You can connect reliably to AOL with Mandriva Linux using the free 'penggy'
software, downloadable from here. Once
downloaded, you should be able to double-click the resulting icon to install
it.

It lacks a graphical interface, but is easy to setup and use none-the-less.
I set it up in just a few minutes and it connnected on the first try.

Here are some steps to follow once you have it installed:

1. Make sure your modem installed and working. That task is beyond the scope
   of this article. You can proceed and hope this is already working.
2. Open a text editor as root. You'll need to this to update
   some configuration files. Try pressing "ALT-F2" to display a "run command" box,
   and enter kate in the box. Kate is a text editor.
   Press the Options button, check the box to "run as another user".
   Then you can editor the password for root, and press "run" to open the editor.
3. With Kate, open the file /etc/penggy/aol-secrets. Enter your
   AOL usernames and passwords to connect with there. Save it.
4. With Kate, open the file /etc/penggy/phonetab. Enter the phone numbers
   that AOL should try to dial. Save it.
5. With Kate, open /etc/penngy/penggy.conf. This
   is a longer configuration file, but very little needs to be changed in
   it in most cases. Scroll down or search for "screen_name". After the
   related block of comments, add a new line with your preferred screen
   name like: screen_name = YouSoCool53.
   If something doesn't work later on, you may need to poke around more
   in this file for other possible changes.
6. Create a menu entry. By right clicking on the start menu ("K menu"), you
   launch the menu editor. With it, you can navigate to the internet category,
   and add a new application entry. I titled mine "Connect to AOL". The command
   to use is:

   echo "root password: " && su -c /usr/sbin/penggy

   This will prompt you for the root password, which is necessary to run penngy.
   Once the menu entry is created, check the box for the entry labeled "Open in a terminal".
   Press the "Save" icon to finish this step.

Now you are ready to try it out! You should be able to select the menu entry to
penggy. Enter the root password in the resulting terminal, and watch the
output to see how things go. If there is a problem, you may need to make an adjust
to one of the steps above.

When you ready to disconnect from AOL, just close this terminal window.

See Also

• Installing Software on Mandriva Linux
• Recommended Modems for use with Linux
• Linspire Linux has their own AOL dialer which appears to be very easy to install and use.

This article is in no way an endorsement of AOL. The waste they generate from mailing
out unwanted CDs is horrendous. (Although the CD cases are often re-usable...)
You are encouraged to seek internet service from a locally owned ISP when possible.
Check here to find one. The author of this document does not currently use AOL
and is unlikely to be able to provide further assistance.