About Fuse Accelerator from Propel

What types of Web content does Propel accelerate?
Propel accelerates Web page text (including plain text, HTML, markup and javascript) and the most common forms of graphics: Gif, animated Gif, and JPEG images, Flash and File downloads.

Propel does not accelerate other forms of Internet content, including: streaming media, such as video and audio streams; secure pages, such as those used for online banking and credit card forms

Does Propel accelerate DSL or cable?
Propel Accelerator works with connections operating at speeds up to 200Kbps (kilobits per second). In addition to dial-up connections, some wireless, ISDN, or slow DSL connections qualify. If you have not downloaded Propel Accelerator and you are not sure what your Internet connection speed is, click here. If you have installed Propel Accelerator you can check your speed by using Propel Accelerator diagnostics, available from the Propel Accelerator taskbar menu.

How do I uninstall Propel Accelerator?

IMPORTANT: If you are using Netscape, Mozilla, or Opera, you will need to manually reconfigure the proxy settings in the browser after uninstalling or stopping Propel Accelerator in order to continue using the Internet. See below for further details. Uninstall Propel Accelerator

1. Click on Start --> Programs--> Propel Accelerator
2. Click on Uninstall Propel Accelerator

Alternatively, Propel Accelerator can be uninstalled using the Add/Remove Programs in control panel.

1. Start -> Settings -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs.

Restoring the Browser's Proxy Address and Port Number Netscape, Mozilla, or Opera

These instructions are for restoring Netscape's original proxy settings after uninstalling Propel Accelerator. These instructions generally apply to Opera and Mozilla.

1. Click on the Netscape Edit menu and select Preferences.
2. Click on the mark next to the Advanced category or simply double-click on Advanced.
3. Click on Proxies.
4. If there was a proxy address in use prior to installing Propel Accelerator, [Netscape 4.7 only: click View... first] enter that address and port number. Otherwise click "Direct Connection to the Internet".

Does Propel Accelerator work with cell phones used as data modems?
Yes Propel Accelerator will work with most 2.5G and 3G Wireless Data-enabled phones connected to a laptop. Acceleration up to 12X has been measured.

What are the system requirements for Propel Accelerator? Click here for details.

Does Propel Accelerator work with Virtual Private Networks (VPNs)?
Yes,Accelerator provides remote users with secure access to corporate Intranets. VPN traffic is usually encrypted. For this reason, Accelerator does not speed up Web pages accessed over VPNs. However, Accelerator automatically allows non-accelerated surfing over VPN connections. When Accelerator is accessing VPN pages, a yellow triangle (similar to a yield sign) appears on the Accelerator icon in the taskbar to let you know that Accelerator is temporarily unavailable.

Does Propel Accelerator work in a LAN configuration?
Yes Propel Accelerator will work in a Local Area Network, Wireless Network, peer-to-peer, or with Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing (ICS).

Propel Accelerator needs to be installed on each PC that needs acceleration. You can share one subscription with other computers on the network but only one computer will receive acceleration at a time. If you need the computers accelerated at the same time, each computer needs to have it's own subscription.

No special configuration is needed for Propel Accelerator to work

How can I find out what proxy port number Propel Accelerator is using?
Follow these steps to check the Propel Accelerator proxy port number:

1. Click the small blue Propel Accelerator icon (located in the taskbar by the system clock).
2. Click Options.
3. Click Advanced.
4. Note the port number. You will need this number to configure Netscape, Opera, or Mozilla to work with Propel Accelerator.
5. Click OK.

How can I further improve Acceleration performance?

Note: This FAQ is also useful if you are simply interested in figuring out exactly how much acceleration you are getting.

With Propel Accelerator in place you should be seeing a very noticeable increase in surfing speed -- an average of 3X acceleration, with some pages appearing up to 5 times faster. To get a better idea of the types of speed improvements you should expect to receive, see the Propel Accelerator Technical Overview. It contains a table showing typical speed improvements accessing several popular Web sites such as Amazon, c/net, and Priceline, among others, over dial-up modems. In our studies Web page performance can be significantly influenced by a number of factors including:

• Amount of data required to display a Web page. If you haven't already done so, try a higher Graphics Acceleration setting such as Level 4 or 5.
• Connection speed, which can vary significantly even when you are using the same ISP and dialing in to the same phone number.
• Available memory (RAM), which can vary depending on the number of applications you are running. Even though Propel Accelerator can run with very little available RAM, acceleration benefits can be further optimized if you have plenty of free RAM available.

If you are not seeing a very noticeable increase in surfing speed with Propel Accelerator (or perhaps no improvement at all), please take the following steps:

First you need to make sure that Propel Accelerator is working properly. When you browse a typical Web site you should see arrows moving over the Propel Accelerator icon (blue propeller in the Windows taskbar, near the clock). If you are not seeing the arrows or are getting little to no acceleration click here for important Troubleshooting Tips. It only takes a few minutes to make sure that Propel Accelerator is working for you.

If Propel is working properly, the next step is to measure the performance increase you are getting:

• The mouse-over. The quickest/fastest way to determine the amount of acceleration you are getting is to move your mouse over the Propel Accelerator icon. A small pop-up will appear telling you that Propel Accelerator is enabled and reporting the average speed up you are getting.
• Performance meter. Click on the Propel menu and choose Performance Meter and Test Page... In addition to displaying your average speed-up, you'll also see your effective speed in kbps (kilobits/second) based on Propel's compression of text and graphics.
• Performance Test Page. You'll also find a button that will take you to the Propel Accelerator Performance Test Page (PTP).For more details on the Propel Accelerator performance tests Click here.
• Enable/Disable Propel Accelerator. You can use the Disable Propel Accelerator menu command to turn off Propel Accelerator for an hour or two of surfing, then turn it back on and use it for a similar amount of time.
• Independent verification. Numion provides a "stopwatch" for timing page loads as well as many other interesting timing tools.

How can I be sure Propel Accelerator is working properly?

Is Propel Accelerator properly installed?
If Propel Accelerator is installed on your computer a small blue propeller-like icon will appear in the Windows taskbar area (near the system clock).

Is Propel Accelerator active?
If Propel Accelerator is active while you are surfing the Internet, the Propel Accelerator icon will appear as opposing white arrows flashing over the propeller. Try accessing a Web site. You should see the icon arrows flash as Web pages load.

Not sure?
If you don't see Propel Accelerator icon activity when browsing the Internet, please click here for Troubleshooting Tips.

How do I check for an update of Propel Accelerator?
To update or checking for an update of Propel Accelerator, simply click on the Propel Accelerator icon near your system clock. Click on "About Propel Accelerator" and click on the "Check for Update" button

Does propel speed up online games and reduce ping and lag time for Interactive games?
Propel Accelerator will speed up your Web surfing, but not your online games.

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Fuse Accelerator Troubleshooting

I installed Propel Accelerator and now I cannot seem to access the Internet. What should I do? Propel Accelerator isn't working or has stopped working. What should I do? Why can't I open the Propel Accelerator installation file after I download it? Why am I seeing partial or incomplete page loads with Propel Accelerator? How do I see the original graphic quality of specific image or Web page? Why are images still degraded after I uninstall Propel Accelerator? Why don't I see the Propel Accelerator icon after I installed Propel Accelerator? Why do I get the error: Page Not Found? My performance was great, but has slowed down recently. What can I do? Why do I get the error "Propelsetup.exe is not a valid Win 32 application" after downloading the Accelerator file? Why do I get an error "could not open install.log file" when I uninstall Propel Accelerator? Why do I get an error "Why do I get an error Invalid win32 application when I try to install Propel Accelerator?

I installed Propel Accelerator and now I cannot seem to access the Internet. What should I do? Click here for troubleshooting tips. If you can surf but are not receiving acceleration, click here.   Propel Accelerator isn't working or has stopped working. What should I do? It is possible that the file extension ".exe" was somehow lost from the Propel Accelerator installation file. You can easily check and, if necessary, remedy this situation. Here's how: First, find the installation file you downloaded. Unless you changed the name during the installation process, search for "propelsetup". Use the Window's Start menu: Start -> Search -> For Files and Folders. When you find the file, select it. The full name of the file should be visible. If the ".exe" extension (without quotation marks) is missing, add it. Click on the filename and add the extension ".exe" You should be able to double-click on the file right in the Search Results window to start the install. If the problem persists, please click here for technical support information.   Why can't I open the Propel Accelerator installation file after I download it? If Anti-Virus Protection detects a virus on your incoming email attachment, you will receive an email message either telling you that it has removed or repaired an attached virus file, that it was unable to disinfect a virus, or that a message itself was infected and had to be deleted by Anti-Virus Protection.   Why am I seeing partial or incomplete page loads with Propel Accelerator? There are two software applications that may cause this problem. Zone Alarm Pro Zone Alarm Pro, a product from Zone Labs. This will result in pages only partially loading and then stopping ("timing out"). This issue has been fixed by Zone Labs. Please upgrade to Zone Alarm Pro version 4.5.xxx.xxx or later. Norton Internet Securities If you're running Norton Internet Securities 2004, you will need to make a change. Click on the NIS 2004 system tray icon and choose "Norton Internet Security" from the top of the list. Click on "options" at the very top. Click on the "firewall" tab. Under "HTTP port list" find the number "8080" in the list, highlight it and click on the "remove" button. Click "ok". This is a bug with Norton Internet Security 2004, Early versions of Norton Internet Security 2003 works with no problems.   How do I see the original graphic quality of specific image or Web page? If you are using Internet Explorer, simply move your mouse over an image on a Web page and right-click. You'll see that two new options are available: Refresh Page with Full Quality. Refresh Picture with Full Quality. When your mouse is over a graphic. If you select one of these options, Propel Accelerator will replace the compressed graphic image with an original quality version. When the Propel Accelerator icon arrows stop moving, the new image is in place. The right-click options are not available in Outlook, Netscape, Opera or Mozilla. Please follow these steps; Click once on the small blue propeller icon located near your system clock. Select Disable Propel Accelerator Hold down the Ctrl key and click on the refresh icon on the browser toolbar. The compressed graphic image will be replaced with an original quality version. In Outlook use the Save As command to save the file in HTML format to your desktop, then double-click it to view in your browser. Once in your browser, you can use the Refresh With Full Quality right-click commands. , Note: When you first install Propel Accelerator, it is necessary to close and then restart IE in order to have the Refresh Page and Refresh Picture right-click menu options available. If you want to save the original quality of an image to your hard drive you will first need to refresh the original quality. If you wish to change the graphics quality setting, click on the small blue propeller icon located near your system clock and select options. If you uninstalled Propel Accelerator and you want to remove the degraded images, click here for details. If you have specific Web pages you do not want accelerated and, therefore, always see original image quality, follow these instructions. Microsoft® Internet Explorer Go to the specific Web page. Right-click on the Web URL in the browser address bar and select copy. From Internet Explorer select Tools --> Internet Options. Then click on the Connections tab. Select the connection you are using. Click Settings. Click the Advanced... button. Click in the Exceptions box, right-click and select paste. Click OK. Clear your Browser and Propel Cache.   Why are images still degraded after I uninstall Propel Accelerator? In order to speed up browsing, Web browsers are designed to download parts of Web pages and store them locally on your machine in an area called "cache" (all so known as temporary files). When you visit the same page for a second time, the browser speeds up display time by loading the parts of the page locally from your cache instead of downloading from the website. As a result it will use degraded images from your cache. To remove these degraded images so the browser will load new ones from the website simply delete your browser cache. If you are still using Propel Accelerator you will also need to delete the Propel Accelerator cache. You can do so by clicking on the small blue propeller icon near your system clock, click on options, click on Temporary Files, click on the "Delete Files" button. Internet Explorer Select "Tools > Internet Options..." from the main menu You should be on the "General" tab Click on "Delete Files" button AOL Select "My AOL "Preferences" from the main menu Click on the "WWW" button Change to the "General" tab Click on "Delete Files" button Netscape Select "Edit > "Preferences" from the main menu Change to the "Advanced" > "Cache" section Click on "Clear Memory Cache" and "Clear Disk Cache" buttons to clear memory and disk cache   Why don't I see the Propel Accelerator icon after I installed Propel Accelerator? This problem is due to one of a couple of factors: Propel Accelerator was downloaded but not installed. You may have Personal Firewall software installed preventing Propel Accelerator from launching or providing acceleration. Propel Accelerator installed? Click on Start--> Program. Do you see Propel Accelerator? If you don't see Propel Accelerator but you have downloaded it. Click on Start--> Search or Find and search for a file called "propelsetup". Locate the file and open it. This will start the installation. Do you have Personal Firewall software installed? If you find the instructions below to be incorrect for your version please let us know and we will update the information. Zone Alarm by Zone Labs Norton Personal Firewall 2003 Norton Internet Security McAfee Personal Firewall Zone Alarm In your Windows desktop, click on Start>Programs> Zone Labs. Select "Zone Alarm Pro". The ZA icon appears in your system tray near the clock. Right-click on the ZA icon and choose "restore". This will bring up the Zone Alarm Control Panel. On the right-hand side, click on "Programs". You will now see a list of program names. Scroll down the list until you see "PropelAC.exe" in the list. To allow access to the Propel Accelerator program, click on each question mark in the row next to PropelAC.exe and choose "allow" from the menu. Once you have changed them all to "allow", you should have green check marks in place of the question marks. Close the ZA control Panel. Start Propel Accelerator if it is not running. Go to Start> Programs> Propel Accelerator and choose "Start Propel Accelerator". You will now see the Propel Icon appear near your system clock. Norton Personal Firewall 2003 When you first install and run Propel Accelerator, you will receive several security warnings. One warning in particular will have the title, "Program Control," along with "Medium risk - PropelAC.exe is attempting to access the Internet. What would you like to do?" Below this, it will give you the default setting of "Block" in a pull down menu. To allow access to Propel, you must change this to "Permit" and then click "OK". This message will come up a few more times, and you need to perform the exact same steps on each one. If for some reason, you have blocked "Access to Propel Accelerator" and are not able to surf the Internet after installing Propel, you will need to manually configure access to Propel Accelerator. To do this, perform the following steps: Right-click on the Norton Personal Firewall Icon in your system tray near the clock. From the menu, click on "Norton Personal Firewall". This will open the Norton Security Center. Click on "Personal Firewall". On the right-hand side of the window, click on "Configure". Click on the "Program Control" tab. Scroll down the list of programs and select "PropelAC.exe". Click on "Block All" in the pull down menu and change it to "Permit All". Click on "OK". Start Propel Accelerator if it is not running. Go to Start> Programs> Propel Accelerator and choose "Start Propel Accelerator". You will now see the Propel Icon appear near your system clock. Norton Internet Security 2003 When you first install and run Propel and you have Norton Internet Security 2003 installed, you will receive several security warnings. One warning in particular will have the title, "Program Control," along with "Medium risk - PropelAC.exe is attempting to access the Internet. What would you like to do?" Below this, it will give you the default setting of "Block" in a pull-down menu. To allow access to Propel, you must change this to "Permit" and then click on the "OK" button. This message will come up a few more times, and you need to perform the exact same steps on each one. If for some reason, you have blocked "Access to Propel Accelerator" and are not able to surf the Internet after installing Propel, you will need to manually configure access to Propel Accelerator. To do this, perform the following steps: Right-click on the Norton Internet Security icon in your system tray near the clock. From the menu, click on "Norton Internet Security". This will show you the Norton Security Center. Click on "Personal Firewall". On the right-hand side of the window, click on "Configure". Click on the "Program Control" tab. Scroll down the list of programs and select "PropelAC.exe". Click on "Block All" in the pull-down menu and change it to "Permit All". Click on "OK". Start Propel Accelerator if it is not running. Go to Start> Programs> Propel Accelerator and choose "Start Propel Accelerator". You will now see the Propel Icon appear near your system clock. McAfee Personal Firewall Plus When you first download and install Propel Accelerator, you will get a security warning from McAfee Personal Firewall in a red window titled, "Application wants to Access the Internet". The program PropelAC.exe is requesting to access the Internet. Do you want to allow it?" In the section below, the option, "I want to ..." gives the choices of: "Grant Access" "Block All Access" Select "Grant Access". If you choose "Block All Access," you will not see the Propel Accelerator icon appear and your cursor will display an hourglass flashing on and off. You will still be able to connect to the Internet and access menus; however, you will be unable to browse any web sites. You will need to manually configure access to Propel Accelerator. To do this, perform the following steps: Right-click on the McAfee Security Center icon and choose "Personal Firewall" from the menu. Choose "View Applications" from the sub-menu. In the list of applications, select "PropelAC.exe". Under "Change Permission to..." click on "Allow Full Access". Close the McAfee Security Center window. Important! Restart Propel Accelerator. Go to Start> Programs> Propel Accelerator and choose "Start Propel Accelerator". Now try browsing to a few different web sites. You should be successful. Once you are able to browse the Internet using MS Internet Explorer, go to the Start> Programs> Propel Accelerator and choose "Start Propel Accelerator". You will now see the Propel Accelerator icon near your system clock. Try browsing to different web sites. You should see the arrows moving back and forth on the Propel Acceleration icon indicating acceleration.   Why do I get the error: Page Not Found? Microsoft XP multiple users The current version of Propel Accelerator will only work with XP Administrator accounts. Restricted or limited users need to disable Propel Accelerator to surf. Propel will soon release a new version of Propel Accelerator that will accelerate restricted or limited users. Meanwhile, you can change the account to have Administrator rights. Send an email to Customer Support if you would like to be notified when the new version becomes available. Browser Configuration As part of the acceleration process, Propel Accelerator uses a "proxy server" on your computer. A proxy server is a local program that manages Web traffic to and from your browser. The proxy server is configured in your browser. If this is not configured correctly in your browser, you may receive this error. Click here if you received this error after uninstalling Propel Accelerator: Cannot surf after installing Propel Accelerator? Internet Explorer Click on the small blue propeller icon and select Options, then click on the Advanced... button and write down the port number. Click cancel. From Internet Explorer select Tools -> Internet Options. Then click on the Connections tab. Select the connection you are using. Click Settings. Make sure that the "Use a proxy server for this connection" checkbox is checked. If not, do so. Then click the Advanced... button. Make sure that the proxy address for HTTP port address is set to "localhost" (no quotes) and the port is set to the port number found in step one. Click OK. Now test. You can verify that Propel Accelerator is working when the Propel Accelerator icon (blue propeller near the system clock) shows moving arrows when you browse the Internet. Netscape Click on the small blue propeller icon and select Options, then click on the Advanced... button and write down the port number. Click cancel. Click on the Netscape Edit menu and select Preferences. Double-click on the Advanced category. Click on Proxies. Click View [Netscape 4.7 only]. Make sure that the "Manual proxy configuration" radio button is selected. Click in the HTTP Proxy area and enter the word "localhost" without the quotes. Click in the HTTP Port area and enter the Propel Accelerator port number (by default 8080, but you should verify this as described above). Click OK. Try accessing your favorite Web sites; your Internet experience should be accelerated. Software Applications MacAfee Privacy Service There is a bug in earlier versions of MacAfee Privacy Service that can interfere with applications using proxy settings causing Web pages to not load. Please update to MacAfee Privacy Service version 4.0.1.24 and above or Security Center 6.0 and above. Zone Alarm Pro Zone Alarm Pro is a product from Zone Labs. Use will result in pages only partially loading and then stopping ("timing out"). This issue has been fixed by Zone Labs. Please upgrade to Zone Alarm Pro version 4.5.xxx.xxx or later. Norton Internet Securities If you're running Norton Internet Securities 2004, you will need to make a change. Click on the NIS 2004 system tray icon and choose "Norton Internet Security" from the top of the list. Click on "options" at the very top. Click on the "firewall" tab. Under "HTTP port list" find the number "8080" in the list, highlight it and click on the "remove" button. Click "ok". This is a bug with Norton Internet Security 2004 Early versions of Norton Internet Security 2003 works with no problems. Cannot surf after uninstalling Propel Accelerator? Internet Explorer From Internet Explorer select Tools -> Internet Options. Then click on the Connections tab. Select the connection you are using. Click Settings. Make sure that the "Use a proxy server for this connection" checkbox is not checked. Netscape Click on the Netscape Edit menu and select Preferences. Double-click on the Advanced category. Click on Proxies. Click View [Netscape 4.7 only]. Make sure that the "Manual proxy configuration" radio button is not selected.   My performance was great, but has slowed down recently. What can I do? Note: This FAQ is useful if your performance was good at one time, but has slowed down. If you have not seen any performance improvements since installing Propel Accelerator, click here. There may be several factors that are impacting performance. This information will help you quickly isolate the cause of your slow performance. Simply follow the steps below. Is Propel Accelerator active on your computer? If Propel Accelerator is installed and active on your computer, a small blue propeller-like icon is visible in the Windows taskbar area near the system clock. As you surf Web pages, this icon changes to alternating arrows as Propel Accelerator accelerates the content. If you see the icon, try surfing to several popular Web pages. Click here if you do not see the Propel Accelerator icon or alternating arrows. Other applications may be taking CPU or network resources from your dial-up connection. Please confirm that you are not downloading files, and that you do not have unnecessary browser windows open, as well as any unnecessary applications, streaming media, email, or chat windows open. Ensure that your computer is free of viruses. Any of these things can cause slow CPU and network performance, which in turn impacts acceleration performance. Run Propel Accelerator Diagnostics. To run Diagnostics, click the small blue propeller icon in the Windows taskbar and select the Diagnostics option. Click Run Test. Do not run this test while downloading files. Diagnostics runs an eight-part test. The Diagnostics should pass, but if any of the steps fail, click the help button for recommendations. If there is no obvious remedy, you should select the System Info test located in the Diagnostics menu. Then click Copy Log to copy the diagnostic and system information to your clipboard. Right-click to paste this information into an email message and send it to Customer Support. If the Diagnostics passes, review these steps. Step 3 of Diagnostics - Testing your Internet connection for packet loss... This step measures packets of data sent to and received by Propel Accelerator in minimum, maximum, and average time (in milliseconds). In effect, this step measures the quality of your phone connection from your house to the phone company. The quality of your phone line can change over time. Things like poor connections, bad telephone company equipment, or bad residential equipment can cause problems. Lost packets must be retransmitted and therefore cause degradation of your Internet performance. If your packet loss is above 5% or the average round trip time is greater than 500 ms, reconnect to the Internet and run Diagnostics again. If the problem persists, we recommend that you talk to your local phone company and report the problem. Step 4 of Diagnostics - Determining current line speed... The quality of phone service may vary in different countries. Check with your phone company to see what you can expect. Connection speeds will vary depending on your: Modem speed ISP modem speed Distance from central office Quality of phone line from the phone company Internal phone wiring Based on user feedback, we have seen most modem connection speeds in the US range from 28 Kbps to 42 Kbps. Anything above 42 Kbps is excellent, anything below 28 Kbps is considered poor. See the suggestions below to improve line speed. Did you add any new telephone equipment to your phone line, such as a fax machine, phone, another modem, online gaming equipment, or alarm system? Other hardware may impact your ability to get an acceptable baud rate. Anything you can do to reduce other equipment on the same phone line will improve signal strength and quality. Temporarily disconnect the device, connect again and see if the baud rate improves. Because wall jack outlets and phone cord connections are made of copper or other metals, they are subject to corrosion. Try a new phone cord and plug it into another jack if one is available. Use a dial-up access number close to you. The distance to the phone number you are dialing may affect your connection speed. Basically, the closer you are, the fewer the number of switches or repeaters your signal may have to go through before arriving at its destination. Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may add phone numbers that are located closer to you. Check with your ISP. If you are using a modem that is under 56 Kbps, upgrading to a faster modem will likely give you better connection speeds. Click here to learn how to measure Acceleration performance.   Why do I get the error "Propelsetup.exe is not a valid Win 32 application" after downloading the Accelerator file? This error is rare and occurs when the size of the file that was downloaded is smaller than the size of the original source file. This problem is usually caused by the modem dropping data packets or by an interruption during the file download. To correct this situation, locate the file propelsetup.exe. Delete the file and download it again. If you need to know how to download Propel Accelerator, click here.   Why do I get an error "could not open install.log file" when I uninstall Propel Accelerator? It appears that one or more files were removed from the Propel Accelerator directory. To correct this problem, reinstall Propel Accelerator. You can try to locate the file propelsetup.exe on your system and open it, or you can download it again from your account. To uninstall Propel Accelerator: Click Start -> Programs -> Propel Accelerator -> Uninstall Propel Accelerator. If you need to know how to download Propel Accelerator, click here.   Why do I get an error Invalid win32 application when I try to install Propel Accelerator? If you get an Invalid win32 application error when you try to open the file, you need to delete the file and download it again. The file was not completely downloaded, which caused the file size to be smaller than the original source file.

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