Proxy Info : What Holes to Open

For those of you running in a corp environment attempting to stem the tide of users that are hollaring for this, I've been trying to come up with some reliable method of data deployment.  We run ISA for our proxy, and I now have a caching rule in place for this app.  It's working great, but obviously people are going to need the addresses.

If you're not doing caching, this info is still valuable if you just need to punch a hole to these sites.

worldwidetelescope.org (appears to be used only during startup of the app to download constelation and location data)

virtualearth.net (used for the actual loading of images)

Hope this is helpful to any of you.

 

 

What about adding proxy capabilities to the application?  For example, in Windows Live Messenger, I have to tell it what proxy server I use and provide credentials, otherwise, it can't get to the outside world.  There doesn't seem to be any way to do that in WorldWide Telescope.  I'm still unable to use it at work.  Works great from home though!!! :)

Hi csharpner,

Yes, there is. Check this post
The post explains how to provide a proxy. It'll work if no authentication or integrated authentication is present.

But proxy or no proxy if there is a firewall you need to provide ports to open, you'll still need to do that but this time for the proxy.

Jacques

We have a Hotfix Available  for this issue. It does not solve the username/password issue yet but it's a great start.

Thanks Chuck!

One way around the user/pass issue is to use a 3rd party local proxy called Proxomitron (ProxM). Link: http://www.proxomitron.info/  It's a very well done app that's been around for a long time.  Hasn't been developed for a little while, but it still works great.  It's a full local proxy but in this scenario what ProxM can do is pick up all the traffic coming off your box and direct it to your corp proxy.  This obviously isn't a solution for mass deployment but if you have 3-5 people that need access it works great.

So, with this setup ProxM isn't really functioning as a filter or security app, it's simply forwarding all outbound traffic to the server you pick in the advanced settings (see instructions below).  This essentially forces I.E. and Worldwide Telescope to your proxy and provides authentication responses where they would sometimes fail.  We actually use this solution for a few other web applications that are used in the school district I work for on a limited basis.  Works well.

Download the zip and just run the exe (doesn't require installation) 

1. Click the Proxy Button
2. Enter the IP for your corperate proxy (include port)
3. Right-click on the numbers you've entered for the IP and click advanced settings (yes, in the field... kinda odd)
4. Check the send username and password box and enter the appropriate credentials
1. will authenticate every except on an ISA server using Integrated authentication (NTLM)
5. Click OK on the Advanced and External Proxy windows and then check the Use Remote Proxy option in the main menu
6. Save config
7. In Internet Explorer, change your proxy settings to localhost, port 8080.

 

Hope this helps some folks.  Again, not a solution for mass deployment, but this could help you get yer star fix until MS Research has a permanent solution. :)

@Thranx Thank you Thranx.............. This software works like a charm............ It solved milliions of my problems. Now, all those software needing authentication are running. Even My Windows Live Mail, Windows Live Writer, etc. I am happy !!!!!!!!!!! Thanks again. Very good software.

 Thanx, thranx. Works great for me. What a fabulous little app that proxomitron is.

Sighhhh .....

The fates seem destined to prevent me getting WWT to work at work!!!

I installed proxomitron, ran the test ... worked fine. Changed the IE settings to use it as the initial proxy .. and deafening silence. Well error messages when I tried to load pages using IE (and WWT still says "no internet connection". In case anyone can shed light, the proxomitron log file indicates that the "SSL Pass-Thru Failed!" as soon as I changed the IE proxy settings.

I'll paste part of the log file below, blanking out the proxy details. :) 

"Testing __________:____
Waiting for remote proxy's reply
Proxy IP = _____________
  >GET / HTTP/1.0
  >User-Agent: Mozilla/2.0 (Macintosh; I; PPC)
  >Pragma: no-cache
  >Via: 1.0 _____________:____ (squid/2.6.STABLE6)
  >X-Forwarded-For: _____________
  >Host: _____________:____
  >Cache-Control: max-age=1329600
  >Connection: keep-alive
  >HTTP/1.0 200 OK
Ending proxy test

....

+++GET 21+++
CONNECT / HTTP/1.0
User-Agent: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; Google Desktop)
Host: www.google.com:443
Content-Length: 0
Proxy-Connection: Keep-Alive
Pragma: no-cache

+++SSL 21:+++
SSL Pass-Thru: CONNECT https://www.google.com:443/
SSL Pass-Thru Failed!
+++CLOSE 20+++"

Help!!!

David