bioneural.net » nat

Remote assistance that works

Bruce — Thu, 15 May 2008 10:18:24 +0000

It can be a struggle to provide remote assistance via Windows Messenger when both parties are behind NAT routers, even when UPnP is supported by both devices and computers, and port forwarding is in use. UltraVNC SC is a custom-configured "single click" VNC server used to initiate a support request; the "expert" runs UltraVNC in listening mode and forwards port 5500 on their router (the novice doesn't need to configure their own router). More here. This worked for me where RealVNC and Screen Sharing (vnc://x.x.x.x) failed.

Remote Assistance and NAT routers

Bruce — Wed, 13 Jun 2007 10:54:34 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

My parents have a PC running Windows XP. From time-to-time they encountered glitches, and it's been useful to establish a Windows Messenger connection and thus provide remote assistance using the tools built into the OS. The remote "expert" (that would be me) is able to see what they see on-screen, and to take control of the screen to help diagnose problems. It worked fine so long has my parents had dial-up Internet, even when I was asisting from my Mac via Parallels. But when they got broadband this functionality broke—all because of their NAT router. When Dad asked for help after conversing in Messenger the connection would fail, and I would be notified that "Remote Assistance connection could not be established because the remote host name could not be resolved. Please try again." Microsoft have a Knowledge Base article on the subject. The issue arises, apparently, because our computers are not in the same private subnet or because Microsoft Windows Firewall does not allow the computers to connect to Microsoft .NET Messenger Service servers. To resolve this the article details the process of making a custom RAInvitation.msrcincident file containing the public IP address of the computer needing help, and e-mailing this to the expert who can then use it (within a certain time frame) to make the connection and provide assistance. It's a hack, but it works. The thing is, there should be no need for a hack. Microsoft says: If the computer that sends the Remote Assistance invitation and the computer that receives ...

Make a persisting link to an AFP share

Bruce — Fri, 02 Jan 2004 16:11:48 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

You'll need to register a free domain name at DynDNS.org and providing you keep this account updated with your current IP address, other folk don't need to worry about typing in a variable IP address in order to reach your AFP share: the domain name is always resolved to the correct IP address. Register a domain name for free Go to the Dynamic Network Services Web site at http://www.dyndns.org/ and create an account. Once you've had the account activation e-mail, log on to your account and in "Your Hosts & Zones", click "Add Host" next to "Dynamic DNS". Enter a hostname and click "Add Host"; your IP address should already be displayed. Turn on Personal File Sharing on the Mac Personal File Sharing allows other Mac users to access just the Public folder on your computer (if they sign on as a Guest) at afp://192.168.1.10/ or afp://myplace.net (for example), or to browse for the name of your computer by choosing Network from the Go menu in the Finder. It uses the Apple File Protocol on ports 548 and 427. PFS can be activated/ deactivated from the System Preferences Sharing preference pane. Turn on AFP port-redirection if you have a NAT router Read how here. Create an AFP location file Type the URL of your new domain name into the address bar in Safari: You could add this as a Bookmark and Safari will pass the request to mount the share to the Finder when you select it. Alternatively, click-and-hold on the blue globe (see above picture) and drag it to the desktop. This ...

Mac OS X sharing services and NAT routers

Bruce — Fri, 02 Jan 2004 15:18:18 +0000

From http://www.bioneural.net :

If you want to enable Personal File Sharing, Windows Sharing, Personal Web Sharing, or FTP Access, here is what you need to know to make these services accessible to users the other side of your NAT router... What are sharing services? Personal File Sharing: Allows other Mac users to access the Public folder on your computer (if they sign on as a Guest) at afp://192.168.1.10/ (for example) or browse for the name of your computer by choosing Network from the Go menu in the Finder. Uses the Apple File Protocol, which Apple describes as the "the richest protocol for Macintosh file services", on ports 548 and 427. Note that if the user knows your Mac OS X user name and administrator password, they could log on and see all your files with same same privileges as yourself. Windows Sharing: Allows Windows users to access your Mac at \\192.168.1.10\yourhome (for example). Uses the Server Message Block/ Common Internet File System or SMB/ CIFS protocol on port 139. Note that this service does not need to be turned on in order for you to connect to Windows shares by browsing Network in Panther's Finder (SMB connections to a Windows machine can allow you to share e.g. a PC floppy drive, printer etc. To connect you a Windows SMB share from Mac OS Connect to server menu, use the syntax smb://workgroup;server/share. Fro example: smb://mshome;192.168.1.10/mydocuments Personal Web Sharing: Allows Mac or Windows users to view your computer?s Web site at e.g. http://192.168.1.10 or your personal Web site at e.g. ...