Reference: File IPAccess.hst

How to ... open Hamster for other computers?

Purpose:

Allow or refuse connections to local servers based on the IP-address of connecting clients.

General format:

Plain-text.
Comments starting with "#" or ";" may be added to enhance readability.
Each definition-line consists of up to 5 values separated by commas (",")

Parameters:

1st parameter: Scope

This value describes which local servers are affected by the setting. For example, a line starting with "NNTP" only affects the local NNTP server, but not the POP3 or SMTP servers.

Keywords:

`NNTP`	Local NNTP-server
`POP3`	Local POP3-server
`SMTP`	Local SMTP-server
`MAIL`	Local POP3- and SMTP-server
`RECO`	Local RC server
`ALL`	All local servers

2nd parameter: Access

This value describes if a client can connect to the given local server(s) and which actions are allowed on it.

Keywords:

`RW`	Allow Read/Write
`WO`	Allow Write-Only
`RO`	Allow Read-Only
`NA`	No Access

The distinction between read- and write-access is only a logical issue. The specific behaviour is as follows:

Scope	Access	Effect
`NNTP`	`RO`	Client can read articles.
`NNTP`	`RW`	Client can both read and post articles.
`POP3`	`RW/RO`	Client can fetch mails.
`SMTP`	`RW/WO`	Client can send mails.
(all)	(other)	Connection is refused.

3rd/4th parameter: IP selection

These two parameters describe the IP address of the incoming connection. There are several ways to describe the wanted ones:

a.) Lower and upper limit of IP addresses

A single IP number or a range of IP numbers can be given directly, i. e. lower limit as 3rd and upper limit as 4th parameter. If it's only a single IP address, the upper limit can be ommitted.

ALL, RW, 127.0.0.1 ALL, RW, 192.168.0.0, 192.168.255.255

b.) Domain name

If a domain name instead of an IP is given as 3rd parameter, access is assigned if the domain name of the connecting IP equals the given name or is one of its sub-domains. 4th parameter has no meaning in this case and should be empty.

ALL, NA, well-known-bad-guys.example POP3, RO, mycompany.com.example

c.) IP of domain name

If a domain name is given with a leading question mark as 3rd parameter, access is assigned if the connecting IP equals the (current) IP of the given domain name. 4th parameter has no meaning in this case and should be empty.

NNTP, RW, ?friend.dyndns.org.example

d.) Local IPs

The special keyword "LOCAL" as 3rd parameter tells Hamster that all IP addresses of the local computer should be treated like the address given in the 4th parameter. This setting is especially useful if local addresses are assigned dynamically, e. g. addresses assigned by a DHCP-server or assigned by your provider on dial-up.

1st and 2nd parameters have no meaning in this case and are ignored, but they have to be syntactically correct.

# all local IP-addresses should be treated as 127.0.0.1: ALL, NA, LOCAL, 127.0.0.1

5th parameter: Default account

Optional name of an Account that is assigned to the connecting client.

Such accounts are currently only used to define an "auto-login" account for the local NNTP server, i. e. the account (and its settings) to be used if user does not authenticate. Such accounts require the password "*" (a single star without the qoutes) for auto-login to work.

If no name is given, name "nntpdefault" is used as default (just for compatibility with earlier Hamster versions).

NNTP, RW, mycompany.com.example, , mycompany

Implementation notes:

The definition-list is only loaded once when starting Hamster, so you have to restart Hamster after manually editing the file. If you edit the file with HControl, no restart is required.
As Hamster is intended to be used "at home", the default-setting is to allow full access on all local servers for adresses 127.0.0.1 and 192.168.0.0-192.168.255.255. Furthermore, all local IP-addresses are treated like "127.0.0.1".

To change this behaviour you have to create a file named "IPAccess.hst" in Hamster's root-directory and add at least one valid definition-line.
The definition-list is tested from top to down and the first matching definition-line is used. If no definition-line matches, connection is refused.

Example:

# treat all local IP-addresses like 127.0.0.1: ALL, NA, LOCAL, 127.0.0.1 # full access on all services for localhost: ALL, RW, 127.0.0.1 # full access on all services for LAN-stations: ALL, RW, 192.168.0.0, 192.168.255.255 # full access on all services for specific addresses: ALL, RW, 11.22.33.44 # John Doe ALL, RW, 44.33.22.11 # Jane Doe # readonly-access on news for all other addresses: NNTP, RO, 0.0.0.0, 255.255.255.255 # no access for all other addresses and services: ALL, NA, 0.0.0.0, 255.255.255.255

[www.elbiah.de Hamster Playground Documentation]