IPCOP 'misbehaving'

[8321]

Hi, while waiting for broadband, I have set up an IPCOP v1.4.5 box with a 56kb dial-up modem attached to it (using dial-on-demand option). Everything works OK and I can connect to the internet from any Windoze PC on the GREEN network. If there is no connection, IPCOP dials out as it should. It is a very good piece of software.

However, the modem just starts dialling sometimes for no apparent reason. Is there some infection on my system with a bu**er trying to contact home from inside my system?

IPCOP patches are up to date. Outlook is closed so it can't be doing automatic updates.

Any suggestions from the best source of broadband knowledge on the internet will be greatly appreciated.

 

[antowan]

Most new operating systems have a miriad of reasons to look for net connectivity by themselves. In an ideal world it should not matter, but you are on dialup in a country with no free calls.



The reason for the Inet request could be from a gazillion sources...

- Windows update?
- Anti-Virus liveupdate?
- Software looking for their own updates?

If you can trust the network to dial only when you want it to, without unplugging the phone line I will be impressed... It is possible, but you will have a very restrictive setup. Perhaps you should set the system to ask before dialing... It must be possible...

 

[ic]

If there is an "Dial on Demand for DNS" option in IPCop, try disable it...

Telephony:

Idle timeout (mins; 0 to disable):	Persistent connection:
Dial on Demand:	Dial on Demand for DNS:
Connect on SmoothWall restart:	Automatic reboot if connection down for 5 minutes:
ISP requires Carriage Return:

The Persistent Connection checkbox is used to instruct SmoothWall to try to redial the line if the link fails for some reason. Use this with caution. If you have metered charges you probably not want to use this. However, if you have unlimited service time with your ISP, you will probably want to use this in order to keep the link connected as much as possible.

Whether or not Persistent is enabled, if more then the Maximum Retries number of dial attempts fail in a row, SmoothWall will give up until you try to dial the link again by pressing the Dial button.

You can choose Tone or Pulse dialing using the dropdown box. A checkbox is also provided for enabling or disabling the modem's speaker during dialing.

The Idle timeout setting, when used in non-persistent connections, sets a time of inactivity, after which the line will automatically be dropped. Setting this to 0 disables this timeout.

Dial on Demand is available by clicking the relevant checkboxes. After enabling Dial on Demand, you still have to click the Connect button on the homepage to start SmoothWall waiting for an outgoing request. The Dial on Demand for DNS option will make SmoothWall dial for DNS requests, which is usually what you want.

Connect on Restart will make SmoothWall connect after booting. This is especially useful in Dial on Demand mode, because it will automatically put the system into Dial on Demand waiting mode each time the SmoothWall machine is switched on.

ISP Requires Carriage Return: Most ISP require that the modem send a carriage return to signal it is finished sending. If your ISP requires this, then leave it checked, if it does not, then you can uncheck this box. Default is checked.

​

Additional PPPoE settings:

Service name:

Concentrator name:

PPPoE:
Here you can enter two additional parameters, a service name, and a concentrator name, which some ISPs require. If your ISP does not require them, or does not give you any, then you may leave these two fields blank.

​

Authentication:

Username:	Password:
Method:	Script name:

Authentication: Username and Password are the username and password that your ISP should have supplied to you when you joined.

There are several ways in which ISPs use this username and password to login to their systems. The most common methods are PAP or CHAP. Select this if your ISP uses either of those two. If your ISP uses a text-based login script, choose standard login script. For people in the UK who use Demon Internet as their ISP, a special script has been created for them to use. The "Other" login script option has been provided for people who have ISPs with special needs. If you need to do this, you will need to login to the SmoothWall box and create a file in /etc/ppp. This filename (without the /etc/ppp component) should be entered into the Script name box. The file contains 'expect send' pairs, separated by a tab. USERNAME will be substituted for the username and PASSWORD for the password. Examine the file demonloginscript in /etc/ppp, and use it as an example of what should be in this file.

​

DNS:

Type:	Manual || Automatic
Primary DNS:	Secondary DNS

DNS: Here you can either enter the IP addresses of your ISP's DNS servers, or select Automatic if your ISP supports automatic DNS server configuration, which nearly all ISPs do.

If either PPPoE or USB ADSL is enabled, additional configuration items will be available.

​

Ok, that's all from SmoothWall, but IPCop is an offshoot of SmoothWall, so it should have many of the same options in its webinterface, try disable the "Dial on Demand for DNS option" to see if that resolves the mystery dialups...

 

[8321]

Ipcop

Thanks Antowan and IC. I don't like your diagnosis, Antowan, because of the cost implications (and loss of control) but you are right.

The first thing I tried was un-ticking Dial on Demand for DNS option. Then I couldn't get any application to dial. (Actually it started out unticked and I ticked it to make things work.)

I will look at the other suggestions tomorrow. The IPCOP Ops Manual is pretty much the same as the Smoothwall one you quoted from, IC.

 

[ic]

Yep, I haven't tried IPCop, but it is an offshoot of SmoothWall, not really sure what the difference is between them.

Personally I haven't tried Dial on Demand with SmoothWall - I have it set to Persistent connection bcos there are no dialup costs involved with my iBurst connection - I do disconnect my iBurst when I'm not using it due to all the unsolicited traffic that hits my firewall & uses up my 3GB bandwidth cap...

Back to the subject of this thread, to try eliminate some possibilities, what if you manually establish the connection when you have "Dial on demand for DNS" disabled - do your applications then reach the Internet while the connection is still manually established?

 

[8321]

Eliminate possibilities

Back to the subject of this thread, to try eliminate some possibilities, what if you manually establish the connection when you have "Dial on demand for DNS" disabled - do your applications then reach the Internet while the connection is still manually established?

Yes, if the connection is made manually, then applications go through fine even with DoD for DNS disabled.

I have disabled (temporaily) automatic virus updates and powered down all the computers I can. I still wonder whether there is some trojan/worm trying to dial out?