What is the use of portable applications if you can only connect with them from home? Well it seems i am behind some kind of proxy, however your get proxy utility didn't give any solution. the IP line was empty.
There is nothing in the IE settings where you are supposed to see the IP. though the default IE8 works just fine. i also managed to install Chrome on computer and it works more or less fine. some sites still get blocked as we have a filter.
But this portable firefox doesn't even connect to any site. Ofcourse neither can pidgin. Is there a way i could get these applications to work? because if they don't/can't then what is the use?
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I added This patch. Try it from here. Otherwise, I don't have any ideas how to help.
I've also managed to do it with some help. But result is the same as with your version. It says there is no proxy enabled on this computer. Which means?!?!? How come i can't reach the net then?
I mean with apps installed to the disk it works. maybe i should installe portable apps to disk ?!
More information needed.
I don't know what security or filtering solution is used at your host pc. Maybe programs from external drives are cut off so they don't get internet access, maybe just some specific programs are given access rights...
A portable proxy solution is planned for a future release but is not even in the pipeline for now. I may be a solution for your problem if it is just the proxy settings, but if some other filtering is set up, it won't help.
Y
ou could try running firefox portable from a local disk. Just copy the folder but take care that the directory strukture is kept e.g. if your portable setup is X:\PortableApps\FirefoxPortable it has to be something like C:\PortableApps\FirefoxPortable afterwards as Firefox portable may not deal with directory moving.
If it runs thereafter, internet access from executables on external drives may be limited.
Thanks, wish i could give more info but i am not an admin.
I tried to move it to local disk bu tnothing happened. it just keeps connecting and never connects.
I also tried pidgin which says
Unable to connect: The server returned an empty response.
I am unsure how they block the trafic and how they sleect which one goes through and which one doesn't. I thought only some sites are blocked (which is sort of OK) and that internet is just let through unless you try to access those site. So i guess there must be some kind of proxy being used here or something.
For example i can't ping this site with command prompt but i can ping it via explorer. strange. it seems the system connect to local server and then the local server connect to internet.
like since they allow IE, they may have made some specific block of firefox or pidgin (or the ports they would use). Have you tried the programs on other computers that you have access to, like another friend, a library, an internet cafe?
Don't be an uberPr∅. They are stinky.
i managed to get to another ocmputer on another IP. and the moment i started it up firewall popped up with a warning that firefox wants to access internet. after allowing it it all worked. so this could mean that the reason i am getting blocked here is the firewall setting. is there a way to see on what port the IE works (firewall must be on central server). would that actually make any differece? otherwise other non-internet applications work great. it's just too bad thta this whole thing seems ot be useless for any applications internet related. as anyone a little internet educated who has publicly placed computer (where one could use this kind of thing) is bound to have a firewall installed.
Maybe it does not meet your expectations, but it is far from useless. There is always the possibility not to be able to use portable apps with internat connection because of heavy locked down settings. Your access to usb-ports may even be blocked sometimes. But here many internet cafes only use the built in windows firewall and that normally works fine. And from my experience, more and more users begin to realize that personal firewalls are completely useless security wise and depend on the build in solutions of Windows.
Many people use portable apps in other circumstances (e.g. on friends computers or at work with less security guidelines). Others use them locally to eliminate aggrevating of garbage in their OS. I for one never met any restrictions in my use of portable apps, so the experience does vary.
At your special case you may have no luck if you can't convince the IT staff to loosen the guidelines (what normally won't happen). So Firefox portable shurely is useless, but only for you.
yeah, but that's the purview of the IT/owners of the computers. So you tried it at another computer/IP that is still overseen by the same folks? How about a totally different public locale or a friends pc? It's rare that it is the program itself that is causing the block, more often it is the k-12 school or companies (that treat their employees like k-12) that block specific programs.
I've used my apps all over the US and in the UK in public libraries, internet cafes, friends place, and there was like maybe 4 computers that wouldn't play nicely.
Don't be an uberPr∅. They are stinky.
My question is how come the programmes that are propperly installed (such as for example google Chrome (it doesn't require admin privileges to install it on system) work and connect ot internet fine while these portable browsers don't?
And yes i did try it on a brothers computer that runs Comodo firewall and firewall immediatelly popped up asking for users permission for the application to access the net. Which is normal thing to do afterall we don't want some trojans to easilly acces the web don't we? at least not without our pemission. well if anyone thinks firewalls are useless, then i feel for them and i hope they don't have a problem if someone steals their passwords or accesses their computer. Well they probably wouldn't even know if that is happening...
Also as i know Comodo has Firefox as safe application and if you install it to hard disk it won't ask you for access.
here all libraries have some type of restriction and i doubt these applications would work there as well. some even have Kiosk mode set on computers. i haven't tried it though. have not been much of a library fan since i finished my studies.
My question still remains? how are they blocking it? as far as i know i could probably ask them to install it on my computer and they wouldn't unblock it anywhre and it would work. I know this because i saw it with other applications. they install them and the application downloads updates from the net. they don't do any unblocking. all the do is install them. my problem is i can't ask them to do it in this case since i have no good reason for them to install it.
What seems to be the case here it that every installed application has access to internet while unistalled apps don't.
Also some people in this company really do need to be treated like 12 year olds when they access the computer as they haven't got a clue about them. to them E (sign for MS Internet Explorer) means internet.
Anyway if i had full access i wouldn't find much need for a portablle application.
and managed, then you will find the firewall is not on the server, it will definitely not be some extra colorful software on server, but a separate box with some connectors and led indicators, containing its own operating system and works completely on its own. Often this might also be the actual output router.
Configuration of such firewalls are almost endless. All sorts of settings are possible.
In addition to it, the server will also manage network policy which can prevent lot of things, like kick out all portable drives or just allow certain things with them.
If I insert in our company my personal usb stick into a computer, alarm is given in the IT dept 80km away and my boss is getting warning e-mail.
If I stick in the usb stick I received from the company, nothing happens.
Furthermore some apps may be set to detect proxy etc automatically, if not just write down the settings for proxy connection in your IE and use them.
For Firefox, there are also some extensions which will try to establish the proxy settings automatically.
As far as Comodo aand similar :
well, reasonably designed Trojan will certainly not use any standard communication way to contact his big brother in internet. Those times are definitely over for number of years. Such malware will use ways like DNS requests to transport its payload with it (how do you want prevent it?) or the more simple versions will use already as 'safe' marked connections, payloads will often use traffic of some updaters and so on.
As any current windows operating system has firewall build in, inbound traffic is safe enough, no extra firewalls are needed.
Such extra software has be installed very deep in the operating system, there for it will introduce more potential points of attack and thus make the system more vulnerable. Furthermore it will confuse most users, as it will pop up with msg like app A wants enter internet and by that time the actual malware communicates long time with its big brother outside.
As it gets more difficult to find software which does not need to communicate with outside world, all apps try to update itself and so the user is prompted very often for this and that. If you then still block all apps with your firewall, the computer will soon become difficult to handle.
So yes firewalls are needed, but not those fancy software gadgets one can spoil own operating system with.
Otto Sykora
Basel, Switzerland