To get an emulated PPP or SLIP connection with a shell account you
need 4 components:
a) A software library like winsock.dll that creates ``virtual circuits''
between your PC and the internet
b) A dialer program that will dial up your Internet Provider, much like
your communications program dials into your shell account. Only these
dialers establish a PPP or SLIP connection with your ISP (internet
service provider)
c) A web browser like netscape or internet explorer, and/or a variety
of other internet software that depend on a PPP/SLIP connection:
Mirc, FTP, telnet, (heaven help up) forte free agent, etc.
d) PPP/SLIP emulation software such as TIA, twinsock, shellshock, or
slirp that performs the functions of your ISP's ordinary SLIP/PPP
software.
I will not speak of macs, here. If you have windows 95 or NT a,b and c
is already built in. If you have or perfer to use windows 3.1 like
I do, there are several ways to get a,b, and c for free. Here is
mine:
1) I use slirp, a fast and feature rich PPP emulator. Go to the slirp
home page at: http://blitzen.canberra.edu.au/slirp/
There you will find links to ftp sites where you can download the
slirp software. For several types of ISP computers (e.g., SunOS)
you can download the ready-to-run program. For unusually ISPs,
you must download the source code and compile it into an executable
program on your ISP.
The slirp program goes in some directory on your shell account that
is in your path directory. Then create a file in your home directory
called .slirprc and, at minimim, put a line like this: -P in the
file. This file is read by slirp when it starts up. My file looks
like this:
baudrate 141000
-P
mtu 1104
keepalive
shell /bin/csh -f
2) Of the various browsers, internet explorer is free. Netscape is
shareware, but many people just use it and do not pay (I tend to
respect all payment requests for shareware authors).
However ie (internet explorer) has an added virtue: One of its
free packages for windows 3.1 also contains the shiva PPP dialer
program and the software library, winsock.dll.
You can download this package from http://microsoft.com/ie, alas,
if you have access to a PPP connection to begin with. However, if
you use lynx or other text browser to go to microsoft, microsoft
does not show you the package that includes the dialer! However,
with a text browser you can go to the shareware site:
and get an early version of this package for free.
3) Install the ie package on your PC, which will include the dialer
and winsock.dll.
4) On your shell account just run slirp once, slirp <RETURN>
It will scroll some information on your screen including the
IP address of your DNS (domain name server) this will be a number
like 160.02.56.3 . Write this number down; you will need it to
set up the dialer. Then exit slirp by slowly typing 5 zeros.
5) Set up your shiva dialer to dial your ISP: After you install ie
you will have an icon called something like ``connect to the internet''
in windows. Access this, and screens come up asking for various
kinds of info. Leave your login name and password blank on these
screens, for your ISP address fill in 10.0.2.15, fill in your DNS
number, and check the box, ``bring up terminal window on connection''.
When you finish a new connect icon appears on your windows group
screen.
6) Click the connection icon, and the shiva dialer dials your ISP.
When the modems make a connection, a screen comes up, much like
your shell account screen. Type in your login id and password.
Then start slirp with: slirp <RETURN>.
hit the <CONTUNUE> button at the bottom of your terminal screen.
You are now on the internet with a PPP type connection. You can
run ie automatically. Or you can start it or other such software
manually.
Step 6 can be automated somewhat, as follows: The shiva dialer
will create a file in the iexplore directory called something like:
con00001.con -- a set up file for dialing your isp. Edit that file
by adding a line like the following to the [Security] section of
the file:
AutoSend=your-name\13\,,,,password\13\,,,,,,terminal-type\13\,,,,slirp\13
EAch \13 is a carrage return, each comma is a 1/2 second delay. Essentially,
when the teminal window comes up this line tells shiva to automatically
send the sequence of characters after the equal sign.
IE also includes a script program for the dialer, but it does not tell you
and I dont know what type of commands it accepts.