Using Anita to access the Practice Computer via ADSL/Broadband
If you are running EnServe on the practice computer e.g. it is connected to the Internet, you can use your house computer to access it via ADSL/Broadband.
The setup is actually a two step process:
- Setup Anita on the house computer
- Tell the practice computer you are authorised to access it.
Once setup there is nothing extra required, you use the PC at home as if it was a terminal in the practice.
First off install Anita as normal - See the FAQ Installing and Setting up Anita for details.
For the time being do NOT tick 'Close Window' on the Preferences -> View screen.
On the same screen tick 'Prompt for host'.
Pick Session -> Connect
Pop-up box will appear - enter the full address of the practice computer e.g. tkrh.demon.co.uk and click OK.
After a minute or so the system should come back with 'Unable to connect' or the status line will change to 'Disconnected' - this is to be expected. The practice computer does not know you so it is blocking access.
Make a note of the date and time.
You now need to check the practice computer, either do this over a dial-up connection from Anita, phone someone there or wait till you are next in.
Use the Admin Login and select:
Admin Menu
- Administrative Menu
- View System LogFiles
- Syslog - System Log
Scroll up/down (the END key will take you to the bottom) till you get to
the date and time you tried to connect.
Look for lines with 'refused connection' in them e.g.
Mar 11 14:24:41 xanth telnetd[27628]: refused connect from tkrh.demon.co.uk Mar 11 14:25:05 xanth telnetd[27640]: refused connect from tkrh.demon.co.uk
Here is the attempt I just made, your host name as far as the system goes will be listed, in this example, it is 'tkrh.demon.co.uk' - you need to add that to the list of 'allowable' hosts. This is done via:
Admin Menu
- EnServe Control Menu
- TCP Wrappers
- Sites Allowed in
You are now in the 'vi' editor, if you are unfamiliar with it press the
following keys exactly Capital O (O), a blank line should appear, type
Replace 'your_host_name' with what was listed in sys log e.g. in this example, it would be
You should now be able to go back to anita, click connect, and get a login
on the Practice computer.
If you are on a 'dynamic' account, your ISP may change the address being
used if your house PC is re-booted, restarted etc. - if this is the case
you cannot really do this. You will need to change the entry in 'Sites
Allowed in' each time the address changes. Keep in mind, if someone else
gets your address allocated to them they could access the system. Either
upgrade to an account that offers a static address or read on.
The method outlined above uses the 'telnet' protocol - this is NOT
encrypted - it could be 'sniffed' by anyone - so it should not really
be used heavily.
This uses an 'encrypted' protocol to allow all traffic to be rendered
impossible for someone to monitor - we can enable ssh for you BUT it
does mean you have to tighten up your existing passwords. When using
ssh you do not need to worry about dynamic addresses or entering specific
sites. The ssh login handles the security side of it.
Depending on the system you are connecting in from and the router in
use we can set up a Virtual Private Network. This
makes you 'part of' the practice network - no security issues at all.
ALL: your_host_name
press ALL: tkrh.demon.co.uk
Couple of things to note: