Code to enable/disable internet connectivity

Question

I need to write some code to trigger internet connectivity on a computer. By default,internet should not work.

But,after installing my program,internet should work.

Ofcourse the computers are connected to my server and normally access internet through DHCP right now. But,give me some ideas to make things in such a way that only installing my program enables internet connectivity.

Thanks

Answer 1

I know you don't want to use one, but the correct & easiest tool to use would be a proxy.

You'd have to program something to enable some client/server/proxy communication, but a proxy would be the way to go.

But maybe we're not understanding your requirements- why is a proxy out of the question?

I'm curious to know if a vpn setup would work for you. Although that's just a variation on a proxy..

edit: Check out Squid - I don't know what you're using for the rest of your environment, but it supports mysql authentication. There is an 'enable' flag on the mysql table that you could control with your server.

Good luck!

Answer 2

Zone Alarm does something similar, where I've seen it disable "interet access" i.e. certain ports when it thinks you have a trojan.

Answer 3

I don't understand how you would disable internet access in the first place, before your program even exists on the computer.

However, if you are bound to a corporate network, maybe a group policy that forces Internet Explorer to use a specific proxy (your program in this case). That way, web browsing doesn't work until your program is loaded. And another group policy that disables the possibility to change proxy settings. To prevent these things in Chrome, Opera, Firefox etc. is another matter....

Answer 4

Ah, this is an easy one then. Buy a router, install it, go to 192.168.1.1, enter your password, then set it up to authenticate based on MAC addresses, or to require user passwords, whichever more closely resembles your current plan :)

Answer 5

What you are trying to do falls in the realm of 802.1x. Read up on that technology and the possibilities of enabling outbound routes once a user has authenticated.