, computer setup, hardware upgrades, and virus and spyware removal.

Our goal is to get you up and running as quickly as possible. Don Wilhide, SNC’s Macintosh and ComTIA A+ Certified Technician, is committed to providing quality work for our cus-tomers. He can come to your home or business, or you can bring the computer to our office. 883-2184

Some repairs can be done for a flat fee but others require an hourly rate charge:

• Hourly rate is $35 (billed in 1/4-hour increments)

• On-site service calls are $55 per hour

• Receive a 10% discount on hourly rates if you are an Internet subscriber with SNC

for more details or to arrange computer repair services, call 402-245-4451 and ask for Don.