Since it appears that Speakeasy is not going to be able to figure out how to reconnect our internet, at least for a while, I got internet working simultaneously on our desktop and our laptop this morning.The trick is that the laptop has the modem, and only has a wireless network connection to the desktop, and the desktop doesn't have a modem.
I wanted ssh and http connections to work from the desktop. To make it work, the laptop opens an ssh tunnel to my web server and another tunnel to the desktop, and forwards ssh and http packets from the desktop to the web server, where they are then handled by a squid and ssh server respectively.
The laptop is using windows, so I am using Putty
The settings that are required are:
  • local port forwarding source 3129 to localhost:3128 (forwarding laptop traffic to the squid server)
  • remote port forwarding source 3129 to localhost:3129 (forwarding desktop traffic to the squid server, via the laptop, there might be a better way to do that, but I am not sure how to do it)
  • remote port forwarding source 2222 to orange:22 (forwarding desktop traffic to the ssh server directly - this port can go directly, because the ssh server allows traffic from anywhere, but the squid server only allows traffic from the localhost)
Tada - our desktop is now using the wireless network to access the internet over the laptop's modem!
A side-effect of this is that it is likely that we will be on dialup for most of the day, since Heather hasn't had internet in a while, so probably has things to do, as well as if I understand our new phone plan correctly (we got a cheaper one than the unlimited, since it is annoying to pay $25 for a phone line with no features) it costs $.07 per call during the day, and so it is actually better to make less, but longer calls, instead of the short dialups, that I have been doing...
Our skype phone is on, 412-567-2676. (also sort of fun - using an internet phone over a dialup connection...)

Yes, I'm a geek.
Posted by Jon Daley on October 21, 2005, 8:30 am | Read 3481 times
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Definitely one of my favorite geeks, too! I don't understand what you did, but it's pretty amazing.
Posted by SursumCorda on October 21, 2005, 10:55 am

Verizon installed DSL today - pretty impressive, since I only ordered it online on Friday. They said it wouldn't be ready until Friday, and actually said to not plug in anything until Friday, but I had already installed an old Verizon DSL modem, so I knew the service was installed this morning, and the new modem arrived this afternoon, and was installed easily (though I had to use their silly audio guided windows utility, when really, all I needed was a web page to sign up for a PPPoE account.
It is noticeably slower than our previous connection, though much faster than the dialup, and $85 less than our previous connection, so well worth it, I think.
Now, I just need to break the news to Speakeasy that Verizon was able to install it in 2 business days, why can't Speakeasy reconnect previously installed service in 14 days...
Posted by jondaley on October 25, 2005, 12:28 am

To continue the port forwarding stuff from the article, I realized earlier today that I forgot to mention to make the web connection work on the desktop, I also had to set Firefox to use the laptop as a proxy server, by setting the proxy server to localhost, port 3129 (thus going over the ssh tunnel to the laptop). I could have told Firefox to go directly to the laptop, instead of going to the localhost, but my way allows for two ways of being more secure, one, the desktop->laptop http traffic is over an encrypted connection, and two, I only know how to make ssh ports accessible via the localhost, or everywhere, and not just restricted to one host.
Also, my way didn't require any change to be made to the XP firewall (which defaults to no access).
Posted by jondaley on October 25, 2005, 12:31 am

I'm just glad you're back in business! But Porter says don't be too quick to blame Speakeasy; local companies like Verizon make it very, very difficult for the competition, then pick up the service when customers get frustrated.
Posted by SursumCorda on October 25, 2005, 7:41 am

I somehow missed your comment - yes, it is in Verizon's interests to make it hard for the competition, but Speakeasy was at best lazy in getting it back connected, and don't forget that all of this was due to Speakeasy disconnecting it originally.
I just got a credit due to cancelling the service - they charge a month in advance. Due to some billing trickery, they changed the billing date after they gave me the first free "month", but left the contract date where it was, so they made me pay at the end of the contract, where if they hadn't played with the billing date it would have been part of the free month. Yay - another $20 to Speakeasy for the privilege of having a broken DSL line for 5 days.
Posted by jondaley on November 14, 2005, 3:19 pm
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