Summary
Product: FreeProxy Internet Suite
Versions: all
Note: 2069
Date reported: 2 April 2008
Issue Detail
Having set up FreeProxy, you are still experiencing connection problems to the internet or to the proxy.
Solution Stop the FreeProxy Service
A lot can be done to isolate the problem starting with the simple connection tests and progressing to the more elaborate. In the main, if you have set up FreeProxy and your servers and workstations correctly, FreeProxy will also work correctly.
Check that FreeProxy has been installed correctly.
Make sure that FreeProxy has been installed correctly. You can determine this by starting the FreeProxy Control Centre and then starting the service. If this happens and the status of the service changes to "Running", then proceed. Otherwise, if you have a problem, re-install FreeProxy. If you have any problem re-installing FreeProxy, see Technical Note: https://www.handcraftedsoftware.org/index.php?page=3&mode=article&k=76 and then re-install FreeProxy.
Check that you have correctly defined a proxy or service.
At least one proxy or service must be defined. The port that FreeProxy will listen on is defined as the Client port. If you are having trouble connecting to the port, remove local and remote binding from the port for testing purposes. There can only be one occurrence of each port number specified in the client port. In other words, each port number must be unique. The control centre itself enforces this rule to ensure that FreeProxy itself does not attempt to open the same port twice. However, it does not prevent other software from opening one of the ports you have specified in FreeProxy. If this does happen, FreeProxy will display an error such as
Code:
<date> #10048: WSAEADDRINUSE: Address already in use ...
. To check for this possible scenario, issue the command from the command line as follows:
Of course you only issue the "netstat -a" command and what is shown above after that is a typcial the result. Looking at the example above "proxy server" is the name of my computer and alpharand.com is the domain name. "LISTENING" indicates the ports that are open to accept connections. Of the listening ports, the names or numbers after the ":" in, for example, proxyserver:epmap or proxyserver:912 indicate the port. The example of 912 is obvious. It means that port 912 is already open for inbound connections. The symbolic name that appear after the "proxyserver:" refer to names defined in the services file. The services file can be found in "C:WINDOWSSYSTEM32Driversetcservices. Open this file with notepad being careful to quit without saving afterwards. Another way to get this same list is to issue the command
however now, the local system is represented by IP address 0.0.0.0 and the foreign address no longer shows the names but rather the IP address and port.
The important part is checking that there is no LISTENING port open before you start FreeProxy, that you intend to use in FreeProxy. To determine which program is using the port you intend using, if this is the case, then you can use a program like "fport" (www.foundstone.com/us/resources/proddesc/fport.htm) which will list both the port and the program which has control of the listening port.
Do NOT proceed beyond this point if you see a port listed by netstat or fport and you have not yet started FreeProxy. Otherwise there will be a clash and you will not be connecting to Freeproxy.
Start FreeProxy and check that it is running.
You can either start FreeProxy as a service or start in "Console mode". In console mode you can see any error messages appear in a command box as the event occurs. For debugging purposes, do the following:
Set the debug level to "Full Trace" in the Options menu and specify a log file to write to.
In addition you can set "Log message content" although this feature has not been consistently implemented for all protocols.
Save the config file
Start in console mode
Check the port is open after starting FreeProxy
Use "netstat -an" or "netstat -a" or program "fport" as described above to check that the port is in LISTENING status. If it is not, and FreeProxy is running in either console or service mode, then you will need to review the logs and Windows Event Log to determine where the problem might be. If you use program fport, you can additionally check that FreeProxy is controlling the port you have defined. Do not progress beyond this point unless you can see the ports listed in "netstat -a".
Check that you can connect to the local port
After verifying that the port is in a LISTENING status, you can check that it is accessible from the local system; the system on which FreeProxy is running. If you have used local binding, the check the IP address you are bound to in the proxy or service definition. If you are not comfortable with this, change the proxy or service to remove local binding, save the config file and then stop and start FreeProxy. If you have used local binding and want to test with this set, make sure you use the <ipaddress> of the local server as it has been selected in local binding. If you have not set local binding you can use "localhost" (without the quotes) as the <ipaddress> in the next command. So, from the command prompt type the following:
Code:
telnet <ipaddress> <port>
Remember you must actually type in
Code:
telnet localhost 8080
or something like
Code:
telnet 12.18.161.34 8080
if 12.18.161.34 had been the IP address in the local binding definition of the proxy or service in the config file and likewise, 8080 was the port defined as the client port.
If you are not able to connect, then you should get an error like the following:
Code:
C:>telnet localhost 8080
Connecting To localhost...Could not open connection to the host, on port 8080:Connect failed
Here a check is being made on port 8080. In this case the connection failed as there is no port 8080 in a listening status. On the other hand, if the port does connect, it very much depends on the protocol of the port that you are connecting to, to determine the response you get. Some protocols simply connect, and the screen shows blank as is the case for HTTP. In other cases, such SMTP and POP you will immediately get a response. If it does connect, telnet will not display "Connect failed" and it is usually obvious when the screen is blanked that the connection has been made.
If you have not been able to connect, do not proceed until such time as you are able to connect.
Check that you can connect FreeProxy from a different computer
A computer may have more that one IP address. If you have used local binding, then to connect to that computer, you must address that computer by the IP address specified in local binding. If you have not specified local binding you can connect to that computer using any of its IP addresses. IP addresses can be determined by using the "ipconfig" command issued from the command line. For example:
The above example shows the primary IP address of the PC. Use either this address (12.18.161.154 in the above example) or the IP address specified in local binding if you have used local binding. In most cases, the address specified here and the one used for local binding will be the same. Now, from a command line a different system (a system on the network connected to the system FreeProxy is running), issue the command
Code:
telnet <ipaddress>
. Remember you must actually specify an IP address instead of <ipaddress> <port>. For example, to connect to the system with IP address 12.18.161.154, select a different computer in the network, and type the following command from the command line
Code:
telnet 12.18.161.154 8080
The above example shows an attempt to connect to 12.18.161.154 on port 8080. Replace these numbers with your IP address and port as required.
The results are the same as those for connecting to the local host. You should see a connection. If not, then examine the following,
Check the firewall settings on the FreeProxy computer ensuring it allows inbound connections on the port FreeProxy is listening on
If you have a hardware router containing a Firewall, check that it allows the connection on the ports you need
If you have a router, check whether you are using MAC or IP address filtering which may be preventing the connection.
Check the physical connection between your computer and the FreeProxy system. Make sure you can connect to using using other means such as being able to map a network drive for example.
Check that your system has either a fixed or DHCP allocated IP address. Use the ipconfig command for this.
