AUP 447 Change History
wcServer Changes
- The Wildcat! Server (wcserver) now has improved CLIENT connection
logic.
The server will now deny Wildcat! client IP addresses at the server
"contact" stage. Prior, it deny the contact after the connection
was made. This makes the system more secure (depending on your
point of view).
The server has been improved for sub-net Wildcat! client contacts.
This helps situations where the client can not broadcast across router
to find servers. By specifying the info below, the client will be
told to directly contact the wildcat server.
If you wish to run a Wildcat! client on a different subnet, you can
connect to the server by using the following environment strings:
set wildcatserver=<server_machine_name>
set wildcatserverip=<server_machine_ip_address>
example:
set wildcatserver=mainsrv1
set wildcatserverip=209.123.89.12
Note: You may use the wildcatserver environment string at any time,
not just for sub-net situations. You may use it in a LAN. This will
speed up the contact and loading of the Wildcat! client application.
- The Wildcat! finger service has been improved. If your finger
server is enabled, type: finger help@servermachine to obtain
more information on the new finger options.
- Internal changes to Wildcat! server improves client applications
that utilize the SDK user database functions. This should help
speed up applications drastically on large system with large
user databases.
- Internal change to Wildcat! server fixes a mite in storing the
lastcaller per node. Applications that wish to display the lastcaller
per node, may do so with SDK or WCBASIC GetNodeInfo() function.
- Internal fix to Wildcat! server now makes sure the user's time
left value is not negative.
- Internal fix to Wildcat! server now makes sure new messages added to
the system do not have "garbage" in some of the string fields due to
some Wildcat! clients not initializing the message header. This fix
may help clear a situation where a long subject line is 72 characters
or more and it clobbers other fields in the message header.
- The EXPIRATION WARNING system: As Wildcat! moved more into the
internet, the expiration notice/warning system was working
sporadically. This was because the user's last call date was being
stamped via one connection which nullified the sending of expiration
warning messages via WCNAV or WEB connections.
The new logic is:
Expiration Warning Messages (warn*.msg) are now sent the first time
the user connects for the day regardless of how he connects. In other
words, the user will get his message when he connects via POP3, WCNAV,
ANSI/TELNET or WEB methods which he has an "opportunity" to receive a
message. ANSI/TELNET will always display WARN*.BBS screen notices as
before. But connecting via other mean should not stop the WARN*.MSG
from being sent now when he connects via POP2, WCNAV, ANSI/TELNET or
WEB.
In addition, the default WARN*.BBS files should have a @PAUSE@ macro
at the end of the file. Not having one may give the illusion that it
was never displayed to the user.
- Automated shutdown and restart support added. This is very usefull for
automated backups. Shutdown across network supported via a new program,
wcNetrunner. See autorun.zip for examples of usage.
New Program: wcNetRunner
- Adminstrative control of your system across the network is now
possible with wcNetRunner. Using any standard RSH client, you can
request a command to be executed on a remote system if it is running
wcNetRunner. This is completely configurable and allows restriction of
what commands may be executed from which computers. For security,
port 514 should be blocked from all outside systems (in your router,
and in Access Profiles) if you run wcNetRunner. See examples in
AUTORUN.ZIP.
POP3 Server Changes:
- POP3 server now will automatically mark all mail as
received. If a POP3 client has the option "Save Server Mail", this
means the client will not ask the server to delete the mail.
Previously, the mail was marked received only of the client asked
to delete the mail. With the new logic, your server operations
should be more optimized, faster since it won't be sending the
mail again to users.
- The POP3 server now honors the posting of expiration
warning messages when the pop3 client logs into the server.
Previously, the POP3 client would not get any expire warnings and it
potentially nullified other connections methods from sending the
warnings.
- Added POP3 error logging in the case of login failures, or failure to
retrieve messages from the message database.
wcSMTP Server Changes
- wcSMTP has gone thru a major change to offer better anti-relay,
blocking and user authentication operations.
- Improved Configurability of SMTP through wcConfig. See the new SMTP
section in WCCONFIG.
- wcSMTP now the option validate users when SMTP clients attempts to
sent mail to your system. Mail destined to users who do not belong to
your system, will be rejected at the SMTP level. A standard SMTP
Error "User Not Local" will be reported to the sender. This saves
WCMAIL from having to bounce the message when it is imported.
- wcSMTP will now "learn" bad domains and email addresses and record
them in the file data\baddomains.txt and data\badrcpt.txt.
- wcSMTP now supports the Extended SMTP protocol (ESMTP) for user
authentication. With ESMTP, email clients must log into Wildcat in
order to verify the accounts. It is now possible to regulate which
users can relay mail thru your system.
- wcSMTP is now part of the "server list" for wcNODE. wcNode will
now show SMTP as a server. This allows the server to be shutdown
for maintenance.
- wcSMTP now has a very informative log file system. wcSMTP now will
automatically rotate the log file every day. To disable the log
rotation, define a DWORD registry value:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MSI\Wildcat\wcSMTP
DailyLogs = 0
alternatively, you can start wcSMTP with the command line switch
/dlogs- (/dlogs+ to enable)
- Support for MAPS RBL (Mail Anti-Spam Protection System -
Real Time Blackhole List). This system blocks thousands of sites
known to openly allow the use of their smtp servers by spammers. This
option is only usable for systems connected to the Internet full-time.
WEB Server Changes:
- Greater Configurability. A new icon in wcConfig for the web server.
Mime types can now be easily added to the server.
- Improved support for CGI scripts. The web server now supports script
mapping to support external languages, such as Perl, Python, PHP and
more (this does not include ASP). Fixed and added several CGI Environment
variables.
- Support for index file names other than default.htm
- Improved log file support. You can improve performance of the web server
by turning off reverse dns in wcconfig-general-network. You can reduce
the size of the log file by excluding specific files, directories, or
file types (such as gif and jpg files)
- Automated support for closed vs. open systems. Point your "get an account"
links to /signup. If the system is a closed system, /closed.htm is shown,
if it is open, /public/newlogon.htm will be shown.
FTP Server Changes:
- The FTP Server will now offer a 2 level directory display system as
oppose to the flat directory system used before. With the new 2 level system, Level 1 is the File Groups, and Level 2 is the File
Conferences within a File Group.
If you wish to disable this new display logic, define a DWORD registry
value:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\MSI\Wildcat\wcFTP
OldStyle=1
- FTP Server now has a wcFTP.log file to consolidate the users who
connect to the ftp server.
ANSI/TELNET Server Changes:
- Now supports sending of expiration warning messages. Previously,
it displayed warnings. Now it can do both.
- A fix was made to the sysop file upload manager where it was
not clearing the recently file uploaded and if you wanted to
upload the same file into different areas, it would give you
and "Already Exist" error.
WCLISTSERVE Changes:
- Improved Setup program, easier to configure and manage users.
- wcListServe now uses an internal database system for the subscriber
database. This results in a faster database access system. A
conversion tool (wclsupdate) was provide to convert the ODBC
database.
- wcListServe now properly handles failed email addresses. Previously
it would stop sending list messages when one subscriber failed.
- Domain email is now supported in wcListserve.
- Remote adminstration of lists added.
- New adminstrative tool (wcladmin.exe) for importing and exporting large
lists of addresses.
WCRADIUS Server Changes:
- wcRADIUS is now part of the "server list" for wcNODE. wcNode will
now show RADIUS as a server. This allows the server to be shutdown
for maintenance.
- Custom configuration per user can now be stored in the user database,
rather than the wcradius.users.txt file. This is configured in the
wcRADIUS options.
- Timeout support fixed.
wcPPP Changes (Changes are not in the Vircom drivers)
- wcPPP Server now has better logging and disagnostic information
written to the activity logs.
- wcPPP Server had a mite where it was possible to get a "Fast
Disconnect" if the user's timeleft value had an internal negative
value stored.
- wcPPP Server idle timeout value can now be set in WCCONFIG General
Settings | Idle Timeouts. Default is 15 minutes.
wcNEWS changes:
- wcNEWS has a new command line option /HOST to define the host
to export/import news group mail. This works with the NETWORKS
setup. A host most be defined where the domain name is the
news domain host. Newsgroup conferences must be linked to the
host.
type wcNEWS /? for help.
wcMAIL changes:
- Better Logging and added daily log rotation.
- Fixed problem with "folded header lines"
- wcMAIL now has the capability of sending an auto response and posting
the original message. Prior, once the auto response was sent, the
original message was killed. This allows for sysops to create
email systems where an 'acknownledgement' can be sent back to the
originator, i.e., order or support email system.
- Although unrelated to wcMail, wcMail will do less mail bouncing
because wcSTMP is handling the bouncing of email immediately. This
reduces wcMAIL overhead in handling bounced mail. Of course, in
setups were wcSMTP is not used, wcMAIL will handle the mail bouncing.
wcSETUP Changes:
- wcSETUP had a bug in skipping the Wildcat! 4.0 file database import if
1 file failed to be imported. Now, this error is ignored and it
continues with the import.
WCBASIC (WCCODE) Changes:
- New window socket "helper" library, see wsockhlp.wcc
- New extraprompt.wcc internal wcc to create extra prompts
not in the normal wcc files.
- New HTML-MAILFORM.wcc for creating submitting form responses to a
mail conference. A configuration file must be created for each mail
form you create which specifies the information about to,subject and
conference number. See mailex.html example.
- New function "SendExpireWarningMessage" is used in LOGONUTL.WCC to
generate any new expiration warning messages.
- ODBC support added. See wcodbc.wch for details. (Note: This does not
provide ODBC access to the Wildcat! Databases.)
- New functions in htmlutil.wch:
function GetPostVars(file as String) as String
THis function reads in POST vars from html headers, so that
you can use the GetParamStr and GetParamInt to get the values
from a POSTed form.
Usage: dim params as string = GetPostVars(Param(1))
function nl2br(text as string) as string
This replaces newlines in text with the html tag <br> followed
by a newline. This helps in converting plain text from text
files or submitted forms to html for display purposes.
Usage: newtext = nl2br(oldtext)
- Added support for language prompts:
PressEnter
ContinueNonStopQuit
ContinueNonStop (NEW)
The above prompts were previously hardcoded.
wcStart Changes
- Improved support for synchronizing networked startups.
- New configuration options for programs (start minimized)
Software Development Kit
- The SDK has been updated with this release. This is the first update
to the SDK in two years. Examples are the same, but you'll need the
headers and libraries.